New in this month is our Chilean collection of wines including the ever popular Los Vascos wines from Baron de Rothchild (Lafite), and the 2007 vintage of Encierra as well as Amancaya Gran Reserva 2007 the flagship wine from the exciting Amancaya winery in Mendoza, a joint venture between the Rothschild’s of Lafite and Nicolas Catena - all are delicious wines and come highly recommended.  Click on the links to our Bon Coeur Fine Wines online wine website to buy these wines.

AMANCAYA
Flagship wine from the exciting Amancaya winery in Mendoza, Argentina. This joint venture between the Rothschild’s of Lafite and Nicolas Catena.  The wine expresses the best of both worlds- Argentinean purity of fruit and concentration and the expertise of the finest winemakers in Bordeaux. A truly excellent blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Complex nose offers currant, graphite, tobacco, liquorice, cedar flavours. It’s finely balance with 12 months in French oak. Claret in style but with an extra dimension and charming velvety texture. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot.

Amancaya Gran Reserva 2007                                                   £115 ex vat per 12 bottle case
Complex nose offers currant, graphite, tobacco, liquorice, cedar flavours. It’s finely balance with 12 months in French oak. Claret in style but with an extra dimension and charming velvety texture. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot.

Cheapest price we can find this on the market is £135 ex vat per case. It’s becoming like gold dust – Our allocation is only 50 cases

LOS VASCOS
Chateau Lafite’s Chilean property and very popular with all our customers.

White Wines

Los Vascos Chardonnay 2008                                                     £81.60 ex vat per 12 bottle case
This vintage has a brilliant and clear colour with golden reflections. It has an explosive nose of melon, grapefruit and exotic fruit coupled with the typical Chardonnay note of hazelnut. In the mouth, it is rich, fresh and pleasantly fruity with good structure and a long finish.

Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc 2009                                              £81.60 ex vat per 12 bottle case
Light yellow robe with beautiful green sparks. The nose shows the traditional ‘wild’ and expressive aromas of Sauvignon Blanc: boxwood and shrub followed by notes of chives and fruit such as pineapple, lime, green apple and white peach. The mouth is fresh, juicy and balanced. Good persistence. The grapes from Casablanca and Leyda bring in a fruity and mineral touch, while those from the Andean foothills contribute with volume and a creamy texture

Rosé Wines

Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2009                        £71.38 ex vat per 12 bottle case
A good year overall in terms of climatic conditions despite the dry spring and summer. Optimum ripening led to a very good rosé. Bright, light red robe. Intense red fruit aromas: strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Refreshing, lively and juicy mouth. Aromatic, balanced and good persistence

 
Red Wines

In Chile, 2007 was generally within the normal weather parameters, although at the beginning of summer there were some extremely hot days but these were controlled by focused irrigations and precise and timely canopy management. On top of this, temperatures became more moderate at the time of the harvest which permitted an excellent and healthy ripeness.
Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2007                                   £81.60 ex vat per 12 bottle case
Brilliant red ruby colour. Pleasant mature fruit such as red cherries, raspberries and plums. Notes of sarsaparilla and gooseberry jam, glazed dry fruit, red fruit in syrup and white chocolate. Spices of black pepper, nutmeg, bay leaves, mint and cloves. Sweet, round, vigorous and elegant tannins. Good acidity, with character. Simply delicious

Los Vascos Gran Reserva 2007                                                 £102.02 ex vat per 12 bottle case
The colour is brilliant red ruby. The nose explodes with fruit: black cherry and blackcurrant (cabernet), strawberry (malbec), raspberry (syrah), and plum with light touches of bay leaf and black pepper (carmenère). The oak is a delicious complement adding cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate and tobacco. It is creamy, intense, and fresh, with balanced acidity, good structure, finishing with a great expression of fruit marked by raspberries and sweet cherries, with little touches of liquorice. The wine is absorbing and harmonious, intensely delicious and entertaining

Le Dix de Los Vascos 2007                                                         £120 ex vat per 6 bottle case
Le Dix 2007 has a deep red garnet colour. The powerful nose develops aromas of very ripe black fruit and wild cherries with notes of cedar, laurel, and licorice. The oak is pleasantly integrated thus complementing the enjoyable aromas of toasted coffee, vanilla, tobacco and cinnamon. The Syrah adds nuances of violets and raspberries. In the mouth, it is round, dense, fresh and fruity. Even though the wine is concentrated, Le Dix remains very balanced and elegant improving the freshness and length with rich but ripe and soft tannins. It finishes with a strong taste of cherry and a light bitterness of walnut peel typical of great Cabernets. The Carmenère adds enjoyable touches of pepper. To drink from 2009 but with very good ageing potential. A very good vintage! Our Allocation is only 30 cases

