Gianluigi Lano produces elegant, classic Barbaresco - gorgeous wines of depth, balance, and perfume. Working with vineyards handed down from his father, Gianluigi Lano only began bottling wines under his own label in the early 1990s. Assisted by his wife, Daniela, and son, Samuele, he has made organic farming a priority and obtained certification a few years ago. The family produces a concise lineup of wines including the wonderful Barbaresco Rocche Massalupo. The Rocche Massalupo cru sits at the southern edge of the Barbaresco growing zone, as does the Lano family cantina, in the village of San Rocco Seno d’Elvio. I am very happt to be able to bring these superb wines to Australia.
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I first tasted wines from Somló 20 years ago and I have never forgotten it, Somló is the smallest of Hungary’s 22 wine regions (Tokaj is ten, Burgundy is fifty times bigger) About twenty years ago I tasted two wines that my friend Attila had brought back from a visit to Hungary, one was a Furmint from Fekete Bela and the other was a Juhfark from Imre Györgykovács. I distinctly remember the incredible mineral taste in the wines that I learnt is from the Volcanic basalt soils in Somló, since then I have never stopped thinking about the Somló wines and my research has led me to establish contact with Gabor who has taken over the estate of the legendary Bela Fekete. The incredible volcanic terroir of Somló and the quality harnessed by Gabor are things you just have to taste!
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Stefano Amerighi is making some of the best Syrah on the planet from his base at Cortona, in Southern Tuscany. Stefano, is one of the most interesting, intelligent winemakers I have met over the years and his passion for Syrah has taken him to the Rhone Valley many times over the years where he has crafted friendships with all the greats!
Syrah has a presence in Cortona dating back to the late 1700s. The noted ampelographer Attilio Scienza began a nearly 30-year study of the Cortona zone starting in the late 1970s. He found the terroir remarkably similar to the Rhone Valley, both in terms of climate and geology. Syrah was already here; it made sense that it would be the benchmark for any forthcoming wine appellation. Using Professor Scienza's findings, Cortona was granted DOC status in 1999.
Here wines are crafted not made, grapes grown using bio dynamic principals and total respect for the land; Stefano loves the wines of Thierry Allemand of Cornas and it shows in his own wines which share a raciness, sleekness and incredible, wild purity of fruit. This is great addition to our portfolio!
]]>Finding a great new producer in Burgundy now is probably the hardest task of all for a wine importer, the amount of interest and zeal, particularly for the red wines of the Côte de Nuits is unparalleled, then you add the jewel in the crown - Vosne-Romanée - and it is just impossible...but thankfully not completely
This is a seriously great discovery, Benoit Chevallier has since 2019 been making wines from family vines in Nuits St Georges and Vosne-Romanée; I visited him in his cellar this year and we tasted through his wines, what a fantastic experience!
Every attention is made here and the quality is exquisite, particularly the concentration, these are wines that have all the silk, all the finesse but they are deep and resonant. That is rare anywhere
Another star in born! though this is already a great estate and I am very excited to be able to bring some of Benoit's wines to Australia in the future.
]]>Prieuré Saint Jean de Bébian is one of the oldest estates in the Languedoc and now a benchmark amongst French wines. It covers 32 hectares round Pézenas which was officially designated an appellation on 29 April 2007. The terroir was thus classified as “grand cru”, the top of the new three-level ranking of Languedoc AOC wines.
The Prieuré Saint Jean de Bébian Rouge is one of the iconic wines of the Languedoc and the culmination of Alain Roux’s vision for this estate’s grand vin. It is sourced from vineyards he inherited as well as those he planted with budwood from some of the greatest estates in Southern France: Syrah from Chave, Grenache from Rayas and Mourvèdre from Tempier. All the wines are fermented in 18th century stone vats with a long maceration ranging from 6-9 weeks followed by aging for 12-18 months in tank for the Grenache, and 228L French oak barrels for the Syrah and Mourvèdre. Superb quality here
My quest for authentic, terroir driven Côte-Rôtie was finally satiated this year with a superb visit with Yoann François at Domaine François et Fils, located in Mornas which is up in the hills behind Ampuis, this is an estate on the Côte Brune.
I had heard great things about this estate and had purchased a bottle of their 2019 Côte-Rôtie at a shop in Saumur that I go to each year as the selection by the owner is second to none. To my delight, when I opened it whilst in Sancerre I was shocked by how much I liked it, this was exactly what I was looking for! a masterful expression of Syrah's carnal delights; billowing perfume, silken texture, deep concentration and lovely length and most of all the finesse that only Côte-Rôtie can bring.
