Duty Paid
2016 Sine Qua Non, Deux Grenouilles White, California 1x75cl
Blend: 36% Roussanne, 29% Chardonnay, 23% Viognier, 9% Petite Manseng, and 3% Muscat.
Vintage production: n/a
Entirely from estate fruit with the exception of Chardonnay from Bien Nacido Vineyard.... Aged in 26% concrete eggs, 26% used barrels and 48% new oak.
The name Deux Grenouilles is French for 'Two Frogs'. The photo on the front label includes a Citroën 2CV. 2CV stood for 'deux chevaux' or 'deux chevaux-vapeur', which translates from French to English as two steam horses or two tax horsepower, a reference to the low cost of registering the car, and more generally the low cost of buying and maintaining the car. It has many parallels to the Volkswagen Beetle. This was the car Manfred wanted when he turned 18 years old.
£223 / BottleDuty Status: Duty PaidAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days
2019 Teeter-Totter, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 1x75cl
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Sirah, 5% Charbano, 5% Zinfandel
Vintage production: n/a
Anyone who's drunk a Cabernet Sauvignon made by Benoit Touqette will know why he's regarded as one... of the greatest winemakers of his generation. With countless 100 point scores at Realm Cellars for The Bard, The Absurd, Moonracer Estate, Beckstoffer Dr. Crane and Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernets, he's at the top of his game.
So when he releases a Cab under his own label, it's a complete no-brainer! That makes his Teeter-Totter Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 one of the shrewdest buys from Napa, especially with Jeb Dunnuck saying "It tastes as if it costs two to three times the price."
With Teeter-Totter, Benoit gets to cherry pick fruit from his favourite vineyards throughout Napa. The result is a red that's both serious and complex, as well as delicious and moreish from the word go.
Benoit described 2019 as a "100% drool-worthy vintage", and his final blend was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon from St Helena, Yountville and Rutherford; 5% each of Petite Sirah, Charbono and Zinfandel from Calistoga. It's in the classic Benoit-style with plenty of richness and opulence, with a great structure to carry it along.
£58 / BottleDuty Status: Duty PaidAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days
2018 O’Shaughnessy Estate, Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 1x75cl
£108 / BottleDuty Status: Duty PaidAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days
2018 Zotovich, Estate Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills 1x75cl
Blend: 100% Chardonnay
Vintage production: 74 cases
£27 / BottleDuty Status: Duty PaidAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days
2018 Clementine Carter, Larner Grenache, Santa Ynez Valley 1x75cl
Blend: 100% Grenache
Vintage production: 125 cases
There are two sides to Grenache: the rich, deep and peppery wines, and those driven by elegance, purity and vibrancy. One of the best exponents of... the latter, more feminine style is winemaker Sonja Magdevski and her Clementine Carter label.
Perfectly described as "Pinot Noir lover's Grenache" by Jeb Dunnuck, Sonja's wines are utterly joyous and unlike anything else in our cellar. Best of all, despite vineyard production topping out at just over 300 cases, they are astonishingly well-priced.
Sonja produces tiny volumes of incredible Grenache, based around some brilliant vineyards in Santa Barbara County. The Kimsey and Larner Vineyards are in Ballard Canyon, and in addition to Sonja, their fruit is sourced by some of THE greatest winemakers in California, including Jim Binns for his Andremily wines. Sonja also sources some awesome fruit in Sta. Rita Hills for her third cuvée.
£39 / BottleDuty Status: Duty PaidAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days
2017 Bevan Cellars, Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville 1x75cl
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage production: 885 cases
£185 / BottleDuty Status: Duty PaidAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days