Encierra ‘Vineyard Reserve’ 2007                                             £132.66 ex vat per 12 bottles
A wine that we honestly believe is worth £20 a bottle so much so that we ship about 10% of the production. I have included Derek Smedley’s tasting notes. Please note that he has given this wine a whopping 95 points. It’s Cabernet dominated (60%) with an excellent backbone of Syrah (35%) but has 3% Camenere and 2% Petit Verdot that gives the wine extra complexity. It can be drunk now but no hurry. They are basically surrounded by Chateau Lafite Chilean property Los Vascos. We believe it’s almost as good as Almaviva (the partnership of Bordeaux first-growth Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Concha y Toro) which  Berry Bros sell at £43 per bottle

“There is a complex mix of rich black fruits showing on the nose, blackcurrant very prominent with damson and black cherry backing it. The fruit on the palate feels ripe ensuring richness and sweetness. The rounded tannins add to the fleshiness of the black fruit mix. Towards the back some strawberry and mulberry are in evidence giving some freshness but then dark chocolate lurks behind enriching the finish” Derek Smedley 95/100 points Drink 2009-2018

Jean-Marie Guffens, the winemaker and owner of Verget has been described by Robert Parker (World’s top Wine Critic) as “The world’s greatest Chardonnay winemaker”. His wines speak for themselves and are normally over subscribed on release as agents and wine merchants fight for allocations.

We are delighted to advise that we have managed to negotiate allocations of the following and they are in stock now!  Hurry as stock will go quickly. 

For further information on Verget wines go to the Verget wine producer profile on the website.

Bourgogne Terriors du Cote d’Or, Verget 2008 - £9.99
The grapes are sourced from Meursault and Puligny Montrachet. Apply fresh in style with creamy complexity and a touch of minerality and finesse. Lacking the richness of the 2005 & 2006 vintage but still excellent. Pure in style and very well balanced.

Macon Charnay ‘Clos St Pierre’ Verget 2008 - £10.99
Richer in style than the Bourgogne with more melon fruits and a hint of creamy vanilla. Enhanced on the palate added fruit and creamy, beautifully balanced with the fresh acidity and integrated oak. Great finish.

Saint Veran ‘Le Clos’ Verget 2008 - £13.99
Again more serious is style. Very pure with orchard fruits, white peaches, a touch minerals and well balanced citrus characters. Very smooth with great balance and length.

Prices Include VAT. Normal delivery conditions apply.

We also have a very small parcels of White Burgundy wines, see below, available at the end of November. Prices are In Bond per 12 x 75cl bottle case.  Special In Bond conditions apply click on the wines for more detail.

Pouilly Fuisse ‘Terres de Pierres, Verget 2008                            
Puligny Montrachet, 1er Cru ‘Sous Le Puits’ Verget 2008                
Macon PierreClos Chavigne Blanc, Domaine Guffens-Heynen 2008

Meet the Winemaker
Gavin Patterson, Sumaridge Wines
Hemel-En-Aarde Valley, Hermanus, South Africa

Gavin Patterson’s first season in South Africa was spent with Hamilton Russell Vineyards as Vineyard Manager.  He then moved to Sumaridge in 2005, this followed an award winning first year for Gavin , Sumaridge is now going from strength to strength under his guidance.  Responsible for the direction and management of the vineyards Gavin continues his life long passion with winemaking at Sumaridge.

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Meet the Winemaker

Steve Smith MW, The Man in Charge of the Making

Craggy Range and Wild Rock, New Zealand

On paper MW Steve Smith’s academic career and reputation make for lofty ready. He is the only vineyard guy in the world to hold the Master of Wine qualification and was once described by Decanter magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in the wine world. However he’s no wine geek, rather someone with incredible experience, vital in helping to craft some great New Zealand wines. 

How did you get started in the wine trade?

By accident, was a science geek that was offered a scholarship out of high school, started research work on phylloxera and caught the bug as it were. Moved to viticulture, California study, Villa Maria, consultancy and then the ultimate, Craggy Range and Wild Rock

What’s been your proudest achievement to date?

A draw. passing the MW and creating a potentially great wine brand in Craggy Range

What attracted you to work with Craggy Range?

Craggy Range has always been in my mind, it all came to fruition when Terry Peabody asked me to establish his wine business, we took my very tiny ambitions for my own Craggy Range and made them into much bigger ambitions for all of us.

Provide a brief description of your vineyards.

