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A bright and colourful one today. Domaine Gayda always do interesting labels. This one has a beautiful wine to match their bottle design so let's have a quick read...
Situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees, surrounded by its vineyards, Domaine Gayda is a new destination in the Languedoc, 25km south west of Carcassonne, in the village of Brugairolles. Domaine Gayda has a passion for the traditional ‘cépages’ grown across the many diverse soils and climates of their vineyards situated throughout the Languedoc, giving “Provenance” to all the wines. While the grapes are rooted in tradition, the winery itself is all about the new, with investments in all the latest equipment and technology.
The latest addition to the estate’s collection is a limited edition range designed as an ode to Domaine Gayda’s spirit of creativity and inventiveness.
Inspired by The Passenger, the classic pop-rock anthem by Iggy Pop, its inherently restless character is expressed through a red and a white wine that are made from a different vineyard, terroir and grape variety every vintage, underscoring its ephemeral nature. This ‘rolling stone’ concept is clearly mirrored in the labelling of En Passant with constantly changing imagery designed as a storyboard.
Domaine Gayda 'En Passant' Rouge 2015 @ £13.95 - Buy it here!
Dark in colour, with aromas of black fruits, violets and a little spice. Fresh on the palate, with juicy fruit, good tannins and a hint of liquorice
A genuine beauty. And not a bad price for it either. Cheers!
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An enduring favourite here. The Monkey 47 Dry Gin is a beauty like no other. Let's have a little read... The story of Monkey 47 begins in the 1940s. In July 1945, to be precise! Wing Commander Montgomery “Monty” Collins of the Royal Air Force was posted to the British sector of divided Berlin. Having arrived in Berlin after the end of the war and taken up his post in the administration of the British sector, Commander Collins was profoundly affected by the extent of the destruction of the capital and so resolved to support the reconstruction of Germany in his free time. Henceforth he became devoted to the rebuilding of the Berlin Zoo, through which he came to sponsor an egret monkey by the name of Max.
Montgomery Collins left the Royal Air Force in 1951. Driven by his desire to learn the art of watch making, Collins moved to the Northern Black Forest region. Unfortunately he showed little talent in the field of horology, so instead opened a country guesthouse, naming it “The Wild Monkey” in honour of Max.
Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin @ £38.95 - Buy it here!
The nose instantly offers up woody, vegetable smells under pin fresh grassy citrus notes and botanical sweetness, like a pine forest after the rain. On the palate it is predictably complex, this is a robust and powerful gin with plenty of spice, fruit and herb flavours. It's very well structured, and difficult to unpick but a citrus fresh start segues into pine and wood notes for a drying and heavy finish. A unique gin, that is crying out to be made into a Martini. It'll need an equally robust vermouth though.
We waited so long for this to be available to us so come and get it! This stuff is truly exceptional.
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- Written by Henry Conway
- Category: News
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Grand Cru is back again after a nice relaxing weekend. Hope you all enjoyed yours just as much. Now that we're back why not come and grab one of these? The producers from Marche really don't mess around...
The Cantine Belisario co-operative was founded in 1971. Today, it is the biggest producer of Verdicchio in the Matelica DOC, a smaller zone than Castello di Jesi. The climate here is more continental than in Castelli di Jesi and the combination of warm days and cool nights gives a longer growing season, and lovely aromatic qualities to the wines.
The vineyard is located in the Le Marche region, in the Conero Riviera and Natural Park. Surrounded by hills and sea, this is one of the most evocatively beautiful areas on the Adriatic coast. The soil here is rich in limestone and marl. The vineyard's distinctive geographical and climactic features combine to produce grapes of exceptional quality.
A mild winter and spring saw vines developing around two weeks ahead of schedule in April. However, clouds and cool days slowed things down quickly and a wet summer made for a lot of work in the vineyards. Disease pressure meant that vineyard management and selection was necessary in order to harvest healthy grapes. Yields were lower than 2013’s bumper crop and slightly below average for the region. The weather in September and during harvest was good and as a result many producers are pleased with the vintage as a whole.
