Anthonius and Leonarda Ham saw that the Western Heretaunga region of Hawke's Bay, with its ancient riverbeds and moderate climate, held the secret to fine wines.
They planted vineyards in this area, now known as the Bridge Pa Triangle district, and were one of the subregion's first wineries.
They remain family-owned today and have received Trophies for their impressive wines. 30 years later, they have converted fully to organic viticulture, with certification from the 2023 vintage.
New Zealander Barry Riwai is the winemaker. With considerable experience all over the world, he is well suited to produce this elegant Kiwi take on a Bordeaux blend.
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Altos de Bergasa is from Bodegas La Eralta, a family-owned winery founded in 1990. Quite young in terms of Rioja.
It proudly owns 360 hectares of vineyard throughout the three subregions, with this luscious Gran Reserva named after its first plots, planted in the village of Bergasa.
At their modern cellars, they boast 10,000 French and American oak barrels, within which they age their finest wines – from Crianza to this exceptional Gran Reserva.
For this wine, they only age their finest grapes, all Tempranillo, ageing the wine at least a year in barrel and the rest of the time in bottle.
Despite its 7 years' age, it is still fairly youthful. Delicious drinking now, we recommend early opening and decanting to release all the flavours.
A lavish, full-bodied Rioja Reserva from top winemaker Jean-Marc Sauboua’s boutique winery. "A fresh and bright red with blueberry, blackberry and stone aromas and flavors. Medium body. Tight" - James Suckling 92 points
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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.
Altos is a top performing Rioja bodega with Trophies for 'Spanish Winery of the Year', 'Reserva of the Year' and 'Crianza of the Year'. Owner-winemaker is Haut-Brion trained Jean Marc Sauboua. This is 92-pt single vineyard Rioja.
Gold, International Wine Awards, 2020
90-94pts, International Wine Awards, 2020
90pts, James Suckling, 2020
92pts, Andreas Larsson, 2020
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But a huge haul of Golds later and they've changed their minds. The velvety black fruits that are so loved by our customers can now be enjoyed tenfold with the even richer Reserva edition.
José has searched out the very finest, low-yielding and intensely ripe Alicante grapes for this super cuvée, and you can taste the mouth filling difference.
Even more richness and spice, but at only 13%, it's still no heavyweight and has a lovely zip of freshness to all that blackberry, cassis and damson fruit.
Enjoy with richly flavoured casseroles and red meat dishes.
The Full Fifteen has been one of our bestselling Aussie reds for years. Smooth juicy flavours, power and real drinkability have made it an all-time customer favourite. So we were thrilled when Andrew McPherson decided to craft a special Reserve edition. It’s been made in honour of Andrew’s mother Doreen, a woman who embodied Australia’s great pioneering spirit and whose devotion to family inspired everyone around her.
To call this Andrew’s special project red is an understatement. He seeks out premium parcels of old-vine Shiraz and Cabernet from acclaimed Victorian vineyards and treats the wine to long, luxurious ageing in finest oak barrels. The result is a berry-laden, richly concentrated, spicy red. Serve with prime steak or roast lamb.
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From a fourth-generation-owned Pauillac cellar, B de Fonbadet may fall under the humble Bordeaux label, but it’s intensity and complexity leave no doubt about its high-end quality. This 2019 has even won the Decanter’s esteemed Platinum medal.
The wine is matured for 12 months in the barrels that used to hold the family's fine port. Unique method allows the wines to get extra layers of lovely spice, incredible velvety richness, superb complexity, and a light touch of sweetness.