This is a jewel of an estate with just 4 hectares of vines, planted in the 80's all in great terroir. Yoann and his brother Erwan are the current custodians and the future is sure, this is estate is already a star but one that is quite surely destined for greatness.
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I met Marin Lefebvre this year whilst I was visiting the Pfifferling family at Domaine L'Anglore; Marin was working there and Thibault Pfifferling suggested we taste some of his wines at the end of the tasting, well I am glad we did!
The Domaine Lefebvre d'Anselme is located in Sabran and produces various wines (white, red, rosé) within the Côtes du Rhône and Vin de France appellations. We tasted a stunning, solar white full of vibrant, herbal scented fruit, full of vim and vigour; a pure Cinsault that was fresh, crisp and oh so juicy, it's lightness and brightness an addiction. Finally the tour de force was the red Côtes du Rhône Trilogie, this was something else, recalling the great wines of Chateau des Tours, wine of a distinct character and dimension with a capacity to evolve and improve greatly. That was it, I had to have the wines!
I didn't get the chance to visit the estate on this trip, but importantly I have secured some wines to bring to Australia and will make sure I get a full update for you all in the future. But for now....don't miss these wines.
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David Moreau is perhaps the great discovery of 2014 for me - for now he has taken over part of his grandfather’s domaine in Santenay and has produced wines there since 2009. He has an impeccable winemaking resume having worked on white wines with Olivier Lamy (Domaine Hubert Lamy) and was apprenticed to Domaine de la Romanée Conti where he learnt a thing or two about red wine..he also worked for a short time in New Zealand at Neudorf.
David has made very significant changes in both viticulture and vinification since 2009 all designed to produce the very best wine possible regardless of cost. He has relatively old vines that are mostly pruned by cordon royat to minimise vigour, and the vitculture is 'lutte raisonné'.
The wines from David Moreau are incredibly stylish and fine; glowing colours, seductive perfumes and silken flavours. None with a hair out of place, this producer may be an insiders secret for now but is destined for big things - watch this space.
Like many of the wines you read about here, the discovery was made whilst travelling through France on the wine route. Conversations, suggestions, wine bars, Restaurants and sometimes sheer chance uncover some real gems. One of the great discoveries for me so far are the wines of Xavier Braujou's La Terrasse d’Elise. Here we have an estate producing wines from a special terroir in the heart of the Terrasses du Larzac, his vines between those of Mas de Daumas Gassac and Granges des Peres, what a holy trinity.
The land here is glacial scree on top of limestone and it imbues the wines with a freshness and clarity that is exceptional, these are Languedoc wines of uncanny finesse and elegance.
Xavier’s vision is simple “if the vineyard is clear and beautiful, the wines will be too”. He is following organic and biodynamic principals.
The grapes are picked entirely by hand. In the cellar Xavier is as little interventionist as possible. The ageing is in old barrels or in stainless steel tanks. Ultimately here are wines that display an incredible suppleness and a beautiful richness on the palate. Another great addition to our portfolio
Discovering Terra Vita Vinum, like a few of the estates we have introduced during Covid19 has come by word of mouth and research rather than visiting in person which has unfortunately not been possible. In any case I am delighted to have discovered this gem of an estate practically at the start of it life. Luc Briand and Bénédicte Petit have breathed energy and passion into the Domaine Richou, located in the Anjou Noir and renamed it Terra Vita Vinum. Anjou Noir is a geological unit composed mainly of rocks that have been subjected to constraints (folds, faults, magmatic intrusions, metamorphism) related to orogenesis (mountain range formation) the wines produced here are very unique and celebrated.
The domaine has seven different parcels, all diverse geographically Bigottière (Savennières); Pavillon; Gabouchons/Violets; Rogeries; Grand Vau; Châteliers/Chant de la pierre; Chauvigné - all bottled separatley.
These are wines that fit perfectly into our list of superb Loire vigenrons and represent nirvana for fans of purity and minerality in Anjou Noir Chenin Blanc!
This small 5 hectare estate in the Mâconnais is going to make some waves; Jessica made her first vintage in 2019 but her family are established vignerons in the famous part of Pouilly-Fuissé, Vergisson.
