White Wine
Enjoy a great White wine from the fantastic selection available from the webs best merchants.
CHATEAU REIGNAC - Blanc 2004 75cl Bottle
Limited stock. Bud thinning, double leaf thinning, 3 buch thinning, hand picking into small baskets and double sorting before and after de-stemming. Cold Maceration then fermentation in new oak barrels. The lees are regulary stirred by a rotation of the barrel. Grape: 60% Sauvignon, 35% Semillon, 5% Muscadelle.
2008 Saint Aubin, Morey Blanc, en primeur
This is the negiociant business, set up by Pierre Morey and his wife Christiane Blanc. Pierre, who has now retired as Domaine Leflaive’s winemaker, continues with the family business under the Domaine Pierre Morey label, but has added the Maison Morey-Blanc to his repertoire. The main focus here is white wines, and they are bullish about the quality of these 08s, which are charged with ripe fruit and high natural acidity, ensuring freshness and vitality.
TYRRELLS - Winemakers Selection VAT 47 Chardonnay 2006/7 75cl Bottle
Rich Chardonnay and white nectarine stone fruit characters on the nose and throughout the entire palate, with an underlying savoury lift from subtle oak usage. The solids addition and higher fermentation temperature, have added texture and an almost French style 'flintiness' to the wine, making it more complex and interesting. No malolactic fermentation has ensured a balanced and tight wine style with lingering fresh acidity that promises to age well. Only three of Tyrrell's own vineyards are ever used for the Vat 47 - The HVD (Hunter Valley Distillery) Vineyard which had the original Penfold Clone planted in 1923, the NVC (New Vine Cuttings) Vineyard that has thirty year old Chardonnay vines and Tyrrell's Short Flat. These vineyards share a common sandy alluvial soil, which imparts a unique clarity of flavour in the fruit that is grown on it. The 2005 vintage was a result of a season that started with a dry winter that despite late spring rains held back the size of the crop. The vineyard was hit by hail in late December that reduced the crop by a further 25%. The quality of the fruit was maintained, and came to the winery in good health. The juice was cold settled and racked to stainless steel tanks for partial fermentation and then transferred to French oak barriques to complete fermentation - only one third new, one third one year old, and one third two year old oak. 20% of the barrels are new oak and balance of 80% is older seasoned wood. This year a portion of the cold settled juice solids was introduced into the ferment to add complexity, texture and strength to the mid palate of the wine. Fermentation temperatures were also slightly higher to add finer structure to the wine and also lengthen the palate. The wine only spends six months in oak for maturation, which is approximately half the time that most Australian Chardonnays spend in barrel. The Rufus Stone marks the accidental killing of King William Rufus by Sir Walter Tyrell (yes, one 'r' in those days) in 1100 and this historic association has been utilized for Tyrrell's top, non-Hunter regional red wine range. The grapes used for these wines come from Heathcote, McLaren Vale and the Limestone Coast regions in Australia. These wines allow the winemakers to use red wine styles and oak maturation techniques not normally used for traditional Hunter Valley Reds.
2007 White Burgundy Magnum, Adnams Selection, Paul Talmard
It has to be pretty special for us to put our names to it - and this white Burgundy from the gleaming, steel tank-lined cellars of the ever-reliable Talmard family (they're based in the Mâcon town of Chardonnay, so ought to know a thing or two about the grape) truly is 'les genoux de l' abeille' . Stunningly clean, fresh and characterful, with intense white peach, lemon and melon flavours, it's sophisticated and versatile, perfect as an apéritif or with chicken, fish or salads.
DOMAINES OTT - Clos Mireille, Blancs de Blancs 2009 75cl Bottle
Blanc de Blancs celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary in 1988 at the'Jules Verne' at the top of the Eiffel Tower. This unparalleled wine, which has travelled throughout the world, is perfectly attuned to Mediterranean cuisine. This is ancient wine terrain distinguished for its mix of shale and clay and absence of limestone. The incomparable personality of Clos Mireille wines is no doubt owing to the estate's broad seafront location. The microclimate and sea spray provide highly favourable conditions for equally matchless white wines. Grapes varieties - semillon for its fullness, mellowness and honey flavour. Ugni Blanc for its vigour and youth. Rolle for its smooth, fleshy qualities with floral, fruity notes. The vineyard of Clos Mireille has 50ha of vines for production out of a total area of 170ha. The parcels used for the production of Blanc de Blancs slope down as far as the sea. They are levelled into espaliers to enable even tilling and planting. Cultivation methods are traditional and the earth is mechanically tilled with the greatest care to the plant. Vines are pruned and trained using the cordon de Royat or double cordon method. Hand picking. Highly selective grape sorting. Extremely delicate pressing in vertical presses. Slow (alcoholic and malolactic) fermentation followed by ageing in oak casks. Bottled in spring of the following year then stored in cellars for 8-12 months. A well-developed, complex, distinctive bouquet with rich fragrances of stone fruit, spice and wild flowers. Dry, supple and elegant on the palate. Enjoy as an aperitif or to accompany grilled fish, fish soup, shellfish, oysters. Best served at 8/9 degrees C.
