WORLD WINE

90% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot and Syrah - The wine is ruby red in color with aromas of ripe red fruit and well amalgamated notes of vanilla and coffee. The palate enjoys a notable support from the acidity, which maintains a pleasurable freshness and persistence of flavor along with soft and sweet tannins which guarantee excellent drinkability.

Bea produces perhaps his most renowned wine from pure Sagrantino grown on the prized hilltop site of “Pagliaro,” situated at 1300 feet above sea level in Montefalco proper. As one might expect given the power of the 2011 vintage, this wine approximates a cosmic event—neutron-star-dense, with a brooding interweaving of elements that seem to have its own gravity field yet bristles with explosive energy. On the nose, one feels the presence of the whole plant and the earth in which it grows: savory, complex fruits both fresh and dried, all laced with a balsamic undertone; black licorice and warm spice cake; and stem-influenced, wispy, almost herbal notes which counterbalance the wine’s bottomless depth. Somehow, amidst all of this, a sense of restraint emerges—shocking to behold in a wine that exceeds 15% alcohol, but Bea’s wines are always rife with happy contradictions. This is a bold, riotous, flashy vintage of “Pagliaro” that will surely stun all those who cross its path.

Don't let this masterful blend escape you. Each powerful note brings you one step closer to a night filled with mischief and fun. The Warden is a Shiraz-based red blend with tons of richness and complexity. On the nose, there is ample plum, currant, and cherry intermixed with vanilla and cinnamon spice. The same flavor profile is evident in the mouth, picking up some licorice notes. The Warden celebrated those who cleverly ruled theses cunning convicts with top guard, using them as a source of labor to build public facilities – transforming them into colonists ho forged a new country brick by brick. These men and women, both the incarcerated and their custodians, were the building Blocks of the nation that has now been known as Australia.

JEB DUNNUCK 95 POINTS - "The 2015 Aalto is a gorgeous wine, and even at the retail price of $50, is a value. Loaded with notions of blackberry and cassis fruits, vanilla, graphite, and high-class oak, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, has beautiful concentration, and ripe, polished tannin. It certainly has a modern slant, yet is balanced, has terrific purity, and a great finish. Give it a few years."

Bodegas y Vinedos Aalto is a partnership between legendary vigneron Mariano Garcia and Javier Zaccagnini, former President of the governing body of the Ribera del Duero DO. Aalto is sourced from 7 different villages on a variety of soils with vineyard age ranging from 40-100 years and was aged for 24 months in French and American oak.

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The single vineyard Tempranillo is the 2012 Pago Negralada, a plot at 760 meters altitude on deep gravel soils covered with sand; it is a relatively warm soil that provides good homogeneous ripeness of the grapes, vintage after vintage. As with all of the single vineyards, it fermented with indigenous yeasts and went through malolactic fermentation in brad new French oak barrels, where it had an upbringing of 18 months before bottling after a clarification with egg whites. I found the character of orange peel that I frequently saw in the Ribera del Duero reds in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with some rusticity and a little dustiness, with character. There are fine-grained tannins, good balance and a dusty texture that fills your mouth. It has very good balance and it will age nicely. 5,700 bottles, 275 magnums and 18 double magnums were filled from the 22 barrels in one single lot on June 17th 2014."

Abadia Retuerta is part of the prestigious 'Golden Mile' (La Milla de Oro) of wineries located along the Duero River in the autonomous community of Castilla y Leon. La Milla de Oro has a special microclimate and is home to some of Spain's most renowned wineries including Vega Sicilia, Dominio de Pingus and Bodegas Mauro.

WINE SPECTATOR 93 POINTS - "This red shows density and structure, with firm, well-integrated tannins and balsamic acidity supporting plum, currant, dark chocolate and mineral flavors. Polished and harmonious. Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Drink now through 2026."

WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "I tasted the 2014 Selección Especial, a very different vintage from 2013. It was a prolific vintage, so they had to do a severe green harvest to adjust yields, and some rains in September forced the harvest to be a little earlier. The final blend is slightly different each year and in 2014 it was 70% Tempranillo, 17% Syrah and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. The aging in barrel was slightly shorter, 11 months instead of 13. 2014 was a homogeneous vintage and they didn't need to use any Merlot, which in slightly warmer vintages does not work as nicely as in cooler ones. This wine changed from the 2010 vintage, as before that year they used quite a lot of oak and the wine was very oaky. They have now removed the excess, and the wines show more precision and purity. It's a little riper and concentrated than the 2013, with more clout but perhaps a little more predictability. This has all the ingredients to be a great commercial success. 390,000 bottles, 22,000 magnums and 1,800 double magnums produced and bottled in 23 lots."

