August Bank Holiday Cellar Raids: Bonus Day

Anselmo Mendes is one of Vinho Verde’s most iconic winemakers and the 2022 Muros Antigos Loureiro is a benchmark for the region. Made from 100% Loureiro, it comes from northwest Portugal’s Lima River Valley where you can find the grape’s most compelling examples. There is a little citrus and yellow pear on the nose, beautiful length, and some savoury structure from lees ageing that brings the wine together.

Fellom Ranch sits on the Santa Clara Valley side of the Santa Cruz Mountains on the famed Monte Bello Ridge at an elevation of 2,200 feet. This Cabernet has an intense nose of blackberries and cassis rounded out with with smoke, graphite, tobacco, and dried herbs. Whole cluster fermentation adds a savoury freshness that makes this wine so distinctive.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford, crafted by Steve Matthiasson. This cuvée from Ashes and Diamonds is a tribute to what they consider to be the 'golden era' of the 1960s and 1970s in Napa: great wines made by farming in a traditional way, picking at lower sugar levels for lower final alcohol, and using gentler extraction. It's from the famous George III vineyard in Rutherford. A portion of it was planted in 1896 by Mrs Thomas Rutherford herself, and later used by André Tchelistcheff to make wine for legendary Beaulieu Vineyards. The wine has that classic 'Rutherford dust' in its texture, with elegant, gourmand, savoury notes. There's pretty red fruit with red currant and red plum, as well as some darker bramble alongside layers of tobacco, dried rose petals and exotic spice.

Kashy Khaledi was once Creative Director for Capitol Records, before he founded Ashes & Diamonds, where he collaborates with superstar winemakers like Diana Snowden-Seysses (of Domaine Dujac and Snowden Vineyards) and Steve Matthiasson, using fruit from fantastic California vineyards. It's Diana who makes this, the Mountain Cuvée from Bates Ranch vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This is an historic, four-generation-old ranch in the same area of the famous Ridge Monte Bello. The Cabernet grows at 2,100 ft above sea level, and the steep slopes here, along with cool breezes, keep the vines in check, and the result is a vibrant, elegant, restrained style of wine, with plenty of herbal, savoury character alongside the plump black fruit. They use a combination of American and French oak to add layers of sweet spice and cedar notes.

Quinta da Leda comes from one of the top Douro estates, a main source for the legendary Barca Velha. With velvet texture, precise, pure black fruit and a very long mineral finish, it is incredibly impressive. There’s a lifted freshness creating perfect balance with the concentration and depth in the wine.

This, from the impressive 2016 vintage, is gorgeous. It is a blend of Furmint and Hárslevelű , the two greatest grape varieties of Tokaji. There’s tropical fruit, apricots, honeysuckle, and so much spice. And the sweetness is wonderfully balanced with bright acidity, and a minerality that comes from the volcanic soils of the Tokaji region.

Les Epenotes was the first site to be awarded premier cru status in Beaune. This parcel of between 65 and 80 years old, was planted by Claudie’s grandfather. Claudie comments that this parcel is the first to be harvested, which they always do themselves before their team arrives! The 2021 is packed full of spicy, red and even black fruit aromas. This wine has fantastic energy, the purity and depth of the fruit leaving a lasting impression on the palate. Very fine.

Cathy Corison stuck to her guns throughout the Parker era, keeping her wines elegant, charming and more medium-bodied than her neighbours, with capacity to age for decades. The price, relative to estates nearby, also remains restrained. It has sunny, ripe black fruit with a crunchy edge, and plenty of appetising, savoury cedar and sweet tobacco. There are plenty of fine, savoury tannins, but the 2020 has an effusive generosity and softness making it very approachable at this very early stage in its development.

The 2019 is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Cabernet Franc, with 5% of it aged in amphoras. Layers of ripe cassis, black plum, blueberries and sweet spices. There's a rich, chocolatey texture on the palate, with velvety tannins and lifted violet notes.

From deep red iron-rich soils, this is a rich, expressive wine with ripe plum, blueberry, cassis fruit. The tannins are typical of Cabernet, linear and tightly-packed with a slight drying quality at this early stage. There's a seam of fresh acid running through the wine, cutting through the richness on the palate, and subtle spicy notes are developing on the long finish.

Frankly, this is utterly gorgeous, a wine of such charm and weight, a nice little touch of acidity. This has major staying power, what’s not to like! Wonderful length and class here.

This remarkable village lieu-dit sits directly above Bonnes Mares, Clos de Tart, and Clos des Lambrays. The Clair parcel is situated just above their Bonnes Mares parcel. It’s hard to believe this isn’t a premier cru. Up here there is virtually no top soil at all, and the vines plunge straight into the limestone bedrock. Arthur uses up to 30% whole bunch on the young vine parcel, which he vinifies separately from the older vines, blending later to build layers of complexity. It has a fresh red fruit aroma - cherries and wild strawberries - with tightly-coiled tannins giving the palate a nervous yet bright energy. Superb.

This has all the constituent parts to soar after sevearl years of slumber in the bottle. It's deep, powerful and intense, showing its breeding just below the Clos du Roi in Corton. It has nice, silky tannins with good depth and energy, and reasonable freshness. It just needs some time to come together.

This is a steep site with very high limestone soils. It always produces a nervous, tight wine that can do with a year or two in bottle before the floral notes can blossom.

Incredibly charming in 2018, this has juicy fruits, with cherries and also a hint of wild herbs. Very finely balanced, with a juiciness, and a very long finish.

This gourmand, full-bodied and elegant wine is one of the sweet spots of the Comte Armand stable. As ever, it is a blend of two vineyards in Auxey: Les Bréterins and Les Duresses. Bréterins is steep, well-drained, with very limestone soils contributing savoury elegance; Duresses is clay-based and builds power and body in the wine. It has the savoury structure for good ageing potential, though it is still fragrant, silky and inviting in its youth.