TN : Chateau Haut Mayne 2008, Graves, Bordeaux, France

This wine is blend of 77% Semillon, 19% Sauvignon Blanc, and 4% Muscadelle.

The grapes were machine harvested between the 25th September and the 1st October. The wine spent four months in Americanm oak: one third of which was new, one third was one year old, and the other third was two years old. The winemaker was Yorick Lavaud.



Colour : Yellow

Aroma : Oak, lemon, nuts, buttered toast

Taste : Lemon, oak, nuts, minerals

Alcohol : 12%

Price : 120 SEK

Mark : C+

TN : Tandem Syrah du Maroc 2007, Domaine des Ouled Thaleb, Zenatta, Morocco

This wine is a collaborative effort from Alain Graillot, of Crozes Hermitage and Jacques Poulain, a Bordelais winemaker and producer of high-quality wines based at Thalvin, not far from Casablanca. Graillot and Poulain selected parcels of Syrah vines, some 48 years old, from terroirs with a maritime influence at Rommani and Benslimane.



Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Blackberry, plums, vanilla, mint

Taste : Oak, blackberry, herbs, vanilla, white pepper

Alcohol : 13.5 %

Price : 118 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Thalvin

TN : Chateau Gaudin 2006, Pauillac, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, France

This wine is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot.



Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Earth, blackcurrant, cherry, herbs, redcurrant

Taste : Cherries, redcurrants, herbs, cedar, earth, could use another two/three years in the cellar to unwind

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 195 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Chateau Gardin

TN : Chateau Cadet 2005, Cotes de Castillon, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, France

The chateau is owned by Louis and Caroline Mitjavile.



This wine is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Maturation was in French oak barrels: one third of which were new, one third was one year old, and the other third wastwo years old.

Colour : Plummy red

Aroma : Blacurrant, plums, herbs

Taste : Blackcurrant, plums, chocolate, cedar, tobacco, herbs, mineral, dry tannins on finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 169 SEK

Mark : C+

TN : Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 2006, DOCG, Marchesi Mazzei, Tuscany, Italy

This wine is a blend of two clones of Sangiovese. It was aged for twelve months in small oak barrels.



Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Oak, plums, cherries, chocolate

Taste : Cherries, wood, plums, cocoa, sour note

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 95 SEK (375 ml bottle)

Mark : C

Website : Fonterutoli

TN : Wintrage Felsberg Riesling Grand Premier Cru 2007, Schumacher-Knepper, Moselle Luxembourgeoise, Luxembourg

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Honey, green apple, mineral, lemon

Taste : Sharp lemon, green apple, mineral, pear, honey

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 83 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Domaine Viticole Schumacher-Knepper

TN : Gnarly Head Viognier 2009, California, USA

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Peach, apricot, oranges, floral

Taste : Peach, oranges, apricot, long finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 85 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Gnarly Head Cellars

TN : Craggy Range Te Kahu Single Vineyard 2005, Gimblett Gravels Vineyard, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

This wine is a blend of 78.8% Merlot and 21.2% Cabernet Sauvignon. The brix at harvest was 24.2 average, yield was 69 hectolitres per hectare average. All of the grapes were hand-harvested. There was no whole bunch fermentation. All of the grapes were 100% destemmed. The must was fermented in closed stainless steel fermentation vessels and started using inoculation. French oak barrels were used to mature the finished wine; 55% of the barrels were new and the wine spent 19 months in the barrels. The wine was fined and filtered before bottling in October 2006. The residual sugar was 0, pH was 3.72, and acidity was 6 grammes per litre.



Te Kahu means the cloak in native Maori.

Colour : Dark red/blue hues

Aroma : Plums, blackcurrant, herbs, cedar

Taste : Plums, blackcurrant, cedar, mineral, warm finish, talcum powder tannin finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 199 SEK (March 2009)

Mark : A-

Website : Craggy Range

TN : Pascual Toso Alta Reserve Malbec 2007, Lujan De Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

Pascual Toso was established in 1890. This wine is 100% Malbec. The grapes underwent a cold maceration for 48 hours before alcoholic fermentation at low temperature with selected yeasts.
Then the wine is placed in French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation takes place and continues maturation for 12 months. The wine was bottled with a soft filtration and rested in bottle for six months before release. The residual sugar is 2.37 grammes per litre, acidity is 5.32 grammes per litre, and the pH is 3.5.



