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.
Lovers of fine Spanish wine, this prestige Rioja treasure from the great Jean-Marc Sauboua’s Trophy-winning Altos estate is an absolute must-have for luxury drinking.
Lovers of fine Spanish wine, this prestige Rioja treasure from the great Jean-Marc Sauboua’s Trophy-winning Altos estate is an absolute must-have for luxury drinking.
But at this price and with such limited quantities, you must hurry to secure your case!
Jean-Marc was raised in Bordeaux and trained at First Growth Haut-Brion. But Jean-Marc also has Spanish heritage, and when he decided to start a project of his own, Rioja was the place he wanted to be. And only the very highest parts of the appellation – his vineyards are the highest in the region. Right from the start Jean-Marc’s aim was to make a Grand Cru style of Rioja, prestige wines full of fruit with balanced oak, and he has absolutely succeeded. His overflowing medal cabinet is testament to that!
His Altos De La Guardia Cuvée Especial Rioja 2014 is an exciting special release that only a very few people will be able to try. It’s a delicious blend of old-vine Tempranillo cuvées, aged luxuriously for two years in barrel, and then another 9 years in bottle until Jean-Marc declared it ready to drink. (Spain is famed for its extraordinary wines that can age for decades). His patience has been rewarded with the most exquisitely lavish Rioja, silky with velvety plum and raspberry fruit with a kiss of toasty vanilla oak and cedary spice complexity.
Decant, then serve it with your finest roast meats, or an extravagant tapas feast. Or just open a bottle when you feel like some true luxury – at an almost unbelievable price.
Lovers of fine Spanish wine, this prestige Rioja treasure from the great Jean-Marc Sauboua’s Trophy-winning Altos estate is an absolute must-have for luxury drinking.
But at this price and with such limited quantities, you must hurry to secure your case!
Jean-Marc was raised in Bordeaux and trained at First Growth Haut-Brion. But Jean-Marc also has Spanish heritage, and when he decided to start a project of his own, Rioja was the place he wanted to be. And only the very highest parts of the appellation – his vineyards are the highest in the region. Right from the start Jean-Marc’s aim was to make a Grand Cru style of Rioja, prestige wines full of fruit with balanced oak, and he has absolutely succeeded. His overflowing medal cabinet is testament to that!
His Altos De La Guardia Cuvée Especial Rioja 2014 is an exciting special release that only a very few people will be able to try. It’s a delicious blend of old-vine Tempranillo cuvées, aged luxuriously for two years in barrel, and then another 9 years in bottle until Jean-Marc declared it ready to drink. (Spain is famed for its extraordinary wines that can age for decades). His patience has been rewarded with the most exquisitely lavish Rioja, silky with velvety plum and raspberry fruit with a kiss of toasty vanilla oak and cedary spice complexity.
Decant, then serve it with your finest roast meats, or an extravagant tapas feast. Or just open a bottle when you feel like some true luxury – at an almost unbelievable price.
This is a stellar white Rioja. It’s the flagship of Altos, a cellar founded in 2006 by winemaker Jean-Marc Sauboua, and already with 125 Golds. Old-vine Viura and Chardonnay, fermented in barrel, this is intense, citrusy and toasty.
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As Jancis Robinson MW says, “some truly magnificent wines are now emerging from Chile”. The country is indeed producing exciting and character-filled wines, the quality exceptional, the price still incredibly low.
Chile's beautiful Elqui Valley boasts some of the world’s highest vineyards, as well as clear skies, ultra-bright sunshine, and pure snowmelt from the Andes providing plentiful water.
As the World Atlas of Wine says, it produces “some particularly gutsy Syrah at altitudes of over 2,000 metres”. The Carménère, like this powerfully rich example, is equally robust.
It comes from Viña Falernia, built in the valley in the late 1990s by Italian Giorgio Flessati. He recognised the quality conditions from the beginning, and indeed, the winery won a Trophy in its very first vintage.
It’s still impressing the show judges today, the Antakari Carménère Reserva 2023 picking up Gold from the Gilbert & Gaillard Competition:
“Intense garnet red colour. The nose is expressive and intriguing for its aromatic variety … eucalyptus, mint and blackberries. A firm structure … Spicy aromas” (Gilbert & Gaillard Competition)
It’s a really delicious red, the kind that will match any grilled or barbecued meats beautifully – sizzling beef and lamb, of course, but also duck and pork. The ripe berry, delicious spice and gently smoky notes are a winning partner.
This plump, juicy-fruit Merlot is made by Trophy-winning winemaker Nicolas Bizzarri. He heads the cellar team at the family-owned Luis Felipe Edwards estate, four-time winner of ‘Chilean Winery of the Year’. The Don Cayetano Merlot is full of fruit and silky smooth – a luscious velvety mouthful you will adore.
As Jancis Robinson MW says, “some truly magnificent wines are now emerging from Chile”. The country is indeed producing exciting and character-filled wines, the quality exceptional, the price still incredibly low.
Chile's beautiful Elqui Valley boasts some of the world’s highest vineyards, as well as clear skies, ultra-bright sunshine, and pure snowmelt from the Andes providing plentiful water.
As the World Atlas of Wine says, it produces “some particularly gutsy Syrah at altitudes of over 2,000 metres”. The Carménère, like this powerfully rich example, is equally robust.
It comes from Viña Falernia, built in the valley in the late 1990s by Italian Giorgio Flessati. He recognised the quality conditions from the beginning, and indeed, the winery won a Trophy in its very first vintage.
It’s still impressing the show judges today, the Antakari Carménère Reserva 2023 picking up Gold from the Gilbert & Gaillard Competition:
“Intense garnet red colour. The nose is expressive and intriguing for its aromatic variety … eucalyptus, mint and blackberries. A firm structure … Spicy aromas” (Gilbert & Gaillard Competition)
It’s a really delicious red, the kind that will match any grilled or barbecued meats beautifully – sizzling beef and lamb, of course, but also duck and pork. The ripe berry, delicious spice and gently smoky notes are a winning partner.
This plump, juicy-fruit Merlot is made by Trophy-winning winemaker Nicolas Bizzarri. He heads the cellar team at the family-owned Luis Felipe Edwards estate, four-time winner of ‘Chilean Winery of the Year’. The Don Cayetano Merlot is full of fruit and silky smooth – a luscious velvety mouthful you will adore.
