New in this month is our Chilean collection of wines including the ever popular Los Vascos wines from Baron de Rothchild (Lafite), and the 2007 vintage of Encierra as well as Amancaya Gran Reserva 2007 the flagship wine from the exciting Amancaya winery in Mendoza, a joint venture between the Rothschild’s of Lafite and Nicolas Catena - all are delicious wines and come highly recommended.  Click on the links to our Bon Coeur Fine Wines online wine website to buy these wines.

AMANCAYA
Flagship wine from the exciting Amancaya winery in Mendoza, Argentina. This joint venture between the Rothschild’s of Lafite and Nicolas Catena.  The wine expresses the best of both worlds- Argentinean purity of fruit and concentration and the expertise of the finest winemakers in Bordeaux. A truly excellent blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Complex nose offers currant, graphite, tobacco, liquorice, cedar flavours. It’s finely balance with 12 months in French oak. Claret in style but with an extra dimension and charming velvety texture. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot.

Amancaya Gran Reserva 2007                                                   £115 ex vat per 12 bottle case
Complex nose offers currant, graphite, tobacco, liquorice, cedar flavours. It’s finely balance with 12 months in French oak. Claret in style but with an extra dimension and charming velvety texture. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot.

Cheapest price we can find this on the market is £135 ex vat per case. It’s becoming like gold dust – Our allocation is only 50 cases

LOS VASCOS
Chateau Lafite’s Chilean property and very popular with all our customers.

White Wines

Los Vascos Chardonnay 2008                                                     £81.60 ex vat per 12 bottle case
This vintage has a brilliant and clear colour with golden reflections. It has an explosive nose of melon, grapefruit and exotic fruit coupled with the typical Chardonnay note of hazelnut. In the mouth, it is rich, fresh and pleasantly fruity with good structure and a long finish.

Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc 2009                                              £81.60 ex vat per 12 bottle case
Light yellow robe with beautiful green sparks. The nose shows the traditional ‘wild’ and expressive aromas of Sauvignon Blanc: boxwood and shrub followed by notes of chives and fruit such as pineapple, lime, green apple and white peach. The mouth is fresh, juicy and balanced. Good persistence. The grapes from Casablanca and Leyda bring in a fruity and mineral touch, while those from the Andean foothills contribute with volume and a creamy texture

Rosé Wines

Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2009                        £71.38 ex vat per 12 bottle case
A good year overall in terms of climatic conditions despite the dry spring and summer. Optimum ripening led to a very good rosé. Bright, light red robe. Intense red fruit aromas: strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Refreshing, lively and juicy mouth. Aromatic, balanced and good persistence

 
Red Wines

In Chile, 2007 was generally within the normal weather parameters, although at the beginning of summer there were some extremely hot days but these were controlled by focused irrigations and precise and timely canopy management. On top of this, temperatures became more moderate at the time of the harvest which permitted an excellent and healthy ripeness.
Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2007                                   £81.60 ex vat per 12 bottle case
Brilliant red ruby colour. Pleasant mature fruit such as red cherries, raspberries and plums. Notes of sarsaparilla and gooseberry jam, glazed dry fruit, red fruit in syrup and white chocolate. Spices of black pepper, nutmeg, bay leaves, mint and cloves. Sweet, round, vigorous and elegant tannins. Good acidity, with character. Simply delicious

Los Vascos Gran Reserva 2007                                                 £102.02 ex vat per 12 bottle case
The colour is brilliant red ruby. The nose explodes with fruit: black cherry and blackcurrant (cabernet), strawberry (malbec), raspberry (syrah), and plum with light touches of bay leaf and black pepper (carmenère). The oak is a delicious complement adding cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate and tobacco. It is creamy, intense, and fresh, with balanced acidity, good structure, finishing with a great expression of fruit marked by raspberries and sweet cherries, with little touches of liquorice. The wine is absorbing and harmonious, intensely delicious and entertaining

Le Dix de Los Vascos 2007                                                         £120 ex vat per 6 bottle case
Le Dix 2007 has a deep red garnet colour. The powerful nose develops aromas of very ripe black fruit and wild cherries with notes of cedar, laurel, and licorice. The oak is pleasantly integrated thus complementing the enjoyable aromas of toasted coffee, vanilla, tobacco and cinnamon. The Syrah adds nuances of violets and raspberries. In the mouth, it is round, dense, fresh and fruity. Even though the wine is concentrated, Le Dix remains very balanced and elegant improving the freshness and length with rich but ripe and soft tannins. It finishes with a strong taste of cherry and a light bitterness of walnut peel typical of great Cabernets. The Carmenère adds enjoyable touches of pepper. To drink from 2009 but with very good ageing potential. A very good vintage! Our Allocation is only 30 cases

