{"title":"Red","description":"\u003cp\u003eReds from a small list of growers we work with personally, mostly in France, Spain, and Italy. Old vines, specific parcels, gentle vinification with whole bunches, ageing in old wood or concrete. A lot of these drink best lightly chilled, whatever the label suggests.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"brutal-2021-es-daqui","title":"Brutal 2021 - es d'Aqui","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarignan from schist in Cabrerolles, Faugères. The bunches were destemmed by hand, followed by nine months of maceration in amphora, then eight further months in amphora after pressing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCarignan on Faugères schist is a delight and we have a superb example here, the rock lends mineral density and the variety gives a silky grip, bright acidity, and dark, spicy, fruit. A special wine here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJean-Louis works from an unassuming cellar below his house in Moulin-neuf, close to Limoux. Trained as an oenologist, he worked at large commercial wineries in the mid-noughties, at one point managing a cellar that produced 160,000 bottles a year. After tasting the wines of his friend Antony Tortul of la Sorga, Jean-louis was convinced to walk a different path, and established his own label the following year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePredominantly a micro-negociant, Jean-Louis scouts fruit from remote and isolated vineyards across the South-West, from Gaillac out to Saint-Chinian and further afield, as well as working closely with respected growers like Remi Poujol. A varying portion of his output every year comes from his own vines nearby, depending on the vintage. Bottling under the label Es d'Aqui, meaning \"from here\" in Occitan, Jean Louis reminds us that each of his wines is a singular expression of where they come from. Producing about 10,000 bottles a year, some cuvées in tiny quantities(sometimes as little as 400-800 bottles), Jean-louis' wines catalogue the breadth of intricacies that define southern wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFaugères sits on a ridge of metamorphic schist that runs north-west from Béziers, giving wines a mineral tension and aromatic complexity not found on the surrounding plain. Cabrerolles sits on the western edge, at higher altitude, where the schist is thin and stony. These shallow soils stress the vines, taking Carignan to the heady heights we find here, through Jean-louis’ delicate handling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Carignan\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Moulin-neuf, Ariège, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Es d'Aqui","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988701860178,"sku":"24\/001221","price":35.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/original_0a372579-85f8-481b-b17f-ec70eb2e66fc.jpg?v=1791451402"},{"product_id":"c-rouge-2023-pierre-weber","title":"C Rouge 2023 - Pierre Weber","description":"\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir from the Eichberg Grand Cru and surrounding parcels. Two weeks of skin contact followed by 1 year ageing in old barriques sur lie. The elevation of these vines gives the fruit a tone that is both bright and rich, latticed with calcareous minerality and a subtle prickle of spice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePierre returned to his grandfather's estate in Husseren-les-Châteaux in 2018, leaving life as an environmental engineer in Paris behind when the yearning to return home to the vines could be ignored no longer. The estate covers four hectares on the hills of Husseren-les-Chateaux, with a hectare on the Grand Cru Eichberg. Most of the vines were planted between 1960 and 1970, and sit at a slightly higher elevation than the rest of Alsace, giving Pierre's wines their unmistakable cool freshness. Pierre's work in the vines draws on the influence of his grandfather and his father, the oenologist Jacques Weber, and he takes the effort and expense of having his work certified Bio and Demeter. Working from his meticulously kept cellar, Pierre’s wines are among the very best coming out of Alsace with their definitive character - mountain wine freshness and the ripe core of Alsace grown fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollow the routes de vins d’Alsace south from Colmar, through Eguisheim, and the you’ll find Hussren-les-chateaux in your sight. It’s commanding hillside position sits at the foot of the Stauffen massif, below the three hilltop castles for which the village is named. This position in significant, these are the highest vineyards in Alsace, at about 350masl, with views all the way across to the Black forest on a clear day. With 2 grand crus(Eichberg is the one more relevant to Pierre’s work) that have been noted for the quality of their wines since the middle ages, the village is today home to a thriving winemaking movement sparked by Bruno Schueller. The microclimate here distinguishes the villages wines from elsewhere in Alsace, particularly the Pinot Noir which is well suited to the cooler nights of these elevated hillsides. The limestone of Eichberg shines in Pierres wines, bringing a chiselled detail and fine structure that keeps the fruit feeling fresh.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pinot Noir\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Husseren-les-Châteaux, Alsace, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine Pierre Weber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702253394,"sku":"25\/000244","price":49.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-c-rouge-2023.jpg?v=1793699098"},{"product_id":"cest-les-dindons-qui-font-glouglou-2021-la-sorga","title":"C'est les dindons qui font glouglou 2021 - La Sorga (Antony Tortul)","description":"\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir from 20-year-old plantings in the poudingues of Castelreng, Haute Vallée de Limoux. 34 days of maceration, then 9 months ageing in clay eggs. Bright red berries with a hint of spice on the nose, huge minerality on the palate, and the higher altitude preserving a steely acidity. The ripe core of fruit reminds us that this wine is of the south. Light red, best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Antony Tortul began producing wines with his négociant project La Sorga in 2008, the iconoclastic verve of his wines and the contrarian artwork he labelled them with cast the aspiring winemaker as a radical disruptor who held little regard for the time honoured traditions of southern wine. Those who paid careful enough attention, however, came to recognise La Sorga's annual production of 30+ cuvées as a vinous almanac of sorts. Sourcing fruit from Toulouse to Provence and as far afield as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Antony's portfolio is a comprehensive catalogue of Mediterranean France and beyond, offering a revitalised perspective on the rich and diverse viticultural topography of the south, much of which had been subsumed by the paint-by-numbers approach demanded by volume driven production.\u003cbr\u003eGrowing up in the Ariège, where he hopes one day to return, Antony learned the fundamentals of winemaking through a chemistry degree in Toulouse. This academic foundation opened windows of opportunity within the industry, and curiosity steered his formative years, working as a nomadic oenologist and cellar technician across Bergerac, Corbières, Fitou and the aforementioned Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Here he could put his academic schooling into practice and sharpen his intuitions as a winemaker. Given that experience and the extensive network he had established, the decision to work as a négociant made perfect sense when he set out on his own in 2008. It challenged the idea du jour, that to make wine the proper way one must grow the grapes oneself. The breadth of his work, and its subsequent significance, would have been impossible that way; his preference was to focus on the winemaking, deepening his understanding of the endless configurations of varieties, soils and sites through his practice as a négociant.\u003cbr\u003eI visited Antony and his young family at his cellar in 2021 (they have since moved), and the immaculate cleanliness was the first thing to strike me. It was a transitional period in the La Sorga story, a turning of the page, with Antony refreshing the intention behind his vinification, the reds especially, in response to the changing climate and his own evolving palate. Cuvées like Tireurs des Litres and Grande Pestilence, once deeply telluric and squid-ink dark, built for long ageing, had become lambent and sculpted, channelling the typicity of each site with clear-eyed precision. The decision to pick a little earlier and extend maceration times, inspired by his friend Alice Bouvot in the Jura, opened a new window of expression that has rewritten the rulebook yet again.\u003cbr\u003eIncidentally, Antony was a founding member of Brutal!!!, an open-source wine label now used by vignerons around the world.\u003cbr\u003eThese days, Antony's skilled cellar work and canny grape sourcing are widely recognised and highly regarded, to the extent that he was the subject of a two-page spread in Jon Bonné's recent tome The New French Wine. Not that it makes much difference to him; when I messaged to congratulate him on this inclusion, he was unaware the book even existed...\u003cbr\u003eFor me, the wines of La Sorga provided a sort of onboarding to Southern French wine, holding a kaleidoscope to the region, with each frame glistening as brightly as the last. In the Anglosphere, terms such as wine lake are often the first that come to mind when we think of the Languedoc, but Antony's wines are a key to unlocking this treasure trove, discoverable to anyone who looks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCastelreng is about the only place in the south that gives Pinot worth drinking, and its unsurprising to see Antony sniff this out given his tireless scouring of southern France for appropriate sites to work with. Castelreng has sits at about 300 masl, with the prevailing cers  blowing cold air across from the Atlantic, both creating cooler conditions that are acute to this commune in the foothills of the pyrenees. The poudingues stones provide drainage, but more importantly here push the roots down and retain heat overnight to even ripeness in these cooler conditions, and the presence of silex is recognisable in the smoky fruit quality we find here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pinot Noir (Limoux)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Montagnac, Languedoc, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Sorga","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702318930,"sku":"22\/004098","price":40.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-c-est-les-dindons-qui-font-glouglou-2021.jpg?v=1793699097"},{"product_id":"carabistouille-2018-le-pelut","title":"Carabistouille 2018 - Le Pelut","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 2018 vintage was a hot one in Limoux. This Merlot paints that picture with grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeppery notes of spice, plum fruits, juniper, and brodo spring from the glass, with firm tannins and fresh acidity bringing balance. Carbonic maceration preserves a sense of fluidity and lightness in this undeniably solar wine. With the tannins now well integrated, this is the perfect barbeque wine. Best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first met Pierre at Salons de Vins Libres in Alsace, where the complex aromatics and savoury, pastille structure of the cuvées he was showing upended my understanding of wines vinified by carbonic maceration. I have since visited his cellar on several occasions, in an isolated biotope close to Limoux, close to where his vines grow. Even in July, under the relentless southern sun, the surrounds of his cellar and vines are remarkably verdant, owing to the microclimate this pocket of the Languedoc enjoys.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePierre is originally from the Loire valley, and after studying agriculture, rural conservation, and heritage, he took farm work wherever he could find it. During stints in wine cellars, Pierre observed the juice transforming into wine, and he knew that this was the course he wanted to take.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile working for his friend Sylvain Saux of Domaine Pechigo, Pierre got the lucky break he had been waiting for, hearing of a parcel of vines that the owner was not going to harvest. It had never been treated with chemicals, and it was due to be pulled up and replanted. Pierre negotiated with the owner and acquired the fruit, producing his first vintage, just 2 barriques. A few years later, another parcel came up to rent, and Pierre took the opportunity, though that first year his naivety taught him a valuable lesson. He used no treatments at all, and lost the entire crop. Since then Pierre has been fastidious in his vineyard management, as steady handed as is possible, and has harvested every vintage since.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePierre’s vines are split across two blocks, a hectare of Merlot in Villarzel, a south facing slope that’s among the highest in Malepère at 300 metres, on the typical clay and limestone of the region. The other holding is La Mothe, with 4 hectares under vine as part of an 11 hectare polyculture. Here Pierre has 20 year old plantings of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay on a northern tilting slope on clay and limestone at 180 metres of elevation. This site is particularly isolated, surrounded by fruit trees, hedgerows and grasses, a real oasis of tranquillity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEverything is certified by ecocert, and Pierre harvests all his fruit by hand. At the cellar, nothing is destemmed, the reds are all vatted in whole bunches and pressed after a few days. After pressing, the wines age on the lees in a mixture of stainless and resin vats, with Pierre liking how the microporosity of the resin influences the wines as they age. Elevage usually runs for 12-18 months, after which long bottle ageing in cellar before release is common.