LIATH WINES
Premium & Select
€180.00
SPARKLING WINE
Maria Casanovas Cava Gran Reserva 2018
Maria Casanovas Gran Reserva Brut Nature is a sparkling wine made with the Chardonnay, Macabeo, Pinot Noir and Xarel·lo varieties by Maria Casanovas in the D.O. Cava (Sant Sadurní d’Anoia).Founded in 1984 in the heart of cava (Barcelona), this small winery is named after the family matriarch. Maria Casanovas makes limited productions of original, unique coupages with no sugar added to the expedition liqueur. High quality cavas with an international reputation.Maria Casanovas Gran Reserva Brut Nature comes from the 9 hectares of vineyards the family owns around the winery in the town of Sant Jaume Sesoliveres. The strains are cultivated using traditional agriculture and they grow under the influence of the Mediterranean climate.The Casanovas Gran Reserva Brut Nature is made using the champenoise method with the winery’s best base wines. A traditional Penedès coupage that undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle for a minimum of 30 months before disgorging.This is a high quality, limited production sparkling wine. A fine, elegant cava with the unique complexity that only a Gran Reserva can offer. We are privileged to have this wine as an offering on our wine list at Liath.
Mount Horrocks Semillion 2017
Mount Horrocks Wines is run by proprietor/winemaker Stephanie Toole. Stephanie restricts production to approximately 3,000 cases per annum in order to achieve her aims of quality and single vineyard expression. Stephanie describes her wines as ‘essentially hand made food wines with an emphasis on structure as well as generous fruit flavours’. All grapes are 100% estate grown from three separate vineyard sites totalling nearly 10 hectares which were ‘A grade certified’ by Australian Certified Organic (ACO). In 2014, her persistence with classic, no-compromise winemaking
and a fully integrated organic approach to growing and making sets Mount Horrocks wines apart from the mainstream. Made from organically-grown grapes in Watervale in the Clare Valley, Australia, this 100% barrel fermented Semillon is well balanced, intense and long. Citrus peel and green apple, baked pear and hazelnut praline, with a creamy texture, finishing dry.
This wine works a treat with grilled fish, chicken, veal or salads but can certainly be enjoyed without food!
Maison Bertrand Ambroise
Lettre d’Eloïse “Coteaux Bourguignons
Organic farming is a way of life for the Ambroise family since 2013. Once upon a time, Bertrand was front and rear at his Premeaux-Prissey vineyard. He was the boss. Now his children, Francois and Ludivine, have taken on the business and Bertrand says he, no longer the boss, now works for them. He is glad to have them share the load, allowing him the freedom to concentrate on making good wines, such as this pair, made and named for his granddaughter.
The fruit for this excellent Chardonnay, one of nine produced by Domaine Ambroise, comes from young vines. It is fermented for ten months or so in barrels of different ages (one, two and three years old oak), not fined and only lightly filtered.
Colour is a light straw. Citrus and floral notes in the aromas. A citrusy tingle as it hits the palate, good acidity also. This fresh and lively wine, a wonderful drop indeed, is very well made and Very Highly Recommended.
This is a very versatile white which works beautifully with salads, fish dishes and white meats.
Las Uvas De La Ira 2020
Dani Landi is a focused, intelligent and driven viticulturist who is immensely proud of the region in which he works. Dani’s two Sierra de Gredos projects, Comando G and his eponymous label, have attracted the highest praise from the likes of Jancis Robinson, Andrew Jefford, Luis Gutiérrez and Victor de la Serna.
Meaning literally “The Grapes of Wrath”, this wine is made from old-vine Garnacha sourced from four different sites near the village of El Real de San Vicente. True to Dani’s style, this is miles away from the typical concentrated style many people associate with the grape. Rather, it is lifted and elegant, with savoury yet fresh red fruit, spice, and dry, chalky tannins. Amazing elegance with sweet cherry liqueur notes and sour cherries, An ambitious yet equally lovely wine from a very promising young winemaker. This wine is produced organically and biodynamically and grapes are harvested by hand. The average vine age is 60 years. This wine sits proudly on our wine list at Liath. In a home setting it would be ideal in it’s own right or best paired with red meats, roasted meats or game.
Bruno Lupin ‘Frangy’ Roussette de Savoie 2020
Bruno Lupin Clos Frangy is 100% Roussette de Savoie – The flavours are reminiscent of pear, gingerbread, spice and honey with a touch of nougat and the mouthfeel is soft, mellow and off dry.
The Roussette de Savoie AC is for dry white wines made from the Altesse variety (locally called Roussette). There are sixteen villages in the Savoie, all of which have higher standards than those of the Vin de Savoie AC and Roussette de Savoie AC and may append their name to either of these appellations if their wines meet these higher criteria. One of the best of these crus is Frangy. The soils here are argillaceous limestone and glacial moraines and the exposure of the vines is south facing. As with many of the vineyards in this region the viticulture is lutte raisonnée. (Minimal use of chemicals, low yields, hand harvested) and the yields moderate (49hl/ha). In the winery some skin contact is allowed for richness of aroma with fermentation at 18-20c, followed by a natural settling of the must, lees contact, and eventual bottling in April the following year.
