Past Shipments

Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde, 2009 Portugal

Although made from a typical blend of indigenous local grapes (Loureiro and Pederna) the Quinta de Azavedo is more than an ordinary Vinho Verde, being the region’s flagship wine, and pride of ancient wine company Sogrape, Portugal’s premier producer of fine, dry wines.

Aromas of fresh lemon, apricot, stone fruits and white flowers, are followed by a refreshingly citrus dominated palate, with a gentle mineral tang, backed up by fresh acidity and a lovely hint of spritz.

This is a wine that is dedicated to slightly spicy Iberian food, and it is difficult to stress what a pleasure it is with fish, or paneer in a spicy, rich sauce. In fact, this is an extremely versatile food wine. The citrus acidity opens the palate and makes the mouth water, your taste-buds tingle with sensitivity, making any light-in-texture food taste enhanced!

Try it with a mild to medium spiced Goan fish curry for classic results.

Vina Real Rioja Blanco, 2008 Spain

Spain is the third largest wine producing nation, yet, bafflingly, it is one of the least well-represented in India - especially with regard to white wines. In fact Spain produces some of the most wonderful and stylistically unique whites around - and especially from the sophisticated Rioja region.

The grape variety for most white Rioja, and, indeed, many whites from other Spanish regions is Viura. A grape not often seen outside of Spain until recently, Viura can be fantastically complex, showing great richness, tropical flavours, but also phenomenal clarity and freshness.

Producing some of the finest white wines of the region, the Vina Real winery is at the cutting edge of new Spain, being both a design icon and the cradle of some of the most advanced techniques of modern wine-making.

The Vina Real Rioja Blanco shows fresh flowers and hints of tropical pineapple on the nose, giving way to minerals and chalk. The fermentation in barrel lends a creamy texture, undercut by a wonderful bracing citrus freshness, and a touch of fresh grass.

Excellent on its own, or with most types of lightly prepared fish and salad, it can also stretch to accompany light chicken dishes.

York Zinfandel Rose, 2009 India

By far the best Indian rose our panel has ever tasted, this crisp and dry offering from Nasik’s excellent York winery is an unusual animal. Rose, or blush (to use the American term) wines made from the rich Zinfandel grape tend to be on the syrupy side, mostly aping the more typical California ‘White Zin’ style of thick, sweet rose-coloured wines.

What York have managed to achieve is a light, cool, refreshing rose with the lovely acidity of a white wine, balanced by very gentle floral and fruit flavours, and a low residual sugar level. This is far more French ‘Provencale’ style rose, and the better for it, lacking any hint of the cloying sickly sweet fruits and rough edged vegetal flavours that can accompany the richer Zinfandel style.

This is assured and elegant wine-making from a young player on the scene. The York winery won a large number of accolades across the board at the Sommelier India Wine Competition in November 2009, and tasting their 2009 rose it is very clear as to why.

Clean, crisp cherry and raspberry, undercut by a lively citrus zest, anchored by fresh vegetal notes.

This is light and crisp rose in a consciously French style. It is lovely on its own, and will pair extremely well with salads, and canapes.

Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Chile

Bordered in the East by the high Andes and the Pacific coastline in the west, Chile’s Rapel Valley boasts some of the world’s most innovative wine-making. Although a very young entrant onto the international wine market, Chile has outstripped many more established competitors due to the high quality and fruit forward nature of its clean, inexpensive, extremely reliable reds and whites.

It is still very early days for Chile in winemaking terms - although a wine-making territory since the mid-16th Century, the export industry really only took off 15 years ago or so - and many reds coming out of Chile bear an unmistakable green, herbal flavour, underlying the always clean and focussed fruits.

This typical Chilean give-away, mainly due to the young age of many of the vines, is mostly lacking in the Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon, and very much to the benefit of the wine.

Concentrated clean black fruits greet the nose, with hints of soil and mineral, reminding one that terroir (soil/technique) is becoming increasingly important in defining individual flavours for good Chilean wine. Blackberries and perhaps blueberries mid-palate, are held up by spices and pepper, lingering into an exceptional fruit and spice-fuelled finish.

Excellent on its own, but very much a treat with grilled meats, and steak.

La Reserve de Chartreuse de Bonpas, 2008 France

Named for the very pretty, recently restored 12th Century fortress monastery around which many of its vineyards are sited, the Reserve de Chartreuse de Bonpas actually sits right on the edge of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The vines are not only sited in vineyards even more ancient than those of Chateauneuf, but receive all the benefits of that area’s unique stony soil, while commanding a much more reasonable price. This is Chateauneuf quality at Cotes-du-Rhone rates.

The surrounding vineyards themselves are even older than the monastic complex, and produce a concentrated red with very terroir specific hints of Provencale herbs, along with the typically juicy red fruits.

The wine from these monastery vineyards has been blended with Grenache and Syrah(Shiraz) from the nearby communes of Gigondas and Vaqceuyras - producers of highly sought after wine in their own right - to make a blend of structure, velvetiness and unusual fragrance.

This is a marvellous blend of plums, rich red fruits, and hints of pepper, spice, tobacco, leather and Provencale rosemary, packing an intense amount of flavour into its elegantly bottled package. Great drinking on its own, or right at home with roast lamb or tandoori chicken.