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHighly individual, Pierre’s wines are built on a structure of mineral density, complex bitterness, and savoury fruit, making them remarkable pairing wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlongside his wines, Pierre distils a selection of elegantly perfumed eau-de-vie with the fruit he harvests from the trees at La mothe, and each year produces a piquette that he sells for export.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eVillarzel is the smaller of Pierre's two plots, a single hectare of Merlot on one of the highest slopes of the Malepère, at around 300 metres in the hills between Carcassonne and Limoux. The parcel faces due south with a clear view across to the Pyrenees, and the vines, now over thirty years old, were farmed without chemicals for years before Pierre even arrived. The Malepère is unusual for the south. It's the only appellation in the region built around Merlot, with the climate here as much Atlantic as Mediterranean. Weather funnels in from the west through Carcassonne, and rainfall is higher. Summers enjoy a gentler heat than on the coastal plain, and as such the Bordeaux varieties ripen without cooking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Merlot\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Limoux, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Le Pelut","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702384466,"sku":"22\/002121","price":31.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-carabistouille-2018.jpg?v=1793699098"},{"product_id":"celle-den-face-2016-la-vrille-et-le-papillon","title":"Celle d'en Face 2016 - La Vrille et le Papillon","description":"\u003cp\u003eA more structured red than Meryl's early-drinking cuvées, from the warmer 2016 vintage and ten years on. Vinified in line with the estate's general approach: organic fruit, indigenous yeasts, no added sulphur. Now showing the secondary character that good Ardèche reds develop with age: dried herb, spice, a darker fruit profile, with the acid line still bright from the limestone underneath. A serious bottle that justifies being kept this long.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first met Géraldine and Méryl via Anders Frederik Steen and Anne Bruun Blauert, when the couple suggested I tasted with their village neighbours during a visit in 2021. Tasting through the cuves and vats with little conversation, the immediate drinking pleasure of their wines was what struck me that day. Since then, their wines have remained firm favourites, offering outstanding value and remarkably gratifying drinking, a forgotten virtue in modern wine. The couple’s unassuming, matter-of-fact sensibilities makes perfect sense, the poetry is all in the bottle, and the almost physical sensuality of their wines so tricky to articulate\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe couple live at Méryl's old family cellar in Valvignères, across from the local co-op, which Méryl's father helped establish. Méryl first worked as a stagiaire with the Oustric family, whose influence is reflected in the couple's approach today. He then went on to study agriculture in Dijon and oenology in Montpellier, working in Madiran and the Maconnais before returning home to set out on his own. Géraldine grew up in a winemaking family in Burgundy, training in law before eventually returning to wine, studying viticulture and oenology, after which she took an apprenticeship with Philippe and Catherine Jambon. The pair remain characteristically bashful when the pedigree of their training is mentioned. When returning to Valvignères in 2012, they took over Méryl's family cellar and set about establishing a GAEC, inheriting 2.5 hectares of vines around the village that have since increased to 6, mostly straddling the eastern and western flanks of the valley. The varieties are what you might expect - Syrah, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, and Merlot, and Grenache Noir - and some you might not, such as the Ugni Blanc that goes to their stellar Q blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a handful of hybrids. As part of transhumance, sheep pass through their vineyards twice per year, turning and fertilising the soil, cutting the grasses that grow between the rows, and adding to the biodiversity that thrives in their vineyards. La Vrille et le Papillon, meaning the tendril and the butterfly, is a name inspired by their parcel of Ugni Blanc at the base of the valley, where butterflies thrive through the growing season, a fitting symbol for the couple's endeavours.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eValvignères, Ardèche\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Vrille et le Papillon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702417234,"sku":"1700102","price":32.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-celle-d-en-face-2016.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"chatons-de-garde-2021-domaine-andrea-calek","title":"Chatons De Garde 2021 - Domaine Andrea Calek","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne hundred percent Syrah from vines between 25 and 55 years old on calcareous clay soils at Alba-la-Romaine. Twenty-one days of whole-bunch carbonic maceration at low temperature, then ten months in old 228-litre Burgundy barrels (between third and fifteenth use, pretty much neutral).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe long carbonic maceration of Syrah, especially on the clay and limestone here in Alba, gives a distinctive, more heady expression of dark fruits, violet, peat smoke, and fond brun, with softer tannins and curtain-weight aromatic intensity. Supple and elegant, this definitive of the house style and is drinking superbly at the minute.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChatons de Garde, meaning Guard Kittens, is another poke at the wine industry taking itself a little too seriously, mocking the melodrama and pomp of terms like 'vin de garde'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring a trip to the Ardèche in 2021, I arranged by email to visit Andrea at his cellar. I had tasted the estate's wines on several occasions, in London and elsewhere, and perhaps cowed somewhat by his reputation, I was eager to learn more about how he worked and to explore the potential of importing his wines to Ireland. Following directions to the address listed on Google, I arrived at the cellar door wet behind the ears but with wind in my sails. After a confusing exchange with the bemused proprietor, it soon became clear that Andrea was directing unwanted visitors from Google searches to a neighbouring vigneron (Anders Frederik Steen, as it happens), a joke at both parties' expense. My first experience of Andrea's wicked sense of humour.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow a Czech ended up making wine in the remote valley between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine is a contested story, but what's certain is that Andrea managed to find himself in the right place at the right time on several occasions on his way to eventually establishing his own estate in 2007, buying 5 hectares from Gérald and Jocelyne Oustric, for whom he had been working. Prior to this, Andrea worked with Dominique Hauvette in Provence, successfully converting her estate's vines to organic viticulture. His time in the south was preceded by a stint in the Beaujolais, where he had fallen in with a progressive faction of vignerons like Guy Breton and Marcel Lapierre, whose influence remains fundamental to Andrea's philosophy of wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story of Domaine Andrea Calek cannot be told without the reinvigoration Stephana Nicolescu brought when she joined Andrea in 2016, and she has since assumed the majority of the work in both the vines and the cellar. Stephana had been working with Loire vigneron Samuel Boulay, and had also spent time making wine in southern Spain. Today the estate is as much hers as it is Andrea's; she assembles a team of predominantly female vendangeurs for each harvest and ensures the estate's day-to-day running is relatively smooth. Stephana is fastidious in her management of the vines and delicate in the cellar, staying true to the estate's reputation for sultry, languid drinking reds and radiant, sinuous whites, while ensuring that every wine carries her recognisable signature (just not on the labels... yet).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate is a single block of about 4 hectares on the slope below the cellar, between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine. The soil is blue marl with a silty character, heavy and clay-like when wet and baking almost to concrete once it dries. Roughly half is Syrah, with Grenache, a little Merlot and a single row of Viognier grafted onto Merlot during a grafting workshop with other local growers, the fruit that goes to Pénultième. There are proper old vines - a parcel of gobelet-trained Grenache around sixty years old on very long rows, and older Syrah lower down the slope. Grenache is in gobelet, but Syrah flops if left alone, so it is trained low and kept aligned within the row, what Andrea calls a \"crushed gobelet,\" a low hedge run without wires. Farming is largely by hand, with a tractor used from time to time. They no longer practise biodynamics, and they keep the certification off the label, explaining it only if asked. Sprays are the standard organic copper and sulphur, and disease pressure is usually low here, though a very wet spring can bring heavy downy mildew and long hours removing marked leaves by hand, vine by vine. Working the soils goes by every other row, one left in grass, the next lightly scratched to open the soil before rain, with the centre of the row left to whatever grows on its own. Yields average around 40 hectolitres per hectare in a good year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe winery, built in 2010 on the Saint-Philippe site he took over from the Oustrics, is half dug into the foothill and designed to run by gravity. Grapes come in from above through three hatches and drop straight into the tanks whole-bunch, where fermentation starts. Sulphur is rarely added, though they prefer to add a small dose over losing a whole tank. Reds macerate whole-bunch for roughly a week to a month depending on the cuvée, worked by foot rather than pumped over; the free-run juice is drawn off and the marc pressed in a small 15-hectolitre Vaslin press, then the wine goes either to old barrels or back to tank until bottling. Wines that finish fermenting in barrel move to a fully underground cellar next door that stays cool and stable. During fermentation the tanks are tasted three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening, because an acetic spike can take a tank in the blink of an eye. The primeur cuvées like A Toi Nous, offering remarkable value, stay in tank for early bottling and come in around 10 to 12.5 percent, while more extracted wines like Chatons de Garde and Pénultième spend around a year in old Burgundy barrels, sourced by Andrea via his old contacts from his time as a barrel merchant in the Czech Republic.\u003cbr\u003eThe whites are fermented and aged in old barrels only, on very long, slow ferments that often finish well after the reds, with élevage up to about two years. They come in around 13.5 to 14 percent, and volume is tiny, roughly 4,000 bottles out of a total nearer 40,000, usually selling out within a couple of months. Historically the white fruit has been bought in, organic Viognier and Chardonnay from Gérald Oustric at Le Mazel, harvested by Andrea's own team.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Calek estate is just off the road between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine, with the estate vines surrounding the cellar in a single block. When Andrea first arrived here to make wine, and for several years afterwards, he lived in a trailer by the vineyards, building a  collection of old Citroen cars that remain strewn around the property in various states of disrepair. Andrea and Stephana have since built a cellar and bioclimatic home for themselves, and sitting on their front terrace, you feel how exposed the site is to the elements. The mistral blows strong, and devastating summer hails are becoming a regular scourge. The scrub and bush are sparse, and the sky feels heavy and close overhead. Here, in warm conditions on limestone and clay, Syrahs sugars climb fast and tannins and pigment accumulate rapidly. The semi-carbonic maceration teases out the subtleties of the variety in these conditions and helps to retain the elegant aromas of the Syrah.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Syrah\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Alba-la-Romaine, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine Andrea Calek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702515538,"sku":"23\/003121","price":29.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-chatons-de-garde-2021-2022.jpg?v=1793699098"},{"product_id":"dolly-2023-litre-katla-wines","title":"Dolly 2023 (Litre Bottle) - Katla Wines","description":"\u003cp\u003eA blend of Merlot, Weissburgunder, and Riesling, each with a light maceration on skins before fermenting and ageing in stainless.\u003cbr\u003eHere we find all the small red berries, currants, wild strawberries, and a verdant, chlorophyllic, herbaceousness. Light and nimble, but with good volume on the palate, and a gentle brush of tannins.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally from the suburbs of Mönchengladbach in the industrial Rhineland, it took leaving Germany for Jas to find her way into wine. Following her nose and picking her mentors well, Jas is now settled in Wöllstein in Rheinhessen, where she runs her micro-négoce, as well as keeping just under a hectare of vines herself. Working and studying wine at restaurants around Europe, Jas' swansong in service came at Dill in Reykjavík, the first restaurant in Iceland to win a Michelin star, where she worked as a sommelier. What followed was a series of stages with producers whose wines she loved, most notably a now-retired doyen of southern Ardèche wine, Gilles Azzoni, who incidentally introduced me to Jas' wines while I myself was staging at Gilles' cellar in les Salelles. It was Gilles who impressed on Jas the possibility of producing wines without a family estate or owning vines (Gilles, himself a Parisian, did it in 1980). Inspired and encouraged, Jas took what savings she had to rent a corner of a cellar in the Mosel, and source fruit from the disparate band of growers behind the region's burgeoning viticultural enlightenment.