Jeanneret Bartali Irvine Cantine Vitevis Carlos Serres Chain of Ponds Lienert Vineyards Medium Wine List

2020 was a low cropping, intensely fruited vintage - fairly consistently warm and foliage was retained until harvest; qualities which have led to an excellent vintage! This is a powerful wine with plenty of chalky tannins, so double decant a few hours before getting stuck into this one, and when you do, consider pairing with a lump of quality protein - will work beautifully with this wine's tannin profile. Red fruits here, dried cherries, tobacco, spice, hints of balsamic, oregano, coffee and more. This is complex, powerful and long, delightful now with a decant and one you can cellar for more than a decade. Learn More

Morellino di Scansano, means Sangiovese from Scansano, Scansano being a hilly coastal reqion of Maremma in Tuscany which is renowned for its dry climate, volcanic soil and maritime climate. This is a 'first selection' Scansano, with exceptional fruit fermented and aged in oak. There's Cherry, tobacco, tomato and leather here, with excellent fruit concentration and finish which is replete with chalky tannins. Learn More

Rosso di Montalcino is Sangiovese from Montalcino, often declassified Brunello. With its fruit intensity and 12 months ageing in oak, this is very much in the baby Brunello mould. It’s a big brooding wine with black and sour cherries, spice and excellent intensity and length. Drink anytime over the next decade. Learn More

2021 is one of the finest Chianti vintages in living memory, rated at 98/100 by Wine Spectator Magazine. This is a superb organic Chianti intended for consumption over the next 5-10 years. It has the expected fruit intensity and tannin grip of a young Chianti so decant and enjoy this with protein if you are drinking in the next 5 years. Red fruits and leather here, dried cherry, salami, espresso and a waft or two of high quality tobacco. Lovely! Learn More

Its bigger than Pinot, and of course has a different flavour profile, but in the UK plenty of punters who drink Pinot are equally enamoured of Bardolino. 'But it is made from the same grapes as Amarone', we hear you say. It is, and Bardolino is only half an hour from that region, but the wines are altogether brighter and far more delicate than you'll find there. This Bardolino sees about 6 months in oak, followed by some time in tank prior to bottling – red fruits and violet form the nose. It is red fruity, pulpy and fleshy and finishes tight and dry, with excellent length, minerality, plenty of acid and fine tannins. Drink it with rich meaty dishes or oily fish. Definitely a food wine and absolutely worth decanting. Learn More

Carlos Serres is a bit of an OG - one of the few Rioja producers with a century of winemaking behind them. Carlos was actually named Charles, a French Winemaker who left Bordeaux, fed up with dealing with phylloxera riddled vineyards, landing in Spain. He founded the first winery in Rioja with export certification and applied French winemaking techniques to Rioja fruit. Pretty soon, there was a demand for Rioja in the rest of Europe and the US.

Carlos Serres Crianza is 100% Tempranillo and spends 14 months in a combo of French and American oak. Being 'Crianza', the wine has spent a year in barrel, and another on bottle prior to release. Typically aged in older oak, Crianza can have quite assertive tannins and fruit which is intense whilst retaining great freshness. This is a particularly good example, packed with red fruits, cherries, spice, oak and nervy acidity.

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Carlos Serres is a bit of an OG - one of the few Rioja producers with a century of winemaking behind them. Carlos, actually named Charles, was a French Winemaker who, fed up with dealing with phylloxera riddled vineyards, left Bordeaux and wound up in Spain. He founded the first winery in Rioja with export certification and applied French winemaking techniques to Rioja fruit. Pretty soon there was a demand for Rioja in the rest of Europe and the US.

Young and fresh but nonetheless intense, owing to the very low yields from the 2022 vintage. Fresh red and black fruits here, along with liquorice and a hint of vanilla. Zippy fruit and relatively high tannins make this a great match for protein.

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More textural than your usual Clare Valley Riesling, this 2023 release is bright and limey on the nose and the palate shows citrus flavours of lemon and lime joined by Bickford brown lime, apple and nectarine. It is powerfully packed with fruit and finishes with refreshing acidity. Learn More

When Riesling is this good it reminds us that Clare Riesling is truly world class. This has just picked up 96 points from Sam Kim who describes it beautifully, with the following words, 'This is precise and brilliantly detailed, showing lime sorbet, fresh fig and delicate floral notes on the nose, followed by a superbly concentrated palate offering excellent fruit purity and finesse. It’s wonderfully supported by elegant texture and lively acidity with a sustained, structured finish.' Learn More

The 3rd, and best release of Sieben Klon Shiraz so far - no surprise, given this is from the exceptional 2021 vintage. Made by former Penfolds St Henri growers, the Lienert brothers, each of the 7 distinct clones were harvested and fermented separately - the harvest date chosen to best allow each grape to express its best characters. For instance, the EVOS12 (Eden Valley clone) was harvested earlier than the others to allow for a beautiful perfume and liveliness in the final wine. Fermentation is done in tiny open top fermenters which are hand plunged up to 4 times a day. Certain clones are fermented cooler to better express delicate aromatics whilst some are plunged and pumped over heavily to achieve a more structural element. The trick is finding the right balance. Anyways, we love this wine and encourage you to give it a rip. Learn More

The Lienert’s have been farming in the Barossa for 150 years and decided to add some vines to their property about 20 years ago. The first fruit from 2004 and 2005 vintages went straight to the pool room, aka into Penfold’s St Henri. Funnily enough they then planted a lot more vines and introduced many more clonal variations of Shiraz and Grenache. This Grenache is a brilliant amalgam of aromatics and pristine fruit, thanks to the careful clonal selection and extensive blending trials undertaken before settling on the final ‘just right blend’. Whilst called Sieben Klon (Seven Clones) the Grenache actually includes 8 separate clones. This vintage is a little lighter, yet more aromatically lifted than the 21 vintage. It’s a cracker. Learn More