Noval 10 year old Tawny is a blend of old Ports from different vintages that have matured in oak casks, with an average age of 10 years.  It’s a perfect expression of the Noval Tawny style. It has acquired the classical attributes of an old Tawny Port, while at the same time retaining much of the freshness and fruit of its youth. 

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is characterized by its purity of fruit and a fine and delicate quality that is typical of the wines of the property in general but which finds its most remarkable and enduring expression in the Vintage Ports. Equilibrium, harmony, finesse and elegance characterize our great Vintage Ports, which are declared only in great years and only when the wines come up to Noval’s exacting standards. Even then, the wines selected for the Quinta do Noval Vintage Port blend represent only a small proportion of our total production.

The word “Nacional” refers to the fact that the vines are Portuguese vines growing in Portuguese soil with no foreign root stock and are therefore “attached to the soil of the Nation.” When Noval’s vineyards were devastated by phylloxera in the late 19th century, the owner decided to replant a tiny parcel of the vineyard with ungrafted vines. These 6 acres of Nacional vines lie in an area indistinguishable from and surrounded by the other Noval vines.

Studied thoroughly by agronomists and scientists, the survival of the tiny parcel of legendary ungrafted vines is a mystery and the National is a unique and extraordinary phenomenon that does not necessarily follow the same rhythm as the rest of the Quinta do Noval. In some years a great Nacional is produced when Noval does not even declare the Quinta do Noval Vintage. In others, Quinta do Noval makes a great Vintage Port but the Nacional does not perform. 

Tasting a bottle from the minute production of Nacional is every port lover’s fantasy and Nacional is every port lover’s fantasy and this great wine is a source of pride to the people of Portugal and at its best the finest expression of the extraordinary terroir of Quinta do Noval.

Up close, it becomes apparent that the Nacional vines are slightly less vigorous, with smaller trunks and less foliage, and with leaves that are slightly less vibrant green. The berries are smaller, giving a higher ratio of skin to juice. The grapes are picked in one day and trodden in only the smallest lagares but otherwise are treated with the same meticulous care as the other Quinta do Noval wines.

“This wine is a mysterious phenomenon, a magical wine produced in extremely limited quantities and only in a few years each decade. It is the expression of a terroir and confirms something that is for me a deeply held belief. The Nacional is great because of the grapes and where they come from, not because of anything particular that we do. It has a unique personality, an extraordinary intensity and, even after many years of ageing, retains an astonishing youthfulness.” Christian Seely

Ferrer Bobet Priorat is the second vintage of a Priorat produced primarily from Ferrer Bobet’s own vineyards. It fulfills the vision of elegance, freshness and detail that were the reasons for starting the estate. It is a Carignan based blend, based on low vigor and high quality rootstocks and clones, aiming for perfectly balanced vines.

Ferrer Bobet Vinyes Velles Priorat 2014 is a blend of Carignane (70%) and Grenache (30%), from hundred year old vines in some of the best steep slate hillside and terraced vineyards in Priorat. Though the “second wine” of Ferrer Bobet, the initial 2005 release put Ferrer Bobet on the wine world map. Two of the most important publications in Spain named it their wine of the year, and accolades came pouring in from Russia, the UK and the US. It launched the Ferrer Bobet mission of creating wines of elegance and purity, and the message has resonated.

Legend has it that the name Recougne came in “recognition” of the quality of its wines by King Henri IV in the early 17th century, and while wine has been made on the site for 400 years, the estate is perhaps more relevant today than ever. As Bordeaux recalibrates towards producing wines of freshness and balance, Recougne stands as an example of a pure, fresh style that has remained steadfast for over half a century. The wines have concentration and energy, with pure red and black fruits and a complex earthiness. Amazingly, examples of Recougne from the 1950s and 1960s are still drinking gorgeously

Today the wines are made by one of the young stars of the right bank, the fourth generation of his family to make wine at Recougne, Marc Milhade. Marc’s philosophy and energy are guided towards more work in the vineyard, and less intervention (in this case, continuing less intervention) in the cellar.

Château Tour Bayard is a recent addition to the Milhade portfolio, coming into the family through marriage. This 25 acre property has been run by the Richard family since 1956, and is now regarded as one of the top estates in the appellation. The soils here are a mix of clay and limestone marl, and the vineyard is planted in a beautifully situated natural amphitheater with an ideal southerly exposure. Merlot is the predominant variety, accounting for 80% of the vignoble, complemented by Cabernet Franc and Malbec; the vines are about 40 years old on average. The Richard family works the soils organically, eschewing pesticides and other chemical treatments.

At harvest, the grapes are 100% destemmed and crushed before being placed in temperature controlled vats. Each parcel on the estate is vinified separately, and the wine is raised for 12 months in a combination of cement tanks (60%) and new and second fill barrels (20% each). The finished wine is supple and full-bodied, with excellent ripeness, and refined aromatics from the Cabernet Franc.

Chateau Damase is a completely charming wine, planted primarily to Merlot with some of “Bordeaux’s Lost Grape” – Carmenere. The vibrant Merlot along with the lovely spicy touches make Damase somewhat of the classic fresh, Bordeaux bistro red.

Château Tour d’Auron is a small production estate that produces wines with remarkable structure and aging potential. The difference in site from its neighbors owned by Gerard Milhade and his family is striking, as this wine exhibits a much darker fruit and earthy character.

Wine has been produced at Château Lyonnat for centuries, and this property has an absolutely exceptional vineyard of 79 acres, planted on limestone, south facing, and with plots of very old vines. The wines always have a true sense of elegance and refinement.