Jessica is, like all the producers we work with, fastidious about all the details and the grapes are harvested by hand and into 7 kg boxes and the bunches are refrigerated for at least 12 hours in a cold room before pressing. After being chilled to 4 degrees, the grapes are very slowly pressed before fermentation in barrel and elevage of about 10 months. Finesse and elegance the result
Having worked with Jean-François Ganevat together with the experience that her family brings, this is a star to watch very closely!
Château De Bonnezeaux has become, seemingly overnight, one of the most exciting producers in the Loire Valley.
This is despite them not producing a single bottle of wine in over 30 years...but in 2012, these once abandoned vineyards began their slow road to recovery, led by winemaker Guyonne Saclier de la Bâtie. After much work, the first release was the 2016 vintage. I tasted these first at the Renaissance des Appellations tasting in 2019 and they were the Loire Valley talk of the event. I contacted them shortly after but they didn't have enough wine; they contact me recently with the good news that they did and would like to begin working with us.
Guyonne worked under the legendary Mark Angeli at Ferme de Sansonniere which meant that she also worked alongside the equally legendary Stéphane Bernaudeau! Angeli pioneered the use of biodynamic farming in the region and was one of the first winemakers to produce high-quality dry wine where only sweet winemaking was permitted by regulation. Following in Angeli’s footsteps, Bâtie implemented biodynamic farming at Château de Bonnezeaux and began producing dry wines of extraordinary quality.
It's not hard to see how the wines have gained a cult following, they are incredibly compelling. They combine density with complexity, incisiveness and a fine mineral backbone. They are rare though, we will never have much.
I am always on the search for new wine to bring home to my customers. Some things arrive by careful research, planning and visiting and some by serendipity and chance.
When dining at one of my favorite Restaurants in France, La Cachette in Valence early last year with Théo Allemand, I was in the mood for one more glass of wine; as he was driving he declined. I asked the Sommelier for a suggestion and he brought over a glass of red wine with a wink said, "this guy is doing great things".
I nosed the glass, and boom! mountain wine, brightness, light, fruit, flowers, energy. Superb Syrah in every sense, I learned it was a from a small farmer who practices polyculture (amazing vegetables) and has vines at Tournon, one of the original villages of Saint-Joseph and it's famed granitic slopes and terraces.
I took a picture on my phone of the label and made notes to contact the vigneron, Christian Lericq, on my return home to purchase some wine. No sooner had I got of the plane in Sydney than we were locked down and the Covid year of 2020 had begun...I spent last year keeping things going and so it is only now that I can offer these excellent wines.
Keep your eyes out !
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I first met Nicolas Jacob when he was working with Jean-François Ganevat around 2012, he has a face you don't forget. When I found out he was going out on his own I immediately started looking around for bottles to taste and that did not prove easy as he was only working from a single hectare in L’Étoile.
Things came to fruition in 2018 when I was eating at the fabulous restaurant, La Cachette in Valence, with Thierry Allemand. He asked me to choose a wine and I spied a bottle of the 2016 Chardonnay Là-Bas on the list; I ordered it and was very impressed indeed, I could see the Ganevat style of precision and finesse and when I asked Thierry what he thought he said it was "quite good" which if you know him, means he really quite liked it.
In December 2018, Nicolas acquired an additional 4 hectares of vines in Augea which is in the Sud-Revermont and south of Rotalier; in fact it is close to the boundary of the Saone-et-Loire departement. It came with a small home where he now lives with his wife and daughter and it has a cellar that he has scrupulously cleaned and organized and is perfect for his needs.
With two years of élévage for his white wines and, until recently, only the singular hectare of vines, he has until now only had tiny amounts of each of his cuvées available: Là-Haut, Là-Bas, Les Perrières Savagnin, and Les Perrières Pinot Noir. The wines are very rare and hard to find even in Jura! and despite having access to 5 hectares now, they will remain so as the quality is sublime.
We are very happy to be able to share these superb wines with our customers in Australia
I am really happy to be able to bring the superb wines produced by Curro Bareño and Jesus Olivares at Ca’ di Mat (meaning ''Crazy House" in Italian) to Australia. Having held a passion for wines produced from Grenache, or Garnacha here, for my whole career I was bowled over by the wines from Spain's Sierra de Gredos upon first tasting them some years ago.
Stylistically they are truly sui generis - mountain wines from ancient bush vines, grown on decomposed granitic soils between 600-1000m altitude. This means they are taut, crisp and pure in style, relatively low in alcohol for Grenache and somewhat lighter in colour too. These are athletic mountain wines though, they have a tension and vigour that put's them up there with the very very best.
