RP-96
2017 Gianni Brunelli, Brunello di Montalcino 6x75cl
"The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is beautifully bright and stitched up with extreme focus and sharpness. Sangiovese has this gorgeous ability to show linearity and lift, but it remains elegant and... tight at the same time. This wine accomplishes all of this, and that's saying a lot given the heat and drought of this vintage. The acidity is bright and the finish is long and smooth with citrusy end notes of blood orange followed by wild rose and lilac. Fruit comes from a 4.5-hectare site with sand and galestro soils. Production is exactly 15,014 bottles. Maria Laura Vacca Brunelli and her team harvested about one week early in 2017 to capture that varietal freshness." 96 pts., Monica Larner, robertparker.com
£220 / Case£36.67 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: Immediate
2020 Penfolds, Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, South Australia 6x75cl
"Looking in on the 389 can be "'can be," she says, parenthetically) a good insight into what we can expect from the upcoming Grange. Now, they are very different wines, no question, however,... stylistically they have much in common and the illumination into the season that birthed the wines in each instance. Here, the 2020 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz has consummate polish and sleek tannins, imbued as they are with graphite, black tea, licorice and resin. The fruit is pure and black and chewy... gorgeous wine. And it lives for decades. This has always been a collector's dream and continues so through this vintage. Highly recommended." 96 pts., Erin Larkin, robertparker.com
£202 / Case£33.67 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: Immediate
2018 Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata, Mendoza 6x75cl
“... The results are breath-taking. Purple in the glass with garnet flecks, this wine delivers layers of aroma, beginning with black currant and moving on to intense, precise notes of lavender and... mint along with hints of black tea, sage and cigar box. In the mouth, austerity vies for supremacy with sheer power, a balance overseen by polished, grippy tannins placed into relief by a well-judged freshness that keeps the whole package light on its feet. This is a wine of tension foregrounded by the blend: the Malbec smooths out the Cabernet Sauvignon, which in turn brings energy to a red with an extremely long finish.” 96 points, Joaquín Hidalgo, www.vinous.com
£300 / Case£50 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: En Primeur