\u003cbr\u003eHer first vintage was 2019, with 2,500 litres produced. It was a case of the right place at the right time for Jas. As a micro-négoce, she collaborates with growers at the epicentre of contemporary German winemaking from her base in Rheinhessen, working with varieties well-adapted to the pressures of the modern vineyard and a shifting climate. Sourcing grapes from Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinhessen and beyond, Jas applies the same subversive spirit in making her blends, deliberate in her crossing of borders, varieties, and colours, critiquing the hegemony of single-sites or noble varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA blend of fruit from two neighbouring regions, Dolly is a Deutscher Wein. The Merlot and Weissburgunder come from Rheinhessen, the biggest wine region in the country by volume and landmass, a wide limestone and loess plateau south of the Rhine. The fruit is sourced from Andi Mann in Eckelsheim and Niklas Rückrich respectively, two of the region's most respected young producers. The Riesling comes from Christine Pieroth of Piri Naturel in the Nahe, a valley tucked neatly between Rheinhessen and the Mosel. There's plenty of diversity in the soils here, with patches of volcanic, slate, sandstone and clay soils side by side. Nahe Riesling often casts an edgier silhouette than elsewhere, especially when wood has not been used at the cellar, as we find here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Merlot, Weissburgunder, Riesling\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rheinhessen, Germany\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Katla Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702744914,"sku":"25\/000085","price":34.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/original_8b4a19a1-3816-4bc2-8c07-962cec6a3516.jpg?v=1791451415"},{"product_id":"doris-2023-litre-katla-wines","title":"Doris 2023 (Litre Bottle) - Katla Wines","description":"\u003cp\u003eDornfelder and Riesling that go straight to the press, so no skin contact. Fermentation and ageing in stainless steel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDornfelder and Riesling that go straight to the press, so no skin contact. Fermentation and ageing in stainless steel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally from the suburbs of Mönchengladbach in the industrial Rhineland, it took leaving Germany for Jas to find her way into wine. Following her nose and picking her mentors well, Jas is now settled in Wöllstein in Rheinhessen, where she runs her micro-négoce, as well as keeping just under a hectare of vines herself. Working and studying wine at restaurants around Europe, Jas' swansong in service came at Dill in Reykjavík, the first restaurant in Iceland to win a Michelin star, where she worked as a sommelier. What followed was a series of stages with producers whose wines she loved, most notably a now-retired doyen of southern Ardèche wine, Gilles Azzoni, who incidentally introduced me to Jas' wines while I myself was staging at Gilles' cellar in les Salelles. It was Gilles who impressed on Jas the possibility of producing wines without a family estate or owning vines (Gilles, himself a Parisian, did it in 1980). Inspired and encouraged, Jas took what savings she had to rent a corner of a cellar in the Mosel, and source fruit from the disparate band of growers behind the region's burgeoning viticultural enlightenment.\u003cbr\u003eHer first vintage was 2019, with 2,500 litres produced. It was a case of the right place at the right time for Jas. As a micro-négoce, she collaborates with growers at the epicentre of contemporary German winemaking from her base in Rheinhessen, working with varieties well-adapted to the pressures of the modern vineyard and a shifting climate. Sourcing grapes from Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinhessen and beyond, Jas applies the same subversive spirit in making her blends, deliberate in her crossing of borders, varieties, and colours, critiquing the hegemony of single-sites or noble varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith fruit from Rheinhessen and Nahe, this is classified Deutscher Wein. The Dornfelder is from Niklas Rückrich in Eckelsheim, growing on limestone and loess at heart of Rheinhessen. Germany's largest region by both area and volume, it's long been associated with bulk production. These days Niklas and his contemporaries have elevated the region's status, with the digestibility and substance of their wines sought after by sommeliers and cavistes from Copenhagen to Seoul. Dornfelder is a German crossing developed in the 1950s, giving deep-coloured wines with firm tannins. Here, the direct-pressed juice gives us something lighter and fruit-driven, capturing the variety's fruitiness, while leaving the weight behind. The Riesling comes from Christine Pieroth of Piri Naturel in Nahe, a valley nestled between Rheinhessen and the Mosel. Its remarkable geological diversity, with volcanic, slate, sandstone and clay soils enmeshed and overlapping, gives Riesling a racy precision, bringing lift and structure to this blend.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dornfelder, Riesling\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rheinhessen, Germany\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 15%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Katla Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702810450,"sku":"24\/000816","price":34.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-doris-2023-litre.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"douze-points-2023-litre-katla-wines","title":"Douze Points 2023 (Litre Bottle) - Katla Wines","description":"\u003cp\u003eCabernet Dorsa from Jas Swan's friend Andi Mann in Rheinhessen. Five days of semi-carbonic maceration, followed by fermentation and ageing in a stainless steel tank.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe deeper colour here belies this effortless drinkability of the wine itself, with juicy plum and ripe sloe berry spice, and a thread of acidity that sharpens the tone. Light at just 10%, this is a great apero or lunch wine, and is best served chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally from the suburbs of Mönchengladbach in the industrial Rhineland, it took leaving Germany for Jas to find her way into wine. Following her nose and picking her mentors well, Jas is now settled in Wöllstein in Rheinhessen, where she runs her micro-négoce, as well as keeping just under a hectare of vines herself. Working and studying wine at restaurants around Europe, Jas' swansong in service came at Dill in Reykjavík, the first restaurant in Iceland to win a Michelin star, where she worked as a sommelier. What followed was a series of stages with producers whose wines she loved, most notably a now-retired doyen of southern Ardèche wine, Gilles Azzoni, who incidentally introduced me to Jas' wines while I myself was staging at Gilles' cellar in les Salelles. It was Gilles who impressed on Jas the possibility of producing wines without a family estate or owning vines (Gilles, himself a Parisian, did it in 1980). Inspired and encouraged, Jas took what savings she had to rent a corner of a cellar in the Mosel, and source fruit from the disparate band of growers behind the region's burgeoning viticultural enlightenment.\u003cbr\u003eHer first vintage was 2019, with 2,500 litres produced. It was a case of the right place at the right time for Jas. As a micro-négoce, she collaborates with growers at the epicentre of contemporary German winemaking from her base in Rheinhessen, working with varieties well-adapted to the pressures of the modern vineyard and a shifting climate. Sourcing grapes from Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinhessen and beyond, Jas applies the same subversive spirit in making her blends, deliberate in her crossing of borders, varieties, and colours, critiquing the hegemony of single-sites or noble varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBred almost 20 years after Dornfelder at the same institute in Wurttemberg, Cabernet Dorsa is a more obscure graduate from Germany's postwar ampelographic research, aiming to produce varieties that could ripen and colour in the cooler northern climate. Originally recorded as a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Dornfelder (hence the name), we now know it's a cross of Blaufrankisch and Dornfelder. Given this parentage, it's no surprise that the variety produces inky, robust reds. Its frost hardiness makes it a useful tool for growers since they were permitted to plant it commercially in 2003, but with under 500 hectares in total planted, it remains on the extreme fringes of German viticulture. To find it in a single varietal bottling, as we do here, is exceptionally rare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cabernet Dorsa\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rheinhessen, Germany\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 15%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Katla Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702908754,"sku":"24\/000815","price":34.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/original_e542293f-e2a7-46df-96ee-3d52c1d81387.jpg?v=1791451417"},{"product_id":"exspectatia-2021-christian-ducroux","title":"Exspectatia 2021 - Christian Ducroux","description":"\u003cp\u003eDeclassified old vine Regnié from an unsung pioneer and old master of the Beaujolais. Christian adopted organic viticulture in 1980, progressing to biodynamics soon after. Growing on pink granite soils, the fruit fermented in whole bunches for 15 days before pressing into old casks in Christian's subterranean cellar. Benefitting from four decades of biodiversity in his vineyards, Christian’s work imparts a humble majesty to his wines. Best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first tasted Christian’s wines at Salons des Vins Libres in Mittelbergheim in 2021, on a hot day in early July. He was presenting with his son Thibault. With their stand unassailed by the hordes of excited interlopers jumping at the chance to mingle during a brief break in the lockdowns, I took the chance to taste through their selection and was astounded by the depth and emotion of their work, characterised by a density of fruit and thrilling, rose-granite minerality. I asked to visit their estate in Thulon, and we agreed a date two weeks thereafter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the interim, every winemaker I mentioned the upcoming trip to gushed over Christian’s wines and his works in the vines, though his estate was completely unfamiliar to me. On spending time with the father and son duo in their vines and cellar, I soon understood why. Christian's undistracted focus on his vineyard work, and aversion to the celebrity such a reputation often attracts, allowed him to practice his metier in relative peace since starting out in 1970, in the same vineyards his father and grandfather before him had tended.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI followed a capillary system of narrow, winding roads that connect the tiny villages dotted around Mt. Brouilly and Régnié-Durette to Lantignié. Vines dominate the landscape up here in the hills, but this is cycling country too, and it was Christian’s familiarity with Cork through the Tour de France that convinced him to sell me some wines after we tasted that day. Arriving at his cellar by bike, following directions of farmers along the way, I found Christian and Thibault working in a parcel of 90-year-old Gamay vines below their house, making early preparations for the harvest. Their two horses took shade from the July sun beneath a peach tree, one of many dotted amongst his vines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his first decade running the family estate, Christian worked in the way his father taught him, regular, heavy treatments in the vines, and vinifying with yeasts, filtration, and sulfitage. In quite a bold move, Christian was convinced to convert his vines to organic  in 1980, after reading the lectures of Rudolf Steiner. By 1985, the estate was certified biodynamic, and Christian established himself as a quiet pioneer of progressive viticulture in France.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristian was inspired by the results he observed and continued to explore methods that could enrich the biodiversity of his vineyards and the health of the soils. He folded in agroforestry, planting fruit trees throughout his vineyards, reduced the density of vines, and reduced his overall hectarage from 8 to 4. In 1998, he retired his tractor, taking two horses to work between the vines and not compact the soil as they do. His aim is to interrupt the rhythms of nature as little as possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristian refers to himself as a farmer, not a winemaker or vigneron, and so his vinifications are relatively straightforward. All his parcels are harvested on the same day, with whole bunches loaded into vats intact. Unlike his illustrious contemporaries in the Gang of Four, Christian never used external CO2 for his whole bunch fermentations, which usually last about 15 days. Instead he allows the fermentations to begin as semi-carbonic, before the tanks fill with CO2 from the fermenting juice at the bottom. Each of his three reds come from different portions of the press, Prologue is the free run juice, Exspectatia is the first pressed juice, and Patience is the remainder. The pressed juices are fed by gravity to Christian's subterranean cellar to age over winter in old barriques.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow retired, Christian’s son Thibault looks after the cellar work and most of the work in the vineyard, but of course Christian is ever present, particularly in the vines. When I first visited, Thibault had just graduated from oenology, and though young, showed ambition to take over the estate and carry on his father’s work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristian’s vines grow within the less heralded, most recent Cru of the Beaujolais, Regnié, where the elevation and pink granite ‘gore'  drives the vine roots deep into the soil. The soils also radiate heat absorbed during the day to help with even ripening. While his wines are clear voiced expressions of the terroir here, Christian has chosen to sell his wines as vin de France since 2013, renaming what had been his Regnié as Exspectatia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gamay\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lantignié, Beaujolais, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine Christian Ducroux","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988703039826,"sku":"22\/004103","price":28.