Wine Reviews

Cuvée Anna Maria Clementi 2004

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Franciacorta is in the heart of Lombardy, and stretches between Brescia and Lake Iseo. It lends it name to a wine, a production method (the traditional or classic) and the area where the highest quality sparkling wines in Italy are made. The Ca' del Bosco winery’s name comes from the house surrounded by woods in Franciacorta, where Annamaria...
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Freixenet Casa Sala 2005

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Founded in 1914, this family wine group has become the undisputed leader in the cava industry and the world’s biggest producer of sparkling wines made by the traditional method, with 18 wineries in the most prestigious wine regions in the world. Freixenet takes its name from Freixeneda, a 13th century property located in the Alt Penedes. It owns...
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Gramona Enoteca Brut Nature 2000

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Gramona is a fine example of how a family winery should be run. Jaume and Xavier Gramona, with their deep seated roots in the cava world, have clearly defined views. They have managed to grow the company and position it as a major reference among the "author's cavas" of today.  Their cavas undergo the longest average ageing in the industry and...
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Jacquesson Avize Champ Cain 2004

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There are two key dates in the history of Jacquesson. One is 1798, when Memmie Jacquesson founded the champagne house in Chalons. And the other is 1974, when the Chiquet family acquired the company, setting up in the village of Dizy, where many of their vineyards are located.  The company then took a new direction – reducing production and seeking...
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Clos d´Agon Red 2010

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This is an interesting Catalan wine business, created in 1998 by six Swiss friends with links to the wine world.  It is based in the pretty village of Calonge, just five kilometres from the coast, at the foot of the Gavarres natural park, its Mediterranean character permeating a unique, bucolic area which has been associated with wine for...
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Espectacle 2010

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This lovely wine business, created under the aegis of Rene Barbier, Fernando Zamora (Clos Mogador) and Christopher Cannan (Clos Figuera), has put the Garnacha of Montsant in the who's-who of essential grapes varieties for inclusion in the wine cellars of all those who love Mediterranean red wines. The first official vintage, the 2004, catapulted...
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Llanos del Almendro 2009

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Dominio de Atauta was founded in 1999 in Soria, on the eastern boundary of the Ribera del Duero, at a time when hardly anyone believed in its vineyards. Herein resided the success of the bodega which was able to spot the magic of an area sitting at about a thousand metres altitude and possessing extremely old and virtually untapped vineyards. ...
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Drum roll please for this boutique Champagne house, the author of an uninhibited Champagne which has attained cult status mostly in the last decade, little by little. Located on the slopes of the village of Avize, its small production is a far cry from the glamorous, glitzy Champagnes which abound in the region.  Anselme Selosse is considered a...
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Clos des Goisses 2004

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This is one of the oldest houses in Champagne which started on its current journey in 1910. Located in Mareuil-sur-Ay, it has always positioned itself as a traditional Champagne house for connoisseurs rather than a big, international Champagne house.  As a consequence, it is not even recognized by the general public who do however know its other...
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Franciacorta is located in the heart of Lombardy and stretches between Brescia and Lake Iseo.  It describes three concepts: a wine, a production method (traditional or classic) and the region where Italy’s finest quality sparkling wines are produced. The Ricci Curbastro family has over one hundred years of history behind it, its first sparkling...
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