This wine won a silver medal at the 2009 International Wine Challenge.



Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Blackcurrant, violets, plums, toasty oak, mineral

Taste : Intense blackberry and blackcurrant, tobacco, mineral, toasty oak, liquorice

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 219 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Pascual Toso

TN : Insoglio del Cinghiale 2007, Tenuta di Biserno, Campo di Sasso, Bibbona, Tuscany, Italy

This wine is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. The grapes were harvested by hand and collected in small baskets with a capacity of 15 kilograms. The grapes were de-stemmed and crushed softly followed by a temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless-steel vats for approximately 21 days at 28°C. 10% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation in barriques, the remainder in stainless steel vats. 40% of the wine was aged for 4 months in new and second year French oak barrels; The rest in stainless steel tanks. The total acidity is 4.3 and the pH is 3.8.



Colour : Red/blackcurrant

Aroma : Mint, dark fruits

Taste : Fruity, blackcurrant, tobacco, mint, oak, tannic grip on finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 185 SEK

Mark : B+

Website : Tenuta di Biserno

TN : Villa Cavarena Soave Classico 2008, DOC, Allegrini, Italy

This wine is blend of 80% Garganega and 20% Chardonnay. The grapes underwent a cold maceration for 18 hours at 10 degrees. Alcoholic fermentation took 8 to 10 days in stainless steel tanks at 15 degrees. Part of the wine was aged for 8 months in French oak.

Colour : Yellow, green hues

Aroma : Pear, almonds, oranges, lemon

Taste : Pear, almonds, oranges, lemon

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 99 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Allegrini

TN : Kanonkop Kadette 2008, Simonsberg Stellenbosch, South Africa

This wine is a blend of 45% Pinotage, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc. The age of the vines was between 5 and 3o years old. The vines were trellised to 5 wire hedge system. The vines were grown in decomposed granite and hutton soils. The average yield was 6.5 tons per hectare.



The must spent 3 to 4 days on the skins in open top concrete tank fermenters at 29 degrees for up to 5 days; the cap was manually punched down at least every two hours. The wine was matured in second and third fill 225 litre French Nevers oak barrels for 14 months. Abrie Beeslaar was the winemaker.

Kanonkop means "Cannon Hill" and is derived from the days when cannons were fired to signal the arrival of Dutch trade ships into Cape Town Harbour.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Burnt notes, smoke, blackcurrant, tobacco

Taste : Burnt toast, smoke, blackcurrant, green pepper, liquorice, oak

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 99 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Kanonkop Wine Estate

TN : Marques de Caceras Rosado 2009, Rioja, Spain

This wine is a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha.



This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Bright pale strawberry

Aroma : Raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant, herbs

Taste : Herbs, red berries, dry

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 75 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Bodegas Marques de Caceras

TN : Fresita, Vina Casal de Gorchs, Patagonia, Chile

This wine is a blend of 85% Muscat, 5% Chardonnay, 5% Sauvignon Blanc, and 5% Alicante Bouschet. Each variety is fermented separately then blended together to undergo a secondary fermentation. The final wine is infused with hand picked strawberries from Patagonia. Fresita means strawberry plants in Spanish.



Colour : Raspberry

Aroma : Strawberry, raspberry

Taste : Strawberry, raspberry, vanilla notes

Alcohol : 8%

Price : 79 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Fresita

TN : Lord Zinclair 2009, White Zinfandel, California, USA

This wine was produced by Spiral Wines exclusively for Terrific Wines AB.



On the back label it says "The little lord went west and found a town full of zin, and it all became clair". This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

Colour : Light red

Aroma : Red berries

Taste : Off-dry, jellied strawberries and raspberries, mineral water like spritz on finish

Alcohol : 11%

Price : 55 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Terrific Wines AB

TN : Turley Juvenile Zinfandel 2008, California, USA

Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley, brother of the well-known consulting winemaker Helen Turley. Larry Turely entered the wine business in 1981 as co-founder of Frog's Leap Winery. He then realized that his interest lay in wines made from the Zinfandel grape. Starting out with just one location in St. Helena, Turley Wine Cellars soon expanded to Templeton with the purchase of Pesenti winery, and as of 2007, produced 14,000 cases a year of both single-vineyard and regional Zinfandel wines.

