Large Format Collection

Spinifex Rose is yet again, our favourite Australian rose and is a cut above the rest of the competition. The 2017 vintage is made from a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Mataro – three varities commonly used to make similar wines in Provence, Southern France. The result is a wine of lifted red berry, red petal and grenadine fragrance, thirst-quenching freshness and terrific depth. An Australian benchmark, this is sure to appeal to the many fans that this wine already has. – FWC. 

Poggerino's 2016 Chianti Classico is gorgeous. Aromatically lifted and juicy on the palate, the 2016 has much to offer. Black cherry, plum, tobacco, new leather, licorice and spice are pushed forward in a supple, beautifully perfumed Chianti Classico. The 2016 is impeccably done. Best of all, it will drink well right out of the gate. 92 points, Antonio Galloni

A pale partridge eye pink with perfumed bouquet, which follows with elegant summer fruits. The palate is refined and elegant with faint cherry nuances and beautifully integrated balancing acidity. This superb rose is made from a blend of old vines grown on the Esclans estate by Burgundian winemaking techniques resulting in a rounded and expressive Provence rose with unusual complexity.

The 2015 vintage in Tuscany has been hyped up beyond belief. So far it seems justified, particularly in the case of Felsina. Pretty simple handling in the winery – fruit is sent to three & four year old barriques and left to do its thing. Very aromatically lifted/perfumed (surprisingly so) – pressed flowers, dried herbs, and light spice swirl around a core of red and black sweet and sour cherry. There is a fair bit going on; freshness, elegance and intensity perfectly aligned. Delicious now but would love to open a bottle in 5 to 10 years. - Ian Cook, FWC. 

The red from La Orotava, the 2017 Migan, is also in its second vintage, pure Listán Negro [aka pais/mission] from the village of La Perdoma, whose ancient name was Migan. They added one more plot in 2017, Tío Luis, at 550 meters in altitude on sandy soils without any clay, a type of soil that provides great finesse. I think the blend has gained in perfume, it felt very expressive and open, perhaps less austere than the 2016 but without being exuberant, as the palate is sharp, serious and dry. Two of the components of the blend, La Habanera and Tío Luis (but not San Antonio), are also bottled separately. Or in other words, this is the blend of three wines (approximately one-third of each) that provide different things, and it's probably the most complete. Often a blend adds up to more than the sum of the different parts. Balance, my friends... Luis Gutiérrez

Some reduction on the nose which blows off quite quickly once in the glass. It’s a very pretty and seductive amalgamation of red fruit and black pepper. Lots of finesse on the nose but even morseo in a textural sense. It’s finely grained and soft but with some grippiness which is where the tannin reveals itself. An approachable wine ready to drink young, but don’t think that it lacks any structure – it’s all there. – Ches Cook, FWC

The 2017 Palo Blanco is produced with Listán Blanco grapes [aka Palomino] from the village of Los Realejos in the Valle de la Orotava. Now in its second vintage, this year they added one more plot, and in 2018 they will add one more. The warm vintage was a blessing in the cooler and wetter zones of the Tenerife Island like the Orotava Valley, as the year compensated for the place, and the wine has a tad more volume and body. They were able to harvest the grapes earlier than 2016, before the weather turned more complicated, and the grapes were very healthy, which is not always the case in the northern zones. 2017 was a great viticulture year in the Orotava Valley, and they also felt the removal of herbicides when they started working the vineyard is really showing, and it should get even better. The wine is serious and balanced, and it has a dry, chalky finish with a somewhat Burgundian feel to it. Superb. – Luis Gutiérrez

A tiny amount of skin contact used here for some added mouthfeel, which shows through very nicely. Aromatics are very lively, lifted and floral. The palate shows some citrus fruit on top of some softness and roundness in the middle before straightening out again and finishing with a lot of white chalk and acid. It’s full of energy and nerve. – Ches Cook, FWC

