Jaime Quendera, our favourite Portuguese winemaker, has made a juicy, fruit-forward red, aged in a very special cask. Enjoy Alicante Bouschet’s smooth texture in this red from rare, ancient vines that oozes rich flavours of black cherry and pepper.
Can you imagine buying 1,008 bottles of wine in one year? That’s 200 gallons to be exact – the same amount that each American household was allowed to make for ‘personal use’ during Prohibition. And the go-to grape during this DIY time wasn’t Cabernet or Merlot, it was the bold and juicy Alicante Bouschet - widely planted in California but originally from Portugal. Today, award-winning winemaker Jamie Quendera has crafted a mighty, Reserva-quality red, from rare 100-year-old vines. And the unique twist? Jamie aged the wine for 12 months in custom double casks. The top and bottom are French oak (imparting subtle spice) while the long side planks are American (for vanilla notes). The result is an ultra-smooth, cherry-ripe, well-spiced drop!
Bordeaux-born Jean-Marc Sauboua has been our Trophy-winning winemaker at Bordeaux’s Château La Clarière for many years. In 2006, he decided to start a winery of his own and, with Spanish blood, decided Rioja was his destination. His aim: to make a Grand Cru of Rioja. He has no vineyards but works with the same growers he has since the start. The mature vines lie above 700 metres, the highest in Rioja, to ensure an elegant, modern style. He's won well 300 Golds since 2006, as well as Trophies for Winery of the Year, Rioja of the Year and Best Spanish Red over £10. 2021 was classed a very good vintage. High up where Altos lies, it's always cool, so ripening is slow, and wines are fresh. Aged a year in oak, this elegant red is best decanted.
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If you enjoy the food-friendly reds of northern Italy, especially the Valpolicella Ripasso style, you'll love this. We have worked with Italian Winery of the Year Cantina di Negrar for years. They own a vineyard in the Marano Valley and they’ve offered us a deal on their Rosso Veronese – a wine usually reserved for their Italian fans. It’s named after Bartolomeo Lorenzi, whose epic 18th-century poem of rural life made Valpolicella wines famous the world over.
The Marano Valley is especially cool, so grapes take longer to ripen, which adds depth, character and freshness to the wines. Also included is a dash of dark Amarone. With black cherry fruit and Christmas cake spice, it’s hard to imagine a more appealing Veronese red. Great with game.
Let’s go back in time! To the 1st century AD and vineyards planted to serve the ruling elite at the thriving Roman port of Troia. Here, on Portugal’s windswept Atlantic coast, the only grape that thrives in the dry, sandy soils and super-hot sun is local star Castelão. This small, dark-skinned grape boasts fathomless depths of flavour – if you know how to unlock it. Back to today and enter Gold-medal maestro Jaime Quendera at Portugal’s most awarded winery, Casa Ermelinda Freitas. Only made in the best years, this Black Red flies of our shelves as soon as it's in stock. So our advice is: if you see it, buy it! Rippling with ripe plums, black fruits and laced with chocolate, with a spicy oak finish. At 14.5% it’s got power, so sip slowly.
Hervé Sabardeil, our winemaker with limitless talent, has been making Cabalié, the big, ripe Catalan red, for over 15 years. He added the old-vine (Vieilles Vignes) edition in 2011, originally as a one off, but it was so popular we insisted he did it again. And again! The magic to this punchy red is really in the vines. At 60 to 100-years-old, yields are minute (about half of a Grand Cru claret). As a rule of thumb, the smaller the yield, the more concentrated the fruit, the more flavoursome the wine!
That’s why we call it Cabalié’s Big Brother. Still made in the same style that was beloved by the Roman centurions and now our customers too, it packs even more flavour than the original. Ideal with garlic-roasted lamb, rich stews or cheese.
When I came over the high pass south into the Agly Valley in the 70s, I was captivated by the ancient vines on steep, terraced hills, topped by high, ruined castles. It was wild 'unknown' territory. That's where bestselling Cabalié, made by the legendary Hervé Sabardeil, is from. Hervé buys grapes for Cabalié from many vineyards, but the best grapes came from two vineyards of 100-year-old vines on schist/granite soils. They are two of France's oldest vineyards, lying on steep, terraced hillsides. When Hervé learned the farmer was retiring, he bought those two vineyards – and thus we have the 'Grand Cru' Origine … the purest essence of Cabalié … made solely from those two vineyards. It's a nearly all dark, spiced Carignan, with a few rows of silky Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, which add to the incredibly rich fruit and luscious texture.
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