This wine was imported by Divine AB.

Colour : Red/violet

Aroma : Spice, violets, bramble fruits

Taste : Rich, liqourice, violets, bramble jam, spice, warm

Alcohol : 15%

Price : 299 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Turley Wine Cellars
Website : Divine AB

TN : Alto Las Hormigas Malbec 2007 Vineyard Slection Reserva, Mendoza, Argentina

In 1995, Alberto Antonini, a well known Tuscan wine maker, and Antonio Morescalchi, a young entrepreneur, bought 216 hectares Lujàn de Cuyo. Shortly after this, Attilio Pagli, another Tuscan wine maker, Alan Scerbanenko, an Italo-Swiss management counselor, and Antonio Terni, an Italo-Argentine winemaker in the Marche region of Italy, joined the enterprise.



The 100% Malbec grapes for this wine are hand picked in high density vineyards located in La Consulta and Vista Flores in the Uco Valley, and Vistalba, Perdriel and Las Compuertas in Luján de Cuyo. The yields were 7 tons per hectare or 14.5 hectolitres per acre.

Alcoholic fermentation is done by using native yeasts in wide stainless steel tanks.. The cap management is conducted with punch downs and rack and returns to maximize the extractions of colour and flavour from the skins. The time between crushing and pressing is approximately thirty days of which about ten are for primary fermentation and twenty for extended maceration. The temperature is kept at around 28 to 30 Celsius degrees to gain depth and volume in the mouth. After pressing the wine goes straight into tight grain French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. Ageing is for 16 months. The wine is then bottled unfined.

The winemakers were Alberto Antonini and Attilio Pagli. Total Acidity is 5.88 grammes per litre, the pH is 3.4, and the residual sugar is 2.81 grammes per litre.

Colour : Dark inky purple/red

Aroma : Violets, blueberry, damsons, blackberry, mint, plums

Taste : Very minty, tobacco, damsons, blueberry, plums, milk chocolate

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 199 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Altos Las Hormigas
Website : Arvid Nordquist H.A.B.

TN : Red Pitt 2007 Rotweincuvee, Weingut Pittnauer, Burgenland, Austria

This wine is a blend of Zweigelt, Blaufraenkisch, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The bottle was sealed with a screwcap. The Wein & Co website claims that this is drinkable up to 2015 but I don't think it has the stuffing to last that long.



Colour : Red

Aroma : Plum, spice, tobacco hints, blackcurrant

Taste : Very spicy and sour notes on finish, plum, tobacco, red fruits

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 16.25 Euro (Bought at Wein & Co, Vienna, Austria, January 2009)

Mark : C

Website : Weingut Pittnauer

TN : Errazuriz Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2009, Central Valley, Chile

This wine was cool fermented to off dry in stainless steel tanks. Then the wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Bright raspberry

Aroma : Strawberry, blackcurrant

Taste : Strawberry, blackcurrant, dry, herbs

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 39 SEK (375 ml bottle)

Mark : C+

Website : Vina Errazuriz

TN : Tokolosh Merlot 2009, Tooverberg Boerdery, Coastal Region, South Africa

The grapes were cold-soaked prior to fermentation. The fermentation was carried out at around 30°C, finished quickly and the wine racked off the skins without any post-fermentation skin contact. Half of the volume was then transferred to second fill French oak 225 litre barrels, with malolactic fermentation occurring in the wood, for about 6 months. The remainder was finished in stainless steel and the two elements eventually blended before bottling. The residual sugar was 3.8 grammes per litre and the total acidity was 5.6 grammes per litre.

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by Chris Wine and Spirits.

Colour : Blackberry

Aroma : Plums, blackberry, herbs, vanilla, smoke, oak, milk chocolate

Taste : Plums, cherry, smoke, herbs, blackberry, bitter oak on finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 41 SEK (375 ml bottle)

Mark : C

Website : Tokolosh Wines
Website : Chris Wine Sweden

TN : Zardoz Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2007, Vina Indomita, Maipo Valley, Chile

This wine was imported by Primewine Sweden AB.



Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Herbs, blackcurrant, milk chocolate, oak

Taste : Green pepper, blackcurrant, coffee, plums, oak

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 159 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Vina Indomita
Website : Primewine Sweden AB

TN : Morillon 2007, Sattlerhof, Gamlitz, Suedsteiermark, Austria

This wine is 100% Chardonnay.



Colour : Pale lemon

Aroma : Pear, almond, oranges

Taste : Pear, oranges, marzipan, long finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 129 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Sattlerhof

TN : Achaval-Ferrer Malbec 2008, Mendoza, Argentina

10000 twelve bottles cases were produced. This wine is bottled without fining or filtering, on 9th February 2009. The pH is 3.5, the Total Acidity is 6.37, the Volatile Acidity is 0.62, Total SO2 is 46 miligrammes per litre, and Residual Sugar is 1.40 grammes per litre. The wine is 100% Malbec from long term lease contracts in different districts such as Mayor Drummond, La Consulta and Medrano. The three properties are, as traditional in Mendoza, irrigated by furrow. In all vineyards the average yield was 5,500 kilos per hectare (around 33 hectolitres per hectare). The wine was aged during 9 months in French oak barrels.



This wine was imported by Divine AB.

Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Violets, savoury notes, plums, herbs, blueberry

Taste : Lean, oak, violets, herbs, plums, blueberry

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 179 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Achaval-Ferrer Winery
Website : Divine AB

TN : Rubicon 2005, Meerlust Estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Meerlust Estate has been owned by the Myburgh family for eight generations since 1756. Today, the estate is ran by Hannes Myburgh.



This wine is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 16% Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Sauvignon was grown on low yielding, predominantly biotite partially decomposed granite gravel topsoil rich in quartz and feldspar to a depth of approximately 600mm with a loamy clay subsoil. The Merlot vineyards were planted on more clay rich, yet well drained soils to ensure moisture retention and availability to the vines roots right through the summer.
The Cabernet Franc Vineyard is situated on a very well drained, stony Vilafontes soil with approximately 20% clay.

The Cabernets were given a relatively short cuvaison time to prevent over-extraction, but the Merlot was given a long post fermentation maceration to encourage complete polymerization of complex tannins and add a broad, juicy and ultra-silky texture to the blend as a whole. Malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel for 6 months before assessment and assemblage. The wine spent a total of 24 months in 75% new French Nevers oak with 25% 2nd Nevers and Alliers barrels.

The dry extract was 33.56, the residual Sugar was 2.45 grammes per litre, the pH was 3.76, total acidity was 5.57 grammes per litre, and the alcohol was 14.42%.

This wine was imported by Tryffelsvinet AB.

Colour : Deep blackcurrant

Aroma : Coffee, blackcurrant, smoke, tobacco, plums

Taste : Talcum powder drying tannins, blackcurrant, plums, overtly smoky, burnt tasting, oak, stale tobacco, black tea

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 229 SEK

Mark : D

Website : Meerlust Wine Estate
Website : Tryffelsvinet

TN : Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Paul Hobbs Winery, Napa Valley, California, USA

The grapes for this wine were handharvested between October 25th and November 2nd 2005. The Brix at harvest was between 23.9 and 25.1 degrees. The grapes were fermented in ten ton closed-top stainless steel fermentors with indigenous selected yeasts. The must underwent a five day cold soak and a 30 to 35 total maceration. The malolactic fermentation was spontaneous and carried out in barrels for seven months. The resulting wine was aged for 20 months in French oak barrels from Taransaud, Seguin Moreau, Alain Fouquet, Demptos, Bossuet, Nadalie, and Sylvain. 60% of the oak was new. The wine was bottles unfiltered and unfined in June 2007. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.



The extended cool weather and rains in Spring 2005 resulted in late bud break in Napa Valley. Long temperate weather followed.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrant, oak, cedar, cherry

Taste : Concentrated blackcurrant fruit, lightly toasted oak, smooth tannins, graphite, coffee, pepper on long finish

Alcohol : 14.9%

Price : 389 SEK

Mark : A

Website : Paul Hobbs Wines