New fine wine releases

To hit the market in June, the 2016 Tignanello is a rock-solid wine and a stunning beauty. The wine offers an impeccable level of precision and laser-focus delivery of fruits, spices, tilled earth, espresso beans and Mediterranean herbs. This vintage follows the classic blending formula of 80% Sangiovese with about 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. The vines are now 15 to 20 years old. Compared to the 2015 vintage that ultimately appeared more chewy and succulent, this expression from the iconic 2016 vintage is more vibrant, nervous and jazzed. It shows more savory spice, saltiness and minerality, with a beautifully integrated quality of tannins. Some 320,000 bottles were produced. This wine is at the top of the list of some of the best Tignanello ever made, including the vintages 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Monica Larner - 31/05/2019

Jean-Philippe Delmas has made a wine of extraordinary purity and elegance this year. Dark ruby in colour, the nose is delicate and reserved with notes of Morello cherry, damson and fruits of the forest. Once sipped, there is a deft, light touch to this wine. The palate is fresh, with mineral salts, ripe, crunchy tannins and smoky acidity. Bold and yet understated, this is a more gentlemanly wine than La Mission. It finishes very long, intense and persistent.

Blend: Merlot 56%, Cabernet Sauvignon 37.5%, Cabernet Franc 6.5%

This ruby red liquid is such a surprise: I expected power and weight from the warm 2018 vintage, but instead found delicacy and perfume. La Nerthe has a deft touch when it comes to managing time spent in oak and the heat of region. Red fruit dominates here showing Grenache’s influence with hints of black pepper, garrigue and wood smoke from the Syrah and Mourvèdre. This is stylish Châteauneuf and with such a tight frame, this could go on and on. Drink 2025-2040. 
Tatiana Humphreys, Private Account Manager

Generous, purple fruit profile with blueberry, cherry and plum perfume. Concentrated core of brambles and garrigue. Well integrated powdery tannins and alcohol. Delicious and despite its youth is displaying attractive perfume to support the wine’s tightly wound structure.
Fiona Hayes, Berry Bros. & Rudd Rhone Buyer

The St Henri is considered an intriguing alternative to Grange, with its distinctive style and polished finesse. The 2016 vintage maintains this reputation, showing great depth, complexity and concentration. Black cherries and blackberries are evident on the nose, whereas the palate leads on with mocha and dark chocolate characteristics. This is superbly well-structured with great balance and supple tannins. The 2016, although delicious now, will grow into its own in time and drink well for decades to come. Drink 2022-2045+.
Dominic Goddard-John, Private Account Manager

The 2017 Torresilo is a triumph in the face of adversity. While the 2017 frosts decimated the vineyards at Cillar de Silos, the grapes that remained developed superb intensity and concentration due to the extremely low yields. This is immediately dense on the nose with dark, blackberry coulis and elderberry aromas mingling with sweet vanilla notes. The palate is intense and glorious with huge concentration, yet an uplifting elegance – usually more associated with the Flor and Amalio wines – is in evidence. There is a hedonistic quality to this with hints of potpourri and violets, however the savoury, umami character that always runs through the top Cillar de Silos wines is very clear. There are layers of corduroy tannins which lead to a long, fine finish. Drink 2020-2034. 

A wine brimming with energy and poise, this is full of dense, rich, red fruit, supported in part by the domaine’s trademark stony minerality. With fantastic structure, balance and slinky tannins, the wine has great depth and an impressively persistent finish. Surprisingly approachable now given its youth, this is best tucked away for five years and enjoyed over the next couple of decades. It’s a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah and 5% of the region’s other varieties – including Cinsault and Clairette, matured for almost two years in French oak. Drink 2025-2040.
Dominic Goddard-John, Private Account Manager

Pure notes of red and black cherries, with a gentle spiciness and notes of liquorice and marzipan on the nose. The palate delivers up a darker fruit profile, with notes of plums and prunes joining the black cherry fruit, there’s more depth to the spice notes too with a hint of vanilla from the oak tempering the ripe fruit. Bright acidity and ripe, fine tannins round off the finish and ensure that the wine will age very well. Another very successful Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione that is sure to please its many devotees.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager 

In 2010, Ch. Montrose purchased 22ha of prime land from their neighbours, Ch. Phélan-Ségur. The vineyard exactly borders Montrose on its western side and is planted with 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon. According to who you speak with, this may be Phélan’s best parcel and the Merlot is especially prized. This has given the Montrose team a short-term puzzle, resulting in a higher than usual proportion of Merlot in the blend for the Grand Vin. This will be adjusted over the coming years as existing Montrose Merlot on excellent Cabernet land near the river is replanted to the latter, but in the meantime there is an embarrassment of fine Merlot on the estate. Not that this is a problem: in 2012 the Merlot excelled. This wine, with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, is dense and spicy, with the very low-yielding Cabernet fully ripe and giving an earnest backbone to some high quality Merlot. This is perhaps not a traditional Montrose, but it is certainly a beguiling one.
Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Buying Director