Cantine Belisario Rosso Conero 2015 @ £13.95 - Buy it here!
The wine opens with earthy aromas of tilled soil along with notes of cherries, black fruit and espresso. The palate delivers bright red cherries, notes of mocha and a good tannic structure, making the wine very pleasant and enjoyable to drink.
Easily one of the most popular wines in the shop right now. Can't argue with that. Come and grab a couple. Cheers!
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- Written by Henry Conway
- Category: News
- Hits: 2004
Always a shop favourite with this one. Our wine of the day is the amazing Skinny Prosecco from Thomson and Scott. What else could you want than a nice cold, dry Prosecco? With a reduced dose of sugar added to the wine this one has a slightly lower calorie content than a normal bottle. Sounds good doesn't it?
Thomson & Scott Skinny Prosecco Brut NV @ £17.95 - Buy it here!
Light and refreshing with floral and apple aromas on the nose. The palate is fresh, lively and fruity with great acidity and continuing notes of green apple, golden apple, honeydew melon and pear.
Come and grab a few, they're perfect on a sunny day! Cheers!
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- Category: News
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With the sun finally making a strong appearance we thought that it's about time something representing the sun was featured... Spanish sounding good?
The Castaño family owns over 410 hectares of vineyards in the Yecla DO in south-eastern Spain. 80% of these vineyards are planted with the native Monastrell variety. For several generations, Bodegas Castaño has been a pioneer in this region and has come to symbolise the best of what southern Spain has to offer: rich, warm climate wines made from grapes grown at altitude, resulting in wines of great character and finesse.
The Monastrell grapes are grown on non-irrigated bush and trellis vines in the Las Gruesas and Pozuelo vineyards respectively. The altitude of both vineyards is 750m above sea level and the vines have a North-South orientation with an average age of over 30 years. Soils here are limestone and the planting densities are 1,600 vines per hectare in Las Gruesas and 2,700 vines per hectare in Pozuelo.
A very rainy winter and a mild wet spring made for an excellent budbreak and vegetation. Weather conditions eventually turned out less favourable than expected due to hail storms in small concentrated areas that affected part of the crop in some plots. Despite a reduction of yield, careful selectivity resulted in very good quality in the final wines.
The grapes were vinified traditionally and macerated for 10 days before fermentation at 28ºC. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks, after which the wine was aged for 10 months in a combination of oak barrels, of which 80% were French, 20% were American and a third were new.
Solanera Vinas Viejas 2015 @ £14.95 - Buy it here!
Complex and sophisticated, this wine exudes notes of acacia flowers, black raspberries, blueberries, and blackcurrants. Full-bodied and intense on the palate with silky sweet tannins and delicate minerality. Stunningly pure and textured.
How's that to sit back with on a sunny day? Trust me, it's quite fantastic. Cheers!
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- Category: News
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The sun is trying to force it's way out through the clouds today. Something sunny is in order to go with it! This lovely Riesling from New Zealand should fit very nicely indeed.
"The French oak barrels may be new but the original concrete cellars are little changed since the 1930s.
Walk straight ahead and you’ll see another gate, behind which lies a treasure trove, a bottled inventory of all the wines produced at this Estate since its new era began in 1987.
And what a collection it is. Each bottle holds a memory of vineyards, of nature, of people, of ideas and innovation. Each with its own unique tale adds to the story of Esk Valley Estate as it lives and breathes today, a contradiction of past and present, of trial and error, of craft and technology.
Is it the people who make this place special, or is it the place that makes the people special? It’s hard to answer. What is known is that this little valley with its special microclimate and its panoramic views over the Pacific Ocean is a special place to make wine."
Esk Valley Marlborough Riesling 2015 @ £11.95 - Buy it here!
This is a dry style of Riesling which is versatile and suited to a wide variety of food matches or as an aperitif. It has classic Marlborough Riesling characters of peach, citrus and honey with a long refreshing finish.
Sound good? Come and grab some! Cheers!
