Henkell Blanc De Blancs

French cuvee craft meets German artisanal production: experience four first-class wines in one excellent cuvee. Pure joie de vivre and the special feeling of elegance and freshness – with this fruity, tingling premium cuvee of four distinguished white grapes from renowned, traditional wine-growing regions.The grapes are gently pressed and carefully fermented at a low temperature to preserve their full-bodied taste. Following careful maturation, an exquisite premium cuvee is created from carefully chosen wines. This is the journey that results in a great sparkling wine with the typical delicately sweet aromas and a noble, finely beaded mousse.

COLOUR: Delicate yellow

MOUSSE: Finely beaded, lingering

BOUQUET: Delicate aroma of ripe apples, Williams pears and mirabelles

FLAVOUR: Fresh start, elegant floral fizz, complex and balanced with a silky feeling and lingering finish

GRAPE VARIETIES: Cuvée made of four selected, exclusively white wines, including Chardonnay, from traditional viniculture regions.

PRODUCTION METHOD: Méthode charmat in accordance with German sparkling-wine regulations

SERVING SUGGESTION: Perfect accompaniment to a pleasant picnic, with light snacks such as savoury canapés

ANALYSIS RESULTS: Alcohol: 11.5 %

abv Dosage: 28 g/l (dry)Contains sulphites

Il Vino dei Poeti is the prestigious brand evoking the joy  with which poets, artists and intellectuals toast to life with  sparkling wine, a light, fragrant and prestigious Italian wine. Il Vino dei Poeti Venezia DOC Rosé is a sparkling wine where  personality, freshness and liveliness meet a delicate and  captivating pink color, and an intense and persistent bouquet.  These characteristics are typical of the grape’s originary  territory among the provinces of Treviso and Venice. DOC  Venezia is a recent designation of origin, whose regulations  were published on 7th January 2011 and modified on 30th  November of the same year.

Color and Appearance: Pink color with fine and persistent perlage.

Bouquet: Beginning with fruity hints of cherry and wild berries (raspberry, currant and wild blackberry), it has pleasant and delicate floral notes in the finish.

Taste: Fresh, lively and pleasantly dry, with fruity and floral sensations. It is also characterized by a remarkable retro-olfactory persistence.

Serving Suggestions: ideal as an aperitif and in cocktails, it goes well with starters, first courses and white meat. It is also a perfect match with fried vegetables and prosciutto crudo, soppressa and other cold cuts.

Recommended glass: Flute 

The base wine is put into pressurized tanks for the prise de mousse; it ferments in these for 18 - 20 days, with the aid of selected yeasts, at controlled temperatures of between 14 and 16. Once the desired pressure has been obtained (around 6 bar) the wine is chilled to -4 in order to block the fermentation and encourage stabilization. It is then kept at a controlled temperature for at least one month, so as to favor its natural maturation in contact with the lees. At the end of this process, it is filtered and undergoes isobaric bottling.

Founded in 1887 by Francesco Mionetto in the small village of Valdobbiadene, Mionetto has an established reputation for quality, tradition and innovation. In the heart of the Prosecco region, Mionetto produces exceptional wines with consistent national and international acclaim.

GRAPE VARIETY: A blend of red varietals

VINIFICATION: This refined sparkling extra dry rosé is obtained through soft pressing of the grapes which have been left to macerate for a few hours to give this cuvée its brilliant “peach blossom” pink hue.

APPEARANCE: Brilliant peach color

AROMA: Pink grapefruit, pomegranate and black currant with a hint of wild rose

PALATE: Well-balanced acidity with notes of red raspberry and strawberry and a fine persistent perlage.

ALCOHOL: 11.5%

ACIDITY: 6.5 g/l

SUGAR: 14-17 g/l

Rosé Imperial displays a pink color with amber highlights. Lively and intense, the bouquet exudes red fruits (wild strawberry, raspberry, cherry) with floral nuances of rose and a slight hint of pepper. On the palate, the wine shows a juicy intensity of berries (strawberry, raspberry, red currant) rounded out by the fleshiness and firmness of peach and the freshness of a subtle note of mint.

Tasting Panel: Lovely pink hue; fresh, fragrant, and smooth with notes of strawberry and apple; elegant and long.

Wine Spectator: Delicate verbena and candied pink grapefruit zest accents lead to macerated blackberry, toasted nut and saline notes in this balanced and creamy rosé, with well-cut acidity.

Wine & Spirits: This blend is mostly Pinot Noir and Meunier, including 10 percent red wine for color. Chardonnay accounts for 10 to 20 percent, including a portion of reserve wines that may be providing the oceanic, oyster-shell notes that bring to mind Champagne's Kimmeridgean limestone. This is broad and loose up front, with fruity scents of orange and pomegranate. Then the wine keeps buzzing with brisk acidity, tightening up and extending the flavors with energy. An impressive release of Imperial.

James Suckling: A complex and fresh nose with fresh berries, as well as berry pastry and biscuits. The palate has a fresh, crisp and lively feel with impressively upbeat berries. Drink now.

Decanter: Restrained red fruit nose. Long, rolling palate, fresh and crisp throughout, with abundant cranberry, sherbet lemon, green herb and ginger flavours.

An unusual gin from the Black Forest in Germany, Monkey 47 contains a unique ingredient. No, not that! Cranberries! The 47 comes from the number of botanicals that go into this unique gin, and the fact it’s bottled at a healthy 47%. It seems that the botanicals speak for themselves, as the gin has received bucketfuls of critical acclaim. Some say less is more, not for Monkey 47!

Tasting Note

Nose: Oh there is a lot going on here… woody, vegetable smells under pin fresh grassy citrus notes and botanical sweetness, like a pine forest after the rain.

Palate: Predictably complex, this is a robust and powerful gin with plenty of spice, fruit and herb flavours. It’s very well structured, and difficult to unpick but a citrus fresh start segues into pine and wood notes for a drying finish.

Finish: Wooded and reassuringly heavy.

Overall: A unique gin, that is crying out to be made into a Martini. It’ll need an equally robust vermouth though.