Christmas 25
Merry Christmas from AFJONES Stonemasons. We hope you enjoy your Christmas gift and we look forward to working with you in 2026 and beyond. Below you’ll find tasting notes and information for each of the wines you received.
Taylors LBV Port 2019
Union des Viticulteurs Chablis 2024
Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva 2019
Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc
Perrin Cairanne
Taylors LBV Port 2019
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Region: Port, PortugalGrape: Touriga NacionalABV: 20% |
Tasting Note
Rich and lusciously sweet with notes of fig, damson and fruitcake spice.
Grape
Late Bottled Vintage wines are made from wines produced during the vintage stated on the label. They are aged in cask rather than bottle (Vintage Port). They are much cheaper than actual Vintage Port and often represent excellent value. Wines are very rich with damson and blueberry character and a spicy finish. The blend usually includes some Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Tinto Berocca and Tinta Francisca although many more grapes are permitted.
Producer
Taylor’s Port, sometimes called Taylor-Fladgate (particularly in the U.S.) is one of the most well-known of all Port wine brands. The first Taylor joined in 1816, followed later by a Fladgate and a Yeatman. Taylor’s is the only Port wine shipper to remain completely independent throughout its history. British ownership continues to this day, when, after the last Yeatman, Dick, died in 1966, the firm passed via his widow to her nephew, Alistair Robertson. Adrian Bridge, Alistair’s son-in-law, is the current Managing Director. David Guimarãens leads the winemaking team that is responsible for maintaining Taylor’s position as a premium Port wine producer. The Port wines are typically closed and austere when young; it is only with adequate ageing that they loosen up and offer their subliminal qualities.
Region
Port is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in the Douro Valley and after the wines are made they are transported 70km downstream to Oporto for maturation. Grape spirit is added to stop the fermentation leaving high levels of natural sugars in the wines.
Food Pairing
LBV Port is luscious and sweet and a natural partner to salty blue cheeses like Stilton or Roquefort. This is a style that can also work with dark chocolate desserts or desserts that contain dried fruits.
Union des Viticulteurs Chablis 2024
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Region: Burgundy, France
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Tasting Note
Classic Chablis showing typical citrus, bruised apple and cream with a flinty undercurrent. Great with chicken, shellfish and soft cheeses.
Grape
Chardonnay is undoubtedly the most famous white grape in the world. When it is grown in the right conditions (similar to those found in Burgundy) it has the ability to produce the most exquisitely textured wines in the world. Chardonnay is a neutral grape variety, so it is usually oaked. However in the Chablis region the unique soil imbues the wines with a flinty, creamy character with notes of apple and citrus without the need for oak.
Producer
The largest quality driven cooperative in the Chablis region established in 1947. Today there are nearly 300 growers who supply the winery with premium Chardonnay grapes.
Region
The Chablis region is in between Champagne to the north and Burgundy to the south. It produces only white wines from the Chardonnay grape, but unlike most Chardonnays little or no oak is used. This means the wines are fruity and crisp with characteristic flinty streak.
Food Pairing
With high acidity, creamy texture and restrained fruit flavours this style is one of the most versatile food wines working beautifully with shellfish, fish, pork, chicken and creamy cheeses. It is also a great choice with Chinese dishes. There isn’t really much that Chablis won’t work with – red meat aside!
Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva 2019
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Region: Rioja, Spain
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Tasting Note
Long ageing in bottle and American oak barrel has produced this smooth, velvety and savoury Rioja with notes of blackcurrent, raisin, vanilla and spice. Perfect with lamb or very mature cheddar.
Grape
Tempranillo is a black grape variety widely grown throughout the Iberian peninsula and is considered to be Spain’s best quality grape. It produces wines with blackcurrant and sharper redcurrant character. Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish ‘early’ as it ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes. Reserva means the wine is aged for at least 2 years before release with 12 months in oak, so this style will have pronounced vanilla and oak spice on the nose and plum and redcurrant character on the palate with firm tannins.
