Tasting September fine wine releases via the Bordeaux Place

In 2018, the bright intensity of both aroma and flavour here is intoxicating. The wine is dark crimson in colour with savoury aromas of plums, bramble fruits and black cherry highlighted by graphite minerality. The subdued character of the new French oak confirms the outstanding fruit concentration. Dense, full, smooth and velvety with great extraction on the mid-palate, it is delicious now but not without the balance to age for decades, improving in complexity as it goes.

Power and concentration from the start but with a lovely vein of cool blue fruits and an invigoratingly fresh core. Dark chocolate, coffee, blueberries and pomegranate combine to give a seductive nose and follow through on the palate with an immediate burst of juicy acidity and plush tannins. Layered and nuanced, the texture is striking, elegant and precise with juice that his the side of the mouth supported by oak spice that gently frames the overall feeling giving balance. Abundant in a sense but also reigned in making you want another glass straight away. 80% wild yeast fermentation for the first time as of the 2018 vintage.

The ‘dream’ in Italian, this is from very old, high-altitude vineyards on stony soils mixed with sand and stone. This is one of the wines of the tasting, a real showstopper that captures your interest and holds it all the way. Red cherries and strawberries dominate the nose with softly-spiced liquorice touches. But it’s the texture that’s so captivating, gripping straight away and holding you there, but in a soft and gentle way. Bright acidity comes in keeping things fresh and welcoming while the structure and length give a lovely roundness. A real success. Grapes for Colore are sourced from three vineyards, with each harvested up to eight times. After the first selection in the vineyards, a second selection occurs at the winery before destemming where grapes are softly pressed and placed in open-top barriques, keeping each plot and parcel separate from the others. The fermentation is conducted naturally by indigenous yeasts without temperature control lasting up to two weeks, with one extra week of maceration on the skins. After the fermentation the wine is moved into new barriques, where the malolactic fermentation happens. Each parcel is aged separately for almost 20 months before the final blend is decided.

The first time a Spanish Rioja has been offered via the Place de Bordeaux. The new wine by oenologist-winemaker Telmo Rodriguez, was definitely one of the wines of the tasting. It is a 3.8-hectare, single-vineyard cuvée from the limestone foothills of the Sierra de Toloño in Rioja Alavesa and made from a massal selection of Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, Granegro and Rojal. A gorgeously dense and rich nose, concentrated and a balanced combination of perfumed elements, fruit and spices - cherries, ripe plums and liquorice. Tannins gently settle on the tongue but the flavours are impactful and so precise. It’s a bold wine but seriously defined and charming, super fresh and elegant. And you really feel the limestone terroir in the clarity and cleanliness of flavour. Superb. A production of 7,000 bottles that will be sold in its entirety through Bordeaux.

Produced since 1978, Solaia comes from a 20-hectare vineyard with a southwestern exposure at around 350-400 metres above sea level. The soil is the typical 'alberese' limestone and 'galestro' schist. The 2018 vintage was fairly classic. The grape harvest began in late September with Cabernet Franc, followed by Sangiovese, and was completed on 10 October with Cabernet Sauvignon. This Solaia opens up with restrained bramble fruits, meaty hints, clove and dark chocolate framed with balsamic notes. The attack is full and soft with lively acidity, focused on the vibrancy of Cabernet Sauvignon from Chianti, with impressively refined tannins. Polished and concentrated, it finishes with an amazing salty persistency. Possibly it has less volume to 2016, but a bracing wine.

Produced in tiny quantities, just 2,888 bottles of the 2018 produced, from vines that have never seen chemicals or invasive viticulture in Margaret River. High-toned on the nose, softly-sweet cherries and blackcurrants with touches of violets, dark chocolate and smoke. On the palate it has an incredible lightness of touch but so satisfying - just-there tannins support the bright fruit and there is freshness and vitality running through. A cooler style with plenty of life and verve, the focus on fresh fruit with a backing of wild herbs and dried spices giving definition. Structured and well made with an enjoyable aftertaste that lingers. A delicious wine from owner-winemaker Will Berliner.

