New, slightly old and groovily imminent releases

Domaine Jean-Baptiste Sénat, Minervois (Organic)

Jean-Baptiste and Charlotte Sénat have been working this fifteen hectare domaine in the heart of Minervois since 1996. They are certified organic and carry out all work by hand. Vinification takes place with minimal intervention: natural yeasts, no fining, no filtration and only a tiny bit of sulphur are the recipe for living and drinkable wines.

La Nine is composed of a blend of 40% Grenache (40 plus year old vines), 30% Carignan (including 100 year old gnarled gobelet vines), 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre et 10% Cinsault, a delicious wine with notes of spice over black fruits. Lovely equilibrium, elegant tannins and mellow mouthfeel.

Mais Ou Est Donc Ornicar is a blend of the energetic Mourvèdre (60%) and Grenache (40%. A more powerful effort reminiscent of macerated fruits and dark spices and one that requires a haunch of meat or several.

Domaine Matassa, Roussillon (Biodynamic)

Matassa, a project from Tom Lubbe and Sam Harrop, is situated in the village of Calce (adjacent to Domaine Gauby and Olivier Pithon). The biodynamically cultivated, low sulphur wines deliver a punch of mineral flavour and include a white featuring old Grenache Gris and Maccabeu vines and a red called Romanissa which is a blend of Grenache Noir, Carignan and Mourvedre.

Vignerons d’Estézargues, Gard (Terra Vitis)

Quality-minded co-op in the southern Rhone. This chirpy convivial red comes from the pebble (galets) strewn clay terraces of the Gard between Avignon and Nimes. This super little co-op works according to the principles of Terra Vitis using no chemical treatments other than a little sulphur. We are taking a cuvée called Les Galets (a reference to the ubiquitous pudding stones that are found in and around the vines). The grape blend varies, but usually features Grenache (roughly 50%) with Syrah and Carignan in equal measure. Very much a natural wine with no filtering or fining. Bottled in spring after the finish the wine is very juicy with a soft, slightly cloudy purple colour and gentle flavours of blackberry, liquorice, pepper and nutmeg.

Domaine de Tamary, Cotes de Provence (Biodynamic conversion)

Domaine de Tamary is situated in the commune of La Londe in a valley surrounded by the Massif des Maures and extends for over hundred hectares on sun-drenched slopes and a landscape of rocks of schists with veins of quartz. The soils are planted wth 20ha of vines and 7 ha of olives. In the summer the location of the valley near the sea allows cooling breezes which leads to a slower and more progressive maturation of the grapes, giving the wines fine aromatic structure. Yields are very low (30 hl/ha) and organic manures are used. Harvests are completely manual over the course of six weeks, always in the morning when temperatures are cooler. The estate waits until there is an optimal balance of sugars, acids and polyphenols before starting the harvest, parcel by parcel. To our limpid, dry, jasmine-scented rose we have added a white made from Clairette and Rolle and a grenadine and cherry-compote flavoured red from 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 20% Carignan.

Domaine de la Tour du Bon, Bandol (Organic)

The Tour du Bon estate, located in the extreme north-west of the Bandol appellation, faces the sea.
This garrigue-scented landscape is washed with a very special, fantastic, dazzling light, so often captured by the world’s great painters.
Here the dry wind from the north flirts gently with the southern breeze. Aleppo pines spread luxuriantly, supplanting the dominant tree, the oak, which has had a rough time as a result of repeated assaults by the scourge of the region, forest fires.

Fortunately in this natural arena, between the mountains and the sea, the arid site is tempered by the gentle marine climate. The altitude combines with the effect of the mistral to ensure that the land is cleansed, from a plant-care point of view.

The slopes of Castellet and Brulat rest on a relatively homogeneous geological substratum made up of marls and limestones.

Truly the “blood of the earth”, the Bandol Rouge requires the whole of the fruit in its production. It follows the course of time and the interaction between nature, the vine, and man.

Yields are about 27hl/ha, harvest is by hand. 90% of the grapes are destemmed. Maceration lasts for fifteen days and fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts with remontage and pigeage. The wine is neither fined nor filtered and spends eighteen months in foudres.

This wine composed of 55% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 15% Cinsault and 5% Carignan has a great aromatic complexity associated with the three or four grape varieties it contains. A high proportion of Grenache lends cherry notes as a counterpoint to the spicy, pepper accents of Mourvèdre, with Cinsault uniting the whole. On the palate, the tannic framework can be powerful in youth, mellowing to silky meatiness with age.

