2021 Release Of Aalto And Aalto Ps
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Thu 01 Feb 2024 | Offer

  2021 release of AALTO and AALTO PS + 2022 AALTO BLANCO   I have spent last week in various Burgundy tastings here in London (just over 450 wines tasted) and have one more week to go. In principle, the wines are showing well and there are even some which are priced so that they are worth buying for home drinking - the full report and recommendations will follow at the beginning of February.   As it has become a tradition at this time of the year, I am glad to offer to you the latest releases from Bodegas AALTO …

Read more

Garmon 2020
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Sun 19 Nov 2023 | Offer

GARMON 2020   Lukasz and I are getting ready to drive out to Burgundy tomorrow, but before we set of, the Vinous (magazine run by ex Parker contributors Antonio Galoni and Neal Martin) has published reviews of latest Ribera del Duero releases. As usual, our favourites have been given quite a high marks and inspiring notes, so before the traders and brokers start chasing me for the allocations, I thought I would release the stock first to my regular readers.   Most of you would be familiar with the Garmon project. Eduardo was able to acquire limited number of old …

Read more

Ornellaia 2020
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Mon 13 Nov 2023 | Offer

The time flies and we are mid-November already. Whilst I am organizing my appointments for our Burgundy trip from next Sunday, Lukasz reminded me that I have still not released the 2020 Ornallaia which was scheduled for release in September. It's not like I am trying to hoard the whole allocation for myself, just that last few weeks were taken over by trying to get as much stock into the UK before Christmas rush but avoiding the heat which was sitting over Europe till late September.  Still, better late than never, so here we go.         Tenuta …

Read more

Contino Gran Reserva 2011 Magnums
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Thu 09 Nov 2023 | Offer

Contino Gran Reserva 2011 magnums   As we are approaching the end of October, I thought I would send you some inspiration for a very fine Christmas present for those who appreciate a drop of vino at perfect maturity point.   I present to you the 2011 incarnation of Contino Gran Reserva in magnums (packed in individual wooden cases).   In 2011 the winery was run by Jesus Madraso who was at the time considered to be one of the best winemakers in Rioja and some of you might remember my enthusiasm and my releases of Continos back in late …

Read more

Valeyo 2021 By Mauro
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Tue 26 Sep 2023 | Offer

  Valeyo 2021 by Mauro       We are at the beginning of the Autumn tasting season and before I update you with new releases from the well known wineries (Ornellaia / Serre Nuove etc) I thought we should start the season with the new project from Garcia family - please meet Mauro Valeyo from Bierzo.   Most of you are familiar with their other wineries, Garmon, Mauro, San Roman, and associated wines which are in the Duero Valley and produce deep, rich and hedonistic wines. The idea with Valeyo is to produce lighter, more elegant wines with a …

Read more

Valeyo 2021 By Mauro
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Wed 20 Sep 2023 | Offer

Valeyo 2021 by Mauro   We are at the beginning of the Autumn tasting season and before I update you with new releases from the well known wineries (Ornellaia / Serre Nuove etc) I thought we should start the season with the new project from Garcia family - please meet Mauro Valeyo from Bierzo.   Most of you are familiar with their other wineries, Garmon, Mauro, San Roman, and associated wines which are in the Duero Valley and produce deep, rich and hedonistic wines. The idea with Valeyo is to produce lighter, more elegant wines with a different structure and …

Read more

Mauro And Mauro Vs 2020 Release
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Fri 01 Sep 2023 | Offer

Mauro and Mauro VS 2020 release    Whilst we are waiting for the Bordeaux 2020 prices to be released, I have had sample of 2020 Mauro VS delivered and thought it would be a good time to open it and release the stock.   Most of you would be familiar with Bodegas Mauro run by legendary Mariano Garcia and his 2 sons, Alberto and Eduardo. I have been working with this organically run estate (now in a process of conversion to Biodynamic) for many years and I am still amused by their ability to produce high quality wines with such …

Read more

Aalto And Aalto Ps 2020
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Thu 02 Feb 2023 | Offer

AALTO and AALTO PS 2020   I was busy writing the 2021 Burgundy review when a notice came from Wine Advocate with the review of 2020 Aalto wines. For the 3rd vintage in a row, we got 94 points from Louis Gutierrez. Not bad for a wine which opens at these prices. This will create a feeding frenzy, I thought, better release it straight away. Burgundy can wait.    And here we go. Regular readers of these missives of mine are aware of my love affair with Aalto which goes all the way back to 2006. I am very happy to admit …

