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: VIB117
Vicien, Malbec, Catamarca, 2017
“Is the 2017 the most delicious vintage yet of one of our best-selling wines - a wine we have been shipping for 14 years...? From vineyards over 5,000...”
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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: BOR318
Bodegas Borsao, Garnacha, Joven, Campo de Borja, 2018
“Borsao, based in Campo de Borja in the upper Ebro Valley, specialise in Grenache based wines. This offers a sweet, soft, juicy gulp of fresh...”
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Product Code: LAH118
El Lagar de Isilla, Ribera Del Duero, Roble, 2018
“Our best-selling wine from Lagar de Isilla, a bodega in La Vid, just east of Aranda de Duero. 95% Tempranillo with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with just...”
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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.”
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Product Code: PON616
Ca’ di Ponti, Nero d’Avola, IGT Sicilia, 2016
“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’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: 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 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-year-old vines, destemmed and fermented and aged in stainless steel and old oak barrels. No fining, light filtration. Full, rounded, ripe,...”
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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: FON116
Domaine Fontanel, Côtes du Roussillon, Rouge, 2016
“From Syrah, Grenache and Carignan grown on schist near Maury, unoaked and a classic Roussillon red, with those characteristic notes of spice, tar and...”
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Product Code: CNV117
Conviviale, Primitivo, Salento, 2017
“From the huge Adria Vini enterprise, a hearty example of this gutsy grape of Croatian origin (there known as Tribidrag), genetically identical to...”
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Product Code: FAB816
False Bay, Pinotage, Western Cape, 2016
“Bittersweet raspberry and bilberry fruit, bold and juicy, with just a smidge of tannin. Now-2019”
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Product Code: LEQ616
Lequin-Colin, Bourgogne Pinot Noir, 2016
“All the wine goes into barrel, 10% new. This is currently slightly reduced so do decant. Inviting red fruits scents, and a generous, well-textured...”
