1995 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Regular price £1,358.75 Save £-1,358.751995 Chateau Latour
Regular price £748.50 Save £-748.50Also Available - 2001 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
Of the all First Growth Bordeaux chateaux, in the modern era Latour is perhaps most worthy of the classification. The name is believed to date back to the 14th Century and a fortress in Saint-Lambert, which included a tower “en Saint-Maubert”, subsequently lost to history. The tower pictured on the label is in fact a dovecot for pigeons built in the 1620s. Château Latour de Saint-Maubert passed into the hands of the Segur family at the end of the 1600s, was written of enthusiastically by Thomas Jefferson in the 1780s and achieved First Growth classification in 1855. In 1963 the Marquis de Segur sold a controlling stake in the “Societe Civile du Vignoble de Château Latour” to the Pearson Group, a British company which led a wave of new investment and renovation. New vineyards were purchased, from which ‘Les Forts de Latour’ is sourced, and the winemaking facilities were modernised. Allied Lyons purchased a majority stake in the estate in 1989, and then sold it to François Pinault in 1993. This began what may be considered the most successful period in the estate’s history; under the auspices of winemaker Frederic Engerer, Château Latour has produced some of the finest Bordeaux wines ever. Since 2012, Château Latour does not sell their wines en-primeur; instead they cellar their wines until they are ready for drinking.
TASTING NOTES
A fragrant, densely packed beauty. Cassis and vanilla, with stony minerality, exceptional concentration and a wonderful aromatic purity. Develops in the glass to reveal more oak-influence, with vanilla, toast and a hint of tobacco. A classic to be savoured.
FOOD PAIRING
Tricky to pair a First Growth wine – one never wants to distract from the experience of the wine itself; but a beef wellington would not be amiss here.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
The ’95 Latour is something of a sleeper, requiring some 20 years of maturity. Showing well from 2015 – with the potential to improve until 2050.
1997 Chateau d'Yquem
Regular price £313.05 Save £-313.05ABOUT THE WINE
Arguably the greatest sweet wine in the world, after centuries of family ownership, Château d'Yquem was sold in somewhat acrimonious circumstances to Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy in 1999. However, its former owner and director Alexandre de Lur-Saluce remains in charge. Located on the highest hill in Sauternes, d'Yquem enjoys some of the best growing conditions in the whole appellation. The 110-hectare vineyard is planted with 80% Sèmillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Harvest is painstaking; 150 highly skilled pickers pass through the rows selecting grapes berry by berry to ensure that only the finest botrytized fruit is used.
TASTING NOTES
This extravagant vintage still shows incredible freshness of fresh citrus peel and lemon rind with perfumed honeysuckle and jasmine accompanied by luscious candied peached, caramel, cinnamon bark and butterscotch.
FOOD PAIRING
Often paired with cheese and sweets, try pairing this wine with crispy Peking duck with plum sauce or game meats such as guinea fowl or even pigeon in red wine sauce, as the richness of this wine will create a heavenly marriage between the strong flavours.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A wine for special occasions, of great elegance and distinction.
2001 Chateau Latour
Regular price £708.20 Save £-708.20Also Available - 1995 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
Of the all First Growth Bordeaux chateaux, in the modern era Latour is perhaps most worthy of the classification. The name is believed to date back to the 14th Century and a fortress in Saint-Lambert, which included a tower “en Saint-Maubert”, subsequently lost to history. The tower pictured on the label is in fact a dovecot for pigeons built in the 1620s. Château Latour de Saint-Maubert passed into the hands of the Segur family at the end of the 1600s, was written of enthusiastically by Thomas Jefferson in the 1780s and achieved First Growth classification in 1855. In 1963 the Marquis de Segur sold a controlling stake in the “Societe Civile du Vignoble de Château Latour” to the Pearson Group, a British company which led a wave of new investment and renovation. New vineyards were purchased, from which ‘Les Forts de Latour’ is sourced, and the winemaking facilities were modernised. Allied Lyons purchased a majority stake in the estate in 1989, and then sold it to François Pinault in 1993. This began what may be considered the most successful period in the estate’s history; under the auspices of winemaker Frederic Engerer, Château Latour has produced some of the finest Bordeaux wines ever. Since 2012, Château Latour does not sell their wines en-primeur; instead they cellar their wines until they are ready for drinking.
TASTING NOTES
A brilliant offering, which should be drinkable much earlier than the blockbuster 2000, the 2001 Latour boasts an inky ruby colour as well as a glorious bouquet of black currants, crushed stones, vanilla, and hints of truffles and oak. The beautiful integration of tannin, acidity, and wood is stunning. The wine flows across the palate with fabulous texture, purity, and presence.
