If you like warm southern French reds, you will love Mullineux's Kloof Street Rouge, which pays homage to Mediterranean style red blends based on Syrah with other classic southern Rhône red grape varieties jostling for character and adding complexity to this super smooth wine. The grapes are sourced from vineyards on the different soils in various parts of the Swartland.

This seductive blend of Southern Rhône varieties has a perfumed nose of violets, spice and purple fruit. The medium to full bodied, food-friendly palate is finely textured with firm but approachable tannins and a fresh, lingering finish. Best served at 16 to 18 °C

Churchill Grafite is a great red from a great Portuguese wine producer. It's a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz (the Portuguese name for Tempranillo), which combine to make a dry, deeply coloured and full bodied wine. Spicy notes add complexity to the layers of ripe blackberry, dark plum and cedar aromas in this fab red wine. Bring on the cold nights. This wine is ideal for them. 

This fabulous Italian red is old school Barolo with a modern twist; clean, bright and fresh with savoury, earthy flavour notes and a truffly overtone that says Piemonte and Nebbiolo in every lingering sip.

Castellero is a 0.4 hectare vineyard, situated between Bussia and Cannubi, which produces wine full of earthy freshness and flavours of roasted mushrooms, porcini supported by a firm backbone of refreshing floral notes and firm acidity, which provides this wine with its long finish. 

The winemaking is considered traditional. Long macerations of up to 40 days see the wine go through a natural fermentation without added yeast in steel tanks. It was then aged for 30 months in Slavonian oak barrels. It's old school with a modern twist; clean, bright and fresh with savoury, earthy flavour notes and a truffly overtone that says Piemonte and Nebbiolo in every lingering sip.

What the critics say

Wine Enthusiast - 94 points

"Rose, wild berry, baking-spice aromas mingle with whiffs of menthol. Linear and structured, the vibrant palate delivers raspberry, orange zest, cinnamon and tobacco set against tightly knit, refined tannins while bright acidity keeps it balanced and energized. Drink 2024–2036."

Vinious Media - 93+ points

"The 2016 Barolo Castellero captures so much of what makes this site special. Mint, lavender, blood orange, raspberry and chalk notes give he 2016 striking aromatic brightness to play off its translucent, mid-weight feel. A wine of tremendous fascinating complexity, the Castellero will delight readers who enjoy classically-built Barolos. The Castellero is perhaps not quite as deep as the most complete wines in this lineup, but that is really splitting hairs at this level."

James Suckling - 93 points

"Aromas of strawberries and spices and hints of wet earth follow through to a medium body with firm, silky tannins and a long, driven finish, Better after 2022."

Giacomo Fenocchio's winemaking philosophy

Giacomo Fenocchio is regarded as one of the best Barolo producers today. Here's a piece that sums up why he is so highly respected and what makes his wines an authentic expression of Piemonte as a wine region.

"Claudio Fenocchio took over from his father Giacomo in 1989 – probably the moment of greatest pressure to follow the ‘modern’ winemaking path of short fermentations and aging in new barriques. In fact, it’s difficult now to understand how much pressure was exerted – from peers and neighbors, old and young, from the press, importers, customers, and that mysterious thing called “the market”. It took a strong will to resist, and a strong devotion to tradition. Lucky for us that Claudio stuck with the best of tradition – organic farming, long fermentations, and aging in large Slavonian oak casks. Easy for us too, since we get to drink his wines. Here’s a rare group of Fenocchio bottles spanning the generations, and ending with the beautiful 2016s."

From Chalmers Street Wine

Ever heard of Pelaverga?

It's not exactly a household name, even in the households of wine lovers. It is the name of a red grape grown in Piemonte in north west Italy. Even in its homeland there, it's pretty rare, and best known for making light, smooth fruity reds, such as this one, which is an interesting different take on northern Italian red wine.

Domaine du Pegau is owned by the Feraud family, who have 21 hectares of top quality vineyards in the famous southern Rhone appellation of Chateauneuf-du-Pape as well as 25 hectares of Cote du Rhone Village vineyards, 5 hectares of Cote du RHone and 19 hectares of more humble vineyards that go into vin de table wines. The name Pegau was created in 1987 by Laurence Feraud, when she had finished studying wine and returned home to work with her father, Paul, in winemaking. The 2016 was such an outstanding vintage that many critics globally have described it as vintage of the century; as in, possibly the best in the past 100 years. 

We agree. We have been lucky enough to taste and enjoy a vast number of 2016 southern Rhone Valley wines - and they're worth snapping up as these beauties highlight the strengths of this great but under rated wine region. They provide great pleasure now and will continue to for many years to come, for those with wine cellars and willpower.

This Grenache dominant blend comes from certified organic vineyards in the southern Rhone. This wine offers excellent ripe red fruit notes and great structure. The palate is spiced, complex and rich. Charbonniere Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2016 is fresh enough for drinking young, yet promises to age gracefully.

Jeb Dunnuck - 94 Points 

"Mostly Grenache with 15% Syrah brought up in foudre and old barrels, the 2019 Côtes Du Rhône Les Quartz tastes like a Châteauneuf du Pape as opposed to a Côtes du Rhône and offers a powerful bouquet of red and black fruits, melted licorice, and peppery garrigue. With loads of Provençal charm, full-bodied richness, and supple tannins, it's already hard to resist, and I see no need to delay gratification. Drink this beautiful Côtes du Rhône over the coming 5-7 years."

Château Maucoil’s vineyards are located in the northwest of the Châteauneuf du Pape area, on the left bank of the River Rhône. This wine consists of Grenache blanc (90%) Bourboulenc (8%) Clairette (2%). This wine is clean and bright. Rich and fine on the nose with pear and citrus aromas. The palate is mineral with notes of green apple and lemon.

Sourced exclusively from 2 family farms that are increasingly practicing sustainable farming. Most of the fruit is sourced from the right bank of the Rhone River. 50% Grenache Blanc, 20% Marsanne, 20% Viognier, 10% Bourboulenc. A lively mineral-laced Rhone white, with wet stones and laser pure white fruit in a lip smacking and succulent white. Delivers the elegance and texture of the finest cool climate white wines.

80 % Grenache and 20% Syrah. Nice freshness in the nose with herbal and wild blackberry notes. The palate is fruity and spicy with wild raspberry, rosemary and thyme notes. This is a balanced, well-structured and mineral Rhone red.

Dom Perignon is one of the world's great prestige champagnes in name and in taste. Made only in single vintage years, this latest one is a blend of 50/50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, aged for eight years on lees, which retains freshness while allowing the yeast autolysis process to create complexity and power in this multi layered, intensely richly flavoursome sparkling wine. 

This tastes full bodied, dry, creamy with complex layers of flavour. Serve chilled in a large glass to it its complexity and freshness shine. 

Vintage rose champagne is one of our favourite things and this one comes from arguably the most popular producer, Veuve Clicquot, owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey.

Veuve is named after the late, great Widow Clicquot, who was left not only a widow aged 27 but also in charge of running a champagne house. Her legacy is to have left both the brand and the region in better condition than she found them, mostly famously by inventing riddling; the turning of the bottle to remove the yeast sediment into its neck, prior to disgorgement. This resulted in higher quality, cleaner, fresher bubbles in both look and taste. Her quest was quality and she is widely credited with having raised it significantly in the Champagne region and in the bottles it produces.
This rose is typically a blend of base wines with 12% of still red Pinot Noir and aged for three years prior to disgorgement. 

This good value magnum of Moët Impérial comes from the large Champagne house of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey) and is typically a blend of 30 to 40% Pinot Noir, 30 to 40% Pinot Meunier with 20 to 30% Chardonnay for balancing crispness and freshness. It's made from Moët & Chandon's vineyards in all of the five main grapegrowing areas in the Champagne region.

The Pouilly-Fuissé is a blend of the best vineyard parcels with 10- to 35-year-old vines from the Fuissé amphitheatre of limestone and clay soils. Each parcel is vinified separately to ensure the finest expression of the fruit. Half the wine is fermented in enamelled tanks and half in used oak barrels.

Subtle notes include minerals, yellow fruits, flowers, fresh hazelnuts and spices, with an intense finish. The perfect equilibrium of this wine allows it to retain its vibrancy with age.