Fireside Dozen
An excellent seasonal selection that averages just £12.50 per bottle and includes our best selling white Burgundy and a red Bordeaux from the very good 2020 vintage, alongside four other SVS staff favourites.
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Inside the case you'll get...
Talmard, Macon-Uchizy, 2024
This is one of our best-selling wines for a reason – it is consistent year after year and always offers a proper glass of white Burgundy at a very fair price. It’s unoaked but sensitive use of battonage and malolactic fermentation, mean it has a hint of butter alongside the lemon and apple fruit with very good concentration given the modest 12% alcohol. A winner. 12%. Now – 2027.
ColourWhite
RegionBurgundy
GrowerTalmard
Grape VarietyChardonnay
Vintage2024
ABV12%
Bottle75cl
CodeTAL124
Burgundy
The Burgundy Pyramid
Making sense of the complexity of the complexity of Burgundy isn’t easy.
Though Burgundy only comprises 5% of France’s vineyard area, it holds 100 different Appellations, 25% of the entire French total. There are no less than 5,000 growers, 85% of whom own less than 10 hectares, and four fifths of them make wine.
To make matters...
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Chardonnay
Chardonnay is one of the most-widely planted varieties in the world.
Arguably not the most characterful grape, hence its common ageing in oak, yet at its pinnacle in Burgundy it produces some of the greatest (and certainly most expensive) white wines in the world. Look out for unoaked Chardonnay, it can make a pleasant change, and usually goes down very well with all those people who...
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Château Barrejat, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh Sec, Signature 2024
Over to Michael for this one: “I cook slow roasted chicken, stuffed with lemon and garlic, smothered in butter and pimentón, on a bed of potatoes, for my family on a Sunday at least once a month and this is the wine that goes with it. Chock full of green fruit and blossom it has the character and interest to match the meal - a south-west brasserie wine with a classic brasserie dish".
A little known - and hard to pronounce - but delicious Gros Manseng from the same area as...
ColourWhite
RegionSouth-West
GrowerChateau Barrejat
Grape VarietyGros Manseng
Vintage2024
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
ClosureCork
CodeBAJ624
Domaine des Garriguettes, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, Fleur de Lune, 2024
A blend of approximately 50% Clairette, 30% Grenache Blanc and 20% Viognier, with about 20% of the wine rounded in old oak barrels, this is a fresh and vibrant Côtes du Rhône. Fantastic balance of ripe stone fruit and racy, citric acidity. Vital and energetic with true clarity of flavour. 13%. Now-2027.
Lying just to the east of Avignon is the “other” Châteauneuf – the village of Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne which in large part shares a similar terroir to its more famous and...
ColourWhite
RegionRhone
Sub RegionRhone
GrowerDomaine des Garriguettes
Grape VarietyClairette, Grenache Blanc & Viognier
Vintage2024
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
ClosureCork
MethodBiodynamic
CodeGAR624
Viognier
Viognier
Characteristics
- Fickle grape to grow, subject to problems in the flowering and setting of fruit
- Best picked late and fully ripe, with high alcohol, at least 13.5 degree
- ...but can be too fat and overblown if grown in too hot temperatures
- Very aromatic, with scents of apricot and...
Comte de Gironde, Bordeaux Rouge, 2020
Every list needs a go-to traditionally-styled claret at a good price and this is our current offering. Tasted blind, it couldn’t be anything other than a red Bordeaux. Medium-bodied, with cassis fruit and fine tannins, it ticks a lot of boxes. A very good midweek or lunchtime wine. Now-2026
ColourRed
RegionBordeaux
GrowerComte de Gironde
Grape VarietyMerlot, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage2020
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
ClosureCork
CodeCDG120
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Francis a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon.
A cross of it with Sauvignon Blanc resulted in Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc tends to be softer and has less tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon, although the two can be difficult to distinguish. Many of the red wines of the Loire are primarily Cabernet Franc.
Origins ...
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Les Vignerons d’Estezargues, Cuvee des Galets, Cotes du Rhone, 2022
This is the 19th consecutive vintage we have shipped of this deliciously fruity Côtes du Rhône, from this unfailingly reliable co-operative of just ten growers between Avignon and Nîmes. All wines here are from sustainably or organically farmed grapes, made naturally (i.e. without any additives bar the merest bit of sulphur to ensure stability) and bottled unfiltered.
A paint-by-numbers Côtes du Rhône that works every time. Dry but juicy raspberry fruit with notes of Christmas...
ColourRed
RegionRhone
Sub RegionSouthern Rhône
VillageCôtes du Rhône
GrowerLes Vignerons d’Estézargues
Grape VarietyGrenache, Cinsault & Syrah
Vintage2022
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
ClosureCork
CodeESZ122
Les Vignerons d’Estézargues
Rhone, France
This small co-operative, in a little village in the Gard, just west of Avignon, is now getting more attention here because oenologist Denis Deschamps makes "natural" wines, i.e. without adding any sulphur (or anything else) during winemaking.
We find this mildly amusing: we have been quietly shipping decent volumes of these delicious, forward-fruited,...
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Grenache / Garnacha
Grenache / Garnacha
Grenache grows well in hot, dry regions, though it can develop very high (15 degrees+) alcohol.
As such it is grown principally in Southern France and Spain (as Garnacha). It is usually blended with other varieties in the Southern Rhône and Languedoc (Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsaut and others).
Its flavour usually encompasses the...
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El Lagar de Isilla, Ribera del Duero, 122 Roble, 2024
A blend of 94% Tinto Fino, 4% Merlot and 4% Abillo Mayor. This has pleasing dark fruit intensity with a nice grip. There is also a slightly floral note along with a good lick of tannin to give some structure. An authentic taste of Ribera del Duero at a superb price. 122 is the number of days that the wine spends in barrel. Now-2026
ColourRed
RegionRibera Del Duero
GrowerEl Lagar de Isilla
Grape VarietyTempranillo
Vintage2024
ABV14.5%
Bottle75cl
ClosureCork
CodeLAH124
Tempranillo
Tempranillo is Spanish red wine, with Rioja being its showroom.
Origins
- Tempranillo vines were (possibly) originally brought to Spain, as variants of Pinot Noir (Burgundy) or Cabernet Franc (Bordeaux) from monasteries in Northern France by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela.
Characteristics ...
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Here’s the full tasting note for...
Fireside Dozen
An excellent seasonal selection that averages just £12.50 per bottle and includes our best selling white Burgundy and a red Bordeaux from the very good 2020 vintage, alongside four other SVS staff favourites.
Great choice of good-value wines in the January sales. The website is really easy to use to make up an order. Delivery, as is often the case, was within 24 hours and, as usual, was well-packed.Read More
I've bought a couple of cases recently, and many more in years gone by, and have really enjoyed their selection. They have a good range of interesting wines from some classic and some more…Read More
Judging by the wines I have had, someone is doing a very good job in selecting the wines to put before the public, and at a very fair price. Delivery from online purchases as also been quick and…Read More
Great company with good service and good prices. Highly recommended.Read More
One of my favourite independents. Been enjoying these special wines for more than 10 years. Always interesting choices, and always great value in the sales!Read More
This was yet another quick and painless transaction, as I have come to expect from SV&S.Read More