FOOD PAIRING
Tricky to pair a First Growth wine – one never wants to distract from the experience of the wine itself; but a beef wellington would not be amiss here.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Despite its precociousness this wine will last 20-25 years.
2003 Chateau d'Yquem
Regular price £256.05 Save £-256.05ABOUT THE WINE
Arguably the greatest sweet wine in the world, after centuries of family ownership, Château d'Yquem was sold in somewhat acrimonious circumstances to Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy in 1999. However, its former owner and director Alexandre de Lur-Saluce remains in charge. Located on the highest hill in Sauternes, d'Yquem enjoys some of the best growing conditions in the whole appellation. The 110-hectare vineyard is planted with 80% Sèmillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Harvest is painstaking; 150 highly skilled pickers pass through the rows selecting grapes berry by berry to ensure that only the finest botrytized fruit is used.
TASTING NOTES
2003 was a definitive vintage that was marked by a very warm summer and just the perfect conditions for noble rot during autumn. So much so that it is said that these conditions were similar to the ones that led to the making of the first-ever botrytised wines in Sauternes.
An incredibly voluptuous and rich wine with stunning tropical fruits, creamy white chocolate and Madagascan vanilla ice cream, and a touch of toasted coconut and candied orange zest on the finish. A massive, but elegant and complex wine that will undoubtedly only get more rewarding with decades, if one can wait and resist the urge that is…
FOOD PAIRING
Blue cheese, foie gras and any kind of dessert.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A wine for special occasions, of great elegance and distinction.
2003 Chateau Margaux
Regular price £893.95 Save £-893.95Also Available - 2005 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
It’s amazing when you realise that the birth of what we know of as Chateau Margaux dates back almost 1,000 years! Due to the amazing quality of the wine, the estate took the name of the appellation. Even today, the only Bordeaux wine estate to bear the name of the appellation from where it resides remains Chateau Margaux. The Ginestet family was forced to sell Chateau Margaux in 1977 to Andre Mentzelopoulos, due to mounting debts brought about in part by the plunging prices for Bordeaux wine in the 1970’s. Andre Mentzelopoulos died in December 1980 and his daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos took over running Chateau Margaux.
TASTING NOTES
Chateau Margaux’s 2003 is one of the most amazing examples of what incredible wine can be. An outstanding vintage, characterized by dryness and warmth. This wine delivers unmatched flavour richness and velvety smooth tannins that marry impeccably with the long oak ageing. A transformative wine. This iconic wine from an iconic vintage can be drunk now or cellared for 20-25 years.
FOOD PAIRING
Red meat, hard cheese, savoury pastries are what goes best with this powerful red.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
This is one of the most opulent and rich wines of the last two decades.
2005 Chateau Margaux
Regular price £1,105.00 Save £-1,105.00Also Available - 2003 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
It’s amazing when you realize that the birth of what we know of as Chateau Margaux dates back almost 1,000 years! Due to the amazing quality of the wine, the estate took the name of the appellation. Even today, the only Bordeaux wine estate to bear the name of the appellation from where it resides remains Chateau Margaux. The Ginestet family was forced to sell Chateau Margaux in 1977 to Andre Mentzelopoulos, due to mounting debts brought about in part by the plunging prices for Bordeaux wine in the 1970’s. Andre Mentzelopoulos died in December 1980 and his daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos took over running Chateau Margaux.
TASTING NOTES
The wine has a perfect bouquet with brilliant precision and amazing focus: mainly black, mineral-soaked fruit that just gets more and more intense in the glass. That graphite element become more intense with aeration. The palate is effortless with sumptuous ripe tannin, perfect acidity, layers of sensual ripe red fruit with a precise mineral finish.
FOOD PAIRING
Red meat, hard cheese, savoury pastries are what goes best with this powerful red.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
This is sheer class, a crystalline beauty and the persistence is simply breathtaking.
2006 Chateau d'Yquem
Regular price £520.90 Save £-520.90ABOUT THE WINE
Arguably the greatest sweet wine in the world, after centuries of family ownership, Château d'Yquem was sold in somewhat acrimonious circumstances to Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy in 1999. However, its former owner and director Alexandre de Lur-Saluce remains in charge. Located on the highest hill in Sauternes, d'Yquem enjoys some of the best growing conditions in the whole appellation. The 110-hectare vineyard is planted with 80% Sèmillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Harvest is painstaking; 150 highly skilled pickers pass through the rows selecting grapes berry by berry to ensure that only the finest botrytized fruit is used.
TASTING NOTES
An Yquem with more tropical undertones, showing toasted coconut, candied pineapple and pure vanilla at the beginning. This is followed by the pleasantly expected notes of clove, dried apricots and baked golden apples with brown butter. A bottle shows that the dynamic nature of Yquem can pleasantly surprise from vintage to vintage.
