Dear friends,
We are back on the Quarterly Wine Club for 2025 with a great lineup of new producers and classics for you to try.
As always, we will open the wines via Coravin at the warehouse to try when you pick up your wines. We also added a further 10% discount on the value of the bottles to sweeten the deal. We can honor that discount on any purchases you would like to make of wines we have selected for the quarter (if stock is available).
This Quarter, we selected two Italian heavyweights and a Bordeaux with a bit of bottle age that is on the money right now.
Luca Roagne is new to our portfolio, and although his wines can be priced at eye-watering levels, the scores and critical acclaim keep stacking up. The wine lives up to hype and you’ll get to try for yourself this month.
Alessandro at Il Marroneto needs no introduction, and we have included his 100-point 2019 ‘Madonna delle Grazie.’ Don’t even bother opening this bottle for another 10 years.
Finally, Hosanna in Pomerol is owned by the Moueix family, who give us access to some perfectly stored back vintages. 2008 is showing so well right now, and we just had to share our tiny allocation with you.
We currently have 8 active members in the Club and have room to pick up a few more. If you know anyone interested in the Quarterly, please ask them to get in touch. We have room for 11 right now (as many allocations of wines are just 12 bottles) but we may look to expand it in the coming months.
Thanks again for your support, and you will see the Quarterly going out this year in June, September, and December.
Mat and the team.
Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino ‘Selezione Madonna delle Grazie’ 2019
To arrive at Il Marroneto, an almost impossibly steep street is to be followed. The estate is on the northern flank of Montalcino, lying over a Jurassic soil; one of the oldest in Italy. In the cellar, an old botte grande is slowly gurgling, mumbling, bubbling. The fermentation here is natural, malolactic included, all in oak. Madonna delle Grazie – Brunello from a single vineyard beside the estate – rests in large oak casks for 42 months. ‘For us, the oak is conceived just to store the wine,’ says Iacopo Mori, the second generation, today in charge.
“This 2019 is sleek and fresh on the nose, with red currants and dark cherry, and a graceful depth of incense and smoky woodland, sweet violet, cinnamon and orange peel. Vibrancy dominates the palate, with long, fierce acidity and thick, velvety tannins leading to a sweet, persistent aftertaste.”
– 100 points, Decanter
Chateau Hosanna Pomerol 2008
Hosanna 2008 is a full-bodied, Merlot-based red wine from the Pomerol appellation of Bordeaux. Established by the Moueix family in 1999, Château Hosanna is a relatively young wine label in Pomerol. The estate comprises just 4.5 hectares of vineyards, cultivated with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The vines grow on a combination of red gravel soils layered with clay and some sand.
The 2008 Chateau Hosanna is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. “Possibly as remarkable as both the 2009 and 2010, the 2008 Hosanna is one of the superstars of the vintage. Its dense plum/purple color is followed by aromas and flavors of spring flowers, black currants, boysenberries, white chocolate and forest floor. This irresistible, opulent, textured, fleshy 2008 should continue to drink well for 15-20+ years. Don’t miss it!”
– 95 points – Robert Parker
Roagna Barolo Pira Vecchie Viti 2018
This is a stellar set of wines from Luca Roagna. The 2018 Barbarescos and Barolos are especially fine. Roagna waited it out, choosing to harvest as late as possible in order to ripen the tannins. As a result, a number of the wines have distinctly exotic profiles. I tasted the entire range twice and found the wines consistently brilliant.
These are wines that benefit considerably from cellaring, something I have learned over the two decades-plus I have been buying and drinking them. As has been the case for some time, Roagna has reduced the time in wood for the Barolos and Barbarescos, preferring more neutral vessels for the final portion of aging.
As always, low-intervention viticulture and super-traditional methods, with ambient fermentations and long time on the skins, are cornerstones of the approach here.
“The 2018 Barolo Pira Vecchie Viti is hauntingly beautiful. Sweet dried red cherry, mint, sweet pipe tobacco, white pepper, orange peel, cinnamon, spicecake. This ethereal, light to medium-bodied Barolo is incredibly beguiling and distinctive. It’s a classic Roagna wine and a fabulous effort in this very challenging year.”
– 96 points, Vinous