This is 100% Pinot Noir wine that is full flavoured, rich and very dry. In fact it is bone dry when most other Brut NV’s contain around 10gm/lt of sugar (and legally up to 15gm/lt). To achieve the kind of great balance this wine possesses, the base wine quality needs to be very high as little sugar can hide excessive acidity or phenolics, and even add to the perception of flavour. So good is this wine that the absence of any sugar only adds to its quality and uniqueness. One of the best books on Champagne ͞4000 Champagnes͟ is written by the Swede Richard Juhlin, and he writes ͞A tremendously powerful Champagne. The mature reserve wines give weight and softness and rounds off the completely dry aftertaste. Bollinger-like.͟The best quality Champagne on the market at anywhere near this price! –Ian Cook, FWC.

Producer Note: The grapes used to make our rosé come from selected parcels where the vines are on average 20 years old. The yields are low, which explains the intense concentration and distinct expression of each varietal in this wine. The presence of Mourvedre gives this wine its strong character, balance and complexity. An intense fruit and floral nose make this an attractive rosé. The palate is rounded and full with fruity aromas of peach and pomegranate, followed by delicate spice notes and a pleasant freshness created by acidic balance.

Tempier Rosé is beautifully balanced. It is made up of crunchy yet opulent fruit bolstered by a refreshing shock of blood orange crispness. It really sits well above all other Bandol & Provence rose. It’s a great match with grilled seafood, antipasti platters and of course bouillabaisse.  We all think of rose for Summer, but this wine is so good it’s perfect in winter with the right food. – Ian Cook, FWC

Tempier's 2018 Bandol Rose marks another successful vintage for this consistent standout. It's light to medium-bodied, not overly ripe or rich, but all about balance and refreshment. Tangerine and melon aromas and flavors hit all the right notes, lingering on the already elegant finish. 89-92 points. – Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate

The wine that represents the house style and also the biggest volume here with around 350,000 bottles produced is the 2010 Reserva which was cropped from an almost perfect growing season. A blend of the reds Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and the whites Viura and Malvasía Riojana, it fermented with indigenous yeasts in a combination of stainless steel and oak vats then matured in French oak barrels for 17 months. The nose has earthy aromas and notes of ripe orange peel giving old-style character to the wine marked by very well-integrated oak and an obvious Rioja character. There are cherries, plums and spices with licorice and ink aromas. The day after, it has more strawberries with very good freshness, so the evolution in bottle should be good. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and good acidity that ends with sweet fruit flavors and something earthy, very pleasant and easy to drink. It grows on you. Drink 2015 – 2025. 93 points. Luis Gutierrez for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. 

Characteristic floral, cherry and spice aromas abound from the glass on first approach. The fruit from our four vineyards (Elms, MacMuir, Calvert and Cornish Point) delivers appealing diversity of aroma and flavour, along with multiple layers and textures. The deeply textural mouthfeel is silken and already charmingly approachable: partly due to the warm 2018 season, but also highly typical of the Felton Road house style. FeltonRoad.com

Tasted under blue skies on a Thursday morning. Not a bad way to start the day. We’ve followed this wine for a handful of years now. It often needs at least several months to open up but this year it’s singing straight away. Here we’re tucked away at roughly 500 metres above sea level in Piccadilly. 100% whole bunch. Very pretty on the nose with red fruits, forest berries and violet florals to the fore and earthy brown spice in support. This will be delicious over the next 5 years +. FWC.

Really complex already with smoke, brown/bruised/baked apple plus an array of brown spices. How do you possibly pack all of these descriptors into a bottle of new Riesling! Finger lime and savoury spices leave you with a far more complete wine, rather than a new Prüm that demands 20 years in the cellar. This is the beauty of the 2016 vintage. Ian Cook. FWC.

