A new ‘affordable’ cuvée from controversial winemaker Loic Pasquet whose mission since 2007 has been to “recreate the taste of pre-phyloxerra Bordeaux” by using traditional, un-grafted, virtually extinct varieties like Tarnay, Petit Vidure, Castets and St-Macaire using ancient techniques such as only using a mule with a 150 year-old plough in the vineyards. To date Pasquet’s wines come from a one hectare plot, but this new wine comes from a four hectare vineyard that is also planted with 20,000 low-yielding vines per hectare, to recreate Bordeaux at the time of the 1855 classification. Because he is using these varieties, ironically the wine has to be called Vin de France, rather than Bordeaux, even though his wine is arguably more traditionally Bordeaux. Tasting the Denarius 2018 (the Latin name for a Roman silver coin), was like tasting a familiar wine that was also unfamiliar which is the point I suppose. It
From West-facing 69 year old vines grown 300m up in the town of Alba, this is a juicy, accessible Barbera, made to be drunk young and vinified without the use of wood in order to deliver a clean, pure expression. It’s on the red fruit side of the spectrum while others from this producer are more black-fruity and earthy. Cherry red to look at with red cherry also on the nose (which is vibrant and fruity), notes of red plum and a hint of nutmeg and a subtle wild mint lift on the tail; the palate is light to medium bodied, textured, with fine, elegant tannins and full of flavour – small red cherries, Morello cherry sourness, redcurrants. The finish is tight, focused and makes you pour that second glass. I was really impressed with this, especially given the price is around £17 RRP
100% Pecorino from the Marche region of Central Italy, the same place where the cheese comes from, and that’s where any similarity ends. This producer has been making wines for 90 years and is known for making clean, expressive wines of both the terroir and grape variety. Pecorino is a thick-skinned, early ripening, acidic grape that produces good value Italian whites that are crisp, fruity and food-friendly. To look at this 2020 is very pale straw, the nose offers flowering wild fennel, orchard fruit with hints of tropical fruits – banana and pineapple; the palate is light to medium bodied with a crisp, mineral energy to the wine, flavours are quite sour – lemon flesh, green apple, touch of grapefruit – but pleasantly so and, with the acidity calls out for a seafood pasta, grilled fish or cheese. You can pick this up for about £12-3 retail which is great
Fascinating to try this dry Pacherenc, from this top South West France producer, with so many years on the clock which, once again, goes to show the often-overlooked potential of this grape in a range of styles/ sweetness levels. To look at, the wine is Manzanilla orangey gold; there is a touch of solera within the intense, complex bouquet in which you also find oranges in syrup, orange blossom, walnut shells, baklava, caramel. The palate is medium bodied and dry-as-you-like, quite tannic and structured with a fascinating melange of tertiary flavours, intense, aged citrus, grapefruit peel, saline, toasted almonds. A real ‘vin de meditation’ in its old age – slowly sipped and enjoyed over a long period of time.
Côte de Beaune rouge 2018. Pale ruby, purple edging, transparent; the nose is complex involving red fruit (strawberries), with herbaceous and spicy elements (cardammon/clove/ pepper), and an earthy sub-text, wisp of smoke, red liquorice. On the palate the wine is elegant, medium weight, dry with a crisp line of acidity. Reasonably taut but with plenty of fruit flavours. Affordable way into the producer’s portfolio - and also including a % of fruit declassified from the Clos Des Mouches.
If you missed last week’s International Shiraz Day you can still play catch-up. This wine is a good example of Yalumba’s expertise in the Barossa and also great value with an RRP around the £16 mark. Medium ruby to look at, semi-translucent; attractively fruity nose of ripe red plums, cherries and redcurrants, balanced by savoury notes of cedar; the palate is medium bodied with black and red fruit, dark chocolate and spice with a vibrant core of rhubarb acidity. The alcohol is high at 14.5% but the ripe fruit, tannin structure and acidity carries it well. It comes across crisp and well balanced.
