Red Wine Rodney Strong Merlot 2014. Rodney Strong enjoyed a successful career as a famous dancer before giving it all up to go and make wine in Sonoma County. Rodney started his winery in 1959 and played a key role in establishing the Chalk Hill, Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley appellations as serious winemaking regions. In 1989 the Klein family took over the estate which remains in their family to this day, modernising the winemaking facilities and introducing sustainable agricultural practices to protect the land for future generations. The focus is very much on artisanal winemaking with fruit sourced from top estate-owned vineyards in Sonoma County. Crafted with grapes from three vineyards in the Alexander Valley, this punchy Merlot boasts ripe plum, blueberry and cassis aromas along with undertones of dried herbs, toasty oak and baking spice. On the palate there’s a soft, rich texture with intense notes of dark berries which linger long on the tongue. Powerful and complex yet easy to drink, this is a great wine to share with family and friends at casual gatherings or to pair with dishes like tomato-based pastas, pizzas, charcuterie or even Spanish-style tapas dishes and paella.
2014
Red Wine Rodney Strong Merlot 2014
Red Wine Quinta Vale D. Maria CV Curriculum Vitae 2014. Cristiano van Zeller purchased the Quinta Vale D. Maria in 1996 after heading up his family’s prestigious Quinta do Noval for many years.
2014
Red Wine Ventisquero Enclave Cabernet Sauvignon 2014. One of Chile’s rising stars, Ventisquero started making wine in 2000 and today has vineyards in many of the country’s finest wine regions including Colchagua, the Coastal Maipo valleys, Lolol and Leyda. The winery is named after the enigmatic Patagonian glacier in southern Chile, a reference to Ventisquero’s commitment to respecting nature and producing beautiful wines inspired by exceptional terroir. This is Ventisquero’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon which is grown on two plots at 750-1000 metres above sea level. Vines growing at this altitude tend to produce wonderfully intense and aromatic grapes thanks to the large temperature variation between the hot days and cooler nights. This ensures a long ripening period for the grapes, creating complex, concentrated flavours and remarkably smooth and well-rounded tannins. In the winery there is high attention to detail with a long, slow fermentation in stainless steel tanks followed by 18 months of ageing in French oak barrels before bottling. Reminiscent of a fine Left Bank Bordeaux, this is an elegant and well-defined Cabernet which is bursting with ripe dark fruit along with hints of leather, dried herbs and forest undergrowth. The generous full body and firm tannins make this a great wine to pair with red meat dishes or to cellar for a few more years if desired.
2014