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-exspectatia-2021-75cl.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"hiraeth-2023-jacopo-stigliano","title":"Hiraeth 2023 - Jacopo Stigliano","description":"\u003cp\u003eA blend of red and white varieties from Jacopo's old vineyards in Valsamoggia with notes of red plum, damson, and pithy pomegranate steeped in a voluminous, mineral-dense juice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThough all the varieties in these old vineyards are yet to be identified, we can say the red varieties are Barbera, Uva Tosca, Negrettino, and Lambrusco Grasparossa, and the whites are Trebbiano Romagnolo and Albana.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA short maceration before pressing. Jacopo times the press to when the skins' cap rises, and he's happy with how the juice is tasting. Two years in concrete followed, and one year in bottle before release.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith 24 hours of maceration, this has a delicate structure and light colour, though the mineral density and dewy fruitiness give the wine a sense of power and grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJacopo is a well-travelled lover of life and people, and even spent a year studying sociology at UCC here in Cork. He returned home to Valsamoggia, in the Apennine foothills of Emilia-Romagna, almost a decade ago, embarking on this significant project to preserve the millennia-old winemaking traditions of his region and the autochthonous varieties that grow in the valley's ancient vineyards. Restoring three hectares of old, co-planted vines on the lower part of the valley from abandonment, Jacopo's work preserves the vanishing viticultural practices of his home, with his approach in the vineyard and cellar deeply informed by the work of his mentors Antonio Ognibene, Giorgio Erioli, and Vittorio Graziano. The vineyards he tends were planted at a time before the prescriptions of industrialised farming swept the region, where each variety had a dedicated role in the balance of the vineyard and in the wine itself. Today, it’s rare to find many of these varieties growing anywhere, let alone beyond the crest of this valley. Jacopo prefers to pick everything at once, allowing each wine to ferment and age in one large mass, just as it would have been done when these vines were first planted.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHiraeth is a Welsh word, it translates roughly as a longing for something or somewhere that may no longer exist as remembered. Emilia-Romagna's Apennine foothills were once planted in what local farmers called coltura promiscua: vines, fruit trees, and grain grown together on the same land, with dozens of grape varieties sharing the same parcel rather than separated by variety or site. Industrial viticulture dismantled most of that in the second half of the twentieth century, replacing it with monoculture plantings of a handful of commercial varieties. The old mixed plantings Jacopo works in Valsamoggia are among the few that survived, a reminder of why his work is so significant. Clay and fractured limestone at 350 metres delivers more acidity and savoury mineral character than the flat Emilian plains produce, and the altitude brings diurnal temperature shifts that keep ripening slow and the wines fresh, though dramatic climatic shifts from the beginning of the decade have turned these patterns on their head somewhat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ancient Blend\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valsamoggia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jacopo Stigliano","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988703269202,"sku":"25\/000935","price":39.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-hiraeth-2023.jpg?v=1793699098"},{"product_id":"maelys-2021-le-raisin-et-lange","title":"Maelys 2021 - Le Raisin et l'Ange","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Antonin’s own vines below the cellar, on open Urgonian limestone. Syrah planted by Gilles in the early oughties, picked by hand at a tiny 17 hl\/ha. Twenty-one days of maceration, four fifths destemmed with a fifth in whole bunches, with elevage in stainless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2021 was a cool, fresh vintage, harvested in mid September, and the wine carries delicate aromatics \u0026amp; real freshness. The palate shows threads of syrah fruitiness but this is really driven by a spine of limestone minerality. Best lightly chilled, allow time to breathe before service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGilles Azzoni left office life in the banlieue of Paris behind in the early 1980s and journeyed south, eventually settling in les Salelles, a remote hamlet in southern Ardèche, in 1983. He took the scenic route south, studying at the agricultural school in Mâcon, after which a spell with Gilbert Violot in Pommard and cellars further south in Bandol and Provence emboldened him to pursue winemaking as his métier. Setting out on his own at 29, Gilles took on a fermage from a retiring farmer, complete with six hectares or so of vines. In those early days, Gilles followed the prescriptions of conventional viticulture as it is taught in the formal schools, making vin de pays and Vivarais VDQS (an extinct level between vin de pays and AOC; Vivarais has since been promoted to AOC status). With the passing of time, the use of agricultural products in his vineyards diminished, and by 1997 he was fully organic. Impressed by how this affected his wines, Gilles extended his philosophy to his cellar work, and by 2007 his wines were made without filtration or sulphur. This would herald the dawn of a vital new chapter for the wines of the southern Ardèche, and Gilles' philosophical approach to making wine, alongside that of his good friend Gérald Oustric of le Mazel, would inspire generations of winemakers and sommeliers to come, none more so than his son Antonin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAntonin, a trained chemist, succeeded his father in 2014, with Gilles continuing to mentor and advise up to 2023, when he finally retired. Having grown up in the cellar with his father, with a rotating cast of winemakers visiting at weekends, Antonin has a palate as sharp as a tack, and this is his primary guide in his work: he follows his intuitions in the cellar and only afterward applies his training in chemistry. More often than not, this confirms what he had expected. He wasted no time in stepping out of his father's shadow, focusing solely on winemaking and continuing to work as his father did in the cellar. Antonin refers to Gilles as his sulphur, with his almost prescient ability to detect problems in the wines before they have appeared. Building on his father's legacy, Antonin encouraged young growers around the region to move to organic viticulture, with the promise that he would buy their fruit to make his wines. And so le Raisin et l'Ange became primarily a négociant house. Gilles kept a couple of hectares for himself, as did Antonin, and the rest was taken over by Samuel Boulay, who had moved into the adjoining cellar from the Loire. This new approach opened windows for Antonin, who could now showcase the diverse terroirs of southern Ardèche and the talents of the region's growers, such as the Ozil brothers and Vincent Fargier of les Deux Terres.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe harvest is intense. Antonin works with a small team to harvest early in the mornings in small crates, and the sight of their iconic yellow Transit zipping through the bending gorges of the Vallée de l'Ibie provokes beeps and hollering as they pass neighbouring cellars. The fruit is sometimes chilled for a day or two at the cellar after harvesting, a technique that helps preserve the fruitiness Antonin cherishes in his wines and precipitates an early, almost pre-carbonic fermentation in the bunches. Conveniently, this also serves as a holding space while the cellar is at capacity! The whites go mainly to the press, sometimes seeing a little time on skins first, and the reds are primarily vatted as whole bunches before pressing in a 1960s Vaslin press from Burgundy. The idea is to make wines that they like to drink themselves: soft and supple in the fruit, digestible, and full of character. Somehow, the languid charms of the region and the winemaker have found a voice in these wines, and the soulful, spirited quality of wines made from well farmed fruit has become their calling card. Antonin always makes the assemblages post fermentation, each year recreating the estate's iconic cuvées like Nedjma from a new configuration of varieties, capturing the typicity of the fruit and the intricacies of the vintage while somehow staying true to the recognisable personality of each wine year after year. Antonin has now taken over Gilles' smallholding of Roussanne, Muscat, and Syrah, along with his tiny cellar below the house, so we're entering a new chapter for this storied estate. With their succulent fruit, effortless drinkability, and irresistible personality, these are wines we always keep close to hand, offering value that has become all too rare these days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis parcel sits below the cellar, across the Gardon riverbed. The open, rocky urgonian limestone makes it tricky to manoeuvre, even by foot, and the vines have to reach deep down into the earth to reach the water and nutrients they need. These tough conditions significantly limit yields, and result in intensely concentrated berries that give deeply coloured must, even with light maceration. Antonin chooses neutral vessels when vinifying this wine, as not to distract from the particularly pure expression of Syrah on limestone this special parcel of vines gives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Syrah (vignes de la maison)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valle d'Ibie, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Le Raisin et l'Ange","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988703793490,"sku":"1700430","price":33.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-maelys-2021.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"o-poulo-2021-la-perdida","title":"O Poulo 2021 - La Perdida","description":"\u003cp\u003eGarnacha Tintorera from the O Poulo vineyard, with a dash of Palomino that grows in the bottom corner of the site. 80-year-old, low-yielding vines on slate. The destemmed fruit begins fermentation on skins in open vats. Nacho removes the materials by hand as fermentation progresses. This helps keep a balanced extraction, with Nacho preferring his reds to have structure and substance but also good drinkability. The juice is then pressed into old chestnut and French oak barrels to finish fermentation and rest over winter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA deep inky purple from the Garnacha Tintorera, but with that subtle freshness and salinity of Palomino. Light on the palate, but with firm tannins, that hit of pink peppercorn spice, and resonant minerality on the finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany of Nacho's parcels around Larouco lay abandoned before he restored them to health, hidden among bush or mountain trails. These untrellised vines, planted in the early-mid 20th century, tell us much about the fascinating viticultural history of this rugged, dramatic landscape. Nacho began making wine in Larouco, close to his grandmother's home in Seadur, after she gifted him a parcel of vines just outside the village. That was in 2013. Since then, Nacho left his career as a biologist behind, becoming immersed in his winemaking project and his mission to preserve these old vineyards and varieties by showcasing their quality. In the face of encroaching pressures to conform to market demands and the homogenising prescriptions of industrial farming, Nacho has stood firm, an iconoclast of sorts, and persevered in making thrilling, terroir-driven wines, that tell an almost forgotten story of this region's fascinating history. Many of the sites are dramatic and remote, a quality that often finds an uncanny expression in Nacho's wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNacho farms 5 hectares or so in total, mostly old untrellised vines on granite, slate, and clay between 450 and 650 metres. Farming is organic in practice, with some biodynamic and mycological preparations with nettle, horsetail, and comfrey infusions replacing conventional sprays, and fungal preparations are applied to restore soil biology on parcels that had been left to degrade. He has declined organic certification as the scheme permits some chemical use in the vineyards (certification is also costly). Having spent a month working with Nacho during the 2021 harvest, the rich biodiversity among his vines tells it’s own story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis cellar in Larouco is as lofi as it gets... Gravity carries the juice from the press to a basement where padilla tinajas, old barrels, and stainless tanks are preferred to finish fermentation and age the wines. Everything rests on its lees through winter and is bottled the following spring without fining or filtration. La Perdida means \"the lost.\" Nacho chose the name for the vineyards themselves, most of which had disappeared into the landscape, forgotten to all but the well-trained eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGarnacha Tintorera is a teinturier variety, meaning its pulp is red-pigmented rather than just its skins. This was what gave the variety its historical value as a blending tool, adding colour to high-volume wines of the Franco era. It was planted widely across Spain under his regime for exactly that purpose, and has been largely treated as a workhorse grape. In Valdeorras, Nacho's old-vine parcels are among the very few places it is being taken seriously as a variety in its own right. O Poulo takes its name from a Galician word meaning uncultivated or marginal land, which describes this dramatic, exposed site at 650 metres of elevation. The progressive skin removal technique he uses here is distinct from carbonic maceration and from conventional extraction, capturing early aromatic lift and colour without accumulating the tannin that extended whole-berry fermentation would give. The Palomino in this wine grows in the bottom corner of the vineyard, so this is a single-vineyard wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Garnacha Tintorera, Palomino\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Larouco, Valdeorras, Galicia, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 15%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Perdida","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988704317778,"sku":"1700009","price":39.