The Ramiro Wine Cellar project was born in 2001 out of the wishes of two men: Jesús Ramiro, a star chef, and Eduardo García, son of prominent winemaker Mariano García and a talented winemaker himself. The idea was to make a wine in their image that matched their vision of a great contemporary wine. No sooner said than done! Jesús's garage was converted into a winery that served as the birthplace of this wine and still produces it today. We have here a true 'garage wine'! From the start of their venture Jesús and Eduardo set themselves two conditions. First, the wine must come from old vines at least 30 years old (the oldest are around 90). Second, they did not want to limit themselves to a specific geographical region or be part of the appellation system (Denominaciones de Origen) so as to retain as much freedom as possible to create their great wine. The wine, classified as a 'Vino de la Terra' comes from the Duero river regions of Ribera de Duero, Toro and Cigales. The first vintage of the Ramiro was the 2001, made from just two plots. In 2003 came the Cóndita, the wine that we include here and whose grapes come from a number of places. The ageing is shorter, only 14 months in used barrels as compared to 30 in new barrels for the Ramiro. The wine is lighter, with greater finesse, and can also be appreciated younger. The garage has not been enlarged since and production remains limited and confidential. We are extremely proud to be able to market these wines in Switzerland, but there is nothing to stop you knocking on the door of Jesús's restaurant on your next visit to Spain and Valladolid and trying the wines there along with the grande cuisine of father and son. For a foretaste see www.ramiros.es.

Producer

Rocche Costamagna / Alessandro Locatelli

The wines of Rocche-Costamagna are a result of the perfect interplay of geographical location, meticulous care both in the vineyard and in the cellar, and decades of experience.

Château Biac

Sometimes life is full of surprises. The Lebanese Asseily family experienced this first-hand when they became the owners of Château Biac as if by accident in 2006. They regularly spent their summer holidays near Biac, but never would they have dreamt that they would own and manage this wonderful property themselves one day. It’s a fascinating story that Tony and Youmna Asseily are happy to share over a glass of their wine.

Massena / Jaysen Collins

Dan Standish and Jaysen Collins were college friends, and in the late 1990s they decided to put their talents together to produce wine. Recently, Jaysen Collins has taken charge of the "Massena" project on his own.The grapes are purchased from growers in Greenock, Kalimna and Koonunga Hill in the northwest Barossa Valley.