The 2016 Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese is discreet and smoky on the deep, well-defined nose. Juicy-piquant and salty on the well-structured and refreshingly mineral palate, the Himmelreich is tight and expressive, with the sweetness superbly balanced by the spicy, grippy phenols/minerals. This is a really complex Spätlese that is highly stimulating today and will still be so in 20 or 30 years. 95 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate #236

The good news is that Isle 2018 is looking superb and follows the highly sought-after 2017 vintage which barely touched the sides here at Five Way Cellars. This will be gone in record time too, I suspect. This release shows a great deal of elegance: a mix of red fruits with some darker undercurrents, light in the mouth but with gentle persistence of flavour that leaves a last impression on the senses. It isn’t muscular but rather slowly builds on you with its all-encompassing mouthfeel and ballooning aromatics of red berry, foresty undergrowth and some gentle spice. A fantastic expression of Huon Pinot. – Ches Cook, FWC.

To quote Jim Chatto, The Isle Pinot Noir is from “the purple patch in the vineyard.” It’s taut. It’s not dense but it’s powerful. It has reductive characters but they’re complexing rather than excessive. I described last year’s release as exquisite and this is the equal of it. It crackles with dried leaves, woodsmoke, cranberry, red and black cherry and woodsy spice. There’s a garden herb character, particularly through the finish, but it gets swept up in the overall rush. We’re in elite territory here. Drink 2021 - 2030+. 96 Points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

Savoury with a perfumed lift of cherry & blackcurrant florals, plus a little honey richness matched with a hint of red apple on the palate. The most minerality of the Spatlese with a good lengthy zing on the second half of the palate. All the Spatlese wines seem drier than previous vintages – the Wehlener, long, flinty & savoury with quite a drying finish. My favourite by a whisker. Ian Cook. FWC.

The 2016 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese (AP 23 17) is still discreet, floral and finely mineral rather than fruity on the nose compared to the other 2016 Spätlesen. Lush, piquant and juicy on the palate, this is a firm but sensual Sonnenuhr with remarkable finesse, lightness and lingering salinity. 94 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate #236.

Not necessarily bigger or darker when compared to The Acre but a sense of seriousness and superiority hovers over this wine. Aromas are lifted and bring new dimensions of floral tones to the wine with each sniff. It has an Aperol/Campari/botanical thing going on which is hard to pinpoint but so alluring at the same time. There is a coolness to the wine and for all the prettiness of the fruit, there are savoury undercurrents which is where the real enjoyment lies. Again, it is one to cellar if you can, but drinking it young will bring a lot of enjoyment, too. – Ches Cook, FWC.

The best I can recall this wine looking upon release. So expressive yet to chiselled and refined. Hugely aromatic too – I sat there smelling the wine for at least two minutes before even tasting it. A very nice mix of primary blue fruits with graphite, pencil shavings and a slight dusting of dried leaf. It’s supremely elegant and showing a lot of retrained power below the surface. The tannin is savoury and firm but with a huge amount of support from the blue fruits behind it. A real lesson in elegance and sophistication. – Ches Cook, FWC.

“Once again, the 2015 Barolo Via Nuova shows why the blending of several sites was the approach favored by Barolo producers until the 1960s, when the fascination for single-vineyard wines started to take off. Maybe the old-times knew something after all. Silky and fragrant, with exceptional balance, the 2015 is positively striking. Medium in body and layered, the 2015 has a very bright future. What a gorgeous wine it is. The Via Nuova was aged in equal parts cask and barrique.” 94 Points, Antonio Galloni

“The 2015 Barolo Via Nuova is a blend of fruit from Barolo, Monforte d'Alba and Serralunga d'Alba, and each site adds elegance, power and structure, respectively. The wine's taste profile in 2015 emerges as very minty and balsamic on first nose. Delicate notes of forest berry and wild cherry are followed by cooling medicinal herb. This warm vintage also adds a touch of cured meat or leather at the very back that hints at the heat of the vintage. Overall, this is the most accessible and near-term of Chiara Boschis's three Barolos reviewed this year.” 93 Points, Drink: 2021-2040, Monica Larner, Issue 243 End of June 2019, The Wine Advocate.