The estate has 20 hectares of 30-80 year old vines which are cultivated organically and include Garnacha and Albillo. Much of the vineyard land is under recovery and this is being undertaken slowly to ensure the old vines have a chance to recover, rather than replanting. It is a continental climate with annual average at rainfall 600 mm and annual average temperature of only 13,7 º C.
Wine making is along the minimal intervention path that we like; indigenous yeasts, cold gentle macerations and the use of whole brunches produce delicate, fragrant and ethereal wines to fascinate and delight.
We look forward to bringing these beautiful wines to you here in Australia!
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Jurançon is one of the mythical wine regions in France, tucked into the Pyrenees and producing incisive and long lived wines from the Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng and Petit Courbu grapes. In fact it's sweet liquoreux wines can improve over many decades.
Jean-Baptiste Semmartin the proprietor/vigneron behind Domaine Lajibe was a sportsman in a past life, representing France on it's national fencing team. He fell into wine from there, first making wine in Bordeaux, then in Collioure and finally in Burgundy where he worked with Biodynamic pioneer, Emmanuel Giboulout. This experience led him on the path towards respect fro the environment and the conservation of nature. His vineyards were certified Organic in 2010 and Biodynamic in 2019
There are two Jurançon sec (dry) wines produced, Haure and Carmeret and a liquoreux (sweet) called Serres-Seques, all from different vineyards and terroir. The dry wines are taught, fine and chiselled and the sweet wine, despite it's 100 grams of residual sugar is impeccably balanced with a fine freshness and salty minerality on the finish.
Jean-Baptiste is a star already producing limited amounts of very fine, distinctive wine and we are delighted to offer his wines to our customers in Australia.
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Every now and then a wine you try leaves you a little intrigued and passionate and this often leads into exploration. And so it was on a humid Saturday afternoon in June this year that I was standing on a sidewalk in Tokyo with Gio and Marco from Fratelli Paradiso & 10 William St, a wine list in my hand.
We wanted something to refresh and wound up with one of the sommeliers recommendations, a chilled bottle of Beaujolais from a producer that I hadn't had before, Romuald Valot.
I loved it, it was a sensual delight - pretty rose-hip and cranberry aromas - fresh, bright and stony cherry fruit and the lithe and crispy mouthfeel that the best exponents of cold carbonic (no SO2) fermentation are able to achieve. Who was this guy??
Already intrigued, I began to explore using Google and found just about nothing! There were a few pictures and some bottles available retail in France but little else. I eventually communicated with him and visited him recently; he wasn't easy to find and it was wet and cold but eventually we made our way to his cellar in the Beaujolais where he fashions the kind of gleaming, jewel like artisan wine that I travel the world for.
He farms his land without chemicals and with a plough and winch to turn the soil - in the winery it is very basic too, reliant on the tacit knowledge of generations of experience and observation. This combined with great terroir combine to produce superb wine. These too are rare and hard to find, lucky we got in quickly.
Stéphane Bernaudeau has really risen to the top over the past few years and his wines have reached cult status as people have realized the quality and those with older bottles have been astounded at the wines complexity and potential to age.
Located in Martigné-Briand in Anjou, Bernaudeau farms his vines according to biodynamic principles. He produces some of the finest, brightest, taught and energetic expressions of Chenin of the Loire Valley and some of the best wines in all France.
Before fully dedicating his time to his own vines, Stéphane worked with Mark Angeli at La Ferme de la Sansonniere for many years, leaving in 2015. It was from Angeli that he learned how to make fine, artisan wines.
His three hectare domaine is built on small, carefully farmed parcels, with each of his wines thus focused on individuality. The results are an incredibly skillful fusion of purity and precision.
Unfortunately they are now practically impossible to find though I have been visiting for a few years and am very happy to have secured a small parcel for our customers in Australia.
I have long been a fan of the wines of Ceritas and have known John Raytek for quite some time so it is with great pleasure that we are able to offer Ceritas wines to our customers in Australia.What they are able to achieve with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is astonishing.
These are a truly exciting and qualitatively superb range of wines that display the fine signature of their different terroirs, the most distinctive quality in fine wine.
