Dining

Hand Picked Red Wine Collection

Red wines at Hand Picked Hotels

“I have selected a number of wines from our collection for inclusion in our wine list. These wines come from right across the wine region of Bordeaux and together give a wonderfully varied picture of the styles of Bordeaux and of the quality of wines which it can produce. I very much hope you will enjoy drinking these wines and experiencing the quality of the vintage for yourself.”

Julia Hands - Chairman and CEO Hand Picked Hotels.

Red wine categories

Rose & lighter bodied red wines

Medium bodied red wines

Full bodied rich red wines

We believe that lighter red wines are perfect when drunk cool.

Recreate the ideal romantic riverside picnic where you cool your bottle in the lazy river; ask to have your wine brought to your table with an ice bucket and dip the bottle in for 5 minutes or so.

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With age, red wines tend to soften, hard edges are rounded off & aggressive tannins become supple.

Often the winemaker will age the wine in wooden barrels before the wine is bottled, which speeds up this softening process. This is particularly common in Bordeaux and Rioja.

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Is it right to decant wine prior to drinking?

The French view is that precious aromas are dissipated by early decanting, enjoying the crispness of a younger wine, whereas the British view is that time in the decanter softens & smoothes a wine, appreciating its maturity.

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Cool refreshing Rose

Rosé wine can be produced in a number of different ways. The most common of these is a wine made from red grapes, crushed and bled (referred to as ‘saignee’ in the South of France) so that the juice is run off the skins after a short red wine type maceration, then fermented like white wine.

Our rose collection

Bin		Price
501	Petit Papillon Grenache Rose, Languedoc, France 2010 Salmon-pink with aromatic nose of raspberries and spices. This wine is lively and rich on the palate.	£29.00
502	Lagrein Rosato Alois Lageder, Alto Adige Italy 2010 Pronounced red berries and violet scented wine.	£41.00
503	Château des Sarrins Rosé, Côtes de Provence France 2010 A delicate pale pink, rose-petal colour with fine floral nose.	£38.00
504	Sancerre Rose Andre Neveu, Loire France 2010 Attractive with light & aromatic strawberry flavours & a bone dry finish.	£44.00
505	Kloovenburg Shiraz Rosé, Swartland South Africa 2010 Fresh and dry with ripe cherries, spiciness, a zip of acidity and a crisp finish.	£35.00
506	Spy Valley Pinot Noir Rose, Marlborough New Zealand 2010/11 Plum, peach and stawberry fruit notes with soft and refined balance.	£41.00
507	Ceppaiano Rosato, Tuscany Italy 2010 Intense pink colour with purple tinges. Fresh strawberry and peach aromas, well balanced on the palate with good structure amd a crisp, spicy finish.	£32.00
508	Vivanco Rosado, Rioja Spain 2010 Strawberry pink with hints of redcurrant notes on the nose. The palate boasts strawberry and cherry fruit notes and a delicious hint of liquorice.	£33.00

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Lighter Bodies Reds

The lighter red wines are ideal when drunk cool. Recreate the romantic riverside picnic where you cool your bottle in the lazy river; ask to have the wine brought with an ice bucket and dip the bottle in for 5 minutes or so.

Our lighter bodied reds collection

Bin		Price
601	I Fiori Lamberti Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy 2010 Bright, crisp red berry fruit and a soft palate supported by ripe tannins and crisp acidity.	£29.00
603	Beaujolais Petits Fruits Rouges Mommessin, Beaujolais France 2010 Refreshing and flirtatious, this wine has juicy red fruit flavours and soft tannins in harmony to the finish.	£32.00
604	Riva Leone Barbera, Veneto Italy 2010 Vibrant perfumed cherry fruit with alluring almond finish.	£28.00
605	Les Sablons Veutoux Rouge, Rhône France 2009/10 Grenache and Syrah make a crunchy juicy wine ideal for chilling - the wine and you.	£29.00
606	Fleurie Caves de Fleurie, Beaujolais France 2010/11 A striking and vivid red colour with concentrated red fruit. A great match for tuna.	£41.00
607	Bourgogne Pinot Noir Bouchard Aine et Fils, Burgundy France, 2009 Medium-bodied, fresh and elegant red with cherries, raspberries and blackberries and subtle oak spice.	£38.00

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Medium bodied reds

With age, red wines tend to soften, hard edges are rounded off and aggressive tannins become supple. Often the winemaker will age the wine in wooden barrels before bottling which speeds up this softening process. This is particularly common in Bordeaux and Rioja. In fact the Bordelais contributed much to the style of Rioja wines we see today when they settled in La Rioja after their own vineyards had been devastated by disease in the 19th century. Huia Vineyards was established by Winemakers Claire and Mike Allan, who were drawn to Marlborough by the intense fruit flavours in the wines, New Ripe cherries and violets show on the nose alongside mixed spice and truffle notes. On the palate these characters meld with plum, dark berry and savoury flavours. Subtle oak and a fine tannin structure support this density of flavours.