Despite the difficulties of the vintage 2016 is hailed as an excellent year in Brunello. This has coffee, dried herbs, cherry, dark chocolate and balsamic notes on the nose. Round and supple on the palate, the fruit is chewy and mouthwatering filling the palate making you suck in your cheeks. Tannins gently grip and hold through to the long finish. Such brightness with acidity and depth. A great food wine and an excellent time to drink although it will age well. Elegant, well structured and moreish.

Second year on the Place de Bordeaux for the flagship wine John Riddoch first made by Wynns in 1982 from the best available Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in the estate’s Coonawarra vineyards. This has a lovely distinct nose full of black fruits, menthol touches and mineral wet stone notes. Plush on the palate, this has chewy but fine and barely-there tannins that grip gently and caress the fruit all the way through the palate. Incredible freshness, from generous acidity, as well as intensity and the cooling menthol elements with lively blackcurrant is so enjoyable. An excellent wine with real personality from long-standing winemaker Sue Hodder. Grapes are matured for 15 months in French barriques and hogsheads (35% new), with the remainder in 2-3 year old barrels.

Silky and polished on the surface with a delicious wild and powerful rusticity underneath. This gives lots of intensely ripe red fruit but also concentrated savoury elements - coffee grains, black chocolate, black olives and pencil shavings - that draw you in and sustain interest. Incredibly well made with excellent texture and weight on the palate offering body and length. A serious wine, less focussed on bright acidity but still youthful with clear freshness. A four week harvest saw 54 harvest passes by hand and 40 different vat vinifications - excellent haute-couture winemaking by the Harlan family.

A lovely enticing nose filled with rich plum, fig and blackcurrant fruits - heady and opulent. The palate is precise with a distinct texture, certainly dense and ripe but the flavours just settle on the tongue giving spiced touches of liquorice but allowing the freshness and acidity to underpin the overall taste. It feels very carefully constructed with everything in place allowing power and generality but neatly packaged and not overdone. A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Wines are aged for 18 months in 100% French oak, 76% new.

Powerfully aromatic on the nose and palate with blackcurrants, liquorice, aniseed and herbal elements. Dark fruits fill the mouth with chewy, juicy tannins. This has such a lovely eucalyptus freshness that just drives the wine from start to finish allowing the intense fruit to shine but also giving a feeling of coolness on the tongue. Really delicious with excellent structure and precision. The wine first joined the Place de Bordeaux in 2018. First produced in 1997 and now made by the father-daughter team Nicolás Catena Zapata and Dr. Laura Catena. Fermentation takes place in 500l oak barrels, concrete and stainless-steel tanks, at temperatures of 26-28ºC for about 10-15 days. The post-fermentation maceration lasts between 5 and 10 days. The wine carries out its malolactic fermentation and is then aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Malbec.

Just 1,200 bottles of this exceptional Malbec from Margaret River were produced in 2018 from a 0.10ha plot planted with 1,000 vines. A fine example by owner-winemaker Will Berliner that is a dark purple in the glass and full of aromatic intensity. Ripe and heady with dark chocolate hints, blue fruit and some herbal, cinnamon and peppery notes. A totally different expression of Malbec on the palate, full of energy, so bright and juicy with intense perfume that captures your attention straight away. Fresh, succulent and mouth watering with a lifted finish making you want another sip straight away. Drink now and enjoy this in its youth or wait and enjoy over the years to come.

Such a fragrant and appealing burst of aromas here with milk chocolate, blackcurrants, dried herbs and flowers. A blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, this has a core of cherries and raspberries alongside savoury olive and oak elements with round, just-there tannins that give support to the fresh and lively fruit. Great power, depth and concentration. The wine is aged for 18 months in small French 225l oak barrels, 70% new, before moving to concrete tanks for four months.

