Top 10 new products

Champagne Gosset Celebris Rosé 2007 Extra Brut

Those thoughtful people at Champagne Gosset released the latest vintage of the house’s rosé prestige cuvée, Celebris 2007 Extra Brut, in time for Valentine’s Day. Marking the first rosé in the Celebris range for more than five years, the 2007 vintage is a blend of 59% Chardonnay and 41% Pinot Noir, and stays true to the character of the Gosset house style, having been produced without malolactic fermentation.

“This cuvée provides Gosset with another superb tribute to the expertise – and patience – of our cellar master, Jean-Pierre Mareigner, and is an important addition to our Celebris range,” says Jean-Pierre Cointreau, CEO at Champagne Gosset. According to Cointreau, the fizz, housed in a black and pink gift box, offers notes of “raspberry, strawberry, blueberry and vanilla” on the nose, along with “nuances of lilac and violet” and “a hint of pink grapefruit on the finish”.

RRP: £145
Contact: McKinley Vintners +44 (0)20 7928 7300

La Quintinye Vermouth Royal

A trio of snazzy vermouths produced in Cognac have landed in the UK via EWG Spirits & Wine. La Quintinye Vermouth Royal is the brainchild of Jean-Sébastien Robicquet, founder and master distiller at EWG. Taking its name from Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinye, botanist to King Louis XIV, the range consists of three styles made from a blend of Pineau des Charentes and white wine from south-west France. All three expressions, crafted by Robicquet, feature a range of plants and spices, including artemisia, nutmeg, liquorice, angelica and iris root.

La Quintinye Rouge features 28 herbs and spices, along with white wine and red Pineau des Charentes, and offers a “caramel, burnt vanilla and warm spice” flavour. Meanwhile the Blanc blends 18 botanicals, white wine and white Pineau des Charentes, which lends it a “honeyed, citrus” flavour. Finally, La Quintinye Extra-Dry features 27 botanicals and has “a dry mouthfeel with notes of citrus, anise and liquorice.”

RRP: £18.80/75cl.
Contact: EWG Spirits & Wine +(33) 5 45 35 32 00

Fabre Montmayou Reserva Cabernet Franc

Proving there is life beyond Malbec, Argentine estate Fabre Montmayou has launched the latest vintage of its Cabernet Franc onto the market. Fabre Montmayou Reserva Cabernet Franc 2012 is crafted from 100% Cabernet Franc from 17-year-old vines in the Mendoza sub-region of Luján de Cuyo, with 60% of the blend spending a year in French oak. Winemaker Hervé Joyaux Fabre is known for his work in championing different grape varieties in Argentina in addition to Malbec, and believes Cabernet Franc has a bright future in the country.

Joyaux moved to Argentina from Bordeaux in the early ‘90s and was one of the first winemakers from outside of the country to recognise the potential of Argentina. With his wines, he aims to combine New World power with Old World elegance.

RRP: £11.25.
Contact: Vinothentic Ltd +44 (0)20 7241 1140

Dewar’s The Legacy Collection 1893

The first of three whiskies to make up The Legacy Collection launched to celebrate three landmark years in the history of Dewar’s distillery, just 1,000 decanters of the 1893 vintage have been created. Marking the year John Dewar & Sons was granted its first Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria, the 1893 edition blends 20 malt and grain whiskies sourced from rare and long aged casks. After initial blending, the whisky undergoes a period of double-ageing before it returns to a cask for another year to evolve.

According to its makers, if enjoyed neat, the whisky offers “enticing flavours of vanilla, toffee, oak, aromatic spices and coconut”. With the addition of water, aromas of “chocolate and a subtle note of peat” are revealed. The elixir is presented in a hand-blown crystal decanter decorated with silverware with 22-carat gold highlights inspired by the “dirk”, a Scottish ceremonial dagger.

RRP: £2,344.
Contact: Bacardi Ltd www.bacardi.com/uk

Jacob’s Creek WAH Red

Jacob’s Creekis expanding its range of wines designed to match Japanese cuisine with the launch of WAH Red. Positioned as an ideal match for yakitori and Wagyu beef, the wine was developed in partnership with Japanese chef Toru Hashimoto and follows last year’s launch of the sushi-friendly WAH White. According to Wine Intelligence, 90% of wine consumed in Japan is drunk in restaurants. “Wine is an increasingly important part of the dining experience in Japan, yet, until now, there were no wines created specifically to match Japanese cuisine,” said Paul Summers, marketing manager for Jacob’s Creek in Japan.