This is a serious, well-balanced wine with a rich bouquet and deep fruit flavors. This fantastic red blend is from Sardon de Duero, a wine-growing area in northern Spain west of Ribera del Duero. It is part of the prestigious 'Golden Mile' of wineries located along the Duero River in the community of Castilla y Leon. The Golden Mile has a special microclimate and is home to some of Spain's most renowned wineries including Vega Sicilia, Dominio de Pingus and Bodegas Mauro. The Special Selection is produced from the best grapes from each of Abadia's vineyards. It combines the richness of Tempranillo with the structure of Cabernet Sauvignon with additional complexity from the addition of Syrah. This delicious wine is an outstanding value and over-delivers for the price!

Blood orange complements the ripe red berry fruit, with citrus peel and some exotic spices making this a complex nose. The signature acidity greets the palate upfront, with a whack (in the nicest sense) of fruit weight and grippy but supple tannins on the finish.

WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "The 2007 Finca Mirador was sourced from a 13-acre parcel in Medrano planted in 1921. The yields for this wine were 0.9 tons per acre with the wine aged for 15 months in new French oak. Purple-colored with a superb display of toasty new oak, lilacs, spice box, black cherry, and black raspberry, on the palate it sports an elegant personality, savory flavors, underlying structure, and a lengthy, 45-second finish. It, too, will drink well from 2013 to 2022."

Working organically since his first vintage in 2004, all the grapes are hand-picked. Vinification is traditional (small wooden press), there is a very prudent use of oak 'a good barrel is a barrel you cannot taste' says Albert, it should 'help the wine express itself not actually add its own mark to the juice'. All wines are then bottled without fining or filtration, making them the most exciting and expressive wines we have tasted from this upcoming region.

80% Carignan, 20% Garnacha 10 months in 1-3 year old French oak barrels 40-75 year old vines Primary violets, black cherry, raspberry, herbs & oak, palate has vim & vigour, rich, broad black fruits, fennel, floral, plum and dark chocolate

We recently held a comprehensive tasting of Proseccos for our staff in order to upgrade our selection of this increasingly popular genre. The winner, especially when price was considered, was this delightful “Garbel” bottling by Adami. “Garbel” is a word from arcane Veneto dialect that means a dry, crisp, pleasantly tart wine. All the Prosecco grapes for this fizz were sourced exclusively from preferred hillside vineyards in the Colli Trevigiani district. Garbel’s 13 grams of residual sugar places it between the Brut and Extra Dry styles giving it the versatility to be enjoyed with a wide range of foods including antipasti and mildly spicy Pacific Rim fare.ROBERT PARKER 88 POINTS - The entry-level Non-vintage Prosecco 13 Garbel is pretty and focused in its floral fruit. This delicious Prosecco shows plenty of energy and focus in an easygoing style. Anticipated maturity: 201 2-2015 .

WINERY NOTES-"Bosco di Gica is the ancient name of the area where the family's best vineyards are located. A blend of 93-95% Prosecco with 5-7% Chardonnay this bubbly displays a straw yellow hue and a fine gentle mousse. The nose is deep with excellent fruit, along with scents of yellow apple and peach plus notes of wisteria and acacia blossom. Wonderful balance and elegance complement a pleasurably crisp spiciness while while displaying a crisp, savoury mouthfeel. Its generous, lingering flavours nicely mirror the nose and achieve perfect balance."

'Bricco Blina' is the name of the vineyard. This wine is a direct, straightforward rendition of the Barbera grape. Fresh acidity and berry flavors are the hallmarks of Barbera, but low yields and old vines give this wine very good depth and concentration, too. Fermentation and aging are completed in stainless steel.
The wine is a bright red color with a violet rim; aroma of red berries and mineral; palate is classic Barbera, bright raspberry/cranberry flavors with a very long finish. A classic that is wonderful with a variey of foods. Pizza, pasta, meats, cheeses....

Bodega Granbazan is located in Tremoedo, in the Salnes sub-zone of Rias Baixas. Owners Manuel Otero and his nephew Jesus Alvarez own 17 hectares of 30-year-old Albarino vines that is supplemented by long-term contract with growers. Grapes are hand-picked, de-stemmed and undergo six to eight hours of cold maceration, while fermentation is undertaken in concrete and steel tanks using both natural and cultured yeast. I adore their evocative, rather old-fashioned labels with their maritime-themed drawings and equally, more importantly, I loved the wines inside. These are pure Rias Baixas Albarinos that brim over with crispness, flavor and authenticity.

