Each quarter, the Refined Wine Club will send out a selection of four wines. Many of these are exclusive to the Club, and include brand new releases, or wines that the Club has been able to secure which are only available in very limited quantities across the world.
To show the calibre of wines selected, the following bottles will be included in shipments across the first year to Refined Wine Club members, depending on the category of membership taken up. The wines are perfect to drink now, but many have the potential to lay down for enjoyment in the years to come.
Five Stones – Virtuous – from the upcoming Israeli boutique winery
A unique blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 8% Malbec and 8% Petit Verdot, aged separately for 15 months in new French oak barrels before blending. The wine is deep red in colour and boasts a blackberry aroma that combines beautifully with the oak, and dominant fruity flavours. It is an elegant wine with an interesting complexity and a long finish.
Herzog – One Plus X11 – Vintage 2008 ‘Wine Club Release’ from California
100 months, 13 barrels, one unbelievable wine for sharing and enjoyment. From time to time, a sensation comes along that is so powerful, it gives rise to inspiration. Herzog One Plus X11 is a beautiful combination of craftmanship and dedication. The wine has been aged in French and American oak. It opens with notes of dark fruit, blackcurrant blossoms, tobacco and leather, leading into a lengthy finish of toasty oak.
Covenant Solomon Lot 70 – California
The Proprietary Red Covenant Solomon Lot 70 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Leslie Rudd’s Oakville estate vineyard. Aged in 75% new French oak for 18 months prior to bottling, it is a small cuvée of only 75 cases. It has a dense ruby/purple colour, a beautiful nose of blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, graphite and cedar wood. It is spicy, rich, full-bodied in style. This is a beauty that is going to evolve for at least two decades or more.
Terra Gratia 2015 – Napa Valley California
Just 144 cases were produced for this vintage. This wine is estate grown, hand picked, sorted and slowly fermented under strict kosher supervision to produce this wine. After fermentation, it is delicately barrel aged for 18 months in 60% new French oak, then and bottle aged for an additional year allowing the wine to mature. The wine boasts an intense deep red colour and is a aromatically rich and complex, expressing beautiful aromas of ripe black berries, black currant, flint, vanilla toast, and leather. Soft, silky tannins, transforming into a rich round, elegant mid-palate, bursting with flavours of chocolate, cedar, and ripe blackberries, culminating in a long, dry finish. The wine is well balanced and integrated now, but has the potential to age for 20 years or more.
Château Du Tertre 2016 – Bordeaux, France
Château du Tertre, or Le Tertre, is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region in the commune of Arsac. The wine is classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It is of great sweetness and flavour. Silkiness and freshness are combined to bring you the elegance expected of a great Margaux wine. The aging potential of this great wine is between 8 and 20 years.
Château Saint Corbian 2016 – Saint Estephe, France
The Cuvée Tradition has been selected among the best plots, entirely aged for 15 months in 50% new barrels. This cru bears the name of the village it is situated in, Saint-Corbian, a hamlet of Saint-Estèphe. Château Saint-Corbian Cuvée Tradition is as meticulously taken care of as its elder brother Château Tour des Termes. The wine is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. This bold wine with a fruity nose is high in silky tannins, with an initial burst of cherry and strawberry, finishing with caramel and chocolate notes.
Château Guiraud 2017 – Bordeaux, France
Château Guiraud, classified as a 1st Growth in the Napoleon Regime’s 1855 Classification is arguably the most prestigious Sauternes after Château d’Yquem. G de Guiraud is the estate’s dry white wine. A blend of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, it features a complex bouquet with aromas of lime zest, earthy minerals, honeysuckle, crisp acidity as well as a long and elegant finish. One of Bordeaux’s finest white wines!
Petit Guiraud 2017 – Bordeaux, France
Petit Guiraud is the second wine of Chateau Guiraud, a 1 st Growth Classified Sauterne since 1855. This is a modern Sauternes, made from selected plots. It is partially fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, with the completion of the fermentation in new French oak barrels, which contributes to the freshness and minerality of the wine. The process creates a perfect balance of refined sweetness with a vibrant freshness coming from the high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
Segals Petit Unfiltered 2016 – Israel
Petit Unfiltered is Segal’s “second flag” wine. A powerful, elegant wine, with a dominant aroma, created in a unique process without filtering. Petit Unfiltered is a complex and elegant wine, made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Plato vineyard, a young vineyard, with ingredients specially imported from France. The wine is aged 18 months in French oak barrels. This process gives birth to a rich tasting wine, powerful and tasting like it’s fresh from the vineyard. The label on the bottle is made of grapes and strawberry fibres, reflecting the uniqueness of the wine-making process.
Binyamina Single Vineyard Meirav 2016 – Israel
A blend of Petite Sirah, Marselan & Shiraz. These three varieties grow at the Meirav vineyard, on the Gilboa mountain ridge, on the northern turn of Malkishua Mountain. A wine with a medium to full velvety body, with a seasoned and interesting Mediterranean character. The wine emits an herbaceous aroma of hyssop, oregano and lavender, in conjunction with ripe dried fruit such as prunes, currants and figs, with soft tannins and a long aftertaste.
Vitkin Carignan 2016 – Israel
100% Old Vine Carignan from Carmel mountain slopes, Vitkin Carignan has a ruby-black purple colour, a balanced structure, very thick and complex. It has a lengthened extension, a blend of strong aromas and tastes comprising prune and blackberry, herbs and an earthy minty tendency.
Tulip Franc Merlot Reserve 2016 – Israel
The grapes for this wine were harvested meticulously, selectively and manually while every variety of grape was harvested separately. The grape juice is cold-soaked for seven days, and then fermented at a 23°C-26°C to extract the unique flavours that are typical for these grapes in this region. The wine is aged for six months, with every grape variety aged separately, then balanced together and aged for an additional eight months in French oak barrels before filtering and bottling.
Domaine Ternynck Bourgogne Les Truffiers Chardonnay 2017 – Burgundy, France
Available for the first time as a Kosher wine. This white wine has a bright gold colour with green reflections. On the nose, lemon curd, ripe pear, as well as a hint of walnuts and vanilla. Light to medium-bodied, with a smooth, fresh mouth-feel. On the palate, notes of ripe lemon, fresh nuts, pear and green apple, medium acidity with hints of white pepper and vanilla on the moderately long finish. Nice, juicy and refreshing.
Herzog Special Reserve Vallhall Vinyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 (Wine Club Release) – Sonoma County, California
The special release of the 2014 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon from the Valhall Vineyard displays rich notes of dark Bing cherry, liquorice and night-blooming flower. It holds a long-lasting finish of blueberry, leather and star anise.