“Undoubtedly one of the top vintages of this wine, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau features classy notes of crushed stones and black tea to go along with ripe raspberries and black cherries. Full-bodied yet silky, there's more power and richness in La Crau than in Piedlong, yet there's commensurate elegance and finesse. The wine grows in intensity on the finish without ever seeming heavy or overripe, instead offering hints of tea and licorice. Score: 96. Drink: 2018-2035.” Joe Czerwinski, 1 Sep 2018, Issue: 238.The Wine Advocate.

Immensely inviting, this opens with fragrant pipe tobacco, crushed berry, new leather and pressed violet aromas. On the palate, firm, refined tannins underpin juicy black cherry, raspberry and cinnamon flavours, while orange zest accents and an energizing mineral note lift the finish. It’s beautifully balanced with bright acidity and will reward a bit of cellaring. Drink 2020-2032, 98. - Kerin O’Keefe.

Vivid dark red. Ripe aromas of red cherry, blood orange and stone fruit. Smooth, dense and juicy, with flavors similar to the aromas but complicated by notes of fresh herbs, sweet spices and hints of flint. Long and suave, with noble but youthfully chewy tannins providing support. Knockout classic Brunello, in fact, one of the year’s best. 94+. - Ian D’Agata.

Pinot dominant wine, with powerful fruit and great depth - Classic Bouzy! This Champagne house is based in the Grand Cru village of Bouzy in the Montagne de Reims district. Youthful and enthusiastic winemaker Jean Francois Clouet produces 6000 dozen per year and currently works in ancient cellars dug by hand. “It took ten guys ten years” says Jean Francois. The Clouet’s vineyards closely reflect the village plantings of 88% pinot noir (some of Clouet’s vines are adjacent to Bollinger’s pre-phylloxera plantings that make a single vineyard wine at about $800 per bottle), 1% pinot meunier and 11% chardonnay. The style here is full flavoured and rich. The house is famous for the Silver Brut that is one of the driest Champagnes on the market.

This is 100% pinot noir wine that is full flavoured, rich and very dry. In fact it is bone dry when most other Brut N/V’s contain around 10gm/lt of sugar (and legally up to 15gm/lt). To achieve the kind of great balance this wine possesses, the base wine quality needs to be very high as little sugar can hide excessive acidity or phenolics, and even add to the perception of flavour. So good is this wine that the absence of any sugar only adds to its quality and uniqueness. One of the best books on Champagne “4000 Champagnes” is written by the Swede Richard Juhlin, and he writes “A tremendously powerful Champagne. The mature reserve wines give weight and softness and rounds off the completely dry aftertaste. Bollinger like.” - Ian Cook, FWC

Clos de la Cave des Ducs is a Monopole vineyard that measures only 0.64 hectares and is owned by the family of Leroux’s right-hand man, Jean-Charles Carré. It’s a wine that was rarely seen before Leroux started bottling this site. With Jean-Charles, Leroux controls every aspect of viticulture and so the site is managed biodynamically and with meticulous care. The vineyard is situated within the upper boundaries of the village─the highest 1er Cru of Volnay in fact─on fine, light soils. The oldest vines here are now 80 years old although the average age evens out to be about 50 years, and includes a 20-year-old massale selection parcel sourced from Comte Armand’s Clos des Epeneaux. This year Leroux retained one-third whole bunches. The best Clos de la Cave des Ducs Leroux has made? The grower certainly thinks so and it’s not hard to see why. It’s deep and fleshy with great fruit purity (dark cherry, ink, brown spices), great finesse, seductive texture and excellent persistence. There’s plenty of tannin but they are very fine. Don't miss it! It’s a great drink now but will be a truly great bottle in 5-10 years. 