JAMES SUCKLING - 94 POINTS
A particularly gentle style of Junmai that is an accurate expression of how delicate sake can become as you work your way to the north of Japan. There is a clean and crisp mouth feel to compliment the sake’s slightly sweetened rosewater undertones. Rice is Gin no Sei.Polishing 64%. Alcohol 14.5%.

Akitabare Koshiki Junzukuri "Northern Skies"

Akitabare is the kind of sake one can drink enjoyably for hours at a stretch. Its subdued, understated refinement evokes a sense of the northern province where it is meticulously brewed. Pleasingly dry and quite mild, a well-crafted traditional sake.
This Junmai has a plum nose with subtle grass tones. The first sip has a fairly dry start filled with hints of lemon, plum, and grape skin tones. The viscosity is slick and shimmering and the overall feel is soft and balanced. This Junmai is a classic "three sipper" which means you need to realize three sips to find the soul and beauty of this semi-dry Junmai.

Sake Meter Value: +3
Acidity: 1.8
Prefecture: Akita
Food pairing: Incredibly versatile. Enjoy with a variety of foods.

Alamos crafts quality wines from Argentina, offering the best of the country's high altitude vineyards at an incredible value. Alamos grapes are grown at the foothills of the Andes Mountains at elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet, where intense sunlight, cool evening temperatures and mineral-rich irrigation from mountain snowmelt translate to bright aromatics and rich flavors. Alamos Chardonnay offers flavors of ripe apple, apricot and peach with layers of tropical fruit. Oak aging lent this wine aromas and flavors of brown spice and butterscotch, creating a full mouthfeel and lingering finish.

The purple-colored Malbec Blend contains 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Bonarda. The wine was aged in French and American oak. It offers up a nose of cedar, black cherry, and plum leading to a dense wine with plenty of savory black fruit flavor, a forward personality, and good length.

This organic wine is stored in American and French oak barrels for nine months; a quarter of this time is spent in new oak barrels. Rich dark violet colour. Intense aroma of dark berries and plums. The taste has elegant tones of concentrated fruit, coffee and tannins.

WINEMAKER NOTES - Vivid straw-yellow green color with a touch of ripe lemon. Bright and slightly sparkling. On the nose it is intense and elegant aroma with hints of fresh herbs, green apples, citric fruits and grapefruit. On the palate it is persistent, rounded and full-bodied, with a light petillance that gives the wine an impressive and vivacious sense of freshness.

Appearance: attractive straw color with hints of green in the rim. Clean and brilliant.Nose: very expressive and harmonious nose. Fine notes of white fruit (green apples, pear) and lemony aromas. Hints of herbs (basil) and flower blossom base notes. Surprising aromatic intensity.Palate: Clean and textured. Seductive exotic palate of pineapple and mango intermingled with refreshing citrus flavors amplified by minerally accents. Silky but yet full bodied, with long lingering finish. Round and very tasty.

ANTONIO GALLONI; VINOUS 94 POINTS - "The 2014 Barbaresco Ronchi is austere and tightly wound today, with huge tannins that enshroud the fruit and make the wine hard to read. There is no shortage of intensity, that much is obvious. Whether the 2014 will find a measure of finesse over time is less certain. Today, it is the least available of these five Albino Rocca 2014 Barbarescos. Hints of white pepper, blood orange, star anise and rose petal all grow in the glass as the 2014 gradually starts to unfurl and reveal its personality."

Winemaker's Notes The grapes are hand picked. The whole cluster grapes are directly pressed in a pneumatic press with a long and soft pressing, hence the coral/ light pink salmon color. Cremant Rosé is made by the Champagne Methode. The second fermentation takes place in the bottle. Afterwards it stays on its lees for 9 months follow by the remuage and disgorging.

WINE SPECTATOR 95 POINTS - "Camphor and leather notes introduce this rich red that transitions to cherry, licorice, spice and tobacco flavors. It's firm and intense, with a lingering aftertaste of mineral, licorice and spice. Terrific now, but even better with time. Best from 2021 through 2042." 400 cases made.

WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "The 2013 Barolo Bussia Colonnello is the most ethereal and delicate of the Bussia series of wines. Fruit is sourced from a portion of the Bussia vineyard that is located closer to the village of Barolo (one kilometer away) than it is the village of Monforte d'Alba (five kilometers away). The sandy soils found here make for softer and tamer tannins especially when compared to the other parts of Bussia. The bouquet opens to aromas of blue flowers, spice, wild berry, licorice and white truffle. This is a softly nuanced and finessed Barolo made with fruit from 45-year-old vines."

The Conterno family has been making wine since the 1700’s and Aldo Conterno is regarded as one of the greatest producers of Piedmont. As a young man, Aldo worked with his brother, Giovanni before striking out on his own in 1969. He developed a reputation as an innovator with a focus on quality and attention to detail and passed this dynamism on to his three sons who now run the business.

Aldo’s small property on the hill of Bussia in Monforte D’Alba has grown into a marvelous 25 hectare estate. The Aldo Conterno Barolo’s are intense and concentrated examples of perfectly ripened Nebbiolo grapes from superior terroirs, grown at a gentle altitude that allows for optimum finesse. The three top ‘Crus’ on the famed Bussia slope produce the three flagship Barolos of the estate.

WINE SPECTATOR 95 POINTS - "This is packing some vanilla- and Bourbon-scented oak aromas, with a core of cherry, leather, tar, iron and tobacco flavors. It's solidly built, with dusty tannins clinging to the long finish. A powerful example, this should gain finesse as it ages. Best from 2022 through 2040.." 400 cases made

WINE ADVOCATE 97 POINTS - "The stunning 2013 Barolo Bussia Romirasco represents a stylistic blend between the elegance of Monforte d'Alba and the brooding power of Serralunga d'Alba. These are magnesium-rich soils mixed with limestone and clay. Romirasco is also home to some of the estate's oldest vines at 55-years-old on average. This beautiful wine opens to a dark and rich garnet color that comes from the concentrated fruit produced by these old plants. The bouquet is laced with mineral and iodine-like nuances with rust and iron. It comes across as rich and intense and the mouthfeel is slightly softer, but denser overall. The wine ends with long balsam tones of rosemary and dried ginger."

The Conterno family has been making wine since the 1700

The Conterno family has been making wine since the 1700’s and Aldo Conterno is regarded as one of the greatest producers of Piedmont. As a young man, Aldo worked with his brother, Giovanni before striking out on his own in 1969. He developed a reputation as an innovator with a focus on quality and attention to detail and passed this dynamism on to his three sons who now run the business.

Aldo’s small property on the hill of Bussia in Monforte D’Alba has grown into a marvelous 25 hectare estate. The Aldo Conterno Barolo’s are intense and concentrated examples of perfectly ripened Nebbiolo grapes from superior terroirs, grown at a gentle altitude that allows for optimum finesse. The three top 'Crus' on the famed Bussia slope produce the three flagship Barolos of the estate.

Radiant and succulent red and blue fruits, new saddle leather, cigar wrapper, violet petals, baking spices and loam waft from the glass of this spellbinding ’13 Barolo Bussia. This wine shows impeccable balance, unfurling on the palate with energy and focus to reveal a seamless structure and silky texture.
While you’ll want to drink this wine right away, time in the cellar will make it more harmonious and refined. Once simply Aldo Conterno Barolo and now called Barolo Bussia, this entry-level Barolo from Aldo Conterno has garnered a reputation for being a generous, open, genial wine; it’s a perennial IWM client favorite. Deriving from 12 acres of plots in Bussia Soprano with vines aging between 35 and 40 years, the carefully selected grapes ferment for thirty days, and the wine ages for 27 months in cask, followed by twelve months in bottle before release.

WINE SPECTATOR 94 POINTS - "A fragrant style, offering rose, cherry, earth, mineral and cumin aromas and flavors. Young and tense, yet shows fine potential, with complex flavors, good structure and a long aftertaste. Best from 2023 through 2040."

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "It may be a so-called entry level Barolo, but the 2013 Barolo Bussia definitely delivers the goods. Fruit is sourced from three separate points within the larger Bussia cru. These sites are characterized by clay soils with southeast exposures and approximately 25-year-old vines. The quality of fruit is very intense and defined with dark cherry and dried blackberry. Yet the mouthfeel is ethereal, light and buoyant. Keeping in line with the vintage, the tannins are firm and slightly rigid. However, they are well absorbed by the exuberant nature of the fruit. The wine's personality is reminiscent of the Barolo Bussia Cicala."