WineTime Newsletter - August 2019
Boizel Champagne lands in our shops, great deals on Bordeaux wines and much more!
We have some great additions to our regular offerings, here at WineTime this month. The main addition is certainly the Champagne Boizel range. There is still time to grab yourself a Bordeaux deal or our 'Wine of the Month' - Xipella Tinto! Don't forget about the return of the 'Tasting Club' to our premises (last Thursday of every month - 29th August this month)!
We are absolutely delighted to have recently been appointed as an agent for this outstanding, family-owned Champagne House. Established in 1834, now based on the Avenue des Champagnes in Épernay, they produce superb quality Champagnes, on a par with or better than many Grandes Marques, but at significantly lower prices! Our first shipment includes (retail price at our Liverpool shop):
Brut Réserve NV (£29.95), Brut Rosé NV (£38.95), Blanc de Noirs NV (£38.95), Blanc de Blancs NV (£42.50), Grand Vintage 20088 (£51.75) Joyaux de France 2004 (£77.50), Joyaux de France Chardonnay 2007 (£82.75) and Joyaux de France Rosé 2007 (£93.75).
Bordeaux Bonanza
The boss has done a deal with a luxury hotel in the Channel Islands that had quite a serious surplus of Bordeaux wines! Originally, it was mostly purchased En Primeur and has lain in their cellars ever since. The majority of the parcel was pre-sold to trade customers, but there are some interesting, nicely mature odds & ends left that we are selling off in Great Howard Street, typically at 30% below market value – please Email me if you’d like a copy of the list.
Tasting Club
Tasting Club is now up-and-running – if you like the idea of an informal, once a month tasting session at the Great Howard Street shop, just give me a nod & your Email address & I’ll hook you up! We meet on the last Thursday of each month, anytime from 18:00 ‘til 20:00 with a nominal £5.00 to participate, which we’ll refund against a £40.00 purchase or order on the night.
New Listings
There are a few exciting new listings to tell you about:
Chateau de Rayne Vigneau Sauternes 1’er Grand Cru Classé 2010: Another exciting parcel for those with a sweet tooth, Rayne Vigneau has re-established itself as a Sauternes heavyweight over the last few vintages & is back on dazzling form with the 2010 scoring 17/20 from Jancis and 93 points from the Wine Advocate who observed “The Rayne-Vigneau 2010 appears to come on leaps and bounds since its showing in barrel, displaying the chutzpah that I hoped would develop. It has an endearing bouquet with delicate scents of lemon curd, orange peel and a touch of coconut, exhibiting good levels of botrytis. The palate is very smooth on the entry with good acidity, honeyed and lightly spiced fruit and an elegant finish. This is a straight, down-the-line, delicious Sauternes that should elicit pleasure over the next two or three decades. Drink now – 2035”.
Offer price £24.95 per half bottle or just £240.00 for a wooden case of 24 bottles.
Chilinero late harvest Reserva: A deliciously fresh & fragrant dessert wine made from late-harvested Sauvignon Blanc by de Aguirre with fruit from their own vineyards in the Central Valley. At just £5.95 for a half bottle, this is remarkable value for such a drinkable, well-balanced ‘sticky’!
Wine of the Month
OK, so this is one that’s regularly opened in our house anyway, but it’s just moved on a vintage which is always a good reason to revisit IMHO, and the latest vintage (2015) of Clos Mont-Blanc’s ‘Xipella’ Tinto from Conca de Barberà is a seriously good drop. It’s a blend of Samsó (which is the Catalan for either Carignan or Cinsault, depending on who you believe!) with Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon that was aged in oak for about 14 months. It is a rich, well-balanced red with excellent oak-integration & really good length. In case you were wondering, ‘Xipella’ is the name of the dialect spoken in Central Catalunya!