Alain Bergère, Champagne Brut
Alain Bergère's best-selling cuvée (hitherto reserved for French and Belgian consumption) is an attractively 'biscuity' style of Champagne, thanks to its high proportion of Chardonnay (80%). Inducted into the 'Order of the White Apron' - Champagne's elite brotherhood - after graduating in wine science at the University of Rheims in 1984, Alain proudly perpetuates a 370-year-old family winemaking tradition. His vineyards lie south of Epernay and west of the Marne Valley.
2007 Pernand Vergelesses 'les Combottes', Domaine Rapet Pere
Vincent and Sylvette manage the Rapet family's 18 hectares of vines in Pernand, Savigny, Corton and Beaune. Great workers of the soil, they use a minimum of chemicals. 15 days fermentation after which the wine matures in barrels- 20% of which are new, for a further 12 months.
2007 Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl, Riesling Spatlese, Donnhoff
Situated in the village of Oberhausen, just between Niederhausen and Schlossbockleheim.Since the early 1970s Helmutt Donnhoff has been acquiring some of the finest vineyard sites on this stretch of the Nahe. The hand-picked harvest is fermented in a mix of classic German oak casks and stainless steel tanks, with impressive results.
2009 Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Very fine balance of citrus vivacity and Chardonnay warmth.
2007 Cloudy Bay Gewürztraminer, New Zealand
Early predictions of a bumper season were quashed during the coldest December in 50 years, but the challenging season was redeemed by an ideal autumn. The grapes are from the estate vineyards at Rapaura and in the Brancott Valley, with all vines pruned to give a low yield. This produced a modest crop of ripe and concentrated fruit with exceptional quality. The fruit was hand harvested and in excellent condition displaying intense, classic Gewurztraminer flavours. The wine is rich with layers of musk and spices, the palate is textured, opulent and flavoursome.
2007 Chardonnay, Cloudy Bay,Marlborough
The ground-breaking Cloudy Bay winery put NZ on the world wine map. It derives its name not from the brilliant design of the label which shows a range of cloud covered mountains but from the lovcal bay, so named by Captain Cook on his voyage of discovery , who leaned over the side of the ship and noted the waters dense with silt from the local river and went back to his chart and wrote 'Cloudy Bay' on the map !
2005 Saint Romain Blanc, Domaine Renaud Boyer
Renaud Boyer studied to be an engineer but found himself buying a small property in Saint Romain and making organic wines. This change of direction is fortunate for us as the quality of his wines compares favourably with more famous names.
2008 Chardonnay, Cloudy Bay, Marlborough
The ground-breaking Cloudy Bay winery put NZ on the world wine map. It derives its name not from the brilliant design of the label which shows a range of cloud covered mountains but from the local bay, so named by Captain Cook on his voyage of discovery, who leaned over the side of the ship and noted the waters dense with silt from the local river and went back to his chart and wrote 'Cloudy Bay' on the map!
2005 Chardonnay, Clos du Gat, Israel
Winemaker Eyal Rotem barrel-ages carefully selected batches of Chardonnay from his vineyards in the Ayalon Valley to create this remarkably complex wine.
2006 Chardonnay, Cloudy Bay,Marlborough
Savoury aromas of sesame biscuits and white mushrooms meld with the fragrance of ripe oranges and yellow plums, depicting the combination of wild yeast fermentationand vibrant Marlborough fruit. The palate is textural and generous with zesty citrus and nougat flavours, subtle toasty oak and a long mineral finish.
ROYAL TOKAJI - Blue Label 2007 50cl Bottle
Medium gold in in appearance, with a fine fresh bouquet of orange peel and flowers. On the palate it has an excellent balance, the sweetness being offset by fine acidity. Flavours of tropical fruits and oranges with a great length. A perfect example of a five puttonyos wine. This 5 puttonyos wine shows the distinctive house style of the Royal Tokaji Wine Company. The wines are blended after careful selection from several Royal Tokaji vineyards. The skill and traditions of producing Aszu wines have changed little since the 17th Century. Hand picked Aszu berries are macerated with top quality base wines. The resultant Aszu wines mature at different sweetness levels, generally 4, 5 or 6 puttonyos. Careful pruning in the 1st and 2nd Growth vineyards, hand picking and maturation for a minimum of 2 years in Zemplen oak casks in 13th century cellars, ensure these rich, refreshing wines are produced to the highest quality. This 5 puttonyos wine was fermented 100% in stainless steel tanks with own yeast inoculated, and was aged two and a half years in used oak. For fining bentonite and gelatine were added.
2007 Chateau Liot,Sauternes
85% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon and 5% Muscadelle. Around 15% of the crop goes through new oak for up to 18 months. Fine golden yellow, tones of dried fruits and botrytis, with a fine sweet, elegant finish.
VERGELEGEN - Flagship White 2007 75cl Bottle
A pale yellow-green colour with a nose reminiscent of freshly squeezed lime juice. On the palate, it is elegant and refined with mineral overtones and a flinty core dominated by whiffs of black truffle.