Ceritas wines are among the finest wines I have tasted anywhere.
ceritas (Spanish) – mineral expression of the soil
“The mission at Ceritas is to craft single vineyard expressions of place through Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The sources for our fruit along the Sonoma Coast and westernmost Russian River Valley — Porter-Bass, Ritchie, Escarpa, Helgren and Deermeadow — were carefully chosen for their winegrowing merits and also for their singularity. Each allows us the opportunity to craft balanced and distinct wines which will stand out on the dinner table. Just as oysters grown in Tomales Bay taste altogether different from those grown in Puget Sound, our wines are reflective of the growing seasons and soils from which they came.
In the vineyard we allow our sustainable farming practices to be dictated by observation and empiricism rather than by prescriptive farming. All of our vineyard sites are either farmed bio-dynamically or are in the initial stages of being converted to biodynamic farming methods. We believe that biodynamic farming methods, and focused and site-specific attention, give the vines the greatest opportunity to experience each growing season, to respond accordingly, and ultimately to yield grapes with the unmistakable flavors and smells of their time and place.
In the winery, we keep things simple. We look at winemaking from a standpoint that owes more to tradition than it does to cutting-edge innovation — we more often find ourselves trying to understand what not to do rather than what to do. The crafting of each vintage is like a journey, in which nature sets its own course. Our role is to adapt, to proceed with humility, and to learn.”
–John and Phoebe Raytek, owners
Spanning just five hectares, the Ciro Biondi winery is relatively new, having been founded in 1999. Ciro Biondi’s ancestors bottled wine under the Biondi name more than a century ago with an assortment of vineyard holdings passed down through the generations.
Ciro, an architect, renovated an old stone winery structure in one of the three small, lovingly restored vineyards he owns in and around the village of Trecastagni. All three sites sit at altitudes ranging from 600-700 meters, with east/southeast expositions and soils comprised mainly of Etna’s black, mineral-rich volcanic pumice.
Vines are trained in the traditional alberello, or “bush,” method: they look like miniature orchards, which in fact they are.
The Biondi winery is a source of impeccable whites and reds alike, indeed the Southern face of Etna produces wines with more elegance and finesse then the Northern face that produces those that are more robust and powerful.
Biondi's white wines come from Etna’s native Carricante grape, which continues to grow in esteem among wine lovers and comprises 90% of the blend supported by Catarratto, Malvasia, and Minella.
The red wines are produced from Nerello Mascalese, with the permitted addition of up to 20% Nerello Cappuccio. The south side of Etna tends to produce wines that are more subtle, more Pinot-like, often paler in color than the north side (and for this reason often blended with Nerello Capuccio, a darker variety than Nerello Mascalese).
This is indeed an exiting source of fine wine and we are very proud to be representing them.
When anyone thinks about the southern French region of Roussillon it is probably not about what’s happening in Roussillon today, which is a revolutionary shift toward fresh, mineral dry wines, some of France’s very best.
Rié et Hirofumi Shoji are the exciting new talent in Collioure, the appellation in the Roussillon that shares boundaries with Banyuls but is for dry and not fortified wines.
I first met Hiro when he was working in Burgundy for Fred Cossard, one of the best winemakers anywhere in my opinion and certainly you could not do better for a mentor in the production of artisanal, naturally made wine.
Hiro would often take me through the tasting when Fred was away and his sensitivity and curiosity was evident back then. When, after 5 years, he told me that he was leaving to pursure his dream I was happy for him and I knew that he would make brilliant wine.
Fast forward to 2018 and I met Hiro and Rié to taste their first wines at the Salon des Anonymes in Angers. They dropped a splash of each in my glass; purity, exuberance, depth and charm..I was hooked right in. Thankfully they agreed to sell me some wine and we expect our first shipment mid-year!
They are farming two parcels, one planted in 1989 and the other in 1965 - both on the regions granite/schiste soil. The wines are made alomst entirely from Grenache Noir though a litle Caladoc is used in the Rose. Hand harvesting, whole bunches, spontaneous fermentations, no pumps and no filtration. These are wines that a full of character and when you add the talent of Hiro and Rié the result is elan and finesse; in short, wonderful wines.
Needless to say I am very happy to be able to bring these wines to Australia!
It's no secret Bruna produce some of the finest wine in Italy, on a small scale and bottles are difficult to procure, but they well worth it - these wines stir emotion!
Established in 1970 by Riccardo Bruna, Azienda Agricola Bruna is a tiny 7.5 hectare estate consisting of a few specific vineyard plots, all planted on terraced vineyards hewn out of the mountainside at about 250 meters above sea level and only 15km from the Mediterranean. This area is very beautiful and remote and is known for its production of olives, cherries and aromatic herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and sage.