This is another versatile wine but fish dishes spring immediately to mind. We have paired this wine with a cheese dish in Liath to great effect.
Monte D’AllOra ‘Saseti’ Valpolicella Classico 2020
The Valpolicella Saseti is fermented in stainless steel with natural yeasts and is unfiltered and unfined. Ruby red colour with purplish reflections, and scents of red fruits such as cherries and juicy red plums with a hint of bitterness. On the palate, the fruit is vinous, with a suggestion of dew-covered grass. The minerality of the estate’s limestone soil is evident in this wine and the finish tasty and fresh. “Cherry, strawberry, savoury. Light-bodied, juicy with firm tannins; excellent”Located in the center of Valpolicella on one of the five ridges that descend the valley (which resemble the fingers of a hand), Monte Dall’Ora is the creation of Carlo Venturini and his wife Alessandra Zantedeschi. Both are from vignaioli families, but decided to start fresh with their own estate in 1995. At the time, the purchased terraces were in terrible condition and everything had to be rebuilt.Vines are either selection massale or grafted on American rootstock. Carlo has chosen to work with (and in some cases, replant) the region’s traditional varietals: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, and Oseleta (a lost indigenous grape). The estate was worked organically until 2006, when the couple converted to biodynamic agriculture. The soils are unique to their particular ridge and are composed of limestone with a reddish hue. The first 15 meters are very soft and porous, permitting the vines’ roots to penetrate deep in the subsoil.
I love to show off this wine at Liath. People often look at the pale colour and expect to be let down. The vibrancy and freshness of this wine and the way that it interacts with food, particularly salty and earthy elements never cease to impress. This is a staple of the pairing program at Liath due to it’s incredible versatility.
Liath Select Collection
€140.00
Judith Beck Blaufrankish 2019
Judith Beck makes only 500 cases of this cuvée and it is superb. It has a chewy, plush texture with generous dark cherry, cassis and plum fruit nuanced by herbs and a touch of minerality. It is a highly versatile wine, complementing virtually all types of food and cuisines.
Blaufränkisch is a grape mostly planted in Hungary and Austria, where it has been cultivated since the 18th century. For her first Blaufränkisch, Judith Beck selects from different vineyard sites in Halbturn and Gols; the vines average 15 years old. The soils are known as Seewinkelschotter, sandy-limestone-gravel.Beck and her team pick all of the fruit by hand and sort the grapes in the vineyard and at the winery before de-stemming. Fermentation occurs spontaneously, in stainless steel tanks. The young wine is then racked off its skins and moved into 1000-2000 l, neutral acacia wood casks for two months where it completes its malolactic fermentations. It is then transferred to 4-6 year old barriques for 8-10 months of aging. Beck matures her Blaufrankisch in two phases in wood in order to attain the round, complex and vivid style she seeks. Judith Beck’s winery is run as a family business. Since 1976 the area under vine increased from 5 to 15 ha. Most of the vineyards are situated at the Wagram of the Parndorfer Plate, the most important site of the region. And from 2007 Judith has produced wines in accordance with biodynamic principles.
This versatile wine compliments a great number of dishes and cuisines but really stands out when paired with hearty stews, pot roasts or duck dishes.
Andreas Bender Pinot Noir, Pfalz Germany 2019
Growing up in the Mosel, it is only natural that one of Andreas’ loves is Pinot Noir (or Spätburgunder as the Germans call Pinot Noir). This wine is an excellent example of Spätburgunder with charming aromas of red fruits and blackberry, spice and cedarwood on the palate, ending in a spicy clove finish complemented by some rich vanilla and caramel from time on oak. It is elegant and softly tannic.
Grown organically in Pfalz, the fruit is transported to the winery in Bender’s home village of Leiwen. It undergoes spontaneous fermentation and is aged in a mixture of stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. The Bender Pinot has become a staple at Liath and is a firm favourite among many customers. I love the fact that it will seamlessly pair with a huge number of dishes. It is a modern style of pinot with a wonderful spice. This will be a Liath staple for many a year!
Gioia Del Colle DOC Primitivo Riserva, Pasquale Petrera 2020
This Riserva comes from the estate’s very best Primitivo grapes. It is full-bodied and full-on flavoured with intense ruby red colour. The nose shows ripe black fruit, toasted almond and spices. The palate shows very ripe fruit, balanced with minerals and great freshness. Smooth and velvety black cherry, plum, blackberry and mulberry with balsamic, clove and cacao notes. It ends with toasted almonds flavours, very typical of the Gioia del Colle region.
The wine spent 12 months in stainless steel tanks, followed by another 12 months in Slavonic oak 750-liter-casks with the application of music therapy to optimize the spontaneous microxigenation process and improve the fining of the wine, it then spends 6 months in bottle before release.