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-o-poulo-2021.jpg?v=1793699100"},{"product_id":"proscrito-2021-la-perdida","title":"Proscrito 2021 - La Perdida","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is Palomino with a dash of Garnacha Tintorera, from old vines. Destemmed, co-fermented on skins for about five days in vats, then pressed to old chestnut and French oak barrels to rest over winter. 11.5%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSomewhere between cherry red and pale copper, this is a true mountain clarete, with an impressive nose of green tomato, rose petal, pomegranate, and cherry stone spice. A nervy acidity steers the palate, with saline sapidity and a light brush tannins.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany of Nacho's parcels around Larouco lay abandoned before he restored them to health, hidden among bush or mountain trails. These untrellised vines, planted in the early-mid 20th century, tell us much about the fascinating viticultural history of this rugged, dramatic landscape. Nacho began making wine in Larouco, close to his grandmother's home in Seadur, after she gifted him a parcel of vines just outside the village. That was in 2013. Since then, Nacho left his career as a biologist behind, becoming immersed in his winemaking project and his mission to preserve these old vineyards and varieties by showcasing their quality. In the face of encroaching pressures to conform to market demands and the homogenising prescriptions of industrial farming, Nacho has stood firm, an iconoclast of sorts, and persevered in making thrilling, terroir-driven wines, that tell an almost forgotten story of this region's fascinating history. Many of the sites are dramatic and remote, a quality that often finds an uncanny expression in Nacho's wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNacho farms 5 hectares or so in total, mostly old untrellised vines on granite, slate, and clay between 450 and 650 metres. Farming is organic in practice, with some biodynamic and mycological preparations with nettle, horsetail, and comfrey infusions replacing conventional sprays, and fungal preparations are applied to restore soil biology on parcels that had been left to degrade. He has declined organic certification as the scheme permits some chemical use in the vineyards (certification is also costly). Having spent a month working with Nacho during the 2021 harvest, the rich biodiversity among his vines tells it’s own story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis cellar in Larouco is as lofi as it gets... Gravity carries the juice from the press to a basement where padilla tinajas, old barrels, and stainless tanks are preferred to finish fermentation and age the wines. Everything rests on its lees through winter and is bottled the following spring without fining or filtration. La Perdida means \"the lost.\" Nacho chose the name for the vineyards themselves, most of which had disappeared into the landscape, forgotten to all but the well-trained eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth the varieties in Proscrito sit outside the Valdeorras DO's permitted variety list, which is where the name(outlaw) comes from. Palomino was planted across Galicia under Franco for high-yield bulk production and Garnacha Tintorera was planted for similar reasons, with its pigmented pulp useful for adding colour to cheap blends. The majority of these vines have been pulled up or left to abandonment. Nacho works with these old plantings, producing small quantities of concentrated fruit the DO has no use for, which is a irony of sorts. The clarete style itself is an old Iberian tradition, distinct from rosé in that the red and white grapes are co-fermented together, just as they grow together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Palomino \/ Garnacha Tintorera\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Larouco, Valdeorras, Galicia, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 15%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Perdida","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988704678226,"sku":"22\/003822","price":36.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-proscrito-2021-2020.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"renaissance-de-loeuf-2020-cyril-alonso","title":"Renaissance de l'Oeuf 2020 - Cyril Alonso","description":"\u003cp\u003eSpectacular Gamay from a steep half hectare of ancient vines on pink granite in Marchampt. Ancient varieties co-planted in gobelet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMacerating in whole bunches for 5 days, the juice was then pressed into 2 clay 160L eggs to age over winter sur lie. From a solar vintage, a thread of granite minerality has found its voice after 5 years in bottle. A true taste of history. Best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA couple of years ago, 1.5 hectares of steep vines in Marchampt, Beaujolais were on the market, going some months without an interested buyer. The sloping parcels are home to almost 140 cultivars of vitis vinifera, and had been a conservatory for the grapes of Beaujolais for 50 years. Many forgotten and ancient varieties grow here, including several Lambrusques, wild ancestors to the cultivated vine. It was a unique opportunity for Cyril \u0026amp; Karine Alonso to work with old, ungrafted vines and explore the antique characteristics of overlooked clones and varieties. Now installed in Marchampt, the family hope to establish a Noah's Ark of vines and highlight unsung varieties that for whatever reason have not made the cut in the modern commercial vineyard. Their wines are truly unique, documenting a history of wine in the region outside the world of auction houses and 5 figure sums. They echo the world from which the Beaujolais of today has emerged, re-examining expressions in wine deemed unworthy by historical tastes or, perhaps more often, viticultural practicality. An enchanting, telluric power is woven through the wines and sensitive handling in the cellar allows them a clear, evocative voice. The grapes are harvested by family (one plot has 31 varieties of Gamay) and most often end up coming together in blended wines. The steep parcels are on hard granite, with grasses and weeds between vines providing a shallow humus that nourishes the vines. With twenty years experience as a negociant winemaker, this is the start of a new chapter for Cyril, Karine \u0026amp; the family. They have established a self sufficient living system in Marchampt, as dependent on the land as possible, making small releases of these wonderfully intriguing, esoteric wines. Across the valley from his vines, Cyril's cellar is as lo fi as it gets. A small press, which all the grapes of his tiny 7000 bottle annual production pass through, sits right inside the entrance followed by a handful of small fibre vats. At the back of the cellar sit four eggs, half buried in gravel and this is where the fermentations take place. The cellar looks out onto dense biotope, protected wooded areas that seem to crown the hilltops along the undulating countryside. The parcels themselves are on steep and shallow granite soils with a southerly and easterly exposure. They don't really stand out, until you notice the vines growing in the midst of wild mint, thyme flowers and grasses. There are many, many varieties growing on this hectare and a half, in fact 108 and counting (not including the lambrusque vines growing on the verges of the cellar itself). As we walk, Cyril claps to alert the snakes to our presence, stopping briefly for some impromptu pruning or to point out a particularly rare or unusual variety. The red leaves belong to pinot fin, and the young vine is the Chardonnay Rosé, yet to be old enough to yield grapes for wine. A veteran winemaker with a mischievous sense of humour, Cyril has meticulously mapped the vines and where they grow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNestled deep in the western hills of the Beaujolais vert, these vines from this 0.5 hectare parcel were planted in 1952 by the ampèlotheque that preceeded the Alonsos arrival. The soils are quite literally solid, pink granite bedrock, with a thin layer of humus, wild shrubs and grasses growing between the vines. The parcel is steep, growing in low trained gobelet, indeed you can barely distinguish the plants from the vines in the height of summer. We’re at about 450masl here too, protected from harsh winds by the biotope across the valley. The varieties tell a rich history of viticulture in the region, with noir a jus blanc Gamay present in several distinct clones, the teinturier Gamay vines - Gamay de Bouze from the Cote d’Or, Gamay de Chaudenay from Saone et Loire, and Gamay Fréaux, with the even more obscure Gamay de Troye also growing here. We also find Gamay Gloriod, Picard, Geoffray (which is grown widely today in the production of quality Gamay), Cibella, Direct, Malain, Ancenis, Piccolo, Figuette, and Plant-Robert, a variety identified in the 1920s as a distinct mutation of Gamay growing in Vaud soils in Lavaux, Switzerland. The clay eggs for which the cuvée is named stand upright in gravel as can be seen in the photo above taken during a cellar visit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gamay\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Marchampt, Beaujolais, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 15%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Conservatoire de Vignes Anciennes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988704809298,"sku":"1700161","price":50.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-renaissance-de-l-oeuf-2020.jpg?v=1793699098"},{"product_id":"samodia-rosso","title":"Rosso 2025 - Samodia","description":"\u003cp\u003eAll of the grapes were harvested together and de-stemmed by hand. A 10 day maceration followed, before ageing in concrete through winter and spring. An arboreal freshness on the nose, with red berries and rhubarb, meadowsweet and pink peppercorn. All suppleness and fluidity in the mouth, with a thread of cherry stone bitterness. An appetising red, best served lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSamodia is a collaborative winemaking project founded by Jacopo Stigliano and Flavio Restani, both born and reared where their project is based, Valsamoggia, a valley in the foothills of the Apennines in Emilia-Romagna. Samodia is the old Latin name for the valley, a historical reference that tells the story of what these inspired friends aim to achieve through their work. Existing at the frontier between Bologna and Modena, the valley is a melting pot for the viticultural traditions of the wider region, preserving in its vineyards a tether to Valsamoggia’s viticultural past. Taking inspiration from the old masters of the region, Antonio Ognibene, Giorgio Erioli and Vittorio Graziano, Samodia represents a passing of the baton of sorts, carrying the gestures developed over millennia in both the vineyards and the cellar, forward into the next generation. The first vintage for Samodia was in 2023, when the pair rented three hectares of vines at the top of the valley, between 400 to 500 masl, on the limestone and clay soils that predominate here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir idea is to produce three wines each year, a red, white and sparkling. In this approach they oppose the commodification of wine and the faddish forces that shape contemporary wine discourse. They make vino per tutti, made the old way, using the old techniques inherited from the generations gone by. With many of these old vineyards being uprooted and replanted with tillage, or simply abandoned, their work is vital to the preservation of this valley's identity in the face of encroaching homogenisation and urbanity. Producing just 13000-20000 bottles a year, these are among the most rewarding wines we've tasted in recent years. They are wines for any occasion, as intended.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eValsamoggia's position in the foothills of the Northern Apennines situates these vines on marine limestone folded into layers of ancient clay and marl driven to the surface during the chain's formation. At the top of this valley the soils drain well and the evenings run cooler, aiding even ripening in this hot climate. We are at a significant confluence of disparate regional traditions here, a story told by the varieties planted. The two Lambruscos, Grasparossa and Maestri, come from the Modenese side. Flavio is well used to working with these in his sparkling project, Agrikoi. The Sangiovese was absorbed from the traditions of Romagna. Negrettino is an indigenous variety, rarely seen outside this valley. Its skin is a deep black colour, as the name suggests, and it produces wine with fruity aromatics and firm tannins. Barbera has been grown here for some time, and up here on these elevated sites it shines brighter than elsewhere in the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Barbera, Sangiovese, Lambrusco, Negrettino\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valsamoggia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Samodia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988705956178,"sku":"170182","price":26.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/original_74dc8fe3-0e79-418b-aace-912da84cc591.jpg?v=1791451450"},{"product_id":"terre-a-boire-2023-leo-dirringer","title":"Terre a boire 2023 - Leo Dirringer","description":"\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir and Pinot Gris (20%) from the valley below Léo's cellar in Dambach-la-Ville, on alluvial soils. Whole bunches vatted for 5 days, then 8 months in concrete vats.