Bruna is currently run by Riccardo’s daughter Francesca and her husband, Roberto. Having spent some time with both of them it is easy to see why the quaity of the wines is so exceptional - there is careful thought, attention to detail, reflection and respect evident in all they do. The estate has worked organically since 2009.
Pigato is a white grape genetically identical to Vermentino, but stylistically distinct: more sapidly saline with hints of scrubland herbs - it’s an open secret in Liguria that tiny Bruna make the best Pigato.
Francesca and Roberto’s vineyards are in the Arroscia valley, dotted around the town of Ranzo and Ortovero. The name derives from the Ligurian word pigau, referring to the small amber pighe (spots) on the grape skins. It likes to be grown near the seaside, and has a sapid salinty, as well as scrubland herb aromas.
Three examples are made here depending on soil type (limestone/clay and terra rossa) and vine age. In addition to Pigato, Bruna makes a handful of red wines based on the local Granaccia variety, a variant of Grenache but also with various other varieties from Italy and even France!
These are rare but very wonderful wines.
Fattoria di Rodáno lies off the beaten track; in location and also in the press but it is unquestionably a top source for classically made and complex Chianti. Located in Castellina in the heart of the Chianti Classico district, the estate dates back as a wine-producing property to the sixteenth century.
Rodáno has belonged to the Pozzesi family since that time. Vittorio Pozzesi had been in charge of the estate since they first began to bottle wine on their own in 1967 but now his son, Enrico, handles the management and winemaking. One of the reasons for the fantastic quality here is that the domaine’s former winemaker was Guilio Gambelli, who passed away in 2012. Gambelli was one of the most legendary winemakers in Chianti, consulting for such estates as Montevertine and Gianfranco Soldera. Rodáno is one of the best-kept secrets in all of Tuscany...
The style of the Rodáno Chianti bottlings is traditional, with Sangiovese playing a dominant role in all of the estate’s various bottlings. The Chianti Classico (a blend of 90% Sangiovese with 5% each of Colorino and Canaiolo) is aged entirely in large Slovenian “botte,” and the Riserva is a combination of these large casks and a small ammount of used barriques. Like all great traditional Sangiovese-based wines, the Rodáno wines show exceptionally lovely, bright acidity that adds freshness and focus on the palate. There is a liveliness and drive to these wines that resonates not only in the mouth but in all the senses; a very rare quality.
The heart and soul of their vineyard holdings is the beautifully situated vineyard of Viacosta, which is a perfect, south-facing bowl of old vines, that average between thirty-five and forty-five years of age. In top vintages, the Rodáno Riserva Chianti bottling is made from the Viacosta vineyard. In addition to Sangiovese, the Viacosta vineyard also has a small parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon planted here, which is used in the estate’s IGT bottling, called Mon Nene.
Rodáno farm organically and tends towards minimal intervention in the making of the wine.These are seriously wonderful, traditional Chianti brimming with succulent, earthy red cherries and gentle hints of tobacco. Medium-bodied and refreshing with glorious fruit on the palate and fine structure. A great discovery!
Scarzello Giorgio e Figli is a small gem of an estate housed right in the middle of Barolo. It was pure serendipity that led me to their door this year and I feel very lucky.
This diminutive, traditional, Barolo domaine owns a mere five and a half hectares, nearly half of which are in Sarmassa, one of the region’s top crus. Aromatically enticing, bursting with juicy sweet red fruits and irresistible silky textures.
Federico and his father, Giorgio, took the bold decision to make a wholesale replanting in the late nineties. In 2001 Federico - after completing his studies in winemaking and agriculture at the Scuola Enologica (School of Enology) in Alba and the University of Turin - took over sole running of the estate and set about taking it to the next level, adjusting certain aspects of the winemaking whilst remaining greatly respectful to the family’s traditional ways.
Today the winery has five and a half hectares planted to Nebbiolo, including 2.5 hectares devoted to the production of Barolo, 2 hectares in the famed Sarmassa cru of Barolo, and another half hectare in Terlo and Paiagallo, both highly coveted sites.