This wine may be enjoyed now with peppered rib of beef, a prune tagine or, after a few years, with a leg of lamb with broad beans.

Domaine Damien Laureau, Savennières (Biodynamic)

Authentic Savennieres Damien Laureau is a promising young winemaker who has taken over 6 hectares of vines from his uncle who was heading into retirement. He recently enjoyed some well deserved recognition with his exceptional Savennières cuvées from the 2002 vintage. The Cuvée des Genêts is made from its youngest vines (20-40 year old), growing on schist and quartz. It is a 100% Chenin Blanc wine, 90% aged in tank and 10% in wood for 18 months.

A Savennières can be austere in its youth but the 1999 Savennières Cuvée des Genêts Domaine Laureau is ready to drink now. The color is bright golden. The nose is mature with more than a tinge of amontillado and the palate mellow with apple compote flavours.

Domaine Catherine et Pierre Breton, Bourgueil (Organic & Biodynamic)

Breton – could there be a better name for a superb exponent of the Cabernet Franc grape than this?

Catherine and Pierre Breton’s philosophy stems, in their own words, from a love of the land. The vineyards see ultra-intense organic care, no mean feat in this northerly clime; they avoid chemical fertilisers and weedkillers, restrict yields to something like 40-45 hl/ha (although some cuvées are below 35 hl/ha) and harvest by hand. Once the grapes have arrived at the cellars they are fermented according to terroir, with those from gravelly soils going into stainless steel, whereas those from clay-limestone vineyards are fermented in old oak vats. The Bretons use indigenous yeasts and their desire for “natural” winemaking comes through strong in their resistance to the use of sulphur, with typically just 10 mg/l added at bottling to many cuvées, although some are bottled without any sulphur at all.  We have a range of their Bourgueils including the marvellously drinkable “Trinch!”, a Chinon that is complex, weaving dark berries, wild herbs and minerality and two tender Vouvrays, one made by the traditional method, that ooze quinces and honey.

Domaine Aurélien Verdet, Hautes Cotes de Nuits (Biodynamic)

Alain, one of the very first growers in Burgundy to go organic in 1971, has passed on to his son the valuable lessons of raising vines in balance with nature. Aurélien, eager to carry on the philosophy, does everything by feel, by taste, by intuition, by the phases of the moon and as the wines from each parcel and from each vintage demand. Aurélien keeps yields in the vineyard low, dropping fruit during the summer and resulting in a final harvest ranging from 35 – 40 hl/ha. A cold pre-fermentation of five to six days is followed by temperature controlled fermentations in stainless steel, lasting approximately 15 days and includes daily pigeage and remontage.

No more than 30% new wood is employed in the ageing, which normally is approximately 14 months. The timing of vineyard and cellar operations is governed by the phases of the moon: for example, a waning moon for pruning the vines in order to support the natural movement of sap back to the base of the plant and toward its roots and racking of wines when the gravitational forces of the lunar cycle favour a more unagitated period for the wine that is being clarified. Le Prieuré is a celebrated lieu-dit which surrounds Verdet’s domaine in the village of Arcenant, due west of Nuits Saint Georges and renowned for its southern exposure and high limestone content…This wine has an impeccable silky texture balancing weight and concentration with brightness and acidity in a long, graceful finish. The basket of flavours here is of red cherry leading to black fruits interlaced with seductive suggestions of herbal potpourri.

Afros, Vinho Verde - Portugal (Biodynamic)

With exceptional conditions of soil and solar exposition, the Afros vineyards lie on softly inclined hills looking over the Lima River. More than 20 hectares of an ecologically sound territory, rich in bio-diversity, in which we find, besides the vines, forests with species of acacia, oak, beech, pine and eucalyptus, chestnuts orchards and a park of century old monumental trees. The vines of Casal do Paço are situated in a South facing amphitheatre, on gentle slopes, 1km north of the Lima river. Sheltered by hills and forests from the north and west winds, they receive welcome breezes from the south bringing the Atlantic influence that characterizes the freshness of the wines.

We begin with a Loureiro which displays a variety of pleasant citrus fruits on the palate such as lemon and tangerine. Fruits, flowers and minerality are the key notes within a delicate balance between sweetness and acidity.

