Italian Red Wines

James Suckling 93 points

Sommelier Wine Awards - Gold

Ripassa Zenato is a powerful wine with sweet fruit initially, balanced by more savoury mid palate flavours and a long finish. It's very smooth, and like all good Italian wines is superb with food. This one from Zenato is often referred to as "baby Amarone" and is certainly better than many co-operative produced or supermarket listed Amarones out there. While Zenato are very highly regarded for all their wines, particularly their Amarones, they are the undisputed Ripassa champions with this wine.

Santa Cristina Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunning wine from the Zenato family's smaller Santa Cristina winery on the shore of Lake Garda.

It's a blend of 85% cabernet sauvignon and 15% cabernet franc. It's aged for 18 months in a combination of first fill and used French oak then a brief spell resting in stainless steel followed by a further 6 months or so in bottle prior to release.

It has initial sweet fruit with a delicious natural aspect. Full bodied, elegant and smooth with a long finish. This is a great wine.

93 Points - James Suckling

A new "Appassimento" wine from Zenato. 

Big, smooth and delicious as you would expect. This is a neat fit between their Valpolicella and Ripassa.

Valpolicella Classico Superiore Caterina Zardini Campagnola is one of the finest Valpolicellas produced. It is a superb wine.

Ripasso della Valpolicella Classico Superiore Campagnola is a delicious smooth easy drinking Ripasso wine, perfect with red meat dishes.

Organically certified by ICEA and Demeter

A truly magnificent dessert wine! Aleatico is a grape native to Maremma. Please note this is a half bottle 375ml.

"grapes, sun and earth - that's it"

More on order - Sequerciani are bottling the new vintage now so fresh stock should be here by mid July.

Foglia Tonda is an old Tuscan grape dating back to the 1800s. Similar to Sangiovese, although later ripening, but producing significantly more grapes per plant, hence Sequerciani crop the plants back dramatically in July leaving only the best bunches to ripen.

Organically certified by ICEA and Demeter

Sequerciani Ciliegiolo grapes which were previously blended with Sangiovese in their superb Libello, now used to produce a straight Ciliegiolo, fermented in concrete with no wood used.

Big black fruit flavours, super smooth with good weight. This is excellent.

Organically certified by ICEA and Demeter

A beautiful wine from this amazing tiny natural wine producer! This is one of our biggest selling sulphite free wines. 

it has become so popular that we are already on the 2019. Although you can drink it now it'll certainly improve with a few months bottle age as it will settle down and mellow a bit. Right now it's a bit lively, and has a natural rustic feel much like Philippe Virets wines. 

Wine Spectator 90 Points

90 points Wine Enthusiast

90 points Guida Veronelli

2 glasses Gambero Rosso

A fantastic sangiovese blend from this very highly rated DOCg. 8 months in French barriques. 

La Selva Organic Prima Causa is a delicious oak aged Bordeaux blend. Fantastic wine, and of course genuinely organic and healthy too.

La Selva Organic Ciliegiolo is a lovely wine. Soft cherry flavours followed by strong vanilla. Very smooth and balanced. Delicious and highly recommended!

Borgo Salcetino Chianti Classico DOCg - absolutely superb, having picked up Gambero Rosso's highest award of Tre Bicchieri.

Borgo Salcetino Chianti Classico Lucarello Riserva is a top class Chianti Riserva from the Livon family. Absolutely superb wine in a more powerful style with more wood ageing than their Classico Chianti.

Chianti Classico Capraia is a superb Chianti from the owners of Rocca di Castgnoli.

Chianti Classico Riserva Capraia is a superb limited production Chianti Riserva from Rocca di Castagnoli.

Chianti Classico Riserva Poggio a Frati Rocca di Castagnoli. A superb Chianti winning Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri for several vintages.

Luca Maroni  91 Points

Another very good wine from Cantine due Palme. Named "celebration" and bottled in a heavyweight bottle to reflect it's quality.

Big, full flavoured and velvet smooth. Great with virtually any food or just to enjoy on it's own by the fire.

Gambero Rosso - Tre Bicchieri - every vintage since 2004

Selvarossa Riserva, Cantine due Palme is one of the best reds to come out of Southern Italy, regularly being awarded Gambero Rosso's highest accolade of Tre Bicchieri. I've been stocking it for years and every vintage has been superb. It's a big powerful warming red with sweet tannins. Super smooth.

Just moved onto the 2015

Leone de Castris is one of the region's top wineries, established in 1665. They make some excellent wines which are great value. The previous vintage was awarded Tre Bicchieri by Gambero Rosso. Fantastic value wine.