Bacchanalian Xmas Stock Drop Pt.1

Hello fine folks!

And how goes the lead up to Xmas for you all? Well, I trust.

As regulars of the shop may know, I have had ongoing health issues, which has led to closures on a Friday and then a Saturday in consecutive weeks – for this I can only apologise profusely if you have been inconvenienced and to those of you that have reached out to make sure I was OK, I thank you whole heartedly and will happily share a glass of wine in the shop with you over the Xmas period, once I can drink again.

I’m very lucky to have such wonderful, kind and supportive customers around me, I often say that I never take it for granted, but your kindness has gone above and beyond this past couple of weeks and I just want you to know that it really means a lot and has been a great source of focus and fuel for me to get ship shape ASAP so I can get back to selling fine wine to you all.

This week is a just a quick roundup of sorts which I will break into arrivals and arriving sections, it’s busy and flowing with stock at the moment, so sitting and writing in depth about a producer at a time isn’t really possible, like normal. So here are a few things that have landed that you should pay attention to or email me about if you aren’t a local to the shop.

First up, CERITAS has landed. If you don’t know what I mean, please see my previous mailout or ask me to resend. Bottom line, super rare, cult new wave Cali wine maker. Over two years I built a bespoke selection of their Chardonnay’s and Pinot’s (there core output) from 2022 and 2023 vintages, all scoring 97-100 points across the board. Already sold a nice chunk, but plenty left for walk-ins or ask me to build you a mix of 3, 6 or 12 bottles (or more!)

On that note, if anyone wants cases of wine putting together for loved ones or for yourselves, drop me a line. This doesn’t have to just be mailout wines, can be whatever you want. But obviously happy to offer 5% off half cases, 6x Btls or 10% off of cases, 12x Btls.

Also form the US of A, I have some lauded and highly sought after Eisele Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc – Yes, top draw, clone selective beast mode Sauv at £135 p/b – Niche for some, but it’s like an aromatic White Bordeaux hybrid that makes the juices run. And their second wine the 2019 (cracking vintage) Altagracia Cabernet at £175 p/b. This may look young on paper, but with a brilliant vintage behind it and made in an early drinking style, this already has a seductive appeal with a decent decant. Charcoal, plush cassis fruit, pencil lead and tobacco. It’s 10/10 Nappa kit. Bottom line: Vineyard owned by Chateau Latour. They know a thing or two about making wine.

From my time in Portugal in September, I have landed a bunch of stock that I tasted while out there, Niepoort specials that are off the beaten track and very much shipped to order based on my experiences and excitement around the wines. These off-piste wines tasted off of wine lists in top restaurants, at the vineyards, out with the Niepoort gang. Some stuff is just classic, but others are rare and top end or niche and infrequently encountered outside of Portugal.

2017 Niepoort, Espumante Agua Viva – An excellent sparkler form Bairrada. A blend of native varietals, including Bical and Maria Gomes (yes that’s a grape, not a local.) It spends a very respectable 48+ months month lees, so around a year more ageing than even your average champagne and a vintage. For me this was a great harmony of chiselled minerality, flinty smoke and toasty background richness in the form of a subtle nutty almond character. Around that was an addictive salinity and medium bodied texture, full of Orchard and Citrus fruits. A fusion of high-end Cava with good biscuity character and a fresh grower Champagne. I drank from Magnum, of which I have a limited amount arriving at the start of December, but for now I have the equally excellent 750ml bottles. A great Sparkling alternative that delivers mid-tier Champagne quality at entry level Champagne prices £39.99 *Mags arriving second week of December!

2017 Niepoort, Quinta do Baixo VV Branco – Also from Bairrada, also from 2017 and also made with Bical and Gomes, but this is a different beast entirely. Having come from 100-year-old vines in Quinta do Baixo, then aged in 1000Ltr, 60-year-old Mosel Foudre, this comes off as the most wonderful Riesling-adjacent wine I’ve tasted in some time. On the nose, it has a sort of petroleum note mixed with manuka honey, which is so reminiscent of 90s vintage Riesling from the top makers of Mosel. Then it delivers on the palate, that same type of combination of preserved lemon, underripe pineapple, lime juice you’d call out as being aged Riesling, if tasting blind, but then a waxy weightiness lends the slender white a mass that is very much appreciated on the palate. Yellow fruits appear. Nothing here is at all sweet, thought there is lovely fruit. The wine remains dry, fresh and saline. Light on its feet, but intense in its concentration. Drank this with one of many first courses of shellfish in a top wine a seafood bar in Porto. £39.99

2016 Niepoort, Turris – Niepoort’s top wine. The King of King’s. This wine is a feat of engineering. This wine is larger scaled in feel than many of the other top wines in the Niepoort portfolio, such as Charme. This is all about pink pepper corns, dark brooding fruit, blackcurrant, gravel, black cherry, and a slight aromatic violet lift. We’re basically talking Northern Rhone, Cote Rotie like, but the old-fashioned mineral at the core type, not the Barossa via Rhone styles of today. Having said all this, it clocks in at a seemingly timid 11.5% abv! What explains the intensity of fruit and concentration that seems to contradict the alcohol levels? Well, it comes from a vineyard over 130 years old! That is OLD. And those vines have learned to birth some seriously concentrated fruit, sucking up from the very depths of the Douro to produce this ample energetic juice. Somehow, this is both bold yet refreshing. Perfect for the steak lover or would even work with your Turkey, Goose or Beef Xmas lunch or dinner. £160 Scored 94Pts

2013 Niepoort Rotulu Tinto MAGNUMS – These are a little treat, too big to be a stocking filler, but a no brainer gift or partner at the dinner table. This is Daniel and Dirk Niepoort’s homage to a good value Red Burg, with maybe a bit more weight. This Dao red blend is rounded, plummy and now showing some nice development, nutty, herby and earthy qualities. A touch of farmyard, cola and black cherry. Soft supple and highly versatile. Think baby Vosne-vibes at an affordable price. £36.99

Off course there is a smattering of Ports from LBV, to Moscatel right up to 20- and 30-year-old Tawnies (which I LOVE) and Vintage Ruby all tasted on my last evening in Portugal, in the cellars of the Niepoort Port house in Gaia, before rushing to the airport to fly home.

And arriving early December, I have:

• Some more Paolo Bea (R.I.P Paolo) back vintages (2015s still I think) The Montefalco Sagrantino master.

• Some Massa Vecchia, the whose-who of cult, Bio, Low Intervention Maremma wine making – Sangiovese with a Super Tuscan, Brunello-like inflection, but lithe, juicy and oh so moreish.

• Ah, there’s lots more, the return of Thistle and Weed wines, the South African hit from a couple of Mailouts ago. And there’s… Oh I’m struggling to remember and need a plate of Pasta… I’ll be in touch with more updates soon!

As ever, hope there’s something of interest above and just shout if you need anything, it’s busy-busy times, but I’m always on call for my wonderful Fine Wine clients, you beauties!

Have a great rest of the week.

Best

Jim