FOOD PAIRING
An exquisite pairing would be a posh cheeseboard with this more richly fruit forward vintage. Think Morbier, Tallegio & Epoisse with spicy mango chutney and chili sourdough crackers. Also brilliant with white chocolate and fruit tarts.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A wine for special occasions, of great elegance and distinction.
2008 Chateau d'Yquem
Regular price £562.70 Save £-562.70ABOUT THE WINE
Arguably the greatest sweet wine in the world, after centuries of family ownership, Château d'Yquem was sold in somewhat acrimonious circumstances to Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy in 1999. However, its former owner and director Alexandre de Lur-Saluce remains in charge. Located on the highest hill in Sauternes, d'Yquem enjoys some of the best growing conditions in the whole appellation. The 110-hectare vineyard is planted with 80% Sèmillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Harvest is painstaking; 150 highly skilled pickers pass through the rows selecting grapes berry by berry to ensure that only the finest botrytized fruit is used.
TASTING NOTES
A vintage that highlights savoury notes and minerality, as toast, almonds, yeast extract, & crushed stones take the lead along with the signature candied apricot, Turkish Sultanas, dried figs and sweet spices such as allspice. A refreshing backbone of acidity is never absent from start to finish.
FOOD PAIRING
One that can besipped by itself accompanied by a fine Cuban cigar, but fantastic with custard and coux desserts such as profiteroles or chestnut Mont Blanc. Always the best accompaniment to Hungarian goose liver or duck liver pate...
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A wine for special occasions, of great elegance and distinction.
2010 Antinori, Tignanello
Regular price £264.50 Save £-264.50ABOUT THE WINE
Produced exclusively from the 57-hectare vineyard which gives the wine its name, Tignanello has been produced by the Antinori family since 1970. The family itself has been involved in the production of wine in Tuscany since 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member of the Arte Florentina, the Winemakers Guild of Florence. Today the winery is run by Marquis Piero Antinori, with the support of his three daughters Albiera, Allegra and Alessia.
TASTING NOTES
Dark cherries, plums, cloves, mint and sage on this exceptional Tignanello. Not a collosal vintage, but rather a beautifully vibrant example of the terroir - driven, in this vintage, by a larger than usual proportion of Sangiovese. Firm yet silky tannin provides exceptional backbone for further ageing.
FOOD PAIRING
Red meat, goose or veal; complex stews and aged hard cheese.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A particularly fine vintage for Antinori wines.
2012 Capanna, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Regular price £95.80 Save £-95.80ABOUT THE WINE
The Capanna farm, owned by the Cencioni family since 1957, is situated in the Montosoli area, to the north of Montalcino. Founded by Giuseppe Cencioni and his sons, Benito and Franco, it was one of the first farms of the modern period of Brunello. The farm is still family run from both a farming and winemaking viewpoint, with 11 hecatres out of 23 devoted to olive groves.
TASTING NOTES
A deep ruby red colour with garnet hues. Delicate bouquet of red fruit and a hint vanilla. Smoke, roses and liquorice on the palate; very aromatic and persistent, with excellent round tannins and structure, and a long finish. The extra time in oak has served to mellow the tannins in the wine, creating a broader palate and a more refined drinking experience.
FOOD PAIRING
Pairs well with roasted red meats, game and aged cheeses.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A powerful yet very elegant wine. We recommend letting it breathe at least 30 minutes before serving.
2012 Capanna, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Regular price £209.10 Save £-209.102012 Opus One, Opus One
Regular price £538.50 Save £-538.502012 Trinite Estate, Acaibo
Regular price £66.00 Save £-66.00ABOUT THE WINE
The 2012 vintage, is the first vintage produced by Claire and Gonzague Lurton, who are part of great Bordeaux families. Acaibo is nestled in the hills in a small corner of the Chalk Hill area. The estate sits in an intimate bowl between three valleys: the Russian River Valley, the Alexander Valley, and Knight's Valley. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
TASTING NOTES
The Acaibo is remarkable for its very intense, almost seductive expression of aromas. The bouquet offers an elegant combination of floral notes (violets), spices (pepper, cinnamon, liquorice and vanilla), red fruit (blackberries and raspberries) and earthy undertones.
FOOD PAIRING
Goes well with steak, beef fillet and rack of lamb.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
This is the first ever vintage of this American project. Sold out at the winery, this wine is now a collector's item.
