December 1st, 2011
Fine Wine and food matching – Christmas Day wines

decxmas04You’ve doubtless spent a fortune on the presents again this year, let alone the significant amount of festive food that you plan to consume over the course of the day.

With all of the effort  that goes into creating that perfect festive feast, it seems a terrible waste not to put a bit of thought into what you’re drinking with it! Why go and ruin the day - the right wines can lift the festive dinner to new heights, whilst the wrong choice of wines could go down like cold sprouts…

We’ve selected a few of our fine wines that we believe compliment the festive feast ..and you can buy them all online now in time for Christmas Day.

Holiday turkey Roast Turkey: As always we have to ponder the question, Red or White wine with the turkey …?

Well, that’s sometimes the big question around the table, so why not keep everyone happy with a choice of both….we’ve chosen a light white burgundy and a pinot noir, both of which won’t overpower the delicate flavours of the turkey, but will stand up to the trimmings.

 

PetitChablis2007 Petit Chablis Saint Roche, France

Silvery green colour with dazzling brilliance and appealing bouquet. Reminiscent of pineapple and green lemon, long in the palate with good vivacity.

£9.60 per bottle – click here to buy online

 NZR012

 2008 Pinot Noir -Te Kauwhata,  Quarry Road, New Zealand

A most popular new comer to Vin Vino.

A light red colour with a capsicum peppery bouquet, softly dry with good flavour of damson and dates.

 £9.90 per bottle – click here to buy online

 

gooseRoast Goose: We’d reccomend a relatively rich white to complement the texture of goose. This stunning Côte de Beaune Chardonnay also has the mineral edge to cut through the fattiness of the bird.

Beaune2001 Montagny 1er Cru ‘Vieilles Vignes’

Montagny is the southernmost appellation of the Côte Chalonnaise and is a pure chardonnay varietal. Light golden with a nose of smoky gunflint and a firm fruit palate with a touch of vanilla on a soft, rich texture.

£13.20 per bottle – click here to buy online 

 

Taste the difference with Vin Vino Direct… exclusive online wine merchants with a huge selection of specialist, fine and rare wines from around the world – we have wines from boutique growers that you cannot find from any other online wine merchant.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy wine online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today…

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November 10th, 2011
Fine Wines – our Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er Cru, Domaine Bruno Clair

Fine Wine Online

Fine Wine Online

Another classic French red wine from a little known Domaine, Bruno Clair.

Bruno Clair founded the domaine which bears his name in 1979. The domaine at that time included plots in Marsannay and Fixin, the Dominode vineyard in Savigny-les-Beaune, and a large plot lying fallow in Morey-St.-Denis – “En la Rue de Vergy.

He is the son of Bernard Clair (1920-2005) and the grandson of Joseph Clair (1889-1971), originator of the famous Domaine Clair-Daü which was founded in Marsannay in 1919. In 1986, Bruno was entrusted with the vineyards of his parents, brothers and sisters which included those of Clos de Bèze, Cazetiers, Clos St-Jacques, Vosne-Romanée, Clos du Fonteny and Chambolle-Musigny. More vineyards were purchased by the estate in 1993, inlcuding Corton-Charlemagne, Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton, and in 1996 Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle was added to bring the size of the domaine to more than 23 hectares.

Viticulture.
BUR127ABruno Clair maintains a rigorous selection of the best vines of pinot noir and chardonnay, identifying those that produce small grapes with perfect ripeness. This selection also concentrates on finding vines that have a good resistance to diseases and are free from viruses. This work requires much patience and is absolutely essential to obtain a healty vineyard of great quality.

With regard to viticulture, Domaine Bruno Clair believes in the total absence of chemical fertilizers, the exclusive use of compost, and in plowings and harrowing the soil throughout the year. The grapes are hand-harvested, and the selection of the best grapes is carried out primarily in the vineyards.

The Wine:  This time we’re featuring the classic 1996 Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er Cru - the pride and joy of Clair’s vineyards is his splendid Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru issued from old Pinot Noir vines requiring nearly a decade to mature. It carries the signature of Bruno Clair’s style well structured, not too heavy perfumed with plenty of sophistication. Without doubt the Chambolle retains all the finesse of Clair’s style with plenty of penetrating aromas of raspberries, strawberry preserve and violet bouquet. A master of the most natural wine.

Tasting Notes:  Gleaming red, wild aromas of truffles, berries and morello cherries, perfume relaying a senscetion of dark fruit pastilles on the palate.

The wine has achieved a Parker **** ‘Excellent’ rating …to buy this wine online just click here

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May 21st, 2011
Food and wine matching – the seafood starter…

Seafood

Mussels, oysters, scallops, prawns, potted shrimps, langoustines, crab and lobster (crikey, I’m salivating just writing this!!) are all an excellent excuse to crack open a variety of palate-pleasing whites. Bone-dry Muscadet sur Lie is a perfect appetite-teaser for washing down shellfish and seafood platters.

