Red Wine Tunella Pignolo 2016. Decant 1 hour before opening. The family-run Tunella winery in the eastern Friuli hills is probably best known for its incredibly elegant white wines, but this charming boutique producer also makes some sensational reds from typical local grape varieties like this Pignolo. This dark-skinned grape is not well known outside of its native Friuli, tending to produce deeply-coloured wines with plenty of fruit flavours and moderate tannins. This bottling is produced using the traditional method of slightly drying out the grapes immediately after the harvest to concentrate the flavours and sugars. The must is then fermented with wild yeasts, producing a rich and intense red which is then left to mature in 500 litre French oak barrels for five years.
2016
Red Wine Tunella Pignolo 2016
Red Wine Mettler Petite Sirah 2016. As far back as the late 1800s the Mettler family have been growing grapes in California’s Lodi Valley and today every aspect of the winemaking process on the estate is in the capable hands of the family. To preserve the beautiful property in perfect condition for future generations of the family, the Mettlers insist on farming organically and in the most sustainable way. Their Petite Sirah is a generous, full-bodied red wine which draws on Old World winemaking traditions to craft a richly fruited red wine balanced with finesse and elegance. The warm Mediterranean climate of Lodi provides ideal growing conditions for Petite Sirah thanks to hot days cooled by breezes from the Delta. Following vinification the young wine is aged for 16 months in a combination of new and used French oak barrels. The result is a wonderfully complex and intense Petite Sirah which opens with crushed dark berries, sweet spice and vanilla. The first sip reveals a generous full body, firm structure, and defined tannins which will help this wine age gracefully over the next seven years or so. It also makes an ideal partner for red meat dishes for those who prefer to enjoy it now.
2016
Red Wine Fasoli Gino Valpo Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2016. The Fasoli Gino story began back in 1925 when Amadio Fasoli started a fruit and vegetable farm in the Illasia Valley close to Verona in northeastern Italy. Amadio made wine which he sold to local bars in the surrounding towns. These days the estate is run by the third and fourth generations of the Fasoli family who insist on using sustainable organic and biodynamic practices out of respect for nature and the land which they intend to pass on to the next generation. Valpo is crafted from indigenous Corvinone, Corvina and Rondinella grapes which are grown on the family’s rocky hillside vineyards. The grapes are carefully harvested by hand and left to dry in small trays for 20 to 30 days following the harvest to concentrate the sugars and flavours. According to the Valpolicella Ripasso tradition, the grapes then undergo a first fermentation and maturation in large oak casks for 4 months. The next step is a second fermentation with the grape skins that have been used to make the family’s Amarone wines. This adds colour, extra flavour and body to the finished wine. The wine is then aged in oak barrels for a year. This process produces a bold, full bodied wine that is bursting with rich dark berry, cinnamon and dried fruit aromas and flavours.
2016