Federico uses traditional long maceration and large cask aging — the hallmarks of traditional-style Barolo — to make these elegant and long-lived wines. The estate’s top label, the Barolo Sarmassa Vigna Merenda, can spend up to 30 months in 25-30 hectoliter Slavonian cask
This traditional estate is now fast on the rise. The vines may be young, averaging just above twenty years old, but they are in good health and planted densely to lower yields. Federico recently bought a plot of 100 year old Nebbiolo, not a prime site, but the plant material was of the high quality Michet clone. He intends to use cuttings of this for future replantings. The wines are fermented with wild yeast and undergo long elevage before a further three years ageing in bottle. Scarzello’s wines demand time and are usually released at least a year or two later than those of their peers. In fact, further to that, Federico releases the wines when he feels they are ready and not in succession.
The wines are full to the brim of site specific character, charm, and power in equal measure. Federico’s work hails the re-birth of a great, traditional Barolo estate. If you are a fan of traditionally made Baroli then keep your eyes open for the wines of Scarzello. They are very special indeed
The remote and somewhat unknown Côtes du Forez appellation is located between the Loire and Allier rivers in the center of France. Domaine Verdier-Logel is the leading estate of this small and obscure appellation where vineyards are few and far between. The Côtes du Forez hillsides are foothills of the volcanic mountains of the Massif Central and have soils of granite and volcanic composition. Due to the difficult climate only parcels with the best exposition and soils are planted to grapevines. The appellation’s laws mandate Gamay as the sole grape to be used and Verdier-Logel produces separate wines from volcanic soils “Volcanique” and granite soils “Cuvée des Gourmets“. These soils impart a rich earthy fragrance to the wines which combines well with the elegant fruitiness of the gamay grape.
Odile Verdier and her husband Jacky Logel arrived at the domaine in 1992 when they enlarged the exisiting domaine with the acquisition and planting of more vineyards. They began vinifying their own fruit as soon as they arrived and bottling their own wines too; and with that Verdier-Logel was born. During the years that followed they converted their vineyards to organic viticulture with official certification from 2000 onwards.
These vines are planted on two specific terroirs which characterise the Côtes du Forez appellation, these being basalt and granite. Generally, here anyway, granitic soils tend to make a lighter wines, while the volcanic basalt soils, which are richer with clay and iron, make deeper, more structured wines.
The first cuvée from vines planted on granitic soils, is the Cuvée des Gourmets. These vines were planted by Maxime's grandfather Paul Verdier during the 1960s and are some of the oldest on the domaine. The fruit sees just ten days of maceration and it is a light, pretty and vibrant style. La Volcanique comes from basalt soils and the wine sees a maceration lasting three weeks, giving it more structure, substance and length. Both are superb and incredibly attractive wines that are seriously delicious!
The first thing you notice is the name, Overnoy. This one is not to be confused with the legendary estate in Pupillin although Guillame's Grandfather was a brother to Pierre Overnoy and their Poulsard is propagated from cuttings from Arbois-Pupillin.
This estate is located in Orbagna, in the south of the Jura in the region of Sud Revermont. They are not too far away from Rotalier, home to the famous estates of Labet and Ganevat.
In fact it was Julien Labet who introduced me to Guillaume Overnoy in early 2017 when we visited him and had dinner afterwards. Julien had invited Guillaume to come for dinner and to meet us (I was invited along with Labet's Canadian importer that evening) and we tasted his excellent wines.
Guillaume came back to the family estate in 2013 and has been working full time since then. In 2014 he began conversion of the estate of 5.5 hectares to organic cultivation. They have all five Jura varieties planted and specialize in Trousseau which does particularly well in their area. The vines are grown mostly in Orbagna but they also have a single hectare further north in Cesancey.
This is an estate to watch, the talent is there, as is passion and support. I feel lucky to have discovered this estate before it's inevitable rise to stardom!
]]>I was introduced to Stéphane Erissé by Antoine Foucault of the Domaine du Collier. Stéphane came to winemaking late in life, he first worked in the building industry before embarking on the profession of vigneron in 2011. He named his estate, which is located in the region Anjou Saumur, after his grandmother Andrée.
Stéphane is based in Saint-Cyr-Le-Bourg where he owns 3 hectares planted to Grolleau Noir and Cabernet Franc as well as a plot of Chenin located in Saint Georges-sur-Layon. He does not use any chemicals in the vineyard and does not intervene very much in winemaking, only homoeopatic doses of sulphur at the setting (1.5 g / hl on the white!). This would normally make me nervous but his mentors are Antoine Foucault and Cyril Fhal of the brilliant Clos du Rouge Gorge, two of the most talented and thoughtful vignerons in France.
