Lobo e Falcão
Wine Spectator calls Portugal “the most exciting wine place on the planet”, with its terrific range of native grape varieties and wines that always offer standout value. The rich, mouthfilling Lobo e Falcão fits firmly in that category. It’s made at a 17th century estate owned by the Lobo de Vasconcellos family, once the location of the king’s falconry. Special barrels of wine were kept for the king when he visited. Today, talented winemaker Joana Lopes makes this red specially for us, blending Syrah with Portugal’s exciting native grapes. Previously awarded a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Award, the 2018 has lovely intensity of flavour due to another low yield year. Generous wild berry fruit and spice with a velvet texture – a very moreish red.
La Cantera Reserva
Portuga
Portuga is made by Casa Santos Lima, a grand Portuguese estate in the Lisboa region, just north of the capitol. João Santos Lima founded it in the 19th century and it has been in the same family for three generations. Diogo Sepúlveda is the winemaker today. He has worked vintages all across the world, including Bordeaux's prestigious Pomerol and California's Napa Valley. He is a talented winemaker, who relaxes in his spare time by wrestling bulls (all muscle, no knives!). Portuga is a rich, velvety blend of traditional native varieties, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged gently in oak. Delicious either served on its own, with rich pork dishes, or tangy tomato pasta. It's an ideal wine for a barbecue too or with mature hard cheeses.
Bleasdale The Broadside Langhorne Creek Shiraz Cabernet Malb
Bleasdale is “one of the most historic wineries in Australia ... in 2015 celebrating 165 years of continuous winemaking by the direct descendants of the founding Potts family” (Halliday). Among many major awards, they’ve won the Jimmy Watson Trophy and winemaker Paul Hotker, a “master blender” , was named Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year 2018. The winery was recently shortlisted for Best Value Winery 2023 in the Halliday Wine Companion Awards. Matured for 9 months in 10% new French and American oak barrels. A truly regional Langhorne Creek blend (49/40/11% shiraz/cabernet sauvignon/malbec) which offers some spice and mid-dark chocolate to the palate. It's succulent, with all elements in unison. It's also stupidly good value... Great Value... 92pts" (Tony Love, Halliday Wine Companion).
Il Papavero
Introducing Il Papavero – a delicious Italian red showing loads of charisma and style. Blended from the best grapes of the vintage, it offers supple, ripe fruit and easy charm. Only the most flavoursome grapes from the best performing vineyards go into this wine. With fresh and fruity berry aromas and irresistible value, Il Papavero is the perfect match to your favourite pizza or pasta.
Cabalié Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
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.
Lake Breeze Bullant Langhorne Creek Cabernet Merlot
Andresen Fine Ruby Port
Andresen passionately believe that port is one of the world’s finest wines – and have won a host of awards from international competitions. Thanks to their dedication to quality at all levels their ready to drink ruby port is seductively luscious. Established in 1849, Andresen are one of the last remaining family owned and run port houses. They have built a stellar reputation based on using an ultra rigorous grape selection to make only the finest wines. Owner Carlos Flores de los Santos presides over a magnificent collection of aged ports, resting in barrel in his extensive cellars, and is ably assisted by chief winemaker Alvaro Van Zeller – the former Head of Tasting at the Port Wine Institute. Ruby is the youngest, fruitiest style of port, aged for no more than two years. This strikingly powerful cousin of the vintage style can be enjoyed without decades of ageing. Andresen Ruby makes a delightful after dinner tipple, delicious as a glass on its own or with mature Stilton.
Tussock Jumper Ruby Port
RedHeads Moonlighters Red
‘Moonlighter’ captures the very essence of the RedHeads concept. Right at the beginning, when RedHeads started in the McLaren Vale, a handful of dedicated, rule-breaking, young winemakers, with a day job at the big corporations, would arrive at RedHeads studio early evening, down a cold beer, then start on crafting a ‘real’ wine, with all the unbridled passion you’d expect from the newly qualified winemaking elite Down Under. The same goes on today in the Barossa Valley RedHeads winemaking studio. Moonlighters is a super-innovative blend of grapes and wine regions, only the best parcels of South Australian fruit make it in.