Encierra ‘Vineyard Reserve’ 2007                                             £132.66 ex vat per 12 bottles
A wine that we honestly believe is worth £20 a bottle so much so that we ship about 10% of the production. I have included Derek Smedley’s tasting notes. Please note that he has given this wine a whopping 95 points. It’s Cabernet dominated (60%) with an excellent backbone of Syrah (35%) but has 3% Camenere and 2% Petit Verdot that gives the wine extra complexity. It can be drunk now but no hurry. They are basically surrounded by Chateau Lafite Chilean property Los Vascos. We believe it’s almost as good as Almaviva (the partnership of Bordeaux first-growth Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Concha y Toro) which  Berry Bros sell at £43 per bottle

“There is a complex mix of rich black fruits showing on the nose, blackcurrant very prominent with damson and black cherry backing it. The fruit on the palate feels ripe ensuring richness and sweetness. The rounded tannins add to the fleshiness of the black fruit mix. Towards the back some strawberry and mulberry are in evidence giving some freshness but then dark chocolate lurks behind enriching the finish” Derek Smedley 95/100 points Drink 2009-2018

Our November Tasting Case includes twelve bottles (12 x 75cl) mixed case selection of two bottles of three different white and red wines from around the globe.  All these wines are ready to drink now and offer great value for money at £79.99

Starting with the whites we have Mapu Sauvignon Blanc 2007, which is made by the Baron Philippe de Rothschild (Mouton Rothschild) domaine in Chile. With rigorous grape selection, attentive vineyard work and all the expertise that comes with Mouton Rothschild, these are excellent value and taste fantastic. The Sauvignon Blanc has racy tropical fruit flavours and good balance – try this wine with a fish paté or even on its own as an aperitif. (more…)

With the nights drawing in it’s that time of year when a good, full bodied red wine or a nip of Sloe Gin is just what the doctor ordered.

We have a great selection of red wines that will pair well with a hearty casserole and other seasonal dishes that are customary at this time of year in the run up to Christmas. 

One of the most popular wines of the moment is the ‘Encierra Vineyard Reserve 2005′ from Chile. This is a lovely rich style that is full in body and has layers of dark fruit flavours with subtle notes of spice on the long, smooth finish.

Chile has been producing some outstanding wines in recent years (more…)

The number of wines on our list is expanding all the time, and we relish the opportunity to show some of the wines in our range to our customer’s at our annual wine tastings.

Some of the most exciting wines to be added to our list recently are the wines of Sumaridge, South Africa. Winemaker Gavin Paterson (formally of Hamilton Russell) is passionate about his wines and the sheer quality is remarkable.

Also new to our list and definitely worth trying are the new ‘Mapu‘ wines from Chile (owned and run by Domaines Baron Philippe de Rothschild). The best thing about these wines is that they offer great value for money without compromising on quality.

At this year’s tastings we will be showing a wide range of wine from all over the world including; from Burgundy, we have the new wines from Henry Fessy, Nicolas Potel, Verget, Vincent Girardin and JJ Girard. An interesting selection of clarets including Gigault Cru Bourgeous 99, Dasvin Belair 98 and the Larose Beauloieu 2001.

In the coming weeks we have the following wine tastings, please let us know if you would like to attend:

North Yorkshire – Masham
Masham Town Hall, Masham, North Yorkshire HG4
Thursday 9th October 5.30pm to 9pm (more…)

Each month we are selecting a wine which we hope you will find of interest, either because it’s a new find, great value, or simply because it is just too good to keep to ourselves.

Encierra ‘Vineyard’ Reserve 2005

Encierra is Spanish for “enclosure”. The Eyzaguirre Echenique family have been producing wine since 1765. They decided to create Encierra in 2000 with the intention to produce a unique and expressive wine, using only the grape varietals that grow best in their terroir (specific local soil, climate, weather conditions). The wine is aged in French and American oak barrels for 12 months.

Vintage Information
Vintage: 2005
Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Carmenere and Petit Verdot.
Region: Colchagua Valley, Chile
Alcohol: 14% vol
Bottle size: 75cl
Closure: Cork
Bottle Price: £9.99 Case price £119.98 (Inc vat) (more…)

Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon rosé

Each month we are selecting a wine which we hope you will find of interest, either because it’s a new find, great value, or simply because it is just too good to keep to ourselves.

Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon rosé offers a refreshing change from many of the light and ‘wishy washy’ styled rosé wines flooding today’s market.

Vintage Information
Vintage: 2007
Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Colchagua Valley, Chile
Alcohol: 13% vol
Bottle size: 75cl
Closure: Screwcap (Stelvin)
Bottle Price: £5.99, Case price £71.88 (Inc vat) (more…)