thewinesociety.com/giantsGNDEC14/1

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THE NEW WORLD’S FINEST BOTTLES Our annual ‘Giants’ offer provides the new world buying team with the opportunity to present members with some of their regions’ finest wines. This year, as well as featuring several old favourites from throughout the Americas, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, we shine a light on two grape varieties that flourish throughout the new world: chardonnay and pinot noir. To encourage members to explore these noble grape varieties there is a small discount on the two mixed cases.

The diversity of styles produced within the new world is exciting for winemakers and drinkers alike. The chardonnays within this offer are from primarily cooler sites from the rugged Southern Ocean-influenced Mornington Peninsula to the Pacific-cooled but sunny Santa Barbara slopes. Pinot noir is a notoriously tricky grape to grow, but the rewards can be wonderful. Given the right location, favourable conditions and skilled winemaking it can show the most engaging and characterful regionality with fine nuanced differences between micro environments from the maritime influence in Hemel-en-Aarde within Walker Bay, to the Antarctic wind-buffeted east coast of Tasmania.

No celebration of the new world would be complete without a Ridge feature. Paul Draper continues to prove that Zinfandel really can show elegance, charm and vineyard-specific character, and this year we include the singe-vineyard East Bench Zinfandel for the first time. Our Australian selection features a number of different vintages from two real masters of their craft – Ben Glaetzer and Jeffrey Grosset. Sarah Knowles Society buyer

Growers the world over love the challenge pinot noir presents and those we feature here are the few that have succeeded in making remarkable, delicious pinots truly reflective of their origins. Tasmania’s Freycinet is a prime example with its intense black-cherry perfume, silky tannins and fresh acidity; Lemelson is another, uniquely Oregon in style with a complex savoury, leather and plum nose followed by plenty of bright red-berry flavours on the palate.

Lemelson Six Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2012 A generous, fresh and sophisticated example of Oregon pinot. It has bright cherry and redcurrant perfume on the nose, and fine tannins, a creamy texture and strawberry, vanilla flavours developing on the palate. Now to 2017. 14% ref GN-US5811 £16 bottle £192 dozen

Viña Leyda Lot 21 Leyda Pinot Noir 2012A lovely luxuriously velvety Chilean pinot. This is a generously textured, perfumed wine, yet imbued with an attractive freshness. Lot 21 comes from a number of rows in the Cahuil vineyard with favourable limestone soil. Now to 2017. 14.5% (Available in the Pinot Noir Giants Mixed Case only GN-MX14251).

Terravin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2011Supremely elegant and silky pinot noir from one of Marlborough’s finest vineyards. The red-berry, floral perfume really opens up with an hour’s decanting. Now to 2016. 13% ref GN-NZ6941 £19 bottle £228 dozen

NEW Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2012Bouchard Finlayson is a highly regarded producer in the beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, part of South Africa’s Walker Bay region best known for its chardonnay and pinot noir. This example is fuller in colour than most with a riper, sweeter new world fruit core on the palate and finish. Now to 2017. 14% ref GN-SA9741 £22 bottle £264 dozen

Martinborough Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011One of the very best Martinborough pinots with the concentration of flavour that comes from the area’s oldest vineyards. Plump, seductive and complex. Now to 2018. 13.5% ref GN-NZ7061 £23.50 bottle £282 dozen

Prophet’s Rock Central Otago Pinot Noir 2010 From Bendigo in the Cromwell Basin, a fast- expanding subregion of Central Otago, a region known for producing pinots with slightly more structure and depth. This has firm intergrated tannins, and plenty of dark-berry and cherry fruit charm. Best decanted. Now to 2019. 13% The 2011 vintage follows.ref GN-NZ6901 £25 bottle £300 dozen

NEW Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2012 Though now with lots of competition, Hamilton Russell remains one of the best producers of fine Cape pinot. This has recently shown a marked change in style: bright red fruit, with hints of incense and herbs on the nose, seductive and silky on the palate. Now to 2022. 14% ref GN-SA9821 £27 bottle £324 dozen

PINOT NOIR GIANTS

Mac Forbes Gruyere Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2012Only 75 cases are made of this single-vineyard Australian pinot, from the Yarra Valley town of Gruyere. Pale, delicate, cherry-scented with tight acidity, finely grained tannins and a long, sour-cranberry finish. Now to 2017. 12.5% Low stock.ref GN-AU16341 £29 bottle £348 dozen

Ocio Pinot Noir 2011Chile’s best pinot noir is a concentrated yet fine-flavoured wine. 2011 was a cooler vintage producing lovely black-cherry aromas. Now to 2020. 14% ref GN-CE7581 £31 bottle £372 dozen

