Top new products: June

Freixenet Prosecco

Spain’s largest Cava producer, Freixenet, has launched a premium Prosecco in a bid to tap into the popularity for the Italian fizz. It’s the first time the producer has extended its reach to the production of Italian sparkling wines and comes at a time when Cava sales have seen sluggish growth when compared with the seemingly unstoppable growth of Prosecco. Last year, British consumers drank nearly a third of the total annual production of DOC Prosecco, around 112.7 million bottles.

Freixenet said its Prosecco was created because it “recognised the potential” and the “need for a high-quality product that would appeal to the nation’s vast consumer base of Prosecco drinkers”, claiming it had found “the perfect Prosecco flavour profile for the British palate”.

Liza Madrigal, marketing director UK and global travel retail for Freixenet, said the drink came with the “reassurance of quality” of the Freixenet name, and was “not just another Prosecco”.

“With our team in the renowned Veneto region employing technical expertise, we’ve produced a wine that we are enormously proud to include in our range,” she said. “We’re confident in this new product bringing us even closer to becoming the number one choice for sparkling wine with consumers, while continuing to add value to the category.”

CONTACT Freixenet UK, +44 (0)1344 758 500

RRP: £12.

Ramos Pinto 2015 Vintage Port

Ramos Pinto has declared a 2015 vintage, joining other producers including Graham’s and Cockburn’s. Declared only in years of exceptional quality, Ramos Pinto Vintage Ports are aged in wood for two years before being bottled, where they continue to evolve and gain complexity for years to come. The 2015 vintage was excellent in the Douro, with a very dry growing season and lower-than-average rainfall. A dry winter was followed by an atypically warm spring, allowing grapes to ripen fully before harvest in late August. The Port is made from a blend of grapes from old vines grown in the Quinta de Ervamoira (Douro Superior) and Quinta do Bom Retiro (Cima Corgo).

Ana Rosas, master blender at Ramos Pinto, described the 2015 Vintage Port as “a wine with attractive aromas, a good body with a long peppery finish. A vintage that will age for many years.” Richard Billett, managing director of Maisons Marques et Domaines, added: “The declaration of a vintage is always an exciting moment for a Port house and we are extremely pleased that Ramos Pinto has decided to declare the 2015, having produced a wine of excellent quality and personality in one of the driest growing seasons of recent years.”

CONTACT christine.allen@mmdltd.co.uk

RRP: £60.

Chivite Las Fincas Rosado 2016

Spain’s Chivite has released the 2016 vintage of its Las Fincas Rosado in partnership with chef Juan Mari Arzak, owner of the three Michelin-starred Arzak in San Sebastián. Made from Garnacha and Tempranillo, the Las Fincas Rosado is designated as an IGP Vino de la Tierra 3 Riberas, from the north of Navarra, Spain. Before fermentation, the wine is left to macerate for a short time to achieve the maximum aromatic extraction. It is then fermented using the ‘sangrado’ or ‘sangré’ method at a low temperatures over 21 days, resulting in a pale pink colour and finely balanced wine.

“The idea to create this special rosé was something that Juan Mari and I had talked about how to make a top end rosé that stood out and that worked equally well with food,” said Julián Chivite, president of J. Chivite Family Estates. “We have launched the third vintage and it is now sold in more than 20 markets worldwide, and has clearly reinforced our position as a market leader in the production of great rosé.” Las Fincas Rosado is packaged in a tall skittle bottle and is aimed specifically at the on-trade.

CONTACT Enotria&Coe, +44 (0)20 8961 4411

RRP: £13.95.

PinotPinot sparkling Pinot Grigio

UK wine importer Off-Piste Wines has launched a sparkling Pinot Grigio in a can, blended and sourced by Clem Yates MW and aimed at UK multiple retailers. Wine in cans has already taken off in the US, with Off-Piste Wines claiming PinotPinot to be “the first wine in a can in the UK multiples”. Indeed, market-research company Nielsen reported a 125% sales increase for wine in cans in the US for the year to June 2016, and a sevenfold increase since 2012.

“The consumer market for this product is huge. It meets the needs of millennials looking to buy wine in a less traditional, more accessible way; consumers can enjoy wine when, where and how they want to; and the convenience of the can is ideal for a single serve sparkling, for outdoor events and especially festivals, which are now a huge part of these consumers’ lives, and for the rapidly growing on-the-go life style,” said Rachel Archer, brand manager at Off-Piste Wines. “On top of that, Pinot Grigio is the second best-selling white grape variety in the UK off trade, and the top-selling in the on-trade, so its popularity speaks for itself.”