Read more

Aalto 2019 Vintage Release Offer
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Mon 17 Jan 2022 | Offer

As it has become a tradition in January, I will start the year with the release of the latest vintage of Bodegas Aalto in Ribera del Duero. The regular readers will knew that this is one of my favourite estates (after all it was Aalto back in 2004 that drew my attention to the region) and I am pleased that the winery is going from strength to strength with every new vintage.   2019 was about as classic as they get to be in Ribera; cold (down to -9 C in some high vineyards) and mainly dry winter. Mostly dry …

Read more

Garmon 2018
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Wed 08 Dec 2021 | Offer

Good afternoon good people from a grey and cloudy Richmond.   It’s been a busy week of tastings since I came back from Barolo (more of that trip later). The highlight was tasting the top 100 Ribera del Duero wines, as selected by Tim Atkin MW and featured in the last issue of Decanter. Many thanks to all of you who forwarded me the article and, yes, I am proud to confirm that Garmon was granted the highest rating, and pretty much all of our other estates are included in the review (Aalto, Sastre, Vina Magna). Normally, I would release …

Read more

Garmon 2017
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Sat 24 Jul 2021 | Offer

 Garmon 2017 Release Offer   Garmon 2017, we actually managed to get the stock into the country a few weeks ago, but I have been preoccupied with chasing 2020 Bordeaux samples and it got slightly neglected. And now Bordeaux can wait its turn, ‘cos. Garmon is worth it …   As mentioned in last 2 vintage releases for Garmon, it is fast getting serious recognition as one of the leading wines in Ribera del Duero. One does not often see this many critics reviewing a new winery and consistently awarding mid 90’s scores.   The vintage was characterised by significantly …

Read more

2016 Barolos Release From Renato Corino
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Thu 01 Oct 2020 | Offer

As promised long way back before lockdown, here is the first of future superstars I managed to find in Piemonte. There is more to come but thanks to travel restrictions the deals have not yet been concluded. I promise, as soon as they are happy to receive visitors again, I will be on the first plane out (hopefully within a few weeks). These wines and people who make them are more than worth it and I will do whatever I can to get the allocations. In February this year, I spent 4 great days crisscrossing Piemonte visiting 4 producers per …

Read more

Garmón Continental 2016
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Mon 11 May 2020 | Offer

GARMÓN CONTINENTAL 2016 Lukasz and myself are well and working very hard sending cases of lockdown wines all around the country, as well as getting organized with our various producers to get all the samples in for my tastings. Regular readers of these missives of mine would expect a flurry of Bordeaux en primeur reports and offers at this time of the year, alas that is not to be this time around. Still, as you can see in the picture below, I have lined up a good range of substitutes to look forward to in the coming weeks (Ornellaia, Serre …

Read more

Covid–19 Notice 24th March 2020
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Tue 24 Mar 2020 | Offer

COVID – 19 NOTICE   Dear wine loving people of Richmond, WE ARE STILL OPEN but due to the most recent COVID-19 advice, only for HOME DELIVERIES and PRE-ORDERED COLLECTIONS from our shop at 2 BRIDGE STREET, RICHMOND TW9 1 TQ.  Enquiries and to place orders, please contact us at: sales@citywinecollection.com or tel. 0208 948 7823 . Please note that we will assemble orders received by 4pm and try to deliver locally between 5pm and 7pm on daily basis where possible. As you can imagine we will need to streamline the operations and, in order to reduce contact and protect both you and us, we will have …

Read more

Aalto 2017 And Aalto Ps
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Sun 09 Feb 2020 | Offer

AALTO 2017 and AALTO PS 2017 2017 was a difficult vintage in most of Europe and Spain/Ribera were not spared the trouble. Following a dry and warm winter (about 60 % less rain than normal) the growing season kicked off early, only to be hit by late frost just as the plants were reaching pre budding stage. Subsequently, a fair amount of fruit was never set and what was there had to fight for survival till late August, when a bit of rain moved in and propped the plants to finish the season. As in previous difficult vintages, the quality …

Read more

Lafite Of Ribera - Regina Vides 2015 - 95 Points In Wine Advocate
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Fri 14 Sep 2018 | Offer