2013 Bodega Monteviejo, La Violeta
Regular price £127.60 Save £-127.602013 Cave de Ribeauville, Le Clos du Zahnacker
Regular price £41.60 Save £-41.602014 Sequoia Grove, Cambium
Regular price £149.00 Save £-149.00ABOUT THE WINE
Sequoia Grove is located in the gem of the famed Napa Valley, in what’s known as the Rutherford Bench. The Bench is a very unique geological formation, as it is consisted of a special composition of soils and rocks, and is considered one of the most diverse terroirs in the world. With a mix of alluvial loams, limestone, chalk and red & black volcanic soils, it’s at the prime area for producing wine. As the legendary Napa pioneer André Tchelistcheff quoted, “it takes Rutherford dust to grow great Cabernet.” Founded in 1979, the estate is one of Napa’s cult estates for producing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
TASTING NOTES
The most important wine of Sequoia Grove, the Bordeaux blend consists of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Syrah. It is blessed with profoundly intense notes of chocolate-coated cassis, blackberry, dark plum and dark cherry followed by clove, cinnamon, cigar box and black pepper and leather. The decadent finish lingers on with notes of cedar, truffle and dark chocolate. Aged 18 months in barrel, 2 years in bottle, 65% New French oak, and it was bottled in May 2016.
The 2014 Cambium has just started entering its optimum drinking window, so a bottle to enjoy now or until 2035.
FOOD PAIRING
One to pair with truffle-oil drizzled dry-aged Wagyu beef steaks and rich stews with red wine and hard, mature cheeses.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
The estate barn is blessed to be surrounded by some of the last remaining groves of huge, majestic sequoia trees. It is also known to house Napa’s first underground cellar.
2016 Capanna, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Regular price £451.00 Save £-451.002018 Domaine des Perdrix, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Regular price £435.10 Save £-435.10ABOUT THE WINE
Managed by Bertrand & Christiane Devillard and their children Amaury & Aurore since 1996, the Domaine des Perdrix, located in Cote de Nuits spread over 12 hectares in the best terroirs within the villages of Nuits Saint Georges and Vosne Romanee. Nearly 5 hectares of the estate produce Nuits Saint Georges 1 er Cru, among which the excellent “Aux Perdrix” is a quasimonopole (99%). The quality of the vineyards, their rigorous management and vinification have established the Domaine des Perdrix as a renowned Domaine.
TASTING NOTES
Dark ruby colour with a powerful nose. Opening with notes of spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), followed by dark fruits (blackcurrant, blueberry). Beautiful complexity with a powerful & dense palate.
FOOD PAIRING
Excellent with lamb & game meat.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Needs time to reveal its potential and perfumes of fruits and spices which will get stronger and stronger with maturation. Tannins are firm but ripe and silky.
2018 Pierre Mayeul, Batard Montrachet Grand Cru
Regular price £572.50 Save £-572.50ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Pierre Mayeul is the story of three old friends united by the same passion for Burgundy and with a shared goal to produce high-quality wines where each cuvee beautifully represents the individual terroir and 'climat' of each appellation. Each with a long history of Burgundian winemaking they vinify their wines in an old castle in Ladoix and age the wines in barrels in cellars that date back to the 17th Century situated in the very heart of Beaune.
Maturity in 100% new oak barrels, and slow fermentation with batonnage being used for ageing on lees for 18 months.
TASTING NOTES
This wine has a bright white-gold colour. The nose is frank and intense, with notes of exotic fruits, pepper, white flowers, and a hint of lime. The wood is very well integrated and brings a very good tension to the wine. In the mouth, the attack is powerful and energetic at the same time, with a tangy perception that gives a lot of freshness. The mid-mouth is dense and very fruity. The finish is juicy, with a saline tip that gives great persistence. A wine with extremely good ageing potential.
FOOD PAIRING
To be enjoyed with flambé prawns, a veal chop, salmon in a salt crust, a Bresse poultry and its juice, a stuffed capon, and foie gras with figs.
2019 Domaine des Perdrix, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Regular price £237.10 Save £-237.10ABOUT THE WINE
Managed by Bertrand & Christiane Devillard and their children Amaury & Aurore since 1996, the Domaine des Perdrix, located in Cote de Nuits spread over 12 hectares in the best terroirs within the villages of Nuits Saint Georges and Vosne Romanee. Nearly 5 hectares of the estate produce Nuits Saint Georges 1 er Cru, among which the excellent “Aux Perdrix” is a quasimonopole (99%). The quality of the vineyards, their rigorous management and vinification have established the Domaine des Perdrix as a renowned Domaine.
TASTING NOTES
One of the finest villages for red Burgundy, Echezeaux provides muscular fruit that's riper, but still very elegant. Candied red cherries and fresh raspberries along with shiitake mushrooms and toasty vanilla and cinnamon coming from the new French oak barrel ageing. A wine which will age gracefully.
FOOD PAIRING
Wood-fire roasted pigeon or beef bavette steak with creamed parsnips and warm cherry compote.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Needs time to reveal its potential and perfumes of fruits and spices which will get stronger and stronger with maturation. Tannins are firm but ripe and silky.