This estate was founded in its current guise in 1987, but has been in the family for generations. Tom Maresca in the ‘Italy 2013’ supplement to Decanter Magazine (February 2013) highlights Fatalone as being one of the very top Puglian producers with their Primitivos from the hilly enclave of Gioia del Colle combining power, freshness and longevity in very fine wines.
Such longevity and drinkability are the result of exacting attention to detail from vineyard, through cellar and aging. The vineyards are situated in the Murgian hills on clay-limestone soils which contain fossilised marine creatures. In the cellar, only the naturally present yeasts are used and malolactic fermentation also starts naturally. Minimal sulphur is also used.
This red will pair beautifully with hearty winter dishes such as slow cooked red meats.
Willunga 100 Grenache, McLaren Vale, South Australia 2020
Bright lifted red raspberry aroma with a hint of violet. Warm cinnamon spice on the palate supported by juicy cherry and satsuma plum. The wine finishes with a fine dusty tannin and fresh acid line.Sourced from Willunga 100’s own estate vineyard ‘Blindspot’ in the sub-region of Blewitt Springs (McLaren Vale). 100% dry grown bush vine Grenache from three different sections of the vineyard, each with a slightly different aspect/elevation. Vine age is approximately 50 years old. The soils of the vineyard are deep Maslin sand over a base of ironstone and clay. Vegan friendly.
Full bright red with purple hue, intense dark red fruit and well integrated cedar and toasty oak. Plum and black cherry notes full of luscious ripe fruit.
The term “hundred” originates from late Saxon and Norman England and refers to an administrative unit of government, meaning that 100+ households had to live in the area to qualify for its place on the map. Willunga 100 select their fruit from small parcels just as the district was divided up into ‘100s’, or small lots.
After only its first vintage in 2005, wine journalist and judge James Halliday gave the winery a Five Star rating. He also named it as one of his ‘Top Ten newcomers’. This vindicated the original aim of Willunga 100, which was particularly to inject some quality and excitement into Australian wine.
What most impressed me upon first tasting this wine was the elegance. It has a certain weight and wonderful spice which makes it an excellent food wine. A definite favourite of ours.
Filippi Soave
Filippi’s estate and vineyards are located in Castelcerino, in the highest part of the Soave DOC. Filippi began bottling his own wine in 2003, he began farming organically and was certified organic in 2007. Over the years, he’s incorporated some of the principles of biodynamic farming as well. The soil in the vineyards is mostly rocky, volcanic clay with parts that are rich in limestone. The property and vineyards are unique in that there is a rich biodiversity including wooded areas surrounding the vineyards. This is a critical aspect to the estate’s practices, as it allows for the vineyards to exist in harmony with the surrounding nature.
This natural approach in the vineyards is carried forth in the cellar as well. The grapes are all hand harvested and sorted. Fermentations occur with indigenous yeasts, in stainless steel tanks. The wines are held on their lees for an extended time, especially their top single vineyard wines. All of the Soaves are 100% Garganega, of course, even though the appellation allows up to 30% of other varietals such as Trebbiano in the blends. As for the Soaves, while most top examples are often rich and honeyed, Filippi’s wines are some of the most structured and mineral-driven. The high elevation and volcanic and limestone soils certainly come through in the brightness and focus of the wines. They often require time to open up, and can last for days with just a cork in the bottle. All of the wines certainly over-deliver for their price in terms of complexity and pedigree.
Flavourful and inviting, this Veneto white shows notes of almonds, anise, and white grapefruit with a smooth texture and lingering finish. Filippo recommends this wine mainly with fish and shellfish dishes although it has enough character and spice to stand up to various ethnic cuisines.
Unlike like many other examples of Soave, Castelcerino is based on only the native Garganega varietal from two southeast exposed parcels at 320 meters of volcanic soils. Fermented and elevated in 100HL stainless steel vats, this wine remains on its lees for a varying number of months depending on the vintage. During this period the wine decants naturally and undergoes no filtration before bottling.
Txomin Etxaniz Txakoli 2020
This is extremely good Getariako Txakoli and faithfully reflects this premium region of Txakoli (pronounced: chak -o -lee) production (Spain). Attractive brilliant straw hues, with a mid-to-low fizz spritz on palate. The nose is alluring and delicate with apple, cucumber and some light pear perfume. The palate shows more fullness and structure; gentle fruit sweetness gives a bright fruit spread on entry, and it gains nice gentle tartness, facilitating a poised and impeccably balanced finish. Clean, well composed spring fruits, beautifully spiced; great drinking. This is classic Txakoli – exactly what you should expect: correct, clear, delicious.
This wine is made from the local grapes Hondarabbi Zuri 90% and Hondarrabi Beltza 10% and is aged in stainless steel.
Best paired with Basque gastronomy, good to drink with starters, fish and seafood. Particularly recommended with salted anchovies and tuna in oil. I always find a use for this wine in Spring time, it is a fantastic wine to enjoy as an aperitif as the crisp acidity really awaken the palate