 For a more sophisticated marriage, Chablis, Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre are great, as is the floral and peach-scented Spanish Albariño.

seafood2New World Sauvignons can also work a treat, especially with spicier Asian-influenced dishes. Crab salads and crab cakes feature salty-sweet flesh which works well with Riesling and Viognier.

Rich lobster dishes or humble potted shrimps cry out for full-bodied white Burgundies like Mersault – or high quality New World Chardonnay alternatives from Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. Otherwise, almost all shellfish and crustacea are sublime with Champagne…and do we have some cracking Champagnes – we have a wide range of prestigious marques available…from the rare 1989 Krug Clos du Mesnil, the opulent 2000 Vintage Dom Perignon, through to the little known award-winning Ayala Majeur Brut Rosé – an expansive collection to indulge yourself with.

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November 20th, 2010
A classic Roast Lamb and fine red wine pairing…

RoastLamb1Lamb is a rich, fatty meat and so is best complimented by confident, well-structured robust reds which stand their ground.

A classic wine pairing is a good quality red Bordeaux, or any of the better Cabernet Sauvignons or Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blends from California, Chile, Argentina,  South Africa or Australia. Otherwise, Reserva or Gran Reserva Rioja, Ribera del Duero,RoastLamb2 or a heartier red Burgundy or New World Pinot Noir, are all a fantastic match, as are chunky, spicy but not-too-young reds from the Rhône.

 

To pair really powerful bastings of anchovies and capers or lashings of rosemary and garlic, your finest wines may suffer, so choose the fullest examples you can find of the recommended wines. Finally, beware too much mint sauce; the vinegary bite plays havoc with the fruit in wines…

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November 19th, 2010
Another of our Fine French wines – the ’97 Château Cos d’Estournel – 2′me Cru Classé

 

Fine Wines - Vin Vino Direct

Fine Wines - Vin Vino Direct

BOR423History:  The name Cos (with the ‘S’ pronounced) refers to a “hill of pebbles” in Gascon dialect and the name Cos d’Estournel was given in 1810 by Louis-Gaspard d’Estournel – he rebuilt the cellars in sandstone, reflecting his many travels in the Orient and beyond, which brought him the nickname of the Maharajah of St Estèphe, the cellars sprouted tall pagodas which would be more at home on a Chinese temple than here in the Médoc. The doorway, decorated with vines, grapes, flowers and leaves, was sent over from the Palace of Zanzibar….  The estate has changed hands several times during its history, starting in 1852 when it was purchased by the English banker Charles Cecil Martyns. In 1869, it was sold to the Spanish Errazu family only to be sold again 20 years later in 1889 to the Bordeaux-based Hostein family. Through his marriage to Marie-Thérèse Hostein, Louis-Victor Charmolue, who also owned Château Montrose, gained control of Cos d’Estournel in 1894. In Finally in 1917, it was sold to Fernand Ginestet.  The château has remained in the Ginestet family since then, becoming in 1970 part of Domaines Prats, the combined holdings of the Ginestet and Prats families, and controlled by Bruno Prats.

The vineyards:  The vineyards of Cos are on the customary Quaternary gravel which peppers the left bank of the Gironde. There are 70 hectares divided up into 30 parcels, with Cabernet Sauvignon holding a slight predominance, accounting for 60% of the red vines, with the remaining 40% being Merlot. There was once a small amount of Cabernet Franc, about 2% of the vineyard, but this no longer seems to play a part in today’s Cos d’Estournel. cosdestournellabelThe Cabernet is concentrated to the west of the vineyard, where there are well-drained gravel slopes, whereas the Merlot prefers the eastern edge where the limestone bedrock peeps out from beneath the surface gravels. The vines are planted at a density of 8,000 to 10,000 vines/ha, and have an average age of 35 years. Only those of more than 20 years provide fruit for the grand vin, Château Cos d’Estournel, with others most probably destined for the second wine, Les Pagodes de Cos. Each vineyard worker has responsibility for 45,000 vines, and must oversee the routine vineyard tasks such as pruning and leaf-thinning. The harvest is also by hand, and is down to a combined work-force which includes the Cos d’Estournel employees and a team who trek there from the Andalucían village of Alcalá La Real, camping in the grounds of the estate at night, picking the grapes by day.

closdestornellAnd the wine….Tasting Notes: Beautifully elegant with a bouquet of fine, toasty, gamey notes, mingled with ripe fruits, particularly blackcurrants. The palate comes up to the high standard with its silky tannins, black fruits, excellent concentration and succulent length.  This ’97 Cos d’Estournel is available exclusively from Vin Vino Direct, at only £115.00 per bottle – click here to order.

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January 20th, 2010
Our wine sale is almost over – grab your bargains now

Cheap wine saleOur one-off January Wine Sale ends in 2 days time …you can save an amazing 15% across our entire range of fine wines online from now until midnight on the 22nd January.

The saving will only apply to orders for 12 or more bottles of wine - simply use the coupon code ‘Jansale‘ when you place your order. 

Taste the difference with Vin Vino Direct… exclusive online wine merchants with a huge selection of specialist, fine and rare wines from around the world – we have wines from boutique growers that you cannot find from any other online wine merchant.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine

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