CONTACT Off-Piste Wines, +44 (0) 1242 229 630

RRP: £2.50.

Valdo Bio Prosecco DOC

As interest in organic wine grows, Prosecco producer Valdo has launched a Brut sparkler produced exclusively from organically-certified grapes. Described as “delicately fruity and floral”, Valdo Bio Prosecco carries an abv of 11% and at 65 calories per 100ml, taps into demand for healthier beverages and a trend for so-called ‘skinny Prosecco’.

Aimed at eco-conscious consumers, the paper used for the label, its packaging, and the cork are all FSC certified, sourced from forests that are managed in a responsible manner.

CONTACT Valdo, info@valdo.com

RRP: £9.

Grande Cuvée del Fondatore Motus Vitae 2015 DOCG

Prosecco producer Bortolomiol has released the “crowning glory” of its sparkling wine collection, having unveiled the 2015 vintage of its Grande Cuvée del Fondatore Motus Vitae DOCG Prosecco at Vinitaly. The Brut Nature sparkler has been produced in homage to winemaker Giuliano Bortolomiol, the founder of Bortolomiol who is credited with producing the region’s first Brut Prosecco in 1960, since 2003.

The zero dosage Prosecco is made from grapes sourced from the rive vineyard of San Pietro di Barbozza in Valdobbiadene DOCG, fermented using the charmat method and left on its lees for 10 months before release.

CONTACT Bortolomiol, info@bortolomiol.com

RRP: €35.

Simpsons Wine Estate The Roman Road Chardonnay 2016

Simpsons Wine Estate in Kent has released its first wine – The Roman Road Chardonnay 2016. The 100% Chardonnay is made from grapes grown on its estate in Barham, picked during the producer’s first harvest in October 2016, having planted its vines in 2014. Fermented in steel tanks, undergoing malolactic fermentation, it spent three months in French oak barrels before being bottled. “Our Roman Road Chardonnay is elegant and linear, with a distinctive mineral quality that you would expect from fruit grown on these iconic chalk soils,” said Ruth Simpson.

“This single vineyard, still white wine displays aromas of white peach and lime, smooth flavours of cashew nut and hints of spice.” Charles and Ruth Simpson have been making wine at their Domaine Sainte Rose property in the Languedoc for 15 years. In 2012 they bought 90 acres of land in Kent with the intention of producing English sparkling wine, the first of which will be released in December 2018.

CONTACT Simpsons Wine Estate, sales@simpsonswine.com

RRP: £22.99.

Torbreck The Laird 2012 / Runrig 2014

Australian winery Torbreck has released the latest vintages of its flagship wines ‘The Laird’ and ‘RunRig’. Both wines will be launched in the UK later this summer, The Laird being released is from the 2012 vintage and is only the fifth wine to have been made by the winery since it was introduced (the other vintages being 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010), while the latest Runrig hails from the 2014 vintage. The 2012 vintage was described by Stuart Barrie, marketing and communications manager at Torbreck, as “unique” and “terroir-driven”.

The wine was aged for three years in oak and two in bottle at the winery, with Barrie calling it the, “prettiest Laird we’ve made”. In contrast, the 2014 was rather more “finicky” said sales and export director Andrew Tierney and required careful selection due to heavy rainfall in February, including 80mm that fell in just one day. Both wines are available in limited quantities with the equivalent of just 400 nine-litre cases made of each. The Laird 2012 will be released in the UK on 1 June and the 2014 RunRig on 1 July.

CONTACT Berry Bros & Rudd, +44 (0)800 280 2440

RRP: £428/£131.

Les Vignobles Foncalieu Ensedune

Les Vignobles Foncalieu has launched a new range of wines for the UK off-trade from the Côteaux d’Ensérune, focused on more ‘unusual’ grape varieties. Sourced from the IGP vineyards of Ensérune, which are 80%-owned by growers that work with Foncalieu and called Ensédune, the old Roman name for the area, the range includes six wines; three reds, a rosé and two whites. The wines include a Malbec, Marselan and Petit Verdot, a Cabernet Franc rosé and a Marsanne, and a dry Muscat.

Each wine is a single variety and comes from the vineyards of a single grower whose photograph forms part of the front label. The range is being aimed at UK supermarkets and while Marie-Annick Consola, UK sales and export director for Foncalieu, added that varieties such as Petit Verdot and Marselan were trickier propositions for retailers to work with, there was a need to raise their profile. The range has already been listed by a leading Dutch supermarket chain.

CONTACT consolama@foncalieu.com

RRP: £8.99.