For the Espumante fermentation with maceration of the skins occurs in granite tanks and then after pressing and malo the wine completes its second fermentation in the bottle and is disgorged after a further ten months. Made from 100% Vinhao this is utterly opaque with a velvety feel in the mouth, some chocolate-coated richness and touch of astringency on the finish.

Vinho Verde is the product of its micro-climate; the result of the richness and purity of the land which is the legacy of centuries of agriculture; a sandy, granitic soil that endows the wines with a special acidity and minerality: these are the main features of the terroir. A classic teinturier grape (see Alicante Bouschet and Saperavi) Vinhão is one of the oddities in which the juice from the flesh is crimson not clear. The red grapes, after being destalked go directly into fermentation vats or the “lagares” together with their skins, where they go through a process of maceration in order to maximize the extraction of colour and polyphenols.

Dark as the inside of a coal mine at midnight the Afros Vinho Verde Tinto has impenetrable opacity, presents a slightly prickly sensation in the mouth and then bursts out smilingly with thick gobs of bramble jam and exotic black cherries and black raspberries. The tannins are chewy, agreeably abrasive, and, twinned with the angular acidity, create a pucker-sour-sizzle combination which confronts the palate with plenty of difficult textural adjustments. You can almost smell the colour of this distilled purple juice; it’s as if the skins had been freshly ripped off the flesh and just finished fermenting in the glass. The texture is part stalky and part bitter chocolate but it is the kinetic acidity that simultaneously drives the tannins over the gums and helps to alleviate their astringency. 

Azienda Agricola Roagna, Piemonte (Organic)

The Roagna family have been growers for over a century and a half, when the traditional wine-making style was started. Vincenzo, the grand-grandfather, owned the historical winery situated in the centre of the small Barbaresco village and after having harvested the grapes at the earliest foggy days (Nebbiolo comes from “nebbia” the Italian word for fog) he made wine in wooden vats, something which still happens today. Years later, Giovanni Roagna and Maria Candida, moved the winery to the hamlet of I Paglieri, the location of the Pajé vineyard, one which embodied for them the best expression of the territory.
Neither chemical nor organic fertilizers are used in the vineyards and grass is allowed to grow between the vines.

Roagna makes wine in the traditional style: the fermentation and maceration of the must takes place in big wooden casks for long time, in contrast with the modern trend for rapid macerations and refining in barriques. Fermentation lasts 8-10 days. Only native yeasts (and a selection of the best of those) are used.

At the same time maceration is also made and in the best vintages it can last up to a hundred days with the submerged cap. This age-old art consists in blocking the skins (cap), in an almost full cask, with wooden planks; then a part of the racked wine is poured again “bypassing this fencing”, so that the cask is completely full. The wines are aged up to 8 or 10 years in large or medium capacity botti of French oak.

We are shipping the Barolo La Roca & La Pira and the Riserva of the same wine and the superlative Barbaresco Pajé and the Riserva of the same.

Ca’ d’ Gal, Piemonte (Organic)

Hidden in the hills just outside the sleepy town of Neive near Santo Stefano Belbo is Ca’ d’ Gal, home to Sandro Boido’s winery and some of Piemonte’s most sublime Moscato d’Asti. The vines are located on steep slopes on variable soils of limestone-clay and sand. Capturing laughter in every delicate bubble, Moscato d’Asti is an effervescent elixir that lifts you up and slows time to a delicious crawl (and contains only 5% alcohol.)

In contrast to so many other mass-produced Moscato wines, Ca’ d’ Gal Moscato d’Asti is truly an artisanal nectar, harvested by hand and vinified naturally in closed vat with extended lees contact. This added attention is what gives these delightful wines their unique personality—and surprising ability to age.

“Lumine,” the estate’s regular bottling from 30-35 year old vines, captures springy notes of elderflower cordial, mandarin oranges and rose petals, illuminated by a lovely racy effervescence on the tongue. Flavours of white peaches and pears melt on the tongue like cotton candy, perfectly light and balanced. Just a touch of frizzante bubble cleanses the palate.

Vigna Vecchia, as the name implies, is from older vines (55+ years old) grown on very steep slopes, with fruit harvested entirely by hand and picked over ripe. Yields from this one hectare vineyard are a mere 40hl/ha. A noble, almost toasty nose reminds one of champagne, with rich white and yellow peach aromas. Torn mint leaves, sage, fresh Blenheim apricots and delicate nectarines come together on the palate. Abundantly juicy, deliciously complex, this is (as the Marks and Spencer voice intones) not just any Moscato this is Ca’ d’ Gal’s gently fizzy fruity pornucopia. Sandro also puts aside 1000 bottles of Vigna Vecchia to release after several years when the wine begins to develop remarkable Riesling-like qualities.