RRP: ¥1,680 (Japan only).
Contact: Pernod Ricard +44 (0)20 8583 4484

Fordham Route 1 Session IPA

Delaware-based US craft brewer Fordham is expanding its range with the launch of Route 1 Session IPA. At the same time, the brand’s Helles Lager is being rebranded as Gypsy Lager to give it a clearer identity, while the fourstrong range, which includes Copperhead Ale and Ram’s Head IPA, has been given a makeover in a bid to stand out in an increasingly crowded craft beer market. At 4.5% abv, Route 1 Session IPA features “grapefruit and pine aromas”, making it “an ideal match for curries and other spicy dishes.”

Graham Richardson, general manager of Heathwick, comments: “With Route 1 at 4.5% alongside Ram’s Head at 7.5%, we can now offer two great IPAs differentiated by abv in one of the most popular
craft beer styles.”

RRP: £2.09.
Contact: Heathwick Ltd +44 (0)1264 854 152

De Bortoli Melba Lucia 2010

De Bortoli’s Melba range honours opera diva Dame Nellie Melba, who lived in Australia’s Yarra Valley. Crafted by chief winemaker Steve Webber, the Cabernet blends are made in the Bordeaux style. According to Webber, the medium bodied Melba Lucia 2010 – a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon from 25-year-old vines and 9% Sangiovese from 10-year-old vines, will benefit from 5-15
years cellaring.

Yarra Valley’s weathered soils often lack the natural tannin typical clarets have in abundance, thus Sangiovese is added to the blend to provide natural tannin and savouriness. The fruit undergoes natural fermentation and is kept on its skins for a month, after which it is gravity filled to new and used casks where it matures for 14 months before bottling.

RRP: £18.00
Contact: De Bortoli Wines +44 (0)1747 830 962

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2006

Marking the 24th release of the house’s prestige cuvée, Perrier-Jouët has launched the 2006 vintage of Belle Epoque onto the market. Described by cellar master Hervé Deschamps as “pure silk”, Deschamps believes the fizz offers “the perfect expression of a year characterised by ripeness and generosity.” Made predominantly from Chardonnay from prized plots in the Côte des Blancs,
Belle Epoque remains the ultimate expression of PerrierJouët’s signature floral style.

With favourable growing conditions in 2006, grapes were able to achieve some of the highest potential alcohol the house has witnessed in the last decade, leading, according to Deschamps, to “an extraordinary silkiness in the mouth with a persistent finish and the potential for long ageing.” A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the wine was aged for six years before disgorgement, when it was given a light dosage of 9g/l.

RRP: £134.00.
Contact: Pernod Ricard +44 (0)20 8583 4484

Kamm & Sons British Apéritif

Three years after bartender Alex Kammerling took the bold decision to launch his own product – ginseng spirit Kamm & Sons, the apéritif’s signature brown medicine bottle has been given a makeover in a bid to widen its distribution into UK supermarkets. With the aim of bringing it in line with premium gins and creating a stronger brand presence, the bottle has been enlarged to a 700ml format. Drawing on his design background, Kammerling created the new bottle, which, while retaining its original medicinal cues, is taller, embossed down the sides and slightly tapered at the bottom.

“People are not sure what ginseng is or what it tastes like so we’ve changed the order of importance on the label. It was always intended to be a pre-dinner drink and we feel that lowering the importance of the ingredients and heightening the importance of the occasion will make it more understood by consumers,” says Kammerling.

RRP: £21.80.
Contact: Matthew Clark +44 (0)844 822 3910

Penfolds 50-year-old rare tawny

According to its makers, Penfolds 50 Year Old Rare Tawny boasts a “silky and luscious” palate with “concentrated flavours of mocha, chocolate, fruit cake, salted plum and savoury spice.”

Rather than laying it down, Penfolds suggests the wine is best enjoyed immediately, while the freshness is locked in.

Australian glass artist Nick Mount was commissioned to design the hand-blown, 75cl bottle, which features a pewter crest and a wooden stopper crafted from old Penfolds barrels.

“This is an extraordinarily expressive and evocative wine. This is our history in a bottle,” Penfolds chief winemaker, Peter Gago, said.

The tawny has gone on sale via the Penfolds cellar door and global travel retail.

RRP: £1,900
Contact: Penfolds Cellar Door