Wines in the Press

The Oremus wine estate has a long and colourful history, with Tokaji being produced there as early as 1620 by a Calvinist priest called Mate Szepsy Lacko. In 1993, the 33-hectare estate was bought by a Spanish consortium headed by David Álvarez, the owner of Vega Sicilia. The aim at Oremus is to produce Tokaji wines of elegance and balance with perfect harmony between the sweet fruit and natural acidity.

The 2011 vintage has yielded a more elegant and floral interpretation of this Tokaji Aszú wine. The nose has notes of orange blossom and peach, interspersed with honeysuckle and acacia. The palate is beautifully poised with the trademark acidity acting as counterpoint to the noble-rot sweetness. The long finish is fresh and vibrant.

In collaboration with Luke Edward Hall, a rising star of British design, we present our second limited-edition label for Good Ordinary Claret. Just 4,000 bottles featuring Hall’s Bacchanalian-inspired artwork have been produced.

Our best-selling wine for many decades, GOC, as it is known, brilliantly highlights the sheer drinkability of modern red Bordeaux. Bright, medium ruby in colour, with a siren-like nose of black cherries, bramble fruit and wood smoke, it is instantly appealing. The palate follows through with delicious, juicy, black fruit and a long, velvety finish. Equally at home with a weekday supper or a grand Sunday roast, it is the perfect wine for all occasions.

Family-owned Antech is the most prestigious producer in Limoux and we are delighted to have worked exclusively with Françoise Antech, from the sixth generation of the family, to craft this wonderfully expressive Crémant de Limoux.

A blend of 70 percent Chardonnay and 15 percent each of Chenin Blanc and Mauzac, aged traditionally and generously on its lees, this is a beautiful, balanced wine, with elegant aromas of orchard fruit and honeyed spice. The palate marries more exotic fruits with a clean, pebbly backdrop and an impressive depth of flavour.

Commandaria is an ancient wine style, possibly the most ancient wine still in production, and is documented in Cyprus as far back as 800BC. Traditionally Commandaria was unfortified, although 20th century mass-market examples were (and still are) fortified. Smaller growers intent on raising quality are reviving the unfortified style, of which this is an exceptional example.

The wine is unctuous, but the perception of sweetness is deftly balanced by freshness and layered complexity. The huge array of flavours defies adequate description with a string of adjectives. In short, grapiness, liquorice, caramel and cooked orange notes just won’t do. Here’s one word: poise. This is a wine for sipping whilst nibbling nuts, for enjoying with sweet pastries and other desserts and puddings, or just on its own.
Traditionally Commandaria was unfortified. 20th century examples of mass-market quality were (and still are) fortified. There exists a resurgent unfortified style amongst those smaller growers intent on raising wine quality. It is obligatory for the grapes destined for Commandaria (Xynisteri and Mavro) to be grown in the PDO Commandaria region in the foothills of the Troodos mountains. The wine must also be made within the confines of the region but may, with the right permission, be matured elsewhere on the island.

This is an exceptional example of an unfortified Commandaria from 85% Xynisteri (white) and 15% Mavro (black). Fully mature grapes (with a potential alcohol of 25% abv) are dried in the sun for 12 days. This shrivels them, reducing the aqueous content of the grapes. It also markedly concentrates sugars, flavour compounds and acids. A slow, cool fermentation follows in stainless steel tanks. The wine is matured in used 225 litre French oak barrels (formerly used to mature their Chardonnay and Petritis Xynisteri) for six years.

The resulting wine weighs in at an unctious 207 g/l of residual sugar and 14.0% abv. The perception of sweetness, and this is a very sweet wine, is deftly balanced by freshness and layered complexity. The huge array of flavours defies adequate description with a string of adjectives. In short, grapiness, liquorice, caramel and cooked orange notes just won’t do. Here’s one word: poise. This is a wine for sipping whilst nibbling nuts, for enjoying with sweet pastries and other desserts and puddings, or just on its own. A beguiling wine style that shows signs of a long-awaited rebirth.
Demetri Walters MW, Cypriot Wine Specialist 

Sourced from the prestigious Grand Cru village of Mailly, located at the heart of the Montagne de Reims, and benefiting from over three years’ ageing, our non-vintage United Kingdom Cuvée is a classic blend of 75 percent Pinot Noir and 25 percent Chardonnay.

All the hallmarks of Grand Cru are here, with brioche and flowers on the nose and an elegant palate which marries notes of lemon grass, gingerbread and honeysuckle. The wine effortlessly combines structure and finesse, and reverberates with a really authoritative Grand Cru crescendo on the finish.

It’s unusual to see a pure Malbec from Bordeaux; it has long been an unfashionable grape in the region, with its inclusion in blends – adding colour and structure – seen as a “dirty secret” by all too many châteaux. Luckily, the grape’s success elsewhere in the world is changing that, and this wine – made by the talented Hervé Lhuillier at Ch. Fleur Haut Gaussens – is proof of Malbec’s potential in the region.

The nose is pure and elegant with notes of blackberry, blueberry and a hint of smokiness. The wine opens up on the palate, becoming full and generous with ripe blackberry, blonde tobacco and peppery notes. An elegant tannic backbone carries through to a long and powerful finish. Drink now to 2025.

This estate is situated on the beautiful hillsides around Vérac, overlooking Pomerol and Lalande de Pomerol. It has been owned by the Lhuillier family since 1941, who craft boutique wines that are full of personality. Quality and consistency are evident in their terroir-driven winemaking approach which combines tradition and modernism.