Drink joyously as an aperitif, as a sorbet-like palate-cleanser, with strawberries, fruit pastries, torta di nocciole (hazelnut cake) and zabaione al moscato (zabaione with nutmeg).

Costadilà, Veneto (Biodynamic)

Fantastic Prosecco made from old vines in the traditional method with the second fermentation in the bottle. The wine is left on the lees and is turbid (note the crusty sediment in the punt of the bottle). Beautifully poised sparkling wine with diamond-bright acidity. Sealed under crown cap.

Azienda Agricola Dinavolo, Emilia-Romagna (Biodynamic)

This amber gem, tautology intended, is wrought from vines grown in a beautiful isolated old organic vineyard in the hills of Piacenza (Emilia), that Giulio Armani, winemaker at La Stoppa, rents close to his own personal vineyard of Denavolo, with an ‘e’, named after a local mountain.  However, under EEC rules apparently, a table wine can’t be given the name of a place, hence the corruption “Dinavolo”. Go figure.

The grapes are a lairy lot. 25% Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, 25% Marsanne (called Champagne locally although I can’t believe that), 25% Ortrugo and 25% of an unidentified grape variety. Ignorance is bliss here and sod the DNA fingerprinting. Meanwhile, Ortrugo a.k.a Trebbiano di Tortona, is found in particular in the hills around Piacenza, often blended with Malvasia, as it is for this wine.  The vines are vigorous and give constant production.  the juice is intense yellow in colour, fleshy and high in acidity and its wines have a good alcohol level. Four months’ maceration on the skins is followed by a year in tank. There is no wood. The length of maceration varies according to the richness of the vintage. In 2006, for example, the wine was macerated for twelve months and the juice obtains its remarkable colour, aroma and structure from its contact on the skin. No filtration or fining makes this a natural wine, par excellence.

Cloudy tangerine colour, initially some tiny bubbles beading on the rim. Floral (apricot blossom), but also suggestive of cider apples and red pears, clean, textured, vinous with a good yeasty bite, warm fruitskins, beeswax, dry cinnamon, oatmeal and apple acidity to complete the wine. Amazingly youthful and not just alive, actually living.

Ease into a carafe, sup and sip with gnocchi, salt cod or smoked cheese.

Camillo Donati, Emilia-Romagna (Biodynamic)

The Donati estate is a family estate started in 1930 which is now run by the third generation of Donati—Camillo Donati, his wife and their children. They cultivate 11 ha of vines (7 of which they own as Tenuta S. Andrea and 4 which are leased at Tenuta Bottazza) using organic and biodynamic practices They are about 20 km away from Parma in the hillside at an altitude of around 250 m with an eastern exposition.  There are a number of diverse strains of the Lambrusco grape family, but the main Lambrusco grape of the Parma zone is Lambrusco Maestri and it is planted on flat plains because of its characteristic resistance to humidity and mildew, and also for its relative abundant fruit. For this reason, the Donati do a severe pruning to produce low yields of better quality.  All the grapes, including the white, are fermented like red wines (with skin contact), without temperature control, and use no other controls or enhancers at fermentation, no fining, no acidification or de-acidification, no selected yeasts, etc.

These are natural frizzante wines deriving from the traditional method of refermentation in bottle, a method that does not require preservatives and which makes this wine, unlike those produced in charmat method, age better. The wines are not filtered and are topped with a crown cap (a traditional closure for some decades in this region). There may be resulting sediment and the bottles should be poured somewhat carefully without a lot of intense movement.

These are very delicate and natural wines that have immense gluggability and unique character. They are meant to be drunk simply as you would a refreshing beer or cider.

Cantina Ceci, Emilia-Romagna

Slow food pilgrims who take their hunger, scrip and staff to Bologna and environs know that it’s possible to find interesting, well-balanced Lambrusco from artisanal producers and go-ahead co-operatives. We are talking frothy and refreshing wines that one can sip on the piazza or enjoy with a pizza. Little of the quality Lambrusco escapes Emilia-Romagna; this is a happy little warbler from the land of Verdi. The grapes are picked the first week of October. Vinification takes place with the maceration of the grapes on the skins to obtain a wine rich in colour and body. After a gentle pressing of the grapes the must is repeatedly pumped over to extract the most possible colour and body. The wine goes through a natural fermentation.

