Tabarrini’s premier white wine demonstrates the through line of power and elegance that Montefalco imbues in its wines. Adarmando utilizes 100+ year old Trebbiano Spoletino vines that show the level to which old vines concentrate and layer flavor in the glass. This site is the last of Tabarrini’s to be harvested, a decision that requires the difficult task of vinifying the reds, cleaning equipment, and then making the white. Only free run juice is used, with the wine spending a year on the lees with occasional battonage.

Boccatone is a joyful expression of Montefalco and a wonderful counterpart to the single vineyard Sagrantinos of Tabarrini. Made from a majority of Sangiovese and finished with Barbera and Sagrantino, the blend expresses the serious and age worthy side of the estate with an accessibly joyful palate.

The poor soils and eastern exposure of Campo alla Cerqua produce a wine of grace and mineral driven complexity. Within the lineup, the wine stands out for its finer, silkier texture and its decadently perfumed aromatics.

Colle alle Macchie sits at the top of a separate hill from where the rest of the wines are located and sourced. Thus, here is a differing profile of the Tabarrini single site wines, with clay rich soils and unrestricted southern exposure providing extra opulence in the glass.

Made in the traditional way, Tabarrini’s Montefalco Sagrantino Passito is a decadent dessert wine built from the region’s famed varietal. The Sagrantino grapes are left to dry on straw mats for three months before fermentation, concentrating the flavors and sugars to produce a bold and fragrant style of sweet wine.

Nervy, yet balanced is an apt way to describe Bruce Jack’s vigorous Chenin Blanc. Sourced from the best fruit in Bredekloof, the Chenin is 100% destemmed with only free-run juice being used – a remarkable fact given the incredible value. Bountiful tropical fruits of pineapple, papaya and mango lead the way, with a fresh squeezed lime character finishing the immensely clean and refreshing palate.

Sauvignon Blanc is a serious subject for Bruce, who aims to create a style with the “length of Sancerre and the fruit of New Zealand”. To achieve this, selections from the coolest parts of the Western Cape are hand selected in the blending process, resulting in a wine that jumps with fruit without feeling the slightest bit unbalanced. 100% destemmed and only utilizing free-run juice, the wine is gently grassy on the nose, with fresh tropical fruit at the front of the palate and long, zesty finish.

One of Bruce’s most technical and exacting wines, the Sauvignon Blush is a delightful wine composed predominately of Sauvignon Blanc with just a splash of Shiraz. Sourced from Bredekloof, Bruce waits patiently to find a tank of Sauvignon Blanc that presents as he wants for this wine: “It should feel like biting into the freshest, most juicy nectarine you’ve ever had!” From this, just a splash of Shiraz is added, to balance and highlight the immense pleasure this wine exudes. Joyfully fruity, with nectarine leading the way and a zip of red currant to compliment.

Bruce believes that his Pinotage plots represent the best in South Africa – and, as South Africa grows the best Pinotage in the world…you get the idea. Blending with Malbec to highlight the juicy joy of Pinotage, Bruce Jack’s red is a fragrant, surprisingly refined wine, sourced from the best wine selections at his disposal. Lush, bristling strawberry and red currant mingle with savory notes of leather and smoke.

Robert Brittan developed a love for Chardonnay during his tenure as the first winemaker at Far Niente Winery in the early 1980’s, a passion that continued to grow during his 16 years at Stags’ Leap Winery. In 2004, Robert decided to leave California and start a vineyard project in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley, the home of the finest New World Chardonnay grown today.

From vineyard to bottling, Special Cuvée sees such an extraordinary level of care and attention, it is difficult to place within the non-vintage or, really, any Champagne category. It is a Champagne that stands apart. Within one bottle, all the complexity of flavour, texture and pleasure that Champagne can offer.  Special Cuvée is truly a journey of devotion from Bollinger.  

Bollinger is the producer most associated with a single grape variety in Champagne, namely Pinot Noir. This more difficult grape to grow makes up a minimum of 60% of  all of Bollinger’s Champagne. The harmony of Pinot Noir’s richness and elegance plays a large part in Special Cuvée’s distinct profile, the ripe red berries and powerful impact a clear signature. Then there is the other association that Bollinger is so well known for: winemaking in barrel. As virtually every Champagne producer in the latter half of the 20th century moved to fermenting in large lots in stainless steel tanks, Bollinger persisted to oversee fermentation barrel by barrel for all vintage Champagnes and a remarkable 30% of Special Cuvée. Why? Because the development of flavors becomes so much more complex, and the texture rounder and silkier. A third Bollinger specialty is the aging of Champagnes. Most Champagnes on the market are primarily made up of the most recently harvested vintage before requirements to age in bottle. Bollinger is primarily made up of Champagnes that are  notfrom the most recent vintage, and in the end a newly released bottle of Bollinger is around 7-8 years old. A fourth – and utterly distinct – practice at Bollinger is the use of Reserve Magnums. The best vineyards will be aged under cork in magnum for up to 15 years, and hand disgorged into the final blend to bring the aromas and flavors only a great aged Champagne can display, notes such as truffles, ginger and walnuts.