“It has always been traditional to cellar Bordeaux wines for a number of years before drinking. The ageing allows the wines to soften, lose some of the harsh tannins and mature into the wonderful wine that Bordeaux is renowned for. Typically a Cru Bourgeois is at its optimum between five and ten years, however a first growth wine may not reach maturity for about 15 years.”

Les Tourelles de Longueville is the second wine from the famous Château Pichon Longueville Baron in Pauillac. It mirrors its glamorous relation with ripe but elegant cassis fruit. The Tourelles in the name refer to the towers which ornament each corner of the château.

The combination of muscular Cabernet with its dark berry fruit and softer, plumper, plummy Merlot is at the heart of Red Bordeaux making. Renzo Masi’s 30 hectare estate is the Fattoria di Basciano, situated in the heart of the Chianti Rufina region. Managed by Paolo Masi, this outstanding producr makes wines which are first and foremost about clean fruit and rich texture - nice dark fruit and chocolatey with smooth tannins. The predominant grape variety is Sangiovese which means ‘The Blood of Jupiter’.

Our medium bodied reds collection

Bin		Price
701	Valdivieso Merlot, Rapel Chile 2011 Ripe plum fruit backed up with gentle spiciness from the region's most exciting biodynamic producer.	£28.00
702	Huia Pinot Noir, Marlborough New Zealand 2010 Intense dark cherry and violets with characteristic silkiness.	£51.00
703	Rosso di Montepulciano Villa Sant’Anna, Tuscany Italy 2009 Sangiovese based wine showing cherry and bitter chocolate with attractive forest floor tones.	£48.00
704	Raccolto a Mano Rosso, Tuscany Italy 2009 Soft easy drinking style.	£23.00
705	Dinastia Vivanco Rioja Crianza, Rioja Spain 2008 Dark and rich strawberry and raspberry fruit with gentle toasty spice and sweet oak.	£39.00
706	Ch Larrivet Haut Brion Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux France 2000 This has loads of chocolate and very ripe fruit. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and a long, long finish.	£83.00
708	d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache, McLaren Vale Australia 2008/09 Fragrant ripe and perfumed with sweet red berries, cranberry, spice and pot-pourri and sweet dark characters of liquorice and mulberries.	£44.00
710	Crooked Mick Cabernet Petit Verdot, Murray Darling Australia 2010 Lifted aromatics with fine, juicy tannins and an elegant concentration.	£32.00
712	Stone Barn Cabernet Sauvignon, California, USA 2009 Rich blackcurrant with some spiciness.	£30.00
713	Bodegas Campina Contador Joven, Toro Spain, 2009 Dark ruby-coloured, with a splendid bouquet of spice box, bobacco, lavender, black cherry; sweetly fruited, spicey and plush.	£33.00
714	Chianti Riserva Villa di Campobello, Tuscany Italy 2007 Fresh with violets adding to the dark, spicy fruit aromas. Dry, savoury palate with black cherry and dark chocolate notes and spicey oak.	£34.00
715	Delicato Family Vineyards Zinfandel, California USA 2009 Velvety black currant and spicy oak with damson anise and an undercurrent of smoke.	£34.00
717	Château de Malleret Cru Bourgeois Haut Medoc Bordeaux France 2000 Soft, characterful Claret with blackcurrant fruit and a touch of spicy oak.	£44.00
718	Cote de Beaune Villages Dom de Valliere, Burgundy France 2009 Cherries, raspberries and a hint of something wild, beautifully balanced with an understated juicy fruit.	£50.00
719	Valdivieso Reserve Pinot Noir, Lontue Chile 2011 Intense fruit showing strong cassis and dark cherry aromas. Round and smooth, with good acidity, and a long flavoursome finish.	£37.00

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Full bodied rich reds

Is it right to decant wine prior to drinking? The conventional French view is that precious aromas are dissipated by early decanting; the British view is that time in the decanter softens and smoothes a wine. There is no surprise to this as the French have traditionally drunk their wines younger, enjoying their crispness and vigour, while the British have traditionally appreciated maturity and gentleness.