Freycinet Vineyard Tasmania Pinot Noir 2008 Made by Claudio Radenti, this is very serious pinot noir with black-cherry, earthy flavours, velvety tannins and outstanding length. This special vineyard produces wines with a track record for ageing. Labelled as ‘Wine Glass Bay Pinot Noir’ in the UK for legal reasons, Freycinet is considered by locals as Australia’s very finest pinot noir. Now to 2021. 14% ref GN-AU13791 £40 bottle £480 dozen

Key

- bone dry to intensely sweet screwcap

new vintage

What the best chardonnay growers aim for is a freshness and elegance in their wines to balance the new world’s natural ripeness and concentration of fruit. Here we celebrate the winemakers who achieve this magical balancing act, such as Ocean Eight’s well-named ‘Verve’ from the relatively cool conditions of Mornington Peninsula and Catena Alta Historic Rows Chardonnay from grapes grown at altitude to counter the Mendoza heat.

Catena Alta Historic Rows Chardonnay 2011A slight change in the name of this brilliant Chilean chardonnay (it was previously just Catena Alta Chardonnay) but in fact the wine comes from the same superb 1,450m-high vineyard. Taut, elegant and top quality. Decant 20 minutes before serving to develop the flavours. Now to 2017. 14% ref GN-AR2921 £18 bottle £216 dozen

Dog Point Marlborough Chardonnay 2011Fragrant, expressive New Zealand chardonnay with biscuity, savoury notes that evolve beautifully in the glass. This is round, juicy and broad yet finishes crisp and mouthwatering. Now to 2017. 14% ref GN-NZ7401 £19 bottle £228 dozen

Au Bon Climat Los Alamos Vineyard Chardonnay 2011Top-class Californian chardonnay from Jim Clendenen with lovely fragrance, creamy lemony flavour and gentle, round texture. Now to 2016. 13.5% Low stock.ref GN-US5511 £20 bottle £240 dozen

Hamilton Russell Chardonnay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2013The maritime climate of South Africa’s Walker Bay vineyards helps produce elegant and cool styles of chardonnay. This confidently treads the line between Burgundian restraint and new world exuberance, with concentrated fruit in perfect harmony and subtly toasty oak. Now to 2018. 13% ref GN-SA9831 £21 bottle £252 dozen

A six-bottle case containing a bottle of each of the following:

Mac Forbes Gruyere Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2012Viña Leyda Lot 21 Leyda Pinot Noir 2012Terravin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2011Prophet’s Rock Central Otago Pinot Noir 2010/2011 Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2012/2013 Lemelson Six Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2012

ref GN-MX14251

PINOT NOIR GIANTS MIXED CASE

£125 A SAVING OF £8.50

CHARDONNAY GIANTS

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A six-bottle case containing a bottle of each of the following:

Catena Alta Historic Rows Chardonnay 2011Robert Oatley Pennant Margaret River Chardonnay 2010Ocean Eight ‘Verve’ Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2011Dog Point Marlborough Chardonnay 2011Jordan Estate Nine Yards Chardonnay, Stellenbosch 2013Au Bon Climat Los Alamos Vineyard Chardonnay 2011

ref GN-MX14253

CHARDONNAY GIANTS MIXED CASE

£125 A SAVING OF £6

CHARDONNAY GIANTS

Zaha Blend Mendoza 2011The ‘Zaha Blend’ combines 78% malbec and 22% cabernet sauvignon from Altamira, and makes a firmer, more structured wine than the classic Zaha below. The cabernet imparts a backbone into the soft and fleshy malbec giving it extra length and freshness. Now to 2022. 14% ref GN-AR3141 £20 bottle £240 dozen

Susana Balbo Brioso Mendoza 2010Susana Balbo’s wonderful cabernet sauvignon-based blend from Mendoza has a fine cedary nose and palate combining concentration with great length of flavour. The 2010 is an impressive blend of 45% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot, 15% malbec, 10% cabernet franc and 10% petit verdot aged in new French oak for 15 months. Now to 2024. 14% ref GN-AR3121 £21 bottle £252 dozen

Zaha Mendoza Malbec 2012Intensely aromatic malbec with floral and blackberry notes. The soils in Altamira, predominantly sandy and silty with some limestone, give an exquisite, fine-grained silky texture, especially after a year in barrel. A higher proportion of malbec (88%), co-fermented with 9% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot for added complexity. Now to 2022. 14% ref GN-AR3111 £22 bottle £264 dozen

Gandolini Las Tres Marias Vineyards Maipo Andes Cabernet Sauvignon 2011A new star is born. This is the first vintage of an excellent new wine made by Stefano Gandolini from three vineyards near Buin. It has fine aromas of cedar and violets and a ripe, multilayered palate. Concentrated yet fine, it conceals plenty of ripe tannin under its opulent fruit. The blend, aged 20 months in barrel, is 90% cabernet sauvignon, the remainder cabernet franc, petit verdot and petit syrah. Now to 2026. 14% ref GN-CE7591 £25 bottle £300 dozen

‘This has to be one of Chile’s top cabernet sauvignons. It’s world class, and I reckon it will age really well.’

Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com

Teho Malbec 2010 Principally from a malbec vineyard planted in 1955, with a little petit verdot and cabernet franc co-fermented for extra complexity, this is a deep, powerful wine, yet with gentle tannins. This will develop ever-increasing complexity as it matures. Now to 2028. 14% The 2011 vintage follows.ref GN-AR2751 £39 bottle £468 dozen

SOUTH AMERICAN GIANTSChile and Argentina enjoy a plentiful supply of sunshine to ensure the grapes ripen healthily. The best wines come, however, where the heat is mitigated, either by the cool Pacific Ocean in western Chile or by the Andes to the east; over the border in Argentina, the grapes are grown at altitude in the Andean foothills of Mendoza.

Jordan Estate Nine Yards Chardonnay, Stellenbosch 2013Gary and Kathy Jordan’s flagship chardonnay is consistently one of South Africa’s best. Just released, this will benefit from a little time in bottle to develop its typical citrus, spicy, butterscotch and toasty flavour spectrum. Now to 2018. 13.5% ref GN-SA9531 £22 bottle £264 dozen

Ocean Eight ‘Verve’ Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2011A relatively new label from Mornington Peninsula making a seriously classy, tightly woven white which shows off the heights of Australia’s new ‘early-picked’ style chardonnay. Picking early avoids overripeness and retains a delicate mineral freshness in the wines. Now to 2017. 12% ref GN-AU16601 £24 bottle £288 dozen

Robert Oatley Pennant Margaret River Chardonnay 2010Matchstick and flint excite the nose before green apple and lemon aromas develop on this extremely fine Western Australia chardonnay. Full-bodied but with good acidity that keeps it fresh. Long citrus, vanilla and cashew finish. Now to 2017. 13% ref GN-AU17051 £28 bottle £336 dozen

Amon-Ra has quickly established itself as a ‘giant’ of the Australian fine wine scene. It is made by the talented Ben Glaetzer whose family has been involved in the industry for many years. Amon-Ra is 100% shiraz sourced from mature vines (between 30 and 120 years old) in unirrigated Barossa Valley vineyards.

Amon-Ra Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012Darkly concentrated and rich in flavour, the 2012 has plenty of blackberry and spice on the nose. Structured rounded tannins and plenty of acidity keep the palate fresh and balance the very juicy fruit. Now to 2024. 15% ref GN-AU16371 £45 bottle £540 dozen

Amon-Ra Barossa Valley Shiraz 2010 Dark purple in colour, with blackberry, coffee and spice on the nose. The 2010 is very focused with plenty of tannins, and concentrated flavours. This will benefit from further ageing and decanting when serving. Now to 2021. 15% ref GN-AU14811 £45 bottle £540 dozen

Amon-Ra Barossa Valley Shiraz 2009The 2009 shows great brightness of perfume, ripe cassis, plum and truffles developing in the glass. There is a purity and elegance to this wine that keeps in check the abundance of black berry and ripe plum flavours. A very long and pure length. Now to 2021. 14.5% ref GN-AU13591 £45 bottle £540 dozen

A six-bottle case containing two bottles each of the 2009, 2010 and 2012 Amon-Ra Barossa Valley Shiraz.

ref GN-MX14252

THE AMON-RA VERTICAL MIXED CASE

£269

AUSTRALIAN GIANTSRIESLING GIANT: JEFFERY GROSSETJeffrey Grosset is widely acclaimed as one of the Clare Valley’s, and indeed Australia’s, finest winemakers, making wines with genuine class. Riesling is one of the most important grape varieties and Grosset’s Polish Hill and Springvale are recognised as two of Australia’s finest examples with a great reputation for ageing. The Springvale vineyard produces a sublime riesling, softer and more forward than the better-known Polish Hill.