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpry fruits and subtle spice on the nose. This lives up to its name with a distinctivly mineral timbre. Light red, best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first met Léo at the Sommerfascht in Alsace in 2021 where his wines stood out among the 60 odd producers for their purity, verve, and digestibility. I arranged to visit him at his cellar in Dambach-la-ville and have been back on many occasions since. \u003cbr\u003eLéo’s family have been making wine at their old cellar, situated in the former residence of the counts of Mullenheim, since the 16th century. Today, the estate includes 14 hectares on the manganese-rich granite hills above the village and the plains below. The family’s wines, bottled under the Ruhlmann-Dirringer labels, are highly regarded in the region, achieving repeated acknowledgement from Guide Hachette coups de couers, Guide Pudlowski, a Trophée d’Excellence in 2007 and a Grande Medaille d’Or in 2011, with the top score in the Riesling du Monde category. \u003cbr\u003eLeo, born in 1992, studied viticulture in Montpellier before a formative apprenticeship with Marie-Therese Chappaz in Valais, whose committed practice of biodynamics impressed the young student. It was a tasting of the 2011 Chalasses Marnes Bleue from Jean-Francois Ganevat that convinced Leo to implement a more radical approach to his vineyard work and cellar. Building on the legacy his parents had established, he shifted the entire estate to organics when he returned to take over in 2016, carrying on his family’s work while establishing his own project in a subterranean cellar below his father’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his own wines Leo seeks the purest expression of Dambach-la-ville that he can achieve using large concrete vats to vinify the fruit from the plains, and large foudre or barriques for the fruit from the vines above the village growing on granite. The whites are succulent and of breadth, with a balance of volume of fruit and mineral density that has become a signature of cuvées like Pur Jus and Grande Soif. His Pinot Noirs are vinified with carbonic maceration, often witha splash of Auxerrois or pinot Gris to add freshness, complexity, and volume. They are firmly Alsatian, but with an elegance and purity that is reminiscent of the Alpine Pinot. Having access to his family’s cellar and vineyards, Léo’s wines are among the very best value you’ll find in Alsace...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite being the largest producer of wine in Alsace with 450 hectares under vines, Dambach-la-ville’s quaint medieval streets remain quiet through the busy tourist season. Perhaps the cobbled streets that wind through the tilting buildings are too narrow for the tour buses. Nevertheless, the town is a thriving viticultural economy, built on the traditions of cooperage and winemaking that were established in the Middle Ages. The most prized sites are on rocky granite soils, south\/south east facing on sheer sloping parcels on the foothills of the Vosges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dambach-la-Ville, Alsace, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Léo Dirringer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988706021714,"sku":"17000205","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-terre-a-boire-2023.jpg?v=1793699097"},{"product_id":"tu-2021-cantina-giardino","title":"Tu 2021 - Cantina Giardino","description":"\u003cp\u003eOld vine Aglianico with other indigenous varieties, short maceration and neutral wood ageing. Hibiscus, amaro, and rose petal on the nose with a lightning bolt acidity that makes this incredibly refreshing. Magnum only. Incredible value. Good with grilled fish, light pasta, or a long summer lunch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTechnical notes: A short maceration of old vine Aglianico and other indigenous varieties, aged in neutral wood. A bright surge of hibiscus, amaro, and rose petal on the nose, with chiselled minerality, toothsome fruitiness, and a lightning bolt acidity on the finish. Incredible value. Rosé. Magnum only.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cantina Giardino","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988706185554,"sku":"170108","price":30.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-tu-2021-tu-2022-giardino.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"where-black-is-the-colour-where-none-is-the-number","title":"Where black is the Colour, Where none is the Number 2021 - Les Bories Jefferies","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarignan and Cinsault harvested together from Joe’s plot on villafrachian soils littered with basalt scree. Six days of whole bunch fermentation, before pressing off to finish fermentation in tank. The wine was then racked to age for one year in tank, before a further 2 years in old oak casks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA luxuriant nose with black cherry, currants, and minerals. In the mouth, everything feels round and integrated, owed to the longer time in wood. Supple fruit volume, salinity, citrus, and bitter herbs in a complex structure of fine tannins, minerality, and acidity. Sublime from Joe!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoe’s introduction to wine came via legendary vigneron Bernard Bellahsen, from whom Joe bought bread at a local market. When the opportunity to take charge of 3 hectares of vines from his father-in-law presented itself, encouragement from Bernard, along with Julien Peyras and Antony Tortul of la Sorga, emboldened Joe to accept.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe went back to study winemaking in Montpellier, and despite the guidance of his well-seasoned mentors, initially worked with an oenologist and made wines to ‘the Languedoc recipe’. Robust, bold, reds with big tannins and high alcohol conformed to the status quo, and whites that received filtration and generous sulfitage. Growing frustrated with his inability to find the unique terroir of Caux in his wines, and endless arguments with the oenologue on his books, Joe began to practice the methods of his early mentors, ceasing debourbage post press, filtration, sulfitage, and, scandalously, began vinifying the reds with carbonic maceration. In the vines, the work is far beyond the requirements of organic, and his treatments in the vines are minimal and preventative rather than responsive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter 12 years, Joe’s wines have become definitive of the new Languedoc, utterly elegant and vital while retaining the Mediterranean soul and ripe fruit of southern France. They are remarkable wines that detail the breadth of possibilities one can uncover in the Languedoc.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis 0.7 hectare plot is on smooth quartz pebbles that once formed a riverbed where these vines grow. The basalt comes from the Volcan des Baumes, an extinct volcano that erupted 1.5 million years ago, scattering loose chucks of basalt around Caux. On these soils the yields of Carignan are low, and Joe’s use of whole-bunch fermentation reveals its hidden finesse and complexity. The Cinsault brings an elegant fruitiness and mineral density that brings the concentration of carignan into balance. The name of the cuvée is from Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, something winegrowers in the south find themselves hoping all too frequently these days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Carignan, Cinsault\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Caux, Languedoc, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Les Bories Jefferies","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988706349394,"sku":"22\/004090","price":34.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/original_1295c051-1087-4358-81ed-0b6d7b0af25e.png?v=1791451458"},{"product_id":"alison-2024-katla-wines","title":"Alison 2024 - Katla Wines","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe typical qualities of Pfalz Pinot, with vibrant fruit and heady notes of leaf and earth rounded out by time in wood. Best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGood with:\u003c\/strong\u003e roast chicken with mushrooms, or a plate of charcuterie.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir from Lukas Krauss in Pfalz. A three-week maceration before ageing in two old barriques, with just 800 bottles produced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally from the suburbs of Mönchengladbach in the industrial Rhineland, it took leaving Germany for Jas to find her way into wine. Following her nose and picking her mentors well, Jas is now settled in Wöllstein in Rheinhessen, where she runs her micro-négoce, as well as keeping just under a hectare of vines herself. Working and studying wine at restaurants around Europe, Jas' swansong in service came at Dill in Reykjavík, the first restaurant in Iceland to win a Michelin star, where she worked as a sommelier. What followed was a series of stages with producers whose wines she loved, most notably a now-retired doyen of southern Ardèche wine, Gilles Azzoni, who incidentally introduced me to Jas' wines while I myself was staging at Gilles' cellar in les Salelles. It was Gilles who impressed on Jas the possibility of producing wines without a family estate or owning vines (Gilles, himself a Parisian, did it in 1980). Inspired and encouraged, Jas took what savings she had to rent a corner of a cellar in the Mosel, and source fruit from the disparate band of growers behind the region's burgeoning viticultural enlightenment.\u003cbr\u003eHer first vintage was 2019, with 2,500 litres produced. It was a case of the right place at the right time for Jas. As a micro-négoce, she collaborates with growers at the epicentre of contemporary German winemaking from her base in Rheinhessen, working with varieties well-adapted to the pressures of the modern vineyard and a shifting climate. Sourcing grapes from Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinhessen and beyond, Jas applies the same subversive spirit in making her blends, deliberate in her crossing of borders, varieties, and colours, critiquing the hegemony of single-sites or noble varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Pinot Noir for this wine was sourced from Lukas Krauss' vineyards in Pfalz. Pfalz runs south along the eastern flank of the Haardt Mountains, themselves an extension of the Alsatian Vosges, protecting the region from rain and blessing the region with long, dry summers, helping Pinot to reach phenolic ripeness with enviable reliability. Lukas is in low-lying Lambsheim, where the mixture of loess and clay imbues the variety with the distinctive telluric timbre we find here, a testament to Lukas' work in the vines. Jas leans into the natural strengths of her raw materials here, with a long maceration (by her standards) extracting the density of the fruit, and the ageing in old wood bringing roundness and balance. A wine of sous-bois grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pinot Noir\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lambsheim, Pfalz, Germany\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Katla Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988706414930,"sku":"17002100","price":37.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-alison-2024.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"blankaforti-2022-celler-jordi-llorens","title":"Blankaforti 2022 - Celler Jordi Llorens","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlack fruits, bay leaf, and black cherry, with a bolt of natural effervescence giving lift on the palate, with inky fruit and peppery grip opening nicely with time in glass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGood with:\u003c\/strong\u003e lamb chops with rosemary, or a proper burger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEqual parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnatxa, Syrah, and Parellada. Semi-carbonic maceration and fermentation in stainless over fifteen days, then six months on the lees in amphora.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJordi Llorens is an eighth-generation farmer at his family's estate in Blancafort, with paperwork showing that their family have been here since 1779. It is a quiet municipi on the southern slope of the Serra del Tallat, in the central part of the Conca de Barberà. The family has always farmed organically, growing their vines as part of a wider polycultural system that included fruit trees, nut trees, olive groves, and livestock. Up until Jordi returned home to take over from his father in 2007, the family sold their grapes to the local co-operative, as was the conventional practice at the time.\u003cbr\u003eSeeking a deeper understanding of his family's work, Jordi completed a degree in Geology before returning home. These academic underpinnings complemented the intuitive methods his family had followed over generations, to the extent that his old friend Manel Aviñó of Clos Lentiscus once advised me that nobody understood the terrain of these hills like Jordi. Because the family had farmed in the old polycultural traditions of the region, there was already a rich biodiversity in their vineyards when he took over. Jordi's use of biodynamic methods was inspired by his friend and contemporary Joan Ramon Escoda, who had adopted the practices at his own estate in the preceding years. Above the soil, the rich biodiversity protects the vines and the soil from the increasingly arid conditions in Blancafort. Underground, Jordi cultivated a rich mycelial network that helps keep the soils healthy.\u003cbr\u003eJordi's original cellar, a cramped garage at the edge of the town, was where his family's fruit was vinified under its own name for the very first time in 2008. Today, the cellar is expanded somewhat and kept in pristine condition. Stainless and fibre tanks are used for the short, gentle macerations Jordi prefers. Through a small door, Jordi keeps a cool, compact room for ageing, with amphora sunk into the gravel underfoot and barrels and demijohns lining the walls. Work at the cellar is carried out with patience and ease, and Jordi employs gentle temperature control during fermentation to preserve the delicate aromatics we love in his wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate itself is situated on the eastern Ebro basin. The soils here formed about 35 million years ago and can be broken into three distinct layers each exposed at different points across the estate. The oldest layer is blueish-white calcareous sandstone, with the majority of the white varieties planted on these outcrops. Next we have red marl, useful for water retention through the hot summers. The top layer is gypsum, which helps to keep the soils open and breathable. With the cool nights at this elevation helping to keep the ripening even, we have this fascinating configuration of conditions that Jordi articulates in such delicate detail in his wines. With 16 hectares in total, Jordi produces about 12,000 bottles or so per year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNamed for the people from Blancafort itself, so this is pretty much the house red. From vines growing at varying altitudes around the village between 430 and 600 metres above sea level on limestone. This is from a particularly challenging year, when yields dropped from 25 hectolitres per hectare to just 7. The vines were planted between 2001 and 2010.