The wine is an inky dark purple colour, almost black, and it pours out with a bright and very persistent raspberry-colour froth. Black plum and strawberry aromas tickle the nose with a touch of fizz and the cherry-berry flavours are slightly sweet, more prickly than fizzy, shaped by crisp acidity and a distinct peach-stone bitterness in the finish.

Azienda Agricola Tufiello, Campania (Organic)

An amazing Fiano made with prolonged skin contact from vineyards at 800+ metres. The greatest Fiano we have ever tasted.

Luke Lambert, Yarra

Luke Lambert is part of a group of young Australian winemakers (including Timo Mayer) in the state of Victoria who share similar philosophies and call themselves “South Pack”. They believe in low chemical inputs in the vineyard, hand harvesting, wild yeast ferments, low levels of new oak, moderated alcohols, savoury palate structures and food friendly styles. Most of them have lived and worked in Europe, drink French at home and look as much to France and Italy for inspiration as to Australia.

The Yarra Valley Syrah comes from the “Rising Vineyard” located in the St Andrews sub-region in the north west of the Yarra Valley. Luke hand picks at 11.5 baume (which equates to a final alcohol of 12.5), which is staggeringly early by Australian standards. Luke believes in “happy healthy grapes” that do not need any manipulation in the winery. Fermented using wild yeasts with 60% whole bunches included. Bottled without fining or filtration and with a very low use of sulphur only at bottling. Luke believes that his wines mature better in barrel without sulphur.

The wine shows a deep purple garnet colour with a nose of dark fruits and spice. The palate is ripe and fleshy, but showing no sign of over ripeness. It is intense, but not concentrated. The style is remarkable for an Australian shiraz, juicy, sappy, mineral and eminently drinkable, it puts me more in mind of the Syrahs of Gramenon. Luke recommends matching with braised rabbit.

The Heathcote Nebbiolo is handpicked from a single vineyard in Heathcote. The vineyard is a two acre dry grown block planted in 1996 to the Nebbiolo clone 230 Lampia, which is a high quality, low vigour clone selected from the Neive commune in Barbaresco. The soil is free draining and made up of lightly ferric ironstone and sandy soils.
Fermented using wild yeasts, Luke uses the “staccato” method of cap management, as practised by Giacomo Conterno.  The wine undergoes 50 to 60 days on the skins post ferment. It is matured in large 510 litre puncheons that Luke bought off a nearby Pinot Noir producer, they are over five years old and therefore impart no oak flavour. He uses no sulphur during wine making, and adds only a small amount at bottling. Bottled without fining or filtration. Final alcohol is 13.5%
It shows a glossy ruby colour, with attractive and complex aromas of black fruits, tar, crushed raspberries and black pepper. It is mid-weight but has mouth filling tannin, very fine grained and silky. There is fresh, juicy acidity with a core of plum and sloe fruit and a savoury finish. The classic Nebbiolo astringency puckers the tongue and cheeks, giving you a little pain with your pleasure. Our wine buyers final note was - delicious! 

Luke recommends at least 3 hours decanter time and a rack of lamb.

Timo Mayer, Yarra

Timo Mayer believes that wines are made in the vineyard and therefore tries to interfere as little as possible. Mayer vineyard is perched on the slopes of the improbably named Mount Toolebewong south of Healesville in the heart of Victoria’s Yarra Valley.

Timo makes tiny quantities of wine from his 2.2 hectares of vines, which are mainly planted to Pinot Noir, with small amounts of Shiraz and Chardonnay. Timo says he is striving to make wines that are true to the expression of the land and have a point of difference. His winemaking credo is minimal interference and handling, and no filtration.

The Close Planted Pinot comes from one acre of Pinot planted at 75 cm apart, which is double the planting density (almost 6000/ha) to the rest of the vineyard. With part of those grapes he does a 100% whole bunch ferment which is then blended back with the destemmed component and makes up a 40% of the total blend. Timo believes the use of stalks gives him a more savoury style. As he says on his website - Bring back the funk!!

The wine shows fragrant whole bunch characters coupled with red fruit, spice and a violet and crushed strawberry character. Medium bodied with spicy creamy red fruits, liquorice and minerally earthy flavours with excellent concentration, clarity and weight. It has fresh acidity and fine, lightly stemmy tannins. It looks like Pinot, smells like Pinot, and by golly it tastes like Pinot!