Red
Red Wines
We offer more red wine than white on our website… Well, there is a view that a meal without red wine is like a day without sunshine…
As a general rule red grape varieties tend to perform at their best in warmer temperatures than white. So whilst one could argue that the very greatest reds of the world come from marginal zones where the local vines need to be coaxed to full ripeness - for example Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux, Pinot Noir in Burgundy and Syrah in the northern Rhône - there is abundant decent red wine available now from countries or regions enjoying a Mediterranean climate; in particular the south of France, Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, California, etc.
While certain grape varieties are associated with particular countries or regions (for example Sangiovese with central Italy, Tempranillo with Spain, Malbec with Argentina, Carmenère with Chile, the home-grown Pinotage with South Africa, Zinfandel with California), it is the varieties best known for making top French wine - Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Syrah (Shiraz), Pinot Noir, and, to a lesser extent, Grenache and Mourvèdre - which have been widely planted all over the new world.
A word about ripeness, alcohol levels and climate change. Red wines, even more than white, are becoming more alcoholic. This is as a result of a number of different factors working together. First, consumers now seek riper wines - wines made from grapes which are picked properly ripe, with higher sugar levels which, once fermented out, become higher alcohol levels. (My theory as to why riper wines are so much more popular is related to us having become accustomed to higher sugar levels in a modern diet). Better management of the vines (in particular the "canopy" of the leaves) and more sophisticated weather forecasting has enabled growers to ripen their grapes better and pick at the right moment.
And on top of that is climate change. Thirty years ago reds from Bordeaux used to be bottled at 12-12.5%; since the hot 2009 vintage most examples show 13-14.5%, and some wines actually contain over 15% of alcohol.
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Red
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Product Code: GRV117
Château La Grave, Minervois Rouge, Tristan & Julien, 2017
“From halves of Grenache and Syrah, showing the strawberry sweetness of the former combined with the black fruit of the latter. So ripe and easy...”
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Product Code: ESZ118
Les Vignerons d’Estezargues, Cuvee des Galets, Cotes du Rhone, 2018
“Juicy, unfiltered blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah: raspberryish mouthful, mildly spicy and very moreish. A long term favourite at SVS. Now-2021”
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Product Code: VEG216
Vega del Rayo, Rioja, Vendimia Seleccionada, 2016
“A blend of about 95% Tempranillo and 5% Mazuelo, a cheerful, oaked (American and Russian) Rioja. Clean, raspberry, red and black cherry character,...”
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Product Code: MOP114
Domaine Monier Perreol, Saint Joseph, Terres Blanches, 2014
“A wine of such finesse, melding vanilla and clove oak aromas with silky layers of blackberry and blackcurrant. Great purity,length and perfume. Proof...”
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Product Code: BOR318
Bodegas Borsao, Garnacha, Joven, Campo de Borja, 2018
“Bodegas Borsao is a big co-operative, marketing wines from over 600 growers whose land undulates across the Moncayo hills. Garnacha (Grenache), the...”
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Product Code: LAH118
El Lagar de Isilla, Ribera Del Duero, Roble, 2018
“A best-seller here, 95% Tempranillo with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, given precisely 122 days (it says so on the label) in French and American oak...”
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Product Code: LAH314
El Lagar de Isilla, Ribera Del Duero, Reserva, 2014
“100% Tempranillo, including some parcels 80-90 years old; in French barrels for 18 months. Pure, lifted red fruit perfume on smart oak. Currently...”
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Product Code: CAE412
Carinae, Malbec, Hommage, Mendoza, 2012
“Amazing old-vine Malbec from 93 year old vines in a high altitude vineyard at Calle Cobos, Perdriel in Luján de Cuyo, just south of Mendoza; tiny...”
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Product Code: BRE111
Walter Bressia, Profundo, Mendoza, 2011
“Walter Bressia, now in his fifties, has experience as winemaker and consultant oenologue for a number of Argentine estates. In 2003 he decided he...”