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Garnatxa Negra, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Parellada\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blancafort, Conca de Barberà, Catalunya, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Celler Jordi Llorens","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988706939218,"sku":"1700615","price":31.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/blankaforti-2022-celler-jordi-llorens.jpg?v=1791452517"},{"product_id":"blaufrankisch-hochegg-2021-weingut-schnabel","title":"Blaufrankisch Hochegg 2021 - Weingut Schnabel","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom 20 year old Blaufrankisch vines in the Hochegg vineyard. The fruit was harvested and destemmed by hand. Fermentation on skins over six weeks in open wooden vats. Ageing in 228L oak casks for 18 months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe dichotomy of expression between this site and the fruit from Koregg is quite remarkable. Here we have a verticality, a chiselled expression thats driven by the character of the siliceous soils. We find a salty freshness in the mouth that is threaded through the soft, elegant fruits of Blaufrankisch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first tasted Karl and Eva's wines sitting at the bar of Neighbourhood Wine in North Melbourne in 2018. It was a bottle of Urgestein, a blend of red varieties from their three vineyards. I was struck, as anyone familiar with their work will understand, by the weightless power of the wine, despite its mineral density and ripe fruit. I reached out to their Australian importer, Campbell Burton, for their details, which he obligingly provided. Since then we've remained in touch, and I visited them at their stand at La Dive Bouteille on several occasions in the years that followed, through challenging lockdown years. Their philosophy of farming, and they see themselves as farmers above anything else, is as Karl describes it, puritanical, and I've always left their company with a deeper fascination with the remarkable wines of the Sausal. The Sausal Inselberg, or island mountain, is a geological formation older than the Alps, with ancient slate soils that produce wines unlike anything you will find elsewhere in Europe. It's no exaggeration to say that these wines were instrumental in my pursuit of a career in wine, and so it's a great pleasure to work with Karl and Eva to represent their wines here in Ireland.\u003cbr\u003eThe couple make their wines at the venerable farm known as Ermihof, Karl's old family holding in the hamlet of Maierhof, in the municipality of Gleinstätten, in Styria. Ermihof is the farm name, or Vulgoname, an old Styrian tradition by which the farm itself retains its name regardless of who owns it, in fact the owner would often have been known by the farm name rather than their surname. This was useful to identify who exactly one was gossiping about at the local inn at a time when many villagers would have shared the same first and last names. Karl and Eva live at the roadside inn that was run by Karl's mother. A popular drinking spot for the locals, it was where she met Karl's father, who was the farmer at Ermihof at the time. Their eventual marriage presented a happy commercial opportunity, and they began working together, selling the wines from the farm at the inn, where they became the local favourite.\u003cbr\u003eThe sudden death of Karl's parents when he was 17 closed the chapter on an intergenerational period of active operations at Ermihof, and it lay fallow for several years. Karl went to study agricultural economics at BOKU, while Eva read business administration at WU. Neither attended the illustrious wine schools of the German speaking world, Klosterneuburg, close to Vienna, or Geisenheim in the Rheingau. This would prove significant when they returned home to reactivate the farm in 1998. Before doing so, Karl spent two years working in Burgundy, though refuses to disclose where. Nevertheless, he brought the techniques of the region's red wine production back to Ermihof, and began replanting his three parcels with Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, Rotburger (Blauer Zweigelt) and Morillon (Chardonnay). The couple's sanity was questioned by their neighbours and friends, with the prosperity of the region's wine economy built on the success of highly technological white wines, particularly from Sauvignon Blanc.\u003cbr\u003eWith Karl's family having never used chemicals at Ermihof, the farm had always been organic, and so when they were certified by Demeter in 2003, it was ratifying a longstanding practice rather than a conversion. Keeping a small herd of rare breed, horned Celtic cattle, who provide the manure for the preparations they use, the couple's decisions were in pursuit of the closed circuit aspirations they had from the beginning. This was inspired by their vision of the farm as a single living organism, a holistic view that requires work that others would find painstakingly tedious.\u003cbr\u003eTheir wines began to be denied a Prüfnummer as they withdrew filtration and sulphur addition at the cellar, a process completed in 2007. The turbidity and breadth of expression was seen by the assessment panel as atypical and faulty. They made the decision to label their wines outside of the classification, losing the protected Ried designation for their three vineyards, and they have been sold as Landwein ever since. Karl stipulates that had they followed the usual path and attended Klosterneuburg or Geisenheim, their playbook could have been very different.\u003cbr\u003eParallel to these developments on the domestic front, the Schnabels began looking outward to the international market, joining S.A.I.N.S., a French collective who are committed to producing wines without manipulation through filtration or sulphur addition. Their wines became cult favourites among winemakers from both the conventional and radical traditions, and they developed a healthy international distribution network outside of the usual corridors of the day. The idea of world class reds coming from the Sausal seemed almost paradoxical in the context of the day, and so curiosity attracted collectors and importers from far and wide.\u003cbr\u003eThe region itself is an isolated massif that stands alone in the wider Südsteiermark. The massif was pushed higher when the Alps were forming, so there are no marine deposits or clays here, just the primary siliceous slate and schist with threads of quartz. The weathering of the rock over time means the soils are quite rocky and open, so they drain well and retain heat, useful with Styria being the wettest wine region in Austria and the elevation here of 500 to 520 metres above sea level.\u003cbr\u003eThe climate is Illyrian-Mediterranean. The Illyrian influence is humid air drawn up from the Adriatic sea and Balkan corridor, carrying most of the yearly rainfall of 900 to 1000mm or so. This precipitates significant fungal pressure for the vines, making the steep gradient, which is in some places 70%, particularly important, helping to drain standing water very quickly. The Sausal's exposure is also useful here, with steady airflow naturally reducing the risk enough that the Schnabels' treatments of minimal sulphur and kaolin, alongside their herbal tisanes, are robust enough to mitigate the conditions and protect the vines. The tisanes are brewed from nettle, horsetail and yarrow gathered in the vineyards themselves, in a thousand litre kettle. The meadows on the estate provide the plants for their biodynamic compost preparations, chamomile, nettle, yarrow, oak bark, dandelion and valerian, with the cattle providing the manure. They use a scythe to cut the grass beneath the vines, but allow the rows between to grow free.\u003cbr\u003eThe southerly exposition of these vineyards, and the heat retaining stony soils, facilitates a warm microclimate that helps ripening, despite the cold nights at this altitude. The Mediterranean influence is visible too, with wild thyme growing on the barren, rocky slopes, to the point that visitors often remark on the similarities. The sites are managed as biotopes, and Karl and Eva have also installed nesting sites and stone mounds that promote animal presence, with water carried up to the sites, which have no running water of their own. The conditions allow them to wait at harvest time, as picking at full ripeness is their preference, with everything brought in by hand.\u003cbr\u003eAt the cellar, the influence of Karl's time in Burgundy is apparent. The reds are destemmed and fermented spontaneously in open wooden vats, with pigeage by hand. They don't use must pumps at any stage. Usually the maceration lasts 10 to 14 days, and after pressing the wines age in used 228 litre Burgundian barrels for about 12 months. Nothing is added at any point, with no chaptalisation, fining, filtration or sulphur addition. They clean their bottles with spring water before bottling by hand and use natural cork of the highest grade as closures. The cellar is cleaned with hot water and nothing else.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2020, Gault Millau named them Ausnahmewinzer des Jahres, with their Blaufränkisch Koregg 2017 taking 18.5 out of 20, in the top 10 reds of Austria. Karl's own verdict on the honour was that it had been a long and stony road.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHochegg is the highest vineyard in the Schnabel estate, at 540 masl, sitting on an open shoulder of the Sausal massif, facing south-southwest. The soils are coarse, open siliceous schist, with the rusted-red hue of iron that's been exposed to the air for millions of years. The fruit profile is darker here, and we feel a more vertical structure than from the other Schnabel vineyards, Koregg and Kreuzegg. Here, the conditions demand much of the vines, and we feel this in the mineral thrust of the wine, and the gradient of 70% in places helping the fruit to reach full phenolic ripeness despite the conditions. The long grasses between the vines mean that snakes thrive here, Maintaining a natural balance of wildlife among the vines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blaufrankisch\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sausal, Sudsteiermark, Austria\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Weingut Schnabel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988706971986,"sku":"17002035","price":54.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-blaufrankisch-hochegg-2021.jpg?v=1793699100"},{"product_id":"blaufrankisch-koregg-2023-weingut-schnabel","title":"Blaufrankisch Koregg 2023 - Weingut Schnabel","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom 20 year old Blaufrankisch vines in the Koregg vineyard. The fruit was harvested and de-stemmed by hand. The wine fermented on skins in open wooden vats withd pigeage, followed by ageing in 228L casks on the lees for 18 months on the fine lees.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA wine of harmony and balance. Perfumed aromas plume from the glass, with layers and layers of fruit, spices and crushed stone. On the palate, a trapeze like tension between the fruit, minerals, tannins, and acidity means we feel every subtle detail of this magnificent wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first tasted Karl and Eva's wines sitting at the bar of Neighbourhood Wine in North Melbourne in 2018. It was a bottle of Urgestein, a blend of red varieties from their three vineyards. I was struck, as anyone familiar with their work will understand, by the weightless power of the wine, despite its mineral density and ripe fruit. I reached out to their Australian importer, Campbell Burton, for their details, which he obligingly provided. Since then we've remained in touch, and I visited them at their stand at La Dive Bouteille on several occasions in the years that followed, through challenging lockdown years. Their philosophy of farming, and they see themselves as farmers above anything else, is as Karl describes it, puritanical, and I've always left their company with a deeper fascination with the remarkable wines of the Sausal. The Sausal Inselberg, or island mountain, is a geological formation older than the Alps, with ancient slate soils that produce wines unlike anything you will find elsewhere in Europe. It's no exaggeration to say that these wines were instrumental in my pursuit of a career in wine, and so it's a great pleasure to work with Karl and Eva to represent their wines here in Ireland.\u003cbr\u003eThe couple make their wines at the venerable farm known as Ermihof, Karl's old family holding in the hamlet of Maierhof, in the municipality of Gleinstätten, in Styria. Ermihof is the farm name, or Vulgoname, an old Styrian tradition by which the farm itself retains its name regardless of who owns it, in fact the owner would often have been known by the farm name rather than their surname. This was useful to identify who exactly one was gossiping about at the local inn at a time when many villagers would have shared the same first and last names. Karl and Eva live at the roadside inn that was run by Karl's mother. A popular drinking spot for the locals, it was where she met Karl's father, who was the farmer at Ermihof at the time. Their eventual marriage presented a happy commercial opportunity, and they began working together, selling the wines from the farm at the inn, where they became the local favourite.\u003cbr\u003eThe sudden death of Karl's parents when he was 17 closed the chapter on an intergenerational period of active operations at Ermihof, and it lay fallow for several years. Karl went to study agricultural economics at BOKU, while Eva read business administration at WU. Neither attended the illustrious wine schools of the German speaking world, Klosterneuburg, close to Vienna, or Geisenheim in the Rheingau. This would prove significant when they returned home to reactivate the farm in 1998. Before doing so, Karl spent two years working in Burgundy, though refuses to disclose where. Nevertheless, he brought the techniques of the region's red wine production back to Ermihof, and began replanting his three parcels with Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, Rotburger (Blauer Zweigelt) and Morillon (Chardonnay). The couple's sanity was questioned by their neighbours and friends, with the prosperity of the region's wine economy built on the success of highly technological white wines, particularly from Sauvignon Blanc.