“It has a very subtle bouquet, tightly wound and poised, featuring crushed stone, almost flint-like aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, wonderful poise and purity and a sappy, very silky finish that is utterly seductive. This is one of Leroux’s best reds this year.” 91-93 points, Neal Martin, Vinous January 2019

“A cool, airy and admirably pure combination of essence of red pinot fruit sprinkled with lovely spice and floral wisps gives way to super-sleek and intense flavors that are also intensely mineral-driven on the slightly less linear and strict finale. This too will need a few years to add flesh but it ultimately should be lovely.” 89-92 points, Allen Meadows, Burghound issue 75

Pinot dominant wine, with powerful fruit and great depth - Classic Bouzy! This Champagne house is based in the Grand Cru village of Bouzy in the Montagne de Reims district. Youthful and enthusiastic winemaker Jean Francois Clouet produces 6000 dozen per year and currently works in ancient cellars dug by hand. “It took ten guys ten years” says Jean Francois. The Clouet’s vineyards closely reflect the village plantings of 88% pinot noir (some of Clouet’s vines are adjacent to Bollinger’s pre-phylloxera plantings that make a single vineyard wine at about $800 per bottle), 1% pinot meunier and 11% chardonnay. The style here is full flavoured and rich. The house is famous for the Silver Brut that is one of the driest Champagnes on the market.

This is 100% pinot noir wine that is full flavoured, rich and very dry. In fact it is bone dry when most other Brut N/V’s contain around 10gm/lt of sugar (and legally up to 15gm/lt). To achieve the kind of great balance this wine possesses, the base wine quality needs to be very high as little sugar can hide excessive acidity or phenolics, and even add to the perception of flavour. So good is this wine that the absence of any sugar only adds to its quality and uniqueness. One of the best books on Champagne “4000 Champagnes” is written by the Swede Richard Juhlin, and he writes “A tremendously powerful Champagne. The mature reserve wines give weight and softness and rounds off the completely dry aftertaste. Bollinger like."  Ian Cook, FWC

This is quite plummy in character with its highly complex aromas of dark berry, earth, sauvage, floral and gentle spice nuances. There is outstanding volume and concentration to the markedly powerful and muscular broad-shouldered flavors that culminate in a dusty, seriously long and equally complex finish. Note that my suggested drinking window takes into account the magnum format. 92-95 points. - Allen Meadows, Burghound. Drink 2033+.

Bottled in magnum only. Leroux only makes a single barrel from this small and almost mythical 1er Cru. The terroir here is rockier than the rest of Malconsorts, resulting in great perfume and freshness, and perhaps less overt flesh. From tiny bunches and berries, this was fermented with 70% whole bunches and racked early from a new barrel into two, two-year-old barriques. 

“Located next to Les Gaudichots and above Les Malconsorts, this little-known premier cru is high on the slope of Vosne-Romanée next to Nuits-St-Georges. The resulting wine is refined, delicate and floral, with crunchy redcurrant and pomegranate notes and two-thirds whole bunches contributing some sap and clove spice.” 96 points, Tim Atkin MW, Decanter

“Lively vibrant red with an excellent bouquet which shows the stems, lively and heady. This fills out beautifully, with dancing fruit, quite Echezeaux in style in that sense, all red, nothing black, yet really long and fine.” 92-94 points, Jasper Morris, InsideBurgundy.com

A brooding, ripe and pungently earthy nose offers up notes of violets, cassis and relatively hightoned red berries that give way to rich, powerful and restrained big-boned flavors that possess excellent mid-palate density before culminating in a robust and overtly muscular finish that displays the hallmark Clos de Vougeot austerity. 91-94 /2024+ - Burghound

“A brooding and recalcitrant nose grudgingly displays a deeply pitched array of plum liqueur, dark currant, forest floor and wisps of spice elements. There is both excellent drive and power to the large-scaled and well-detailed flavors that are very clearly built-to-age on the impressively persistent and complex finale. This is excellent but this will not be an early drinker and especially not in magnum format so plenty of patience will be necessary.” 92-94 points, Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue 75

