Bodegas La Horra is the Ribeira del Duero counterpart to Bodegas Roda in Rioja & according to New Zealand Master of Wine Sam Harrop, a prime example of Modernist winemaking.

Produced in the area of DO Ribera del Duero
100% Tinta del País (Tempranillo)
Small plots in La Horra, Roa and neighboring villages (Burgos). Bush vines.
Vines averaging 25 to 30 years old
Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks, malolactic fermentation in French oak vats. Spends 14 months in barrel, 80% French oak and 20% American oak.
Egg albumin used for clarification.
14.5% Vol.

Color:
Very good intensity, with a cherry red background and a bluish-red rim.

Nose:
An incredible burst of fruit, with blackberries and fresh plums leaping from the glass. A delicate interplay of fresh aromatic herbs is also present. The oak is perfectly integrated. The wine's fresh and fruity flavor is already evident on the nose.


Mouth:
It's voluminous, full-bodied, long, and delicate, with caressing tannins. Blackberry and plum make their presence felt, leaving a truly pleasant sensation.
It has the unique characteristic of possessing the expected volume of a great Ribera del Duero wine while simultaneously displaying unexpected finesse for a wine of this youth. The mouth is left with a fruity, flavorful, and fresh sensation of a truly exceptional vintage.
It is surely one of the best Corimbos so far.

Tim Atkin:

93/100

Origin
This wine is made from estate-owned vineyards in Villafranca del Duero, specifically from vineyards close to the left bank of the river Duero where the valley foothills begin their gentle undulations and scenic meanders. This is where the river is at its widest and most fierce. The combination of location, orientation, and calcareous soils – gravelly loam and river stones from the riverbed – highlight the expression of the Verdejo variety in this location by intensifying its aromas.  

DO Rueda
DO Rueda is located in the central zone of the drainage basin that forms the river Duero and the high plateau whose gentle undulating topography is subject to the Atlantic winds. The DO is between 700 and 800 metres above sea level extending over areas in the provinces of Valladolid, Segovia, and Ávila. Its relief, gravelly soils, and continental climate make this an ideal region in which to make white wines, especially from the Verdejo variety.

Tasting Notes:

It presents a pale color and a captivating aromatic profile, marked by attractive citrus and orange blossom notes. On the palate, it is fresh and well-balanced, with well-integrated acidity and a persistent, harmonious finish.

About the producer:

In 1933, Clemente da Silva, recently arrived from Brazil, fulfilled his life-long dream of becoming a producer of premium wines that would lead to the international expansion of his business: C. da Silva – an abbreviation of his own name. A year later, he registered the Dalva brand, a contraction of “da Silva”. Simple to pronounce and very Portuguese, the brand achieved rapid success in its different markets.

A Duoro DOC wine combining Viosinho, Malvasia Fina & Codega grown on the slopes of the Tinhela & Corgo rivers in the Douro valley. The Douro Valley is characterised by very hot days & cool nights, high altitudes & deep schist soils which leads to red wines with robust tannin & fruit & white wines with poised acidity & lots of aroma.

The 2024 vintage:

A warm harvest year with average but irregular rainfall. A mild, rainy winter was followed by a similarly warm spring. The growing cycle was long, supported by sufficient soil moisture that allowed for normal vine growth and development. The typically hot, dry summer was followed by a harvest period marked by cooler temperatures in September and some rainfall in October. A year of above-average yields, with grapes in excellent phytosanitary condition and high quality potential.

Harvest & Vinification:

The grapes were carefully selected upon arrival at the winery, and fermentation took place at low temperatures (16ºC) to enhance the fresh, floral fermentation aromas.

ANALYSIS 

Alcohol: 12,5% 

Total Sugars: <0,6 g/l 

Total Acidity: 5,18 g/l (Tartaric Acid)

 pH: 3,39

Ethereal, fresh, appealing to both the nose and the palate, Pédesclaux’s second wine is a flower that unfurls as you approach. Thanks to its reliance on a high proportion of Merlot, the wine is soft and gentle, with a delicious, silky texture. It has intense, compelling and savoury fruit aromas and, year after year, beautifully calibrated scents of white flowers, violets and small red berries. Exhibiting a more high-spirited elegance yet nonetheless showing remarkable length, Fleur de Pédesclaux is a delight. In the mouth, it is fresh, subtle, packed with fruit and beautifully smooth tannins, with a long finish. In this more floral expression, the marvellous complexity of our terroir is once again evident, but in a mouth-watering style that is instantly festive.

The Terroirs
Garonne gravel on subsoil of limestone

The Grape Varieties
59 % Cabernet-Sauvignon, 36 % Merlot, 3 % Petit Verdot, 2 % Cabernet franc

This wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot from gravelly parcels in Pauillac and is aged in 60% new oak and the remainder one-year-old oak. The bouquet is gentle and understated and leads to a medium-bodied palate with grippy tannins, heightened graphite notes, and a focused and compelling finish offering crisp pencil shaving notes. Drink now and through to 2040.

Muros Antigos Escolha is made from a selection of three excellent white grape varieties: Alvarinho, Loureiro and Avesso. The grape variety Alvarinho cames from the sub-region of Monção and Melgaço. Due to the strategic location of the sub-region, there are ideal conditions for the perfect ripening of the grapes. The presence of Alvarinho in Muros Antigos Escolha provides structure and body. The Loureiro grape variety is located in our vineyards in the Lima sub-region with granitic soils, deep and poor in organic matter. Due to the Atlantic influence of this region, the freshness and salinity are well present as well as the floral perfume typical of the grape variety. Regarding Avesso grape variety from the in Baião region, in the border between the continental climate of the Douro Valley and the maritime influence of Douro Litoral. The soils are dry and poor, granitic sandy loam soils. These characteristics will produce a wine with an acidity and minerality unique, from which we single out a profound balance between acidity, minerality and alcohol content which will deeply improve Muros Antigos Escolha.

Vinification 

Handpicked grapes into small boxes and carried to the winery in a short period of time. Pressing of the whole de-stemmed grape. Cold clarification for 48-72h. Long fermentation at low temperatures of 12- 16ºC. Minimum 3 month ageing on fine lees with regular bâtonnage.

Tasting Notes 

Fruity aromas present, sweet citrus fruits like tangerine and green apple. On the palate, light and fresh, the acidity provides body and structure. The finish is long and persistent, conveying character.

This wine is a deep red with a bright magenta hue. On the nose there are vibrant aromatics of red and black berry fruits, a lift of violet florals, clove spice and mixed garden herbs. The palate is dominated by a lively burst of berry fruits, which are well framed by fine, powdery tannins. Juicy plum and blackberry flavours persist through the finish, with sweet spice to close

Musar Jeune Rosé wines were first produced from low yielding Bekaa Valley and Byblos vines in 2006. Made from the fruit of younger vineyards at around 1,000 metres above sea level, these wines are bursting with fruit, unfettered by oak and made to the Hochar family’s unwavering philosophy of natural wine-making. 

A blend of 80% Cinsault from young vines in Byblos planted in 2018 and 20% Mourvèdre from 10-year-old vines in the Bekaa Valley. 

Region - Bekaa Valley and Mehrine near Byblos– all planted on calcareous soils. 

The Cinsault and Mourvèdre underwent direct pressing with a mixture of bleeding and were fermented in stainless steel vats with a temperature range between 18˚C and 21˚C. After the malolactic fermentation was complete, the wines were left to rest for 3 months, then cold stabilised and bottled during March 2023. 

Smoked salmon, flame, mandarin in colour with orange blossom, red cherry and raspberry scents on the nose.

Fresh and youthful with lower alcohol because of the young Cinsault vines from our new vineyards in the hills above Byblos, in Mehrine. Hints of peaches, mandarin and Lebanese spice sumac, and juicy red summer fruits that develop in the glass. 

Serve lightly chilled with Mediterranean and Lebanese dishes.

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.

Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"Organically grown and made. Vibrant cherry red in colour. Fresh lifted young berries, early season plums, dried herbs and savoury olive characters give a wine of amazing perfume. It’s bold and lush on the palate. Lovely cherry and chocolate characters interact with fine gravelly tannins, salty liquorice flavours and a sweet core of fruit. This leads to a wine of balance with a bright crisp finish. Touriga Nacional as a variety offers good cellaring potential, will be good to see where this goes In a few years.

Fruit was harvested in ideal conditions and fermented in shallow stainless steel open fermenters. The fruit is hand plunged to gently extract the tannin, keep the ferment as even as possible and maintain fruit purity. The wine is pressed off and aged on lees in older 500L French oak puncheons for 10 months. Unfiltered and unfined It goes to bottle."

We can't think of a better variety for our future than this southern Italian rustic beauty. Lovely big late-ripening bunches with plenty of natural acid and earthy tannin, personality plus! It provides us with a savoury and refreshingly drying, delicious food-friendly red, made for the table. Regeneratively grown from grass to glass, the old world in new hands.

The primary grape is Cabernet Sauvignon, which is balanced by Merlot and Cab Franc. These varieties, along with the incredibly gravelly soils which gave the region it’s name, give you an extremely earthy wine with plenty of power and character.

The nose has notes of dark fruit, damp grass, mushroom and crushed stones. The palate continues the trend but adds mouth drying tannins; dark fruit character comes through. The finish is slightly herbaceous with notes of toasted cedar.
 A great glimpse of Graves at a great price.

70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre from the Rhone. A rich, well structured wine. Full of plum and stewed fruit aromas. No oak results in pure fruit expression on the palate.