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Product Code: FRY615
Fryer's Cove, Pinot Noir, Bamboes Bay, Western Cape, 2015
“Based on fruit from a cool coastal site, an attractively fast-maturing Pinot, so already one enjoys pleasing savoury and undergrowth hints. Supple,...”
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Product Code: BAJ317
Château Barrejat, Madiran, Cuvée des Vieux Ceps, 2017
“Old vines indeed, over 80 years and some pre-phylloxera, so perhaps over 150 years old: 80% Tannat plus the Cabernets, well-oaked. Inky purple....”
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Product Code: CLB616
Francoise & Denis Clair, Hautes Côtes de Beaune Rouge, 2016
“From 35 year old vines on clay soils above Maranges, unoaked, a pure wine for lovers of old-fashioned fresh Burgundy....”
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Product Code: PON617
Ca’ di Ponti, Nero d’Avola, IGT Sicilia, 2017
“Brambly fruit. Honest, mildly rustic and characterful, better with food. Now-2019”
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Product Code: CAE117
Carinae, Malbec, Mendoza, 2017
“From 90 year old vines at Cruz de Piedra, Maipú, Philippe Subra’s unoaked Malbec, which always shows the enticing perfume of the grape: crushed...”
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Product Code: CAE214
Carinae, Malbec, Harmonie, Mendoza, 2014
“Very deep and inky. Lovely open perfume of cherries, berries and vanilla. With silky, classy, brambly fruit, tinged with chocolatey oak, this is...”
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Product Code: DGA216
Domaine du Grand Arc, Corbieres Rouge, Reserve Grand Arc, 2016
“One of our staples at SVS, about 50% Carignan, with 35% Grenache and 15 % Mourvedre, a splendid barrel-aged wine which can be drunk young or kept....”
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Product Code: LAH416
El Lagar de Isilla, Ribera Del Duero, Crianza, 2016
“92% Tempranillo from 50-70 year old vines, with Cabernet and Merlot, given fourteen months in French oak. Showy and extrovert, showing intense black...”
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Product Code: BAD816
Badenhorst Family Red, Swartland, Coastal Region, 2016
“71% Shiraz, 13% Grenache, 11% Cinsault and 5% Tinta Barocca, given a very long post-fermentation maceration. Crafted for perfume, suavity and...”
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Product Code: JON615
Domaine du Joncier, Lirac, Le Gourmand, 2015
“Organic and Biodynamic. A mélange of blackberry, raspberry and cassis, very ripe and charming with a lovely texture. Très gourmand indeed! Now-2021”
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Product Code: GRC315
Château Les Gravières de la Brandille, Cuvée Prestige, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2015
“From 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and a selection of older vines on prime gravel and clay soils, this has spent 12 months in oak barrels,...”
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Product Code: ERR214
Errazuriz, Carmenere, Aconcagua Alto, 2014
“100% Carmenère aged in French oak, 1/3 new, from the Max V vineyard 600 metres up against the Andes: superb this vintage, smooth blackcurrants...”
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Product Code: AMB316
Domaine des Amadieu, Cairanne, Vieilles Vignes, 2016
“50% Grenache, 20% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre and 10% Carignan; about 15% goes into old barrels. Long, warming and complex.”
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Product Code: PID116
Domaine Pichat, Syrah, Cotes de Verenay, IGP Collines Rhodaniennes, 2016
“The lightly oaked Syrah, from young vines within the Côte Rôtie appellation (so it could legally be sold as Côte Rôtie) is an oh-so-drinkable...”
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Product Code: BAD618
Badenhorst, Secateurs Red, Coastal Region, 2018 (screwcap)
“The latest vintage is unusual in being based on 82% Cinsault, with 10% Shiraz and 8% Grenache, just rounded by big old oak vats. The Cinsaut makes...”
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Product Code: CNV117
Conviviale, Primitivo, Salento, 2017
“Gutsy grape of Croatian origin (aka Tribidrag), genetically identical to Zinfandel. Bittersweet black fruit, generous, punchy and bold. Now-2020”