The vineyards of Château La Fleur Maillet have an admirable location in Saint Emilion, bordering on the best estates in Pomerol. The Merlot grape dominates. It produces a soft wine, whereas the Cabernet Franc contributes body and a remarkable bouquet, as well as great aging potential.

Il Corto is a blend of attractive Sangiovese fruit from Rufina with 10% ripe Cabernet which is inky dark in colour and rich on the palate with dark berry fruits, with smooth tannins and some toasted oak.

A Bordeaux vintage such as 2000 comes along once in a lifetime. Not also is the year an icon for the new millennium it is also a vintage that produced scores of outstanding wines. It is generally accepted that the excellence of the year surpasses that of great modern vintages, including 1995, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1986, 1985 and 1982. In recognition of these unique qualities Hand Picked Hotels invested in the purchase of a very significant number of the wines of Bordeaux 2000. The wines were purchased en primeur and both before and since their release have been stored in ideal conditions.

Our full bodied reds collection

Bin		Price
801	Stone Barn Merlot, California USA 2009/10 Hints of ripe cherry, blueberry and blackberry with a dash of vanilla from new French and American oak.	£30.00
804	Crozes Hermitage Domaine du Colombier, Rhône France 2009/10 Packed with spicy, brambly fruit with smooth integrated tannins and a big, bold structure.	£52.00
825	Bodegas Campina Tempranillo Vinas Centeniaras, Toro Spain 2007 Lovely aromas of blackberries and plums. Powerful, clean and fresh, with the well integrated French oak providing some rich, roasted flavours in the background.	£45.00
818	Château Marjosse, Bordeaux France 2000 Good velvety tannins with chocolate and plum, berry and floral character.	£45.00
819	Château Villa Bel Air Graves, Bordeaux France 2000 A savoury, complex perfume of tobacco, earth, smoke, dried herbs, red and blackcurrants with a soft velvet textured finish.	£49.00
820	Château Caronne St Gemme Cru Bourgeois Haut Medoc, Bordeaux France 2000 Loads of ripe plum and berry with hints of mineral and lovely integrated tannin.	£51.00
821	Château Cissac Cru Bourgeois Haut Medoc, Bordeaux France 2000 A dense blackcurrant palate which is rounded, fleshy and well balanced.	£55.00
822	Château Poujeaux Cru Bourgeois Moulis en Medoc, Bordeaux France 2000 Deep ruby purple with a sweet nose of cassis and liquorice, dried herbs and vanilla, silky tannin and a spicy layered finish.	£79.00
828	Château Bernadotte Cru Bourgeois Haut Medoc, Bordeaux France 2000 Owned by Pichon-Lalande this is an elegant, textured, smoky wine offering scents of caralmels intermixed with black currants, cherries, cedar and liquorice.	£73.00
839	Vallado Douro Tinto, Douro Portugal, 2009 The beguiling richness and damson spiciness of Port without the alcohol or sweetness.	£38.00
850	Stellenhurst Fairtrade Pinotage, Stellenbosch South Africa, 2010 Vibrant with juicy plum and blackberry characters, soft tannins and ripe, sweet fruit. Hints of vanilla provide a silky elegance to the finish.	£36.00
815	Kloovenburg Shiraz, Riebeek South Africa, 2009 Dee, ruby red, milled black pepper, clean leather, touch of vanilla. Full concentrated juicy fruit.	£41.00
837	Catena Malbec, Mendoza Argentina, 2009/10 Dark violte colour and explosive aromatics. Its rich concentrated fruit flavours and soft tannins show potential of Argentine.	£43.00
814	d'Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz, McLean Vale Australia, 2001 A complex combination of fragrant spices and violets, dark cherry, blackberry and blueberry. Rich, gusty and virile.	£118.00
816	Bricco Rocche Barolo Brunate Ceretto, Piemonte Italy, 2004 Garnet colour, aromas of dry flowers, earth, tar and spice. Rich tannin and concentrated fruit.	£115.00
817	Petaluma Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot Australia, 2008 A sumptuous wine of great breadth and depth. It abounds with black dark fruits, complemented by liquorice, spice and earthy tones.	£81.00
840	Journeys End Merlot, Stellenbosch South Africa, 2007 A sumptuous wine of great breadth and depth. It abounds with black dark fruits, complemented by liquorice, spice and earthy tones.	£46.00