Grosset Springvale Clare Valley Riesling 2013 The long, uninterrupted 2013 season produced grapes with lots of pure limey mineral flavours, fresh acidity and extraordinary length. Now to 2022. 12.5% ref GN-AU16321 £20 bottle £240 dozen

Grosset Springvale Clare Valley Riesling 2012Lovely in its youth, but capable of maturing too, the 2012’s lime-licked character makes it a delight with Thai or fusion food. Now to 2022. 12.5% ref GN-AU15501 £22 bottle £264 dozen

Grosset Polish Hill Clare Valley Riesling 2013Amazingly pure and aromatic Aussie riesling, which is tightly structured and oozes character. Very dry with fine, racy acidity, this cuts through smoked salmon like a hot knife through butter. Now to 2026. 12.5% ref GN-AU16311 £25 bottle £300 dozen

Grosset Polish Hill Clare Valley Riesling 2011 Exquisite, taut and pristine white that defines the quality of Clare Valley riesling. Citrus and steely flavours are balanced by a line of mouthwatering acidity. A keeper. Now to 2024. 12.5% ref GN-AU14831 £25 bottle £300 dozen

BEN GLAETZER’S AMON-RA

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This offer is open until Sunday 18th January, 2015 while stocks last.

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RIDGE VINEYARDS 2012 RELEASESPerhaps Paul Draper’s most original contribution to the California wine scene is to have taken zinfandel to a level far above the jug wine territory the grape had traditionally occupied to something to reserve for your finest decanter and glassware.

Ridge East Bench Zinfandel 2012This is one of only two 100% zins that Ridge craft. The vineyard sits above the land that overlooks Dry Creek Valley from the east. It has generous cherry and red-berry fruit, elegant acidity but a full and juicy fruit profile. Now to 2022. 14.5% ref GN-US5871 £22 bottle £264 dozen

Ridge Lytton Springs 2012A delicious blend of 70% zinfandel, 21% petite sirah, 6% carignan and 3% mataro. Spice, brambly fruit, and fine tannins characterise this excellent wine. Just ready now, or keep to 2022. 14.5% ref GN-US5841 £28 bottle £336 dozen

Ridge Geyserville 2012The 2012 is 71% zinfandel, 19% carignan, with a little petite sirah, mataro and alicante from a single-site boasting some of California’s oldest zinfandel vines. Opulent cherry and strawberry nose, with vanilla and white pepper developing on the palate. A glorious wine that will keep well. Now to 2025. 14.5% ref GN-US5831 £28 bottle £336 dozen

Uncork with confidenceThe Wine Society is a mutual organisation, so our members’ satisfaction is paramount. If, for any reason, you haven’t enjoyed a wine we want to hear about it and will happily offer a credit, a replacement or a refund. thewinesociety.com/promise

SOUTH AFRICAN GIANTSPinotage is South Africa’s signature grape, and no-one understands it better than the excellent Kanonkop estate, who were one of the first to plant it. There is a lovely old quotation which sits above the exit from the Kanonkop tasting room that reads: ‘Pinotage is the juice extracted from women’s tongues and lions’ hearts. After having a sufficient quantity one can talk forever and fight the devil.’

Eben Sadie is something of a maverick – in the best possible sense – and is never scared to experiment and try new things. His southern France-influenced red and white are wonderful and well worth discovering.

REDSKanonkop Kadette Pinotage, Stellenbosch 2013Kanonkop is the leading producer of South Africa’s very own pinotage grape, a crossing of cinsault and pinot noir. ‘Kadette’ is an excellent introduction to the generous, savoury house style to enjoy while the Estate bottling (below) is maturing. Now to 2019. 14% ref GN-SA10101 £10.50 bottle £126 dozen

Kanonkop Estate Pinotage, Stellenbosch 2009Few would contest that Kanonkop make South Africa’s best pinotage, here in a superb year. A great vintage with more evolved savoury spicy flavours. Voluptuous but fresh. Pure drinking pleasure for all lovers of fine wine. Now to 2023. 14% ref GN-SA7581 £19 bottle £228 dozen

Columella Swartland 2008 (Sadie Family Wines) Cape Crusader extraordinaire Eben Sadie’s flagship red is a beautifully structured, fresh and creamy syrah (80%) and mourvèdre (20%) blend with significantly less new oak than in previous vintages. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Now to 2020. 14.5% ref GN-SA7191 £40 bottle £480 dozen

WHITE Sadie Family Palladius Swartland 2009One of South Africa’s most sought after fine white blends, Rhône-like in its fragrance, texture and minerality thanks to the combination of grenache blanc, clairette, viognier and chardonnay with Eben Sadie’s beloved old-vine chenin. Wonderful balance here. Silky, creamy and charming. Now to 2017. 14.5% ref GN-SA9591 £32 bottle £384 dozen