\u003cbr\u003eWith Karl's family having never used chemicals at Ermihof, the farm had always been organic, and so when they were certified by Demeter in 2003, it was ratifying a longstanding practice rather than a conversion. Keeping a small herd of rare breed, horned Celtic cattle, who provide the manure for the preparations they use, the couple's decisions were in pursuit of the closed circuit aspirations they had from the beginning. This was inspired by their vision of the farm as a single living organism, a holistic view that requires work that others would find painstakingly tedious.\u003cbr\u003eTheir wines began to be denied a Prüfnummer as they withdrew filtration and sulphur addition at the cellar, a process completed in 2007. The turbidity and breadth of expression was seen by the assessment panel as atypical and faulty. They made the decision to label their wines outside of the classification, losing the protected Ried designation for their three vineyards, and they have been sold as Landwein ever since. Karl stipulates that had they followed the usual path and attended Klosterneuburg or Geisenheim, their playbook could have been very different.\u003cbr\u003eParallel to these developments on the domestic front, the Schnabels began looking outward to the international market, joining S.A.I.N.S., a French collective who are committed to producing wines without manipulation through filtration or sulphur addition. Their wines became cult favourites among winemakers from both the conventional and radical traditions, and they developed a healthy international distribution network outside of the usual corridors of the day. The idea of world class reds coming from the Sausal seemed almost paradoxical in the context of the day, and so curiosity attracted collectors and importers from far and wide.\u003cbr\u003eThe region itself is an isolated massif that stands alone in the wider Südsteiermark. The massif was pushed higher when the Alps were forming, so there are no marine deposits or clays here, just the primary siliceous slate and schist with threads of quartz. The weathering of the rock over time means the soils are quite rocky and open, so they drain well and retain heat, useful with Styria being the wettest wine region in Austria and the elevation here of 500 to 520 metres above sea level.\u003cbr\u003eThe climate is Illyrian-Mediterranean. The Illyrian influence is humid air drawn up from the Adriatic sea and Balkan corridor, carrying most of the yearly rainfall of 900 to 1000mm or so. This precipitates significant fungal pressure for the vines, making the steep gradient, which is in some places 70%, particularly important, helping to drain standing water very quickly. The Sausal's exposure is also useful here, with steady airflow naturally reducing the risk enough that the Schnabels' treatments of minimal sulphur and kaolin, alongside their herbal tisanes, are robust enough to mitigate the conditions and protect the vines. The tisanes are brewed from nettle, horsetail and yarrow gathered in the vineyards themselves, in a thousand litre kettle. The meadows on the estate provide the plants for their biodynamic compost preparations, chamomile, nettle, yarrow, oak bark, dandelion and valerian, with the cattle providing the manure. They use a scythe to cut the grass beneath the vines, but allow the rows between to grow free.\u003cbr\u003eThe southerly exposition of these vineyards, and the heat retaining stony soils, facilitates a warm microclimate that helps ripening, despite the cold nights at this altitude. The Mediterranean influence is visible too, with wild thyme growing on the barren, rocky slopes, to the point that visitors often remark on the similarities. The sites are managed as biotopes, and Karl and Eva have also installed nesting sites and stone mounds that promote animal presence, with water carried up to the sites, which have no running water of their own. The conditions allow them to wait at harvest time, as picking at full ripeness is their preference, with everything brought in by hand.\u003cbr\u003eAt the cellar, the influence of Karl's time in Burgundy is apparent. The reds are destemmed and fermented spontaneously in open wooden vats, with pigeage by hand. They don't use must pumps at any stage. Usually the maceration lasts 10 to 14 days, and after pressing the wines age in used 228 litre Burgundian barrels for about 12 months. Nothing is added at any point, with no chaptalisation, fining, filtration or sulphur addition. They clean their bottles with spring water before bottling by hand and use natural cork of the highest grade as closures. The cellar is cleaned with hot water and nothing else.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2020, Gault Millau named them Ausnahmewinzer des Jahres, with their Blaufränkisch Koregg 2017 taking 18.5 out of 20, in the top 10 reds of Austria. Karl's own verdict on the honour was that it had been a long and stony road.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe conditions we find in Koregg, the most barren of all the Schnabel vineyards and with the most fine grained schist, are tailored to producing Blaufrankisch of class. The ancient rockface keeps the vines struggling just enough, and the elevation of this site at 520 masl means the warm air that gathers on the steep (60% gradient) slope during the day does not allow the vines to get too comfortable. The schist here is fine grained and fractured, with little if any humus, so the water drains off fast and the roots have to reach deep into the fissures to find any. This keeps the berries small and concentrated, while the stone retains heat during the days to help ripening late into the season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blaufrankisch\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sausal, Sudsteiermark, Austria\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Weingut Schnabel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707004754,"sku":"17002040","price":54.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-blaufrankisch-koregg-2023.jpg?v=1793699100"},{"product_id":"briand-2023-domaine-du-mazel","title":"Briand 2023 - Domaine du Mazel","description":"\u003cp\u003eGrenache Noir that saw 10 days of carbonic maceration in stainless, with elevage in stainless after pressing. Whole bunch vattings of Grenache from this valley produces a particular kind of red, deep and lambent in colour, sweet-fruited on the nose, almost candied cherry and violet, but balanced and savoury on the palate, with full, supple fruitiness. A great vintage from Gérald \u0026amp; Joce, best enjoyed lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI met Jocelyne and Gérald after Claire, who runs la Tour Cassée in Valvignères with her husband Jean-Claude, insisted I visit them while during a stay in 2021. She kindly arranged a tasting at their cellar for the following morning. The gesture was my introduction to the generosity of spirit with which anyone who has visited the region is familiar. The tasting the following morning was an education in wine that i will never forget, free from the pretence and ego that too often characterises encounters with vigneron(ne)s of such esteemed reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA venerable estate of Ardèche wine, Domaine du Mazel was founded in Valvignères by Jocelyne \u0026amp; Gérald's grandfather in 1919. Today, Gérald and Jocelyne farm twenty-two hectares or so around the valley, selling some fruit to local winemakers and making about 60,000 bottles per year themselves. \u003cbr\u003eLe Mazel is a prelude for many of the region’s wine successes in recent decades with the likes of Sylvain Bock, Andrea Calek, Jerome Jouret, and Anders Frederik Steen all having worked with or at the estate before going out on their own. Gérald's influence can be felt throughout southern Ardèche, where the collaborative spirit he helped to cultivate has fomented a vibrant, dynamic scene that has few comparisons in the world of wine. \u003cbr\u003eWhen the siblings took over from their father in 1982, they continued as coopérateurs, remaining active to the point that Gérald would become its vice president. Convinced by his wife, who had travelled with a friend to work in Beaujolais with Jean-Paul Thévenet, that something very interesting was happening in the region, Gérald travelled north, where over several visits he befriended Marcel Lapierre and Jacques Neauport. Inspired by the wines they were making, Gérald brought their methods back to Valvignères and decided to chart a new direction for his family's estate. They left the cooperative and began vinifying themselves, using Carbonic maceration for the reds, no filtration and no sulfitage. This was a radical move from Gérald, though perhaps more viable in Valvignères, which had long been seen as an agricultural, workhorse grapegrowing enclave that offered little in the way of quality. The freedoms this offered, alongthe size of their estate and their ability to sell fruit, le Mazel could absorb the mistakes that came with learning to make wine this way, often keeping wines in their cellar for years before their release when they started off. They slowly moved away from barrels, preferring steel, and these days their cellar is stacked with great big stainless steel vats along with a large wooden basket press. Having narrowing the aperture of their intention the couple now make wines built on purity of fruit and mineral vitality, and the siblings produce some of the most rewarding wines money can buy. Developing their intuitions over 5 decades, nobody quite understands the subtleties of growing grapes and making wine in this valley quite like Gérald \u0026amp; Jocelyne.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistorically overlooked and ignored, Valvignères has emerged as an epicentre for progressive viticulture and winemaking in the 21st century. Existing in the shadow of the hulking economy of the Rhone valley, the small valley west of le Teil made its name when Gérald Oustric and his sister Jocelyne decided to cease selling their fruit to the local co-op(which Geralds father helped found in 1919) to begin producing wines themselves. Having farmed organically since the 80s, Gérald had been convinced to make his own wine after several trips to Beaujolais in the 80s, where he met Jacques Neauport, Jules Chauvet, Pierre bonneton et al. This move would have significant domino effects, with Gerald adopting Carbonic maceration for his reds, no filtration or fining, and no sulfitage in his cellar. This freed to small region from the shackles of the establishment in the region and reconnected with the valleys historical winemaking traditions(Valvignères comes from the Roman Vallis Vinaria, meaning valley of vines). Gerald would go on to mentor 15 growers in the region, cultivating a spirit of collaboration and sharing of ideas that existed few other places in France. The wines from cellars in this cluster share an irresistably heady, telluric, and deeply soulful quality that makes them great value and well worth exploring. In terms of geology, we are almost in the south, but noticeably cooler than you might find just 20km south. Situated on what's traditionally known as the Bas Vivarais, the soils are predominantly clay and limestone, with outcrops of marne bleue and basalt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grenache\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine du Mazel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707037522,"sku":"25\/000743","price":25.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-briand-2023.jpg?v=1793699100"},{"product_id":"briand-2023-magnum-domaine-du-mazel","title":"Briand 2023 Magnum - Domaine du Mazel","description":"\u003cp\u003eGrenache Noir that saw 10 days of carbonic maceration in stainless, with elevage in stainless after pressing. Whole bunch vattings of Grenache from this valley produces a particular kind of red, deep and lambent in colour, sweet-fruited on the nose, almost candied cherry and violet, but balanced and savoury on the palate, with full, supple fruitiness. A great vintage from Gérald \u0026amp; Joce, best enjoyed lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI met Jocelyne and Gérald after Claire, who runs la Tour Cassée in Valvignères with her husband Jean-Claude, insisted I visit them while during a stay in 2021. She kindly arranged a tasting at their cellar for the following morning. The gesture was my introduction to the generosity of spirit with which anyone who has visited the region is familiar. The tasting the following morning was an education in wine that i will never forget, free from the pretence and ego that too often characterises encounters with vigneron(ne)s of such esteemed reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA venerable estate of Ardèche wine, Domaine du Mazel was founded in Valvignères by Jocelyne \u0026amp; Gérald's grandfather in 1919. Today, Gérald and Jocelyne farm twenty-two hectares or so around the valley, selling some fruit to local winemakers and making about 60,000 bottles per year themselves. \u003cbr\u003eLe Mazel is a prelude for many of the region’s wine successes in recent decades with the likes of Sylvain Bock, Andrea Calek, Jerome Jouret, and Anders Frederik Steen all having worked with or at the estate before going out on their own. Gérald's influence can be felt throughout southern Ardèche, where the collaborative spirit he helped to cultivate has fomented a vibrant, dynamic scene that has few comparisons in the world of wine. \u003cbr\u003eWhen the siblings took over from their father in 1982, they continued as coopérateurs, remaining active to the point that Gérald would become its vice president. Convinced by his wife, who had travelled with a friend to work in Beaujolais with Jean-Paul Thévenet, that something very interesting was happening in the region, Gérald travelled north, where over several visits he befriended Marcel Lapierre and Jacques Neauport. Inspired by the wines they were making, Gérald brought their methods back to Valvignères and decided to chart a new direction for his family's estate. They left the cooperative and began vinifