MoneyWeek

MoneyWeek Christmas Special – Six of the Best

2021 Kratos, Fiano, Luigi Maffini, Campania, Italy (22.95, reduced to £20.50 each by the case, www.leaandsandeman.co.uk). Christmas is the perfect time to reward your palate while pushing the boat out just a little. My favourite ‘grand aperitif/starters’ white of the year is this scintillating Fiano from the masterful Maffini. While this wine…
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2020 Teusner, Avatar, Barossa Valley, South Australia

At the recent launch of my 100 Best Australian Wines Report, a wine trade rascal asked me why there were 250 wines mentioned in this initiative.  Granted, nineteen years ago, when I started compiling these annual reports, I stuck religiously to a century of greats.  But as the years passed, I found I could not leave out mentions of worthy wines from…
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2018 Indaco, Tenuta Sette Cieli, Tuscany, Italy

On this page, six years ago, I wrote the inaugural review of Tenuta Sette Cieli’s 2014 Yantra, the fabulous ‘Bordeaux blend’ founded in idyllic, 400m altitude vineyards overlooking Bolgheri, home to Sassicaia, Ornellaia and a number other similarly fêted Super-Tuscans. The 2019 vintage is yet another beauty worth you hunting down without delay…
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NV Diatomists, Amontillado Singular Bota, Aged 12 Years, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

It is International Sherry Week and I have a tremendous suite of wines for you to enjoy.  A diatomist is the name given to one who masters the art of diatom arrangement, and diatoms are single-cell algae that create complex glass shells around themselves.  Jerez was underwater five million years ago, which explains the unique soils rich in diatom…
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2009 Billecart-Salmon, Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé, Champagne, France 

I have written up two vintages of Elisabeth Salmon, 2000 and 2007, on this page.  This epic Champagne has always been a firm favourite with MW readers, so I am thrilled to announce that the new 2009 vintage of Elisabeth Rosé was released this week.  With a heroic eleven years spent on its lees in the Billecart cellars in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, this wine…
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2020 Yalumba, Galway Vintage Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia

Next Wednesday, at the Australian High Commission in London, I will launch my 100 Best Australian Wines Report for 2022/23.  As with all public events, Covid cruelly interrupted play for a couple of years, so it is exhilarating to be able to resume this important initiative.  It will be the 17th edition of 100 Best since I announced the inaugural…
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2021 Lirac Blanc, La Fermade, Domaine Maby, Southern Rhône, France and 7 others!

The annual Yapp Autumn Tasting is a veritable cornucopia of oft-unexpected delights among old favourites, and I have both for you this week.  Like last year, the standout wine was this epic, and I mean epic, white Lirac.  It obliterated a flight of well-meaning Yapp Burgundies and countless other try-hard whites I have tasted this season with its…
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2019 Chianti Rufina Riserva, Vigneto Bucerchiale, Fattoria Selvapiana, Tuscany, Italy

This month’s 2019 release of the pioneering Chianti Rufina Riserva Bucerchiale marks the 40th vintage since Francesco Giuntini took the plunge, with the help and confidence of legendary wine consultant Luigi Veronelli, and decided to make a single property, un-blended, top-flight wine, even though there was no market in the world for such a creation. …
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2019 Ramey, Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California

A super-scoop this week!  I have quoted retail prices for the wines this week, but they do not arrive in the UK until late October, so contact Berry’s, and you can secure your allocation, ahead of time, ‘in bond’.  There is no doubt that I rate Ramey as one of the world’s pre-eminent Chardonnay producers.  This was evinced by a stunning tasting…
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2022 SPOKE, Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

This week, I will not kick off with my featured wine. It is simply thrilling quality and mind-boggling value for money, but you will discover why this wine is an unmissable treat as you read on. Kiwi winemaker Ben Glover and English Master of Wine Liam Steevenson have collaborated on a series of incredible wines under the SPOKE label. The vineyard ‘spoke’,…
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2021 Kumeu River, Hunting Hill Chardonnay, Kumeu, New Zealand

Winemaker Michael Brajkovich celebrated his fortieth vintage in 2021, and his brother, Paul, flew over to London to present their suite of brand new 2021 releases.  Renowned for making some of the most exquisite Chardonnays in the Southern Hemisphere, the range of wines from the inexpensive, everyday drinker ‘Village Chardonnay’ to the very-special-occasion,…
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9diDANTE, Purgatorio, Vermouth di Torino Superiore, Italy

No, I have not decided to broaden my repertoire from wine scribe to ‘general drinks connoisseur’.  That will never happen, but for one week only, I have decided to alert you to a spirit that recently blew my mind, and the wine link is immutable.  Allow me to set the scene.  I was dining at an incredible restaurant in Geneva - Le Restaurant du…
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