“Located entirely on white soils, this comes from Chambolle-Musigny and shows the freshness and focus that often seems to be related to limestone soils. Chalky and intense, with chiselled acidity, it's a wine that needs time to take on more fruit weight. The one-third new oak, is, as ever, very well handled.” 95 points, Tim Atkin MW, Decanter

“The 2017 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has a lovely, floral bouquet that is very well defined, traces of violet filtering through the black cherries and bilberry fruit. This particular cru had not been racked at the time of my visit. Nevertheless, it opens wonderfully with a succulent, sensual cassis-tinged finish that lingers on the finish. Give this four or five years. Excellent.” 92-94 points, Neal Martin, Vinous January 2019

An hour after opening: Very dark blackish crimson. Very powerful and intense. Tar and alcohol and sweet American oak – still very embryonic. Tough oaky finish. Not mellifluous. Very tough finish. Sweet and medicinal but it may age more gracefully. Tough finish with the acidity very obvious. Not harmonious. 24 hours later: very round and supple and seductive – enormous power and only very slight syrupiness. The fruit, acidity and tannin had harmonised, as they tend to do in bottle over the years, so that the aggressive elements were muted and what was dominant was the intensely South Australian fruit – still tar and sweet oak with more than a hint of cough medicine, but gentle. 18+ Points/Drink 2015-2025 - Jancis Robinson, Jancis Robinson.com

It is always a treat to taste Australia’s most famous wine, Penfolds’ Grange cuvee (the word Hermitage has been dropped because of legal issues). The 2001 Grange is one of the few vintages of this cuvee to be composed of 100% Shiraz (the others being 1951, 1952, 1963, 1999, and 2000). Aged 17 months in 100% American oak, and tipping the scales at 14.5% alcohol, the 2001 is undeniably one of the top examples of this wine. At this stage, it appears to eclipse the 1998 and 1996. Inky/blue/purple to the rim, with a stunning perfume of blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, graphite, and earth, it boasts good acidity, huge tannins, magnificent concentration, and a multilayered, textured mouthfeel. It is a big, but impeccably well-balanced Shiraz that should shed some of its structure and tannin over the next 4-5 years. 98+ Points/Drink 2010-2030+ - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

“A restrained and markedly more elegant nose offers up essence of red currant, spice and lavender scents. The mouth feel of the lacy and racy middle weight flavors is sleek and sophisticated while exuding an abundance of minerality on the much better balanced and lingering finish. Patience will be required in the large format bottling.” 91-94 points, Allen Meadows, Burghound, Issue 75

“Just one barrel which will be bottled entirely in magnums. Middling depth of purple and absolutely the desired sensuality. This is absolutely and completely what you want from Amoureuses. Lovely long finish. Tastes good to go now! But obviously will firm up and be a keeper.” 93-96 points, Jasper Morris, InsideBurgundy.com

Bottled in magnum only. Leroux’s two barrels of Chambertin are drawn from a parcel of old, biodynamically farmed vines in the heart of the vineyard. The 2017 was vinified with 70% whole bunches and 40% new oak. It’s a stunning example.

“The Leroux parcel is located in the heart of Chambertin and is farmed biodynamically. It's a very poised, precise wine made with two-thirds whole bunches and 40% new wood. It's balanced and focussed, with effortless concentration and a bright, mineral-edged finish.” 96 points, Tim Atkin MW, Decanter

“Five barrels this year! Medium depth of a darkish red colour. The nose is a sublime absolutely pure interpretation of Chambertin, intensity with a fine delicacy too, and this filigree tension which pervades the whole. I found amazing the dancing delicacy that still stays on the palate for a very long time. Absolutely beautiful!” 94-97 points, Jasper Morris, InsideBurgundy.com