Coming from the slightly less prestigious Hautes Côtes, this white Burgundy offers delicious value. There is a chalky, yoghurt-y edge to the nose, filled with citrus, greengage, honeysuckle and hints of green apple. A medium weight to the palate, there is refreshing acidity and a zesty finish.

Hambledon Vineyard has a long and fascinating history. Not only does the village have the reputation as the cradle of cricket, long before Lord’s it seems, but it is also the location of the first English commercial vineyard, courtesy of the Francophile Sir Guy Salisbury Jones, who developed the vineyards in the early 1950s. After an uneventful hiatus the vineyard was purchased by Ian Kellett in 1999 and his investments of both patience and capital are now yielding fruit, quite literally, in the form of some of the best located Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the country.

A beautiful vivid pink with a bright red berry hue, it displays an array of wild strawberry aromas on the nose that lead to a generous, complex palate of buttered toast, ripe lemon and juicy hedgerow fruit.

Hambledon Vineyard has a long and fascinating history. Not only does the village have the reputation as the cradle of cricket, long before Lord’s it seems, but it is also the location of the first English commercial vineyard, courtesy of the Francophile Sir Guy Salisbury Jones, who developed the vineyards in the early 1950s. After an uneventful hiatus the vineyard was purchased by Ian Kellett in 1999 and his investments of both patience and capital are now yielding fruit, quite literally, in the form of some of the best located Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the country.

A standard-bearer for the quality that England can achieve, this is a very assured wine, with a firm acidic spine, but also complexity and detail. Great focus and precision.

With a real richness for a St Estèphe, this is a dense, complex but juicy wine which manages to be both serious but pretty at the same time. With well-managed, grainy tannins, a long, savoury length and fine, mineral complexity, this is very impressive indeed.

The 2001 Enoteca Gramona Brut Nature Gran Reserva was put in bottle in January 2002 and was disgorged in December 2014, a very long aging time for Cava standards. It's a blend of 75% Xarello and the rest is Macabeo and there is no liqueur d'expédition (Brut Nature). The long aging places the wine in the category of Gran Reserva and the process is kept as traditional as it gets, with the bottles sealed by cork instead of crown stoppers. 1,750 bottles produced. It's a great Cava, but the price seems a bit over the top. The aromas feel more reticent (perhaps the lack of dosage) and you get more balsamic hints and notes of aromatic herbs, mineral touches of camphor and petrol, nuts and bread dough. The palate is quite sharp, with very good acidity, lively with subtle complexity. I prefer this to the 2000. It would be very interesting to see how this wine evolves now that is disgorged, as the wine seems to grown in the glass and get better and better with time.
Luis Gutiérrez - The Wine Advocate #219, 29th June 2015

52% Coonawarra Cabernet, 27% Barossa Cabernet, 21% Barossa Shiraz.
Marvellous purity of Cabernet fruit, rich and ripe and slightly smoky from the oak, lifted spice on the palate with wonderfully polished depth of flavours, a cross between Ducru-Beaucaillou and Palmer with a touch of Hermitage, superb texture and tannins.
Drink 2018-40.
Steven Spurrier, Decanter. 1st September 2017.

Fruit is selected from 7 vineyard parcels and is fermented and aged in various size barrels, only 10-15% new. Bright red cherry fruit perfume and spicy notes provide a concentration on the nose and palate. The tannins provide an attractive grip and refreshing finish.
Fiona Hayes - Buyer

Mullineux and Leeu Family Wines is one of the stand-out producers in South Africa's budding Swartland region. Winemakers Chris and Andrea Mullineux’s ambition is to bottle wines that are a true expression of the Swartland, and all steps of their winemaking process are taken with this in mind. They work closely with a select group of growers who follow sustainable, reasoned farming practices. “Leeu” (Afrikaans for “lion”) was added to the name recently to recognise the contribution of a new investor to the project.

Straw Chenin Blanc at its best. An explosion of dried stone fruit and bright acidity to balance the luscious sweetness, this Swartland pearl has incredible energy. An artisanal wine made with very little intervention in the vineyard and in the cellar, and in very small quantities. Get yourself one.

Pol Roger is perhaps best known as Winston Churchill's favourite Champagne. The House remains family-owned and has a reputation for producing Champagnes of finesse and elegance which age very well.

This has all the hallmarks of a great blanc de blancs; white flowers, citrus, a touch of stone fruit and the merest hint of honey. A sure sign that Pol Roger has delivered yet again when nature presented ideal conditions for vintage Champagne. Citrus dominates the palate at the moment, with buttery brioche and almonds in the background. Very fresh and beautifully balanced, this will certainly provide immediate gratification but an extra couple of years will add a layer of honeyed complexity to this excellent wine. A real treat.

Dark is the watchword here when describing the fruit. Plums, cassis, black cherries and blackberries all vie for attention. There are hints of spice too and a pleasing sweetness emerges, especially on the finish. Well balanced, the soft, ripe tannins contribute to a silky result and the wine is long, charming and pure. This is another wine of some class from the Bartons in 2014 and, yet again, a great benchmark Claret.

83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc

With masses of dense blackcurrants mingling with a violet perfume on the nose, this is a succulent, powerful wine yet with a perfectly counterbalancing freshness from its 65% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 28% Merlot adds the plush texture whilst 7% Petit Verdot gives a darker, brooding, spicy note. 30% of the superb Grand Vin (Léoville-Poyferré) fruit went into the Moulin Riche in 2009, and the influence on its quality is evident.