Stylistically the wines are immediately attractive with vibrant, healthy colour and seductive aromas and long, complex flavours. He clearly has the knack as he is a relative newcomer to the wine industry. These wines are clearly a labour of love and passion which makes them a perfect fit in our portfolio.
Stéphane is a sincere, meticulous and sensitive man who makes superb wine; his Grandmother would be very proud.
Nick Hildebrandt, Co-owner and Sommelier at Sydney's Bentley Restaurant and Bar, Yellow and Monopole has his fingers ion the pulse to say the least. He has won a swathe of awards over the years for his wine lists and as a Sommelier, and is deeply respected within the Australian wine trade.
He has the knack of finding new talent and is usually the first to list new vignerons and champion their talent. Many of today's new cult Australian producers were given a start in Nick's venues.
I have known Nick for quite some time (he was the first customer for my wines!) and it was he who recently alerted me to the talents of Luke Curry, the vigneron behind the Taturry label.
Luke started working on the Mornington Peninsula in 1999 first amongst the vines and then, after a wine science degree, he became a winemaker at Red Hill Estate. Since starting out on his own recently, he farms the 4.5 hectare Mosselini Vineyard which is nearly 20 years old and is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.
These are lovely, elegant and refined wines crafted using Burgundian winemaking techniques and minimal intervention. They have quickly found themselves onto some of the best wine-lists in Melbourne and Sydney and I urge you to consider them for your own cellar.
These are no ordinary Ciders! These fabulous ciders are full of life, energy and emotion.
Jacques Perritaz, the man behind La Cidrerie du Vulcain, works exclusively with the local orchard fruits of Fribourg: ancient varieties of apples, pears and quinces grown on high-branched, untreated trees. The Fribourg terroir, with its cool climate and diverse soils, provides for beautiful nuances in the aromatic expression of the Vulcain ciders, an effect that is only enhanced by the old age of the high-branched trees.
The fruit is bought directly from the producers, and Jacques often harvests himself. By creating a buzz and demand for his phenomenal cuvées, the goal is to valorize Fribourg’s older, high-branched orchards that otherwise risk abandonment. Jacques hopes to preserve the inherently rich natural environment of Fribourg that is essential to maintaining biodiversity. This movement has been otherwise promoted by the FSP (Swiss Landscape Foundation).
Jacques’ flagship cuvées are the partially fermented sparkling ciders (made with the guillage method of Clairette de Die) and ciders crafted according to the traditional methods of Normandy and Brittany. Different cuvées are crafted in function of the conditions of each year, depending on the available varieties. The ciders are always “pure juice,” fermented with their wild yeasts, only lightly filtered and only lightly sulfured at bottling time.
The vulcain (red admiral) butterfly is the icon for Jacques Perritaz’ cider production. This butterfly, included on the cider labels designed by Gisèle Rime, is a loyal companion during the autumn harvest, fluttering among the fallen fruit on the ground. Their populations increase in Fribourg at this time of year, due to seasonal migration from Northern Europe.
The young Jules Métras, son of the legendary Yvon, has just released his own wine, a Beaujolais-Villages, from two parcels of vines - one formerly belonging to Jules Chauvet, the merchant, winemaker, scientist and godfather of natural wine. These wines have serious pedigree..
Jules makes the wine in much the same way his father does - the fruit, harvested relatively late, is cooled down before gentle, long, cool carbonic fermentation with natural yeasts in sealed concrete vats. The attention to detal meticulous, just like his father. And no sulfur, like his father.
Jules studied winemaking at the Beaune Lycée Viticole and then worked abroad for two years to undetstand different concepts and apporaches, notably in New Zealand and Chile. Whilst this was happening, Yvon moved the cellar to Vauxrenard, about ten kilometers from Fleurie.
Behind the cellar was an old vineyard, poorly maintained but with vines that were 80 years old. Yvon began refurbishing it, with the intention that Jules could start there which he gladly did. Two more vineyards followed: one in the village Lancié, the other in the village of La Chappelle de Guinchay, this is the one owned by Jules Chauvet.
Jules is good freinds with the sons of two other legendary winemakers in his region; Alex Foillard (Jean Foillard) and Kewin Descombes (Georges Descombes) the future of fine, natural wines from the Beaujolais is very secure.
These wines are rare and available in miniscule quantities, the best place to look will be in restaurants, please ask us for a list.
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