So you have it all: the freshness that Champagne brings naturally, the secondary notes as the fruit character becomes riper and savory and spicy notes enter, and the third level, when fruit becomes almost crystallized, texture becomes like velvet, and the glass in front of you brings meaning to you and with those you have chosen to share. Special Cuvée does all of this for you .

Winemaker Robert Brittan, a wine industry veteran with the experience of over 45 harvests, has always had a passion for Pinot noir; a love affair that began in the 1980’s when he made several vintages under his Britt Hill label with fruit from Carneros. In 2004, Robert decided to leave Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa and start a Pinot noir project in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley.

Winemaker Robert Brittan, a wine industry veteran with the experience of over 45 harvests, has always had a passion for Pinot noir; a love affair that began in the 1980’s when he made several vintages under his Britt Hill label with fruit from Carneros. In 2004, Robert decided to leave Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa and start a Pinot noir project in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley.

The Cygnus Block is characterized by its eastern exposure, exclusive Swan Clone plantings (Cygnus being the Latinized Greek name for Swan), and east/west orientation, reducing the effect of the Van Duzer corridor.

Winemaker Robert Brittan, a wine industry veteran with the experience of over 45 harvests, has always had a passion for Pinot noir; a love affair that began in the 1980’s when he made several vintages under his Britt Hill label with fruit from Carneros. In 2004, Robert decided to leave Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa and start a Pinot noir project in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley.

Planted in the Wetsern-most part of the estate, a dense layer of basalt soil greatly diminishes yields, resulting in black fruited wines with high structure and complexity.

Winemaker Robert Brittan developed a love for Rhône varieties during his first visit to the Northern Rhône Valley in the early 1980’s. Captivated by the cool climate Syrahs from Cornas and Côte-Rôtie and intrigued by the cool, windy climate in McMinnville, Robert was encouraged to explore how Syrah would express itself on his rugged, exposed hillside.

Winemaker Robert Brittan developed a love for Rhône varieties during his first visit to the Northern Rhône Valley in the early 1980’s. Captivated by the cool climate Syrahs from Cornas and Côte-Rôtie and intrigued by the cool, windy climate in McMinnville, Robert was encouraged to explore how Syrah would express itself on his rugged, exposed hillside.

Through the hard work of Jo Pithon, its emblematic owner, the Domaine Pithon-Paillé has created a place of choice among the reference domains in Anjou. Its credo? Terroir. Each wine, although made from the same grape variety, expresses itself differently. In these wines, it is the combination of the soils and the climate that works and everything is done to maintain the spirit of sharing. Organic wines.

The grapes come from the lieu-dit of La Frenaye, in the heart of Anjou’s black schists, lies on a vein of Paleozoic Devonian limestone on the southern bank of the Layon.

Born in the first days of the estate’s history, Le Cinciole’s Chianti Classico is a deeply enjoyable, vibrant Sangiovese. Fruit is sourced from entirely organic vineyards in the heart of the DOCG and is spontaneously vinified in neutral containers for two years. The result is an undeniably characteristic Chianti, with an added level of verve from conscientious vineyard management

Aluigi hails from a single vineyard of Le Cinciole’s estate. A newer bottling for the team, the styling conforms to Chianti Classico’s newest labeling allowance: Gran Selezione, requiring even more time before release than a Riserva. This ageing is achieved both in barrel and bottle over the course of three years. The 100% sangiovese benefits from more clay dense soils, providing a generous flavor profile as well as notable age worthiness.

Crafted exclusively with international varieties, Camalaione is an example of Le Cinciole’s willingness to experiment, adapt and grow. Having introduced these vines in 2000, the blend is proof of the Orsini’s beliefs on terroir; that a unique mix of soil and climate will shine through into any wine, and that any appropriate grape will thrive in the Tuscan environment. From this, Camalaione stands out as a beautiful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, with Riserva-level aging refining the bouquet of the final product.