Sténopé 2011 the latest top vintage from Champagne Devaux collaborating with the Rhône’s Michel Chapoutier. Shiny medium to deep gold; bold, complex and savoury nose with toasted hazelnuts, iodine, dried apricots, milk chocolate, toasted pain de miel, vanilla, an earthy quality. The attack is well balanced – bright, clean and fresh but not aggressive – flavours abound of fresh pear, Braeburn apple, lemon zest, yellow grapefruit, praline; the wine is crisp, clean and finely textured with a fascinating long finish with a touch of aspirin, lemon and orange zest, saline on the close. Although the wine is drinking very well now I would leave it for at least another year, as I would any other top end, oak-fermented Champagne – just to let the wood develop more secondary characters. Although the house does not reveal the exact make-up of the Pinot Noir/ Chardonnay blend, it is virtually all non-malolactic fermented
Unusual but fascinating Greek blend that has been aged underwater in the Mediterranean. Foivos is a biodynamic Greek producer on the island of Kefalonia that specialises in the rescue and development of indigenous grape varieties, two of which Tsaousi and Vostilidi make up 30% of this 4-grape blend completed by Muscat and Moscatel. Medium shiny gold; intense, complex and pretty unique nose – at first fruity with the Muscat giving off honeyed pear and tropical fruit, then there is a mineral/ chemical element that’s like ioidine, then an earthy component, like peat, slightly smoky; the palate is medium, rounded, full-flavoured, fresh and dry, with pear, melon and a reductive quality that works well with the sweet aromas of the Muscat and Moscatel. Completely original and really fascinating.
The perfect wine for a hot summer’s night. A trip to Provence to discover the first Domaine wine from @maisonmirabeau La Reserve the culmination of the dream of Stephen and Jeany Cronk to make their own wine from their own estate in Provence. You can read how it all came about on www.The-Buyer.net. Part two on how #Mirabeau became a lifestyle brand out later this week. A wonderfully refreshing, multi layered, textured serious rose that is the first of what will no doubt be the Cronks signature wines for years to come. #provence #rose #wine #winebrands
What a treat to try the 2003 which is the first ever Altair produced which was made from very young vines – just 15 months ageing in 100% new 225-litre French barrels. The cepage is totally different to how it is today being 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Carmenère, 6% Merlot, 4% Syrah and 2% Cabernet Franc. The wine shows the ageing potential of Altair - and what wonderful evolution it is. The colour is a sumptuous ox blood with medium tawny edging, almost transparent; the nose is full of gorgeously evolved Cabernet Sauvignon fruit with cigar box and leather chair etc; the palate is still remarkably fresh and structured, it shows its wood, mainly in the texture but also in a slight resinous grip on the tail end. But this is a treat and, although the framework is still there to carry it on for at least another decade, this
Excellent find from a new garagista working on the Greek island of Ios. Alex and Angelos Delis worked with Haridimos Hatzidakis on neighbouring Santorini and are working in a hands-off approach to the winemaking here on mainly schist-based soils. It’s a limited production of Monemvasia (1320 bottles) but well worth looking out. To look at, the wine is platinum with a reddish hue; the aromatics are floral, ripe and ‘sweet’ (orange blossom with Mediterranean herbs). The palate is medium, intensely mineral, nicely balanced with ripe, juicy fruit (tangerine, grapefruit pith) and an acidic core, the finish is slightly sour, with a refreshing saline tinge, there’s a good bit of tannin too. Real nice 13% abv
This is the outstanding second white wine of the renowned Super Tuscan estate Ornellaia. A blend of 78% Sauvignon Blanc, 16% Vermentino and 6% Viognier which has been blended and aged in a mixture of barrel, steel and concrete eggs. It is fragrant, finessed, with a delicious balance between crisp and refreshing and, in this vintage which was rather on the late side, powerful and structured. It’s a ‘stick or twist’ wine – perfect for drinking now or laying down. Medium straw-yellow colour with green highlights; intensely perfumed bouquet of Sicilian lemon peel, white flowers, mowed lawn, hints of white peach, gooseberries and exotic fruits, sea air; medium-to full bodied, oleaginous mouthfeel, intense citrus, on the greener end of the spectrum – lime, grapefruit pith – acidity lends real structure and an impressive presence in the mouth, but the weight and the concentration of the fruit gives it delightful balance.
This magnificent wine is the personal project of renowned Loire-born winemaker Bertrand Sourdais (Domaine de Pallus) who put Dominio de Atauta on the map with the legendary 2002 Llanos del Almendro. This is 92% Tinto Fino with 8% of the white grape Albillo added into the mix. The wine comes from old, ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines sited on 25 plots in the Eastern part of the Ribera del Duero, in the village of Atauta. 30% of the fruit is foot-trodden whole bunch, fermented in open top large format wood 1500l – 3000l and then matured for 9 months in 600l Burgundy barrels (55% new). Medium purple; alluring and complex nose – strawberry, plum, earthier, leather undercurrent, cloves, pepper, eucalyptus; medium-heavy weight on the palate, this is concentrated and intense yet with fresh acidity, framed by ripe, micro-fine, firm tannins; there is a chalky texture, long length and persistence, a very mineral
This is not yet available in the UK which is a shame as it’s a nice shift from straightforward Picpoul de Pinet – having been left on fine lees after an initial racking, so that once fermentation has finished there is no more racking required and everything goes in the bottle, clean as a whistle. The result is a Picpoul with more roundness, depth, weight on the palate and richer aromatics. You find honeysuckle and a dusting of white pepper on nose; the palate is faintly luxurious, sweet lemon, a hint of yellow stone fruit, saline and a nice grapefruit-pith bitterness to the finish.