I was in a process of writing an offer on some beautiful wines form Piemonte, when Parker's Wine Advocate turned up in my mail box. Knowing that inside would be reviews of my favourite Spanish estates, I could not resist to peak in. And... Don't worry, fine wines of Gianni Abrigo will be coming your way very soon but, thanks to high ratings, this has become quite urgent.   First of all, I am pleased to say that all the usual suspects have been given appropriate (read: very good) scores, but one specific wine caught my eye more than others …

Read more

Sei Solo And Preludio 2015
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Wed 01 Aug 2018 | Offer

I hope you are enjoying this Mediterranean summer we are having in England this year. I am quite happy with the sun and the heat, but must admit that few days of rain and wind over the weekend were a welcomed break.   Talking about long hot summer, I have had quite a few people in the shop asking about the right serving temperatures for reds and how to keep the wine in the right condition. So, I thought I would write few words on the subject within this offer - those of you who are interested will find detailed …

Read more

Sassicaia 2015 And Guidalberto 2016
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Tue 06 Feb 2018 | Offer

Hello good people and I hope everyone is coping well with this spell of miserable weather. Perhaps if we all wish really hard the sun might come out to play...   Fortunately, this week was made a touch sunnier and easier to bear as I was invited to a preview tasting - launch of 2015 vintage of the legendary Sassicaia.   The "Sass", as it is known in the trade, does not really need much introduction. It is the original Super Tuscan - the wine that started the whole revolution in Tuscan wine making back in late 60s (good old …

Read more

Aalto 2015 And Aalto Ps 2015
Posted by Zoran Ristanović | Sun 21 Jan 2018 | Offer

Good afternoon good people and hope you all had a good New Year's holiday.   It's cold and unfriendly out there so in the tradition of the last few Januarys, it is time to bring some sunshine in to your lives in the shape of 2015 Vintage of Aalto.   The winery releases the wine in the late Autumn but, as that is my busy time of the year, I never get around to it at the time. Also, it somehow feels right to start the year with one of my favourite wineries.   The 2015 was (very much like …

Read more

Aalto And Aalto Ps 2014 Opening Offer
Posted by Admin | Mon 23 Jan 2017 | Offer

Good morning good people and hope you are all well. A chilly grey mist is rising off the River in Richmond today but, on Saturday we were enjoying a beautiful sunny day which reminded me of Summer, Spain, and inevitably, of Aalto. They released the 2014 vintage in November, but we were busy with Christmas trading and all that jazz, so it got shelved for a few weeks. And now, whilst I am waiting to get my Burgundy allocations confirmed, I thought, let's open the samples and unleash the 2014 vintage. Most of you know that I consider Aalto to be …

Read more

Preludio De Sei Solo 2013
Posted by Admin | Mon 16 May 2016 | Offer

Good afternoon good people  There was not much of great note happening in Bordeaux last week so, I decided to open few samples that have accumulated in our shop whilst I was travelling over the last few weeks. Most of them were new vintages of our restaurant distribution wines, so not really something worth making a special offer on. However, there was 1 little gem worth making a special mention of: a new release of Preludio de Sei Solo from Javier Zaccagnini. Those of you who read these missives of mine would be familiar with Javier’s  name – he is …

Read more

Clos De Papes 2003, 2004 And 2005 – Mixed Vertical Offer
Posted by Admin | Thu 21 Apr 2016 | Offer

Good afternoon good people, and hope you are all well. While I am putting together the 2015 Bordeaux en primeur report, and waiting for the Chateaux to release the prices, I thought I would draw your attention to a “little” wine from the South of France and some ready drinking vintages of it.  Essentially, one of my clients has asked me to find a home for some over-stock that he has in his portfolio from mature vintages of Clos des Papes – Chateauneuf du Pape. For those of you who are not familiar with the wine, Clos des Papes is one …

Read more

Burgundy 2014 – City Wine Collection Offer
Posted by Admin | Wed 03 Feb 2016 | Offer

Good afternoon good people. Hope you all had a great January despite the market’s turmoils, terrorists and hurricanes. It was quite a hectic start of the year, so now is the time for a little bright spark: the Queen of all Whites – The White Burgundy. As usual in January, I have been busy tasting through new vintage releases, and some 400 different 2014 White and Red Burgundies have passed though my glass, many of which 2-3 times.  By a rough estimate, about 1200 wines in total over 3 weeks. Not bad for the start of the year.   The …

Read more