Italian Wine Tasting
Vilmart & Cie Grande Reserve
The blond colour with pale golden highlights announces a wine mostly composed of Pinot Noir and reflects perfect maturity. The effervescence is long-lasting, giving birth to a persistent and delicate mousse with fine bubbles. The first impression on the nose is marked by great intensity. She is opening on biscuit, mature wheat, pear, and cherry flavour. After a few seconds, the nose became wider. The iris, oak, celery, white pepper, and fine mineral aromas bring depth and complexity to the wine. With air, melted butter and toast notes appear, reflecting a harmonious evolution of the wine.
There is a fine balance between the primary aromas (fruits), secondary (biscuit, bread, butter) and tertiary (minerals and spices).
Blending is composed of 70 % Pinot Noir and 30 % Chardonnay classified Premier Cru and from vines in Rilly-la-Montagne. Ageing 10 months in large oak casks. No malolactic fermentation. Dosage 9g/L.
"A blend of pinot noir (70%) and chardonnay (30%), this has a profound sense of harmony on both the nose and palate. Aromas of grilled nuts, pepper and lightly spiced wild raspberry fruits are pristine, leading to a palate that has beautifully supple, fleshy texture. The acidity is assertive, not harsh; the depth, balance and concentration is really something. Drink now whilst fresh or up to three years." - 92 points, James Suckling
Domaine Albert Mann Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2018
The colour is pale yellow with golden reflections. The nose is marked by floral notes such as hawthorn and linden. On the palate, the attack is tense and is underlined by minerality and chiselled acidity. There are lemony aromas. The structure is ample with nice bitters. Beautiful expression of a granite terroir. This wine exudes youth.
Rumiko no Sake Junmai Daiginjo
Rumiko no Sake” manga label was introduced in 1992. Rumiko's Sake' is brewed by a woman Toji, Rumiko. The label is drawn by Akira Oze, famous for the comic 'Natsuko's Sake'.
This sake uses 100% Yamadanishiki rice. The scent is subtle yet with a deep full body flavour. It is Junmai Daiginjo that you can enjoy well both alone or with food.
- Rice Type: 100% Yamadanishiki
- Rice Polishing Ratio: 40%
- Sake Meter Value: -
- Acidity: -
Waipara West Two Terrace Pinot Noir 2017
Hand-picked, individual parcels were destemmed without crushing into small open-top fermenters. The fruit was soaked until natural fermentation commenced before a selected yeast strain was inoculated to carry on and finish the fermentation, which was hot and quick. During this time, the ferments were worked to extract tannins appropriate to fruit weight and intensity. The more aromatic parcels were pressed off skins within five days of dryness, and the Swiss clones spent up to two weeks on skins. Parcels then went to barrel where we used only 5% new oak, instead opting for a high percentage of one-year-old (20%) to better match fruit weight. The wine then spent 12 months in barrel undergoing malolactic fermentation in spring, before being lightly fined and course pad filtered prior to bottling.
Colour: Crimson and pink flashes against a plummy red base.
Aroma: Aromatics of currant pastries, woody spice’s, and manuka leaf, leading to notes of forest undergrowth and florals.
Palate: Moderate fruit sweetness, fine tannin and restrained volume allow savoury elements to splice evenly into the tart red fruit. A very enjoyable aromatic pinot noir, with good fruit density
pH: 3.70
Acidity: 5.25 g/L
Bumbu : The Original
Our flagship Bumbu Rum is based on the original recipe created by 16th and 17th century sailors of the West Indies, who blended native Caribbean ingredients into their rum and called it “Bumbu” – truly the original craft spirit. Bumbu is distilled and bottled at a 123-year old distillery in Barbados from first class sugarcane selected from eight countries across the West Indies.
The finished blend is aged up to 15 years in once-used, grade-A bourbon barrels. These barrels have a medium dark colour, which gives Bumbu its rich colour and enhances the vanilla notes in its taste profile.
Ferdinand’s Saar Quince
Master Distiller Andreas Vallendar combines carefully hand-picked Riesling grapes from the Zilliken estate and over 30 delicately balanced botanicals from the vineyards and our own cultivation.
Our Saar Quince is infused with 2011er Rausch Kabinett, which in 2013 was awarded 92 points by Gault Millau and was distinguished as the best cabinet wine of the year. The Royal Prussian District Forester Ferdinand Geltz not only gave his name to this Riesling-infused Saar Dry Gin but he was also the historical co-founder of the VDP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer growers' group.
This golden Quince from the Saar symbolises the perfect balance between sweet, sour and bitter.
BenMarco Expresivo 2020
Gualtallary is recognized for its calcareous alluvial soils. As a result, BenMarco Expresivo is a lineal, fresh wine, with aromas of blackberries, pepper tree and violets. It stands out for its mineral notes, balanced natural acidity and firm tannins. Great aging potential.
Aged 14 months in French oak barrels (70% new, 30% second-use).
Perfect with red meats, roasted pork tenderloin, hard cheeses, and mostly cream-based sauces.
82% Malbec, 18% Cabernet Franc
"A nuanced but deep nose, showing crushed stones, fresh and glossy blackberries and blueberries, then flowers, asphalt, cocoa powder and chalk. Broad, exuberant and concentrated, but not at all heavy. This is juicy and so polished and dense, with silky, chalky tannins to coat the blueberry fruit. Fleshy, tight and seamless. Long and so seductive now. 85% malbec and 15% cabernet franc. Vegan. Drink or hold." - 96 points, James Suckling