Amarone Riserva “Ca ‘Florian” is made with selected grapes from one of the oldest vineyards owned by the Tommasi family, with vines averaging 30 years. 

This “Cru” or “Climat,“ as one would say in Burgundy, is characterized by its “simplicity and elegance,” with notes of cherry and typical black cherries of the valley of Marano, but also the sweet spices and greater structure and elegance common to the Valley of Negrar, which give it the ability to age for the long term.

The Ca’ Florian vineyard is a 12 acre parcel that lies on the Pedemonte hills surrouding the winery in San Pietro in Cariano, and has a south-western exposure. It is a terraced vineyard whose vines are trained using the traditional pergola veronese system. The soils are mostly cretaceous and calcareous.

After harvesting and manual selection, the grapes are laid down in boxes of 5 to 6 kg and naturally dried in the fruttaio for 4 months. They are gently pressed the following January and slowly fermented on the skins using indigenous yeasts, a process lasting  about 30 days. The wine is aged first in tonneau for one year and then for 3 years in Slavonian casks. It then sees one additional year of bottle aging.

The 2010 vintage is a blend of 75% Corvina, 15% Corvinone, and 10% Rondinella.

Ayala’s Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, produced in small quantities in exceptional years only and fully expresses the superb caliber of great Chardonnay from the best crus of the Côte des Blancs. It is truly a unique vintage offering.

The 2010 vintage is sourced from 4 Premier and Grand Cru villages on the Côte des Blancs: Chouilly, Oiry, Cremant and Vertus. After 6 years of aging in Ayala’s cellars, remarkable minerality and low dosage make this an outstanding wine that can accompany a variety of flavorful dishes, or stand on its own.

A treasure in the portfolio, Perle d’Ayala is produced only in exceptional years, according to practices that have remained faithful to the Champagne tradition. Composed of a majority of Chardonnay, this wine captures the essence of the Champagne terroir, in the purest respect of the style of the House.

This beautifully refined prestige cuvée is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir, all from Grand Cru villages.

Chanson’s regional wine, Viré Clessé is one of the best white wines of the region, combining suppleness and minerality. The appellation lies in the heart of the Mâcon appellation in the south of Burgundy. The two villages, Viré and Clessé form a unique terroir on south-east facing slopes. In Viré, the soil is chalky with large layers of clay. In Clessé, the soil structure is slightly different, with a combination of chalk and clay mixed with liasic marls combined with oyster-fossils, giving the wine an underlying minerality. It’s produced from a combination of Chardonnay and Chardonnay Muscaté grapes. 

Don Anselmo is a landmark wine made from 100% Aglianico grapes, the native varietal in Basilicata for which the region is renowned. It is dedicated to the winery’s founder, Anselmo Paternoster, and represents the history, roots, and continued importance of the Paternoster family in the area of production of the wines, Vulture. The grapes come from small and particularly old vineyard parcels in Barile, located at 2000 feet above sea level, with naturally low yields (35- 40 quintals per hectare). The soil is volcanic, with a significant levels of lava and ash.

The village of Chablis, located in the northernmost district of Burgundy, is known for producing steely, crisp wines with intense green-appley acidity and a firm, mineral backbone. Chanson’s Chablis shows characteristics you’d expect from Premier and Grand Cru wines from the appellation and has the same phenolic maturity. The fruit comes from selected hillside plots just south of the village giving greater concentration and ripeness. 

Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé NV is a blend of 70% Cabernet Franc and 30% Pinot Noir. This bright and juicy Crémant is hand crafted with the same process and attention to detail as the best Champagne, with only the first pressed (“cuvée”) juice used and 18 months aging on the lees to preserve freshness and color. The beautiful color is achieved from a 12-15 hour skin contact.

Lucente is the second wine of Luce, a wine with contemporary style, immediate and great pleasure, and like its elder sibling, an authentic interpretation of Montalcino and the Luce estate.

After the first strict selection of the very best grapes for Luce, the next selection is used for Lucente and is often coming from the younger vineyards planted in the Luce estate. Lucente represents a more approachable expression of the estate’s unique terroir.

Luce is a singular and irresistible expression of Montalcino, a Super Tuscan with an exotic side, and above all full of pleasure. The spectacular estate’s diversity of soils, expositions and biodiversity of olive groves and forests come together in a wine as vibrant and exciting as the landscape.

From the beginning, Luce was a bold proposition. The iconic estate located in the hills of southwest Montalcino was originally identified as a great area by the Marchese Vittorio Frescobaldi in the 1960s, and later launched as the Luce partnership between the Marchese and California wine legend Robert Mondavi. The wine was first produced from an outstanding Sangiovese vineyard along with a surprising experimental planting of Merlot from the 1960s done by a French company based in Bordeaux. Combining the roundness and softness of Merlot with the structure and elegance of Sangiovese might seem an obvious idea today, especially after the last 20 years of Super Tuscan history, but this was a first in Montalcino. That blending approach is still followed today, and what is so attractive about the result is, in fact, the character of Montalcino that shines through: the dark fruit, power and structure, the complexity of floral and spice notes, the chewiness of the tannin. 

The estate’s iconic name and packaging (Luce translates to “light” in Italian) was inspired by the altar at the Santo Spirito church in Florence – a landmark church built on land donated by the Frescobaldi family during the Renaissance.

Coming primarily from the Ornellaia’s younger vineyard sites and made with the same passion and attention to detail as the estate’s flagship wine, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia combines generosity and depth of flavor with an engaging and vibrant personality. Made to be more approachable, yet delivering the quality experience of Ornellaia, Merlot has a dominant role in this wine in contrast to the Cabernet Sauvignon in Ornellaia.