The Wine Society of India Steven Spurrier Selection Rioja, 2007, Spain

The Rioja region produces the most age-worthy, refined, and, quite simply, classic dry wines of the Iberian Peninsula - effectively being to Spain what Bordeaux is to France. Covering a massive high plateau above the Ebro river, Rioja is typically Spanish in its tough, rocky soil, low rainfall and intense temperature fluctuations, between deep, hot Summers, and icy cold winters. This hard land is ideal for the sensual, rich Tempranillo grape; Spain’s viticultural gift to the World.

As such, it was the logical choice for our next private label wine.

Our own WSI Steven Spurrier Selection Rioja has been crafted with great care for us by CVNE, one of the oldest of the great Rioja houses. Intense red cherry and blackberry on the nose, with clear, concentrated vanilla - as is typical for the region this has spent roughly a year aging in oak barrique, lending further intensity and concentration. Watch out for intense underlying savouries, such as leather and tar, and a long, finish, opening back into ripe red fruits.

For best results decant for 1 or 2 hours. Fantastic on its own (again, better decanted) and great with all sorts of meats and cheeses.

Montes Alpha Chardonnay, 2007 Chile

Prior to 1990 Chile produced very good wine, but almost entirely destined for supermarket shelves and mass consumption. Understanding how well-adapted the climate and soil of central Chile were to the making of more refined wine, the founders of Montes created a company with the intention of raising the bar of winemaking in Chile. This they did with the ‘Alpha’ range, the first super-premium wines to be exported from Chile.

The Alpha Chardonnay is still a benchmark for bold New World whites and is often to be found in Decanter and Wine Spectator’s top 100 white wines of the World. Not surprisingly it also won gold at the inaugural Sommelier India Wine Competition this past November.

Rich, full and capable of cellaring for another year or two, the wine is dominated by citrus and tropical flavours, and a creaminess drawn from a year spent maturing in French Oak barrels.

A rich and rewarding experience on its own, this is an excellent wine for butter chicken, or richer, creamier dishes involving white meat or paneer.

Bodegas CVNE Rioja Reserva, 2006 Spain

CVNE, or the Compana Viniticola del Norte Espana (Wine Company of Northern Spain - pronounced coo-na), is one of the greats of Rioja. Founded by two brothers 130 years ago, current owner, Victor Urrutia, is the fifth generation of the family to run the great Bodega (Spanish term for winery) producing internationally admired wines.

The strict quality laws of Rioja state that a company wishing to label their wine as a ‘Reserva’, such as this CVNE, must ensure that not only is the base wine of an extremely high quality, but that it spends at the very least a year in oak barrels, and then is held back for a further two years after bottling. This is so that it can be released when approaching readiness for drinking.

However, considering the quality of a wine produced by a company like CVNE, even a 2006 Rioja Reserva is very young.

This wine can be laid down for five or even eight years, but it can be consumed comfortably now, but as such, is surefire wine for the decanter.

If you do not possess a decanter, invest in one, as you will need to aerate the wine for at least a couple of hours outside the bottle, before this utterly classic and age-worthy European red begins to unravel from its intense concentration - showing its true identity.

On first nose, intense ripe redcurrants and blueberries, backed by spices, and concentrated leather. A bracing acidity (one of the factors which will allow the wine to age so gracefully), is supported by further intense, chunky fruits on the palate, and a gentle coating of soft tannin, all leading to a lingering finish of concentrated currants and tobacco. A classical, refined Rioja.

This is a rich wine with quite some acidity, so can be paired with a diverse array of richer foods, from lamb tikka, to Chinese meat dishes, but totally at home with and complemented by a lamb stew. It is also lovely on its own.

Ricossa Barolo, 2004 Italy

From the cult ageworthy grape of Spain, to its noble Italian counterpart - Nebbiolo, whose ultimate expression is found in the fine wines of the village of Barolo, is, like Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the three great aging reds, and undisputed king of Italian grape varieties.

Much beloved of British and American collectors, Nebbiolo boasts typically high tannin, along with aromas of tar, roses, cherries and rich tobacco.

Located in northwest Italy, near the ‘truffle capital’ town of Alba, Barolo forms a major part of arguably the greatest regional gastronomy on Earth.

The village is small (the castle that dominates it is nearly as large as the village itself), and land around intensely hilly and covered in vines. Even so, land is limited and yields low, making the wines of Barolo highly sought after and often very expensive indeed.

We are very lucky to have available this marvellous wine from the great local house of Ricossa. We are very fortunate that the producers, and one of our partner importers, were able to club together to enable us to bring this excellent wine, with 6 years bottle age, to our members at an introductory price that is well below market rates.

2004 was a great vintage for Piedmont, and the Ricossa shows all the typical charm of a noteworthy, bottle-aged Barolo: initial notes of sweet earth, giving way to rich cherries and raisins. There is tar, a hint of minerality and more intense cherry on the palate, backed up by the typical Nebbiolo tannins and acidity.

A great food wine, designed for the rich, often fatty foods of north Italy - think carbonara, or closer home, butter chicken or shahi paneer; meats, cream and bit of spice