ADT2015: Australia Day Trade tasting

We enjoyed another successful tasting with Wines of Australia this year. Our 10x wines from The Mornington Peninsula were marvelled over by press and trade alike, and the 2012 Estate Pinot Noir was a huge hit at Restaurant Australia - a carefully curated menu by Roger Jones from the Harrow at Little Bedwyn. The Pinot was paired with Seared venison with a puy lentils stew. Delicious!

Schild Estate meanwhile dazzled with its plethora of medals bedecking the Estate Shiraz, and with the individual stories linked to each bottle. Read more about them here.

Here's a summary of the day in pictures. 

Thanks for all who came by. We look forward to tasting with you again soon!

Bancroft news from Down Under: Australia Day bottled

In the lead up to next weeks' Australia day tasting and a day of celebration for all our antipodean cousins, here's a round up of latest news from our four prestigious producers:

Ten Minutes by Tractor, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Still considered one of the top Estates on the Peninsula, Ten Minutes by Tractor is an emblem of quality in terms of cooler climate, quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that comes out of Oz. Ten Minutes by Tractor will be featured as part of Roger Jones' from the Harrow at Little Bedwyn mini-feasts as part of Restaurant Australia, with the 10x Pinot Noir 2012 being matched to fillets of seared venison and puy lentils. We challenge you not to fall in love. Anthony Rose did recently in his review of the 10x in The Independent: 'This is a voluptuously savoury Aussie pinot noir from Victoria's Mornington Peninsula'

Revancha scoops 92 points in Wine Enthusiast

We're delighted to announce that Revancha has scored 92 points in this month's edition of Wine Enthusiast for their Gran Revancha - the 'King'.

Well done team!

"Revancha is a new line of wines from esteemed winemaker Roberto de la Mota. This blend Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cab Franc. On the nose it is spicy, lightly herbal and deep in fruit. A tight palate shows raw tannins and flavors of wild berry and oak-based coconut. Dry, flashy and a bit rough on the finish this will benefit from a few more years in bottle. Drink through 2020."

Bancroft is the exclusive agent for Revancha in the UK.

Decanter's Andrew Jefford on lessons from Simčič's Opoka Rebula, Slovenia

Jefford on Monday: Lessons the Bottles Taught Me

Some wines please; others both please and inform. The wines below are some of those which taught me most this year. I've quoted vintage and producer's name, but it's not always the named wine itself which matters so much as what that wine represents.

Bush vines in Swartland (Image: Andrew Jefford)

1) 2009 Opoka Rebula, Simčič, Slovenia
I criss-crossed the Italian/Slovenian border with two Dutch colleagues at fruit-blossom time, savouring the haunting strangeness of the grape the Slovenians call Rebula and the Italians Ribolla Gialla. The lesson: just how diverse the world of white wines in fact is. This is a comprehensively open, rich, softly chewy wine evoking an eerie world of allusions: cheese, meat, straw, mushrooms, yellow fruits, honey, umami. If you could drink the past, this is surely how it should taste.

 

Reproduced from Decanter.com 

Read the full article here.

Something for the Weekend: Ten Minutes by Tractor in the Independent

Anthony Rose recommends our Ten Minutes by Tractor 10x Pinot Noir in last weekend's Independent.

Read the full article here.

Splash out

2013 Ten Minutes by Tractor Pinot Noir

This is a voluptuously savoury Aussie Pinot Noir from Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. £25.95-£29.95, The Wine Library, The Wine Tasting Shop, Oxford Wine Co.

Martin Spedding from Ten Minutes by Tractor will be attending the Wines of Australia annual Australia Day tasting on the 27th January at Lindley Hall. Come and visit us there, also with Schild Estate. We will be on tables 13 and 14.

Foillard's Morgon Côte du Py is budget wine of the year 2014 for Tom Cannavan

Tom Cannavan has voted Jean Foillard's Morgon Côte du Py 2011 as his best budget red for 2014