First cuvée of this Provencal rosé from the influential and highly popular Cronk family – the distinction being that this is the first of their wines to be made with fruit from their own estate’s vineyards. Blush pink with an orange hue; the aromas conjure up a market in Provence with ripe white peaches, baskets of white, wild flowers, mi cuit apricots and a waft of salty air from the Med. The palate has fine-grained textured, thanks to partial ageing in oak, with layered flavours of citrus – orange flesh, lime zest, pink grapefruit pith, mandarin juice. This wine is fresh, juicy, but nicely balanced between ripe fruit and an attractive sour note on the finish. A rosé for all seasons, and multiple uses - from afternoons by the pool through to gastronomic potential. The packaging is very cool from the old style bottle through to the embossed parchment paper
More of the estate fruit was used in the 2018 vintage with 11% of Cabernet Franc added to bring finesse and freshness to the final blend. The barrel-toast in the traditional 225-l barrels has been reduced and also a shorter elevage in barrel from 27 to 22 months. Tasting: With a just a little bit more heft on the nose and palate than the Stellenbosch wine, but still displaying that smart touch on the approach to the tannin, balance and overall freshness. Blackcurrant and sweet blackberry fruit predominate. More instantly approachable than the Stellenbosch wine, with a richer, deeper, more black fruit profile.
The 2016 vintage of the Trentino-based winery’s grand vin has been held back in bottle for longer which seems to be a smart move as the results are spectacular. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, and Merlot has always been one of a kind but rarely does a new vintage manage to balance structure and elegance in such a refined way. Deep ruby red; the aromatics are immediately seductive and powerful – hugely complex – in fact aromas to die for; the wine opens with wild blackberry, crème de mure, cassis, then you find balsamic, aged wood, earth, a lick of boot polish, but with the purity of the fruit always shining through. Tasted blind you would put this firmly on the Left Bank. To taste, the wine is succulent, ripe and lively, beautifully constructed – a medium weight palate, surprisingly light on its feet, with also just 12.5-13% abv
While Amarone in lesser hands can be heavy and flabby, this style of Amarone is lighter and much more fresh. Sourced from 10 different marl (‘marne’) vineyards from a 180-degree range of exposures – South-West to South-East – it is a blend of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and four other varieties (35/35/20/10%). Tedeschi is keen to point out that Amarone is a ‘terroir’ wine just as much as a ‘technique’ wine – having four months drying before a soft pressing and slow alcoholic fermentation/ maceration of 40-60 days, before ageing in Slavonian oak for 30 months, and then aged in bottle for a further six months. To look at the wine is semi-opaque, deep ruby red; the nose is complex with a range of aromas including fresh and dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, currants), vanilla pod, baking spices; on the palate the wine is luxurious, full, velvety smooth, notes of raisins and
Such an interesting winery in the Minervois doing extraordinary things with forgotten grape varieties like this blended white using Araignan Blanc, Riveirenc Gris, Riveirenc Blanc and Grenache Gris. From the first aromas to the end of the glass, it has real Wow factor and is wildly original. To look at, the wine is medium to deep shiny gold; the nose has notes of ripe orchard fruit, ripe pear, russet windfalls, wild honey, truffles. It is fresh and surprisingly light on the palate, with tangerine zest, truffles, a mineral quality too and quite refreshing. With this amount of bottle age and the colour you are expecting a wine with weight and an oily character (think old school Rhône) that doesn’t materialise. This is complex, pure and light and very moreish.
Lovely touch of tropical fruits in this 100% Chardonnay from the ripe 2018 vintage. The fruit is grown on South West facing clay-limestone soils and you can really feel the warmth of the sun here, ripe but not overripe fruit with the limestone giving a nice dry bite to the back palate. Deep straw-gold in colour; the nose is picking up ripe pear, honeysuckle, barley sugar; the palate has good volume – medium-weight – the flavours well balanced between ripe orchard fruit and citrus, with little hits of toasted nuts, papaya maybe. Lots of personality – very expressive and a wine I can imagine those lovers of old-style Aussie Chardonnay liking (without the over-use of oak), given its ripeness. Well balanced though. Mâcon-La-Roche-Vineuse incidentally is a regional appellation plus a geographic denomination – ie. a step up in quality and concentration than a straight Mâcon wine.