From the excellent 2015 vintage comes this delicious Riserva. The palate is succulent and light, giving plenty of flavour; sour cherry, toffee - almost like a Caramac bar, coffee and liquorice. It’s actually quite heady without being heavy or plush, amazing intensity and elegance with an undercurrent of bright acidity driving things forward.

This shows the excellence of the 2018 vintage in Napa made by seasoned winemaker Ashley Hepworth who, this year, celebrates 23 years at Joseph Phelps. The wine opens with a seductive, fruity and generous nose followed by a mass of concentrated blackberry flavours edged with creamy coffee and caramel tones. Instantly mouthwatering then there comes a kick of power with spice and black pepper surrounding the tongues and cheeks. Needs some time to integrate but this is a fine example of Cabernet with freshness, poise and power. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc from estate-grown Napa Valley vineyards: 30% Las Rocas Vineyard (Stags Leap District), 18% Suscol Vineyard (South Napa Valley), 18% Yountville Vineyard (Oak Knoll District), 14% Home Ranch Vineyard (St. Helena), 13% Banca Dorada Vineyard (Rutherford), and 7% Barboza Vineyard (Stags Leap District). Wines were aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak.

A less traditional style of wine in Napa Valley, this is lifted and charming with poise, powdery tannins and a chalky finish. Richly perfumed and wonderfully evocative on the nose, it’s seductive and inviting with black cherries, raspberries and blueberries alongside savoury notes of dried herbs. The flavours open and evolve on the palate bringing cocoa, tobacco and pencil lead into play underpinned by supple tannins. It’s powerful but on the leaner side, refined and elegant with a good sense of direction and drive - everything feels well placed and well defined. Tasted twice and both times were highly enjoyable. A blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 2% Carmenére and 1% Petit Verdot. Wines are aged for 20 months in oak, 100% French, 62% new. Biodynamically grown and certified organic. Winemaker Rebekah Wineburg and estate director Rodrigo Soto.

An excellent offering from the trio of L'Aventure wines being offered on the Place de Bordeaux this year. This is polished and refined, there’s power but it’s precise and well handled. The alcohol is high but it feels in proportion and not out of balance and the overall wine has a lovely weight, roundness and juicy core. A violet, perfumed edge lingers on the finish adding an extra interesting element. Leave to age for a few years before opening. A blend of 34% Grenache, 34% Syrah and 32% Mourvedre from 100% estate grown fruit. Wines are aged for 14 months, 41% in one-year-old French oak, 29% new French oak, 18% in concrete tanks and 12% in amphora. No fining, no filtering.

The twenty-fifth vintage of a wine first made in 1995 by the Mondavi and Chadwick families is one of Francisco Baettig’s best editions yet: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Malbec, 15% Carmenere and Petit Verdot aged for 22 months in French oak (10% in foudres). The nose offers redcurrant, blackberry, and cherry over a bed of sweet spices, cedar and peppers. Dense core and firm grip, it needs to be decanted or left in the bottle for a while longer.

In 2019, a 'classic' good quality vintage in much of Tuscany, the vines experienced very large temperature differences between day and night in September, giving perfect ripeness allied to great freshness. This wine combines ripe, fruit-forward and super-floral aromas with a fresh, fleshy and elegant palate showcasing plush black cherry. It seems a bit lighter than the 2020, with more plentiful grainy tannins, making for a focused and harmonious Siepi. 35,000 bottles produced.

Such incredible perfume and florality from this standout Shiraz, so expressive and captivating, filled with roses and violets alongside cherries and plum fruit, milk chocolate and some sage notes. Medium-bodied on the palate but it’s the texture and overall presence of the wine in the mouth that gives this star quality. Tannins are fine and seductive cashmere-like, edged with fruit intensity and spicy sides. This has a good energy to it, mouthwatering and pulsing with life with a long finish and lift at the end. Precision and power - built to last.