Producer
Barón de Ley is located in Mendavia, within the yet undiscovered Navarra part of the DOCa Rioja. Founded in 1985 with the idea of creating a château-style winery, Finca Imaz started with 90 hectares of vineyards and a 16th century Benedictine monastery which was completely restored and now houses the group’s corporate headquarters. The first bottlings were Reserva and Gran Reserva, both launched in the early 1990s. At present, some 4.6 m bottles are produced and its presence is very strong both in the Spanish on-trade and abroad.
Region
Rioja is a wine region in the Basque country in north central Spain. The vineyards are on a high plateau and this altitude tempers the otherwise hot climate allowing the region to produce some of the most balanced, elegant wines in the world. Tempranillo is the backbone of the reds and wines may also include Grenache and Graciano. The use of spicy new oak is a hallmark of both red and white Rioja and it is one of the few regions that mature its wines for long periods insitu and only shipping when wines are soft, mature and ready to drink.
Food Pairing
A really elegant wine with soft tannins and mature fruit character so will harmonise well with subtle red meats like lamb. Also good with mature hard cheeses.
Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc
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Region: Walker Bay, South Africa
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Tasting Note
A steely and fresh Sauvignon Blanc with sharp, citrus, gooseberry and a whiff of mineral smoke. Classic with goat cheese, but also great with most fish dishes.
Grape
Sauvignon Blanc is a white variety that came originally from Bordeaux, but is now grown all over the world. Today key areas are the Loire where it produces grassy, mineral, smoky wines and Marlborough where it makes exotic elderflower and gooseberry scented wines. Acidity is always high and body medium.
Producer
Region
Walker Bay is a wine-producing area on the south coast of the Western Cape, 60 miles from Cape Town. It is typified by its maritime climate which is one of the coolest in South Africa. Walker Bay’s viticultural zone extends from the whale-watching town of Hermanus on the coast to Bot River in the north and Sunday’s Glen in the east. The region’s most notable vineyards are found in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley, which runs in an east-west direction from the coast. Walker Bay is held in high regard for the Burgundian-styled Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that is made here, along with fresh, flinty Sauvignon Blanc.
Food Pairing
With restrained citrus fruit and high acidity this wine is extremely food friendly and works with shellfish, fish, smoked fish and is especially good with creamy goat cheese. Also surprisingly good with curries.
Perrin Cairanne
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Region: Rhone, France
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Tasting Note
Rich and lusciously sweet with notes of fig, damson and fruitcake spice.
Grape
Late Bottled Vintage wines are made from wines produced during the vintage stated on the label. They are aged in cask rather than bottle (Vintage Port). They are much cheaper than actual Vintage Port and often represent excellent value. Wines are very rich with damson and blueberry character and a spicy finish. The blend usually includes some Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Tinto Berocca and Tinta Francisca although many more grapes are permitted.
Producer
Taylor’s Port, sometimes called Taylor-Fladgate (particularly in the U.S.) is one of the most well-known of all Port wine brands. The first Taylor joined in 1816, followed later by a Fladgate and a Yeatman. Taylor’s is the only Port wine shipper to remain completely independent throughout its history. British ownership continues to this day, when, after the last Yeatman, Dick, died in 1966, the firm passed via his widow to her nephew, Alistair Robertson. Adrian Bridge, Alistair’s son-in-law, is the current Managing Director. David Guimarãens leads the winemaking team that is responsible for maintaining Taylor’s position as a premium Port wine producer. The Port wines are typically closed and austere when young; it is only with adequate ageing that they loosen up and offer their subliminal qualities.
Region
Port is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in the Douro Valley and after the wines are made they are transported 70km downstream to Oporto for maturation. Grape spirit is added to stop the fermentation leaving high levels of natural sugars in the wines.
Food Pairing
LBV Port is luscious and sweet and a natural partner to salty blue cheeses like Stilton or Roquefort. This is a style that can also work with dark chocolate desserts or desserts that contain dried fruits.