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Alegre & Valganon Rioja Tinto 2020
$53.00Jeremy’s score 94/100A classical, restrained, medium to full-bodied blend of tempranillo and grenache that delivers charming Old World savoury style. A musky perfume of rose petals, dark cherries, redcurrants and fiery eastern spice precedes a spotlessly clean, firmish and fine-grained palate whose moderately rich core of fruit culminates in a savoury finish of spice and red licorice. The last twelve months has seen it flesh out considerably into an artfully balanced, elegant and yet sumptuously flavoured red of excellent quality.
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Altera Terra Corda Pinot Noir Shiraz 2023
$33.00Jeremy’s score 92/100There’s glorious drinkability and value within this remarkable blend of two varieties and two regions that has an uncanny village Beaujolais-like style and quality. Its heady fragrance of rose petals, morello and maraschino cherries and raspberries reveals notes of exotic spice and bubblegum. Long and vivacious, steeped in flavour but just medium in weight, it moves down a fine, powsery spine towards a tingling finish of refreshing acidity, finishing savoury and persistent. Astonishing.
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Altera Terra Fidelis Shiraz 2022
$52.50Jeremy’s score 96/100Blended across three regions, this is a classic Doug Neal red of fragrance, texture and balance, in this case reminiscent of Crozes-Hermitage. Lifted by heady scents of potpourri and eastern spice, its fragrance of redcurrants, blackberries and blood plums is both densely packed and floral. Supported by a drying, gravelly spine, its luscious core of plump, translucently bright black and red fruits knits tightly with cedary oak, extending long and measured towards an artfully balanced and savoury finish.
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Altera Terra Sanctus Shiraz 2019
$65.00Jeremy’s score 96/100Faintly smoky, penetrative and perfumed aromas of cassis, raspberries, blueberries, dark plums and chocolate oak overlie nuances of charcuterie meats, cola and citrus zest. Medium to fullish in weight, this long, measured and translucently clear wine supports its sour-edged expression of vivacious dark fruits with a gentle, dusty spine of firmish tannins that builds strength down the palate. ItÕs mouthfilling and unctuously smooth, finishing with delightful drive and balance.
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Altera Terra Shiraz 2022
$35.00Jeremy’s score 91/100Let this wine open a little and marvel at what $30 can still buy you. Heady and musky, with a fiery bouquet of red berries, plums and redcurrants backed by suggestions of cedar, graphite and eastern spice, it’s medium in weight but delivers surprising intensity and texture. Underpinned by a slatey spine, its generous dark fruit drives long and persistent, while the finish is stylish and savoury. What a package!
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Bico Amarelo Esporao Alvarinho Blend 2021
$33.00Jeremy’s score 91/100From Vinho Verde in Portugal comes this delicious blend of loureiro and alvarinho whose vivacious aromas of peach and melon are backed by dusty, faintly herbal scents of white flowers, rosemary. It’s brightly lit, long and shapely, with mouthfilling flavour extending down a pithy, chalky palate towards a frisky finish of lemony acidity.
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Borgogno Langhe Freisa 2019
$50.00Jeremy’s score 94/100Made from freisa, a wild and rustic relative of nebbiolo, it quickly breathes to reveal heady aromas of red rose petals, eastern spice and perfectly ripened red cherries, raspberries and redcurrants with a whiff of blood plums and earthy, leathery nuances. It’s long and luscious, plush and generous, with a
flawless drive of vibrant fruit underpinned by a firmish spines of silky tannin. Against the odds, almost, it finishes soft and savoury, with a gentle acidity. Likely to build over the next 3-5 years. Truly exceptional value. -
Borgogno Langhe Nebbiolo 2021
$60.00Jeremy’s score 95/100A stellar, sumptuous nebbiolo that steadily unfolds layers of perfume, flavour and texture. A heady scent of rose petals, redcurrants and dark cherries is lifted by notes of cinnamon and Moroccan spice. Medium to fullish in weight and supported by a spine of drying tannins that become more assertive and gravelly with aeration, it moves with richness and smoothness towards a savoury finish of exceptional length and refreshing acidity. If you’ve never understood what proper nebbiolo can deliver and don’t wish to pay the earth, it’s a fine place to start.
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Castle Rock Estate Porongurup Shiraz 2021
$36.00Jeremy’s score 92/100A long, smooth and seamless, faintly rustic (in a positive sense) shiraz whose meaty presence of brambly blackberries, blackcurrants and blueberries is underpinned by a fine, slatey spine. Its meaty, spicy fragrance of vivacious dark fruits reveals notes of chocolatey oak, cracked pepper and a charming earthiness, while it finishes long and and licorice-like. It’s varietally correct, but has much in common with good pinot, and should flesh out over the medium term.
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Celler de Capcanes Mas Donis Rosat de Garnacha 2022
$33.00Jeremy’s score 90/100Scented with strawberries, raspberries and citrus rind lifted by a whiff of mineral and pink flowers, this round, generous grenache rose delivers a smooth, juicy and mouthfilling presence of pristine fruit wrapped in gentle, refreshing acids.
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Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvee NV
$90.00Jeremy’s score 95/100Composed of more than 85% from Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards, it reveals a complex creamy bouquet of dried flowers, cracked yeast, bright aromas of strawberries, red cherries and stonefruit backed by nuances of mushrooms and dried straw. It’s long and richly flavoured, chewy and complex, unfolding an evolved and handsomely fruited palate that finishes fresh and mineral, finishing dry-ish with just a trace of sweetness.
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Chateau de Beaucastel Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes-du-Rhone 2020
$75.00Jeremy’s score 95/100Very classy, smooth and polished, this southern Rhone blend of roughly 30% each of grenache, shiraz and mourvedre is completed with 10% of carignan. While it retains its shape and style, it builds considerable richness with aeration, suggesting a long and rewarding cellar life. Scented with pristine dark flowers and berries, with notes of spice, roasting meats and earthiness, it’s long and unctuous, supported by a fine-grained spine of drying tannin before finishing with lingering suggestions of smoke, leather and tobacco.