We have two key estate vineyards. The Gimblett Gravels Vineyard is New Zealand’s answer to the Rhone and Bordeaux, the warmest area of New Zealand and home to the best richly textured red wines in the country. Our Te Muna Road Vineyard is the region that is New Zealand’s cool climate gem, Martinborough, home to some of the countries best Pinot Noir and our unique Sauvignon Blanc. Our other vineyards from growers and our own smaller estate vineyards provide the diversity and fabric to our single vineyard offerings.

What is your winemaking philosophy?

Tradition and innovation in the same wine. Natural where possible, our mind is in the old world, our heart is in New Zealand.

What is your most exciting grape variety?

Ambition takes over here, while Syrah is our red wine superstar, the red wines made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc represent expressions closer to the Right Bank than any other part of the world. It is that ambition that makes these wines my favourites.

What do you consider to be your biggest challenge of winemaking in New Zealand?

Our biggest challenge is ensuring the grapes are properly ripe, site selection is critical, the right philosophy in the vineyard from planning to planting to picking is the only way to achieve this.

If you could own one property in the world what would it be?

Chateau Latour

Who has been your greatest influence in the wine trade?

Its not a who its an institution, The Institute of Masters of Wine. That qualification significantly influenced my perceptions of great wine and how to perform in the wine trade. A visit to Latour in September 1991 was a seminal moment.

What’s your favourite wine and who would you share it with?

Chateau Latour any vintage and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 1995. The champagne with my wife but I have a horrible selfishness when a bottle of Latour is around!

Click here for a full list of the wines available to buy on our website Craggy Range and Wild Rock wines

Meet the Winemaker

Jean-Marie Guffens

Verget, France

He has been called (by Robert Parker no less) “The worlds greatest Chardonnay winemaker”.  He started Verget in 1990 criss-crossing Burgundy to find where the best grapes, the oldest and best vineyards were situated.  Making his way he convinced the vineyard owners to supply him with good quality grapes.  The standards that he has set and the collaborations he has established over the years have cemented a real passion amongst the growers to constantly improve the quality of their products.  

Jean-Marie has a distinct winemaking process and has developed a unique style all of his own.  His wines display precision, good sharpness of fruit and considerable mineral focus married to good rich textures. In recent years he has undoubtedly been responsible for some of the most inspirational wines to come from Burgundy.

How did you get started in the wine trade?

I became winefarmer in 1980 after having tried to be an actor and a architect and as I was earning no money at all I became a courtier selling the wines of other wine farmers.  I got tired of this so decided to make the wines myself that people asked me for and started Verget in 1990

What’s been your proudest achievement to date?

Adopting my two girls in Colombia.

Provide a brief description of Verget.

We have built successful relationships with many different growers over the years.  We are hands on and work to produce the best every time.  Our grapes are all handpicked.  These are loaded in small cases to preserve the health of the grapes, carefully transported, re-sorted if needed and pressed using a pneumatic press.  There is total control of the winemaking from the beginning to the end.  All wines are vinified, ‘raised’ and bottled at Verget.

What is your winemaking philosophy?

The best grapes make the best wine.

What’s your most exciting grape variety?

Chardonnay of course, because she always ripens and permits the soil to go through the varietal character.

What do you consider to be your biggest challenge of winemaking in Burgundy?

To make good wines at popular prices at Verget.

What’s the next step for Verget?

Me getting tired and Julien (my No.2) taking over the day work!

If you could own one wine property in the world what would it be?

Château d’Yquem.

Who has been your greatest influence in the wine trade?

Mr Lucien Peyraud of Domaine Tempier in Bandol

What’s your favourite wine and who would you share it with?

Beside my own wines I love great champagnes and great sauternes and will only drink it with friends and family sitting outside in the evening at Tourettes.

Favourite place to relax away from the vineyard?

Under the olive trees at Tourettes or on Broadway Avenue in New York.

For a full list of the Verget wines available to buy on our website click here.

2008 in our view is a good vintage without being exceptional. The general consensus in the trade was to try and talk the vintage down as the prices needed to be good value for the campaign to work in these difficult economic conditions. This worked at first with the some of first growths (Latour, Lafite and Mouton Rothschild) releasing at half the price of the 2007’s. Then Robert Parker (world’s No.1 wine critic) released his report….
“”all the qualities that make an excellent and in some cases, a great vintage so special: exceptionally dark opaque colors, gorgeously ripe fruit, stunning purity almost across the board, great freshness, slightly higher acids than normal, and remarkable density as well as concentration.” Robert Parker”

He also mentioned that some of the wines may be as good as 2005 and 2000 but we believe this is over-rated and should be taken with a pinch of salt – BCFW rating for the vintage is 8/10.

Click here for a link to 2008 En Primeur On Sale on our Website

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