Red Wine Domaine St Prefert Chateauneuf Du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier 2019. Decant 1 hour before serving. Founded in the 1920s by Fernand Serre, Domaine St Prefert was long regarded as a top producer of Chateauneuf du Pape and was one of the first local producers to start exporting its wines to the United States. In recent years the estate has been revived and reinvigorated by the arrival of Isabel Ferrando who purchased the 80-hectare property in 2002. Ferrando previously worked as a banker before switching careers to work at Domaine Raspail-Ay with Dominique Ay. Since taking over at St Prefert she has converted the whole estate to biodynamic agriculture and expanded the domaine’s vineyard holdings. Sure to please lovers of rich and robust Southern Rhone wines, her Auguste Favier Chateauneuf du Pape is crafted from Grenache along with a smaller portion Cinsault. The grapes are sourced from Les Serres where the soil is purely composed of rocks and stones, making it ideal for growing intensely-flavoured grapes thanks to the challenging conditions. Following vinification the young wine is aged in 550 litre oak casks for 12-15 months and is then bottled without filtering or fining to preserve the authentic character of the wine. The result is a rich, weighty Chateauneuf du Pape that’s bursting with ripe plums, damsons and black cherries along with hints of woodsmoke, tobacco leaf and baking spice. Age in the cellar for another decade or so or enjoy now alongside venison, roast beef or hearty red meat stews.
2019
Red Wine Domaine St Prefert Chateauneuf Du Pape Reserve Auguste Favier 2019
Red Wine Domini Veneti Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019. Decant 1 hour before serving. Cantina Valpolicella Negrar is one of the region’s most important wineries since it was here in 1939 that the first ever Amarone wine was bottled. The winery was founded in 1933 by seven local grape growing families keen to pool their resources. Cellar master Adelino Lucchesi was in charge of taking care of the wines maturing in the winery over the winter when he accidentally allowed a batch of Recioto dessert wine to overferment. As luck would have it, this new style of wine proved extremely popular and was soon copied by the Cantina’s neighbours. Today the winery has over 200 members and remains a benchmark producer of both Recioto and Amarone. This is their classic Amarone made from Corvina, Rondinella and Corvinone grapes grown on terraces at 150-450 metres of altitude. The fruit is harvested by hand and left to dry out until the end of the year to concentrate the sugars and flavours in the grapes. The young wine is then aged in oak barrels for 18 months followed by a further 6 months in the bottle. Bursting with ripe dark berries, dried fruit, chocolate and sweet spice notes, this is a rich and seductive Amarone with plenty of power on the palate. The full body is complemented by a firm structure, well-developed tannins and a very long finish. Hold in the cellar for another decade or so, or enjoy now with hearty red meat dishes.
2019
Red Wine Domini Veneti Recioto della Valpolicella Classico 2019. Serve lightly chilled. Founded by seven local grape growing families in 1933 to pool their resources and make quality wines, Cantina Valpolicella Negrar has played a key role in the modern winemaking history of the region. The very first Amarone was bottled at the winery in 1939 when the cellar master Adelino Lucchesi accidentally overfermented a batch of sweet Recioto wine, in the process creating what is now the region’s most famous wine. Today the Cantina has over 200 members and is known for its benchmark Amarone and Recioto wines made using traditional techniques and the latest winemaking technology and know-how. Their classic Recioto is a seductively sweet dessert wine made from typical local grape varieties grown on terraced vineyards in the Negrar hills. The fruit is harvested by hand and dried on mats for up to 120 days before being vinified and aged in oak barrels. Black cherry, plum, raspberries and raisins burst out of the glass while the first sip reveals an intense sweetness, rich dark berry flavours and hints of dark chocolate, dried fruit and baking spice. The sweetness, generous full body and unctuous texture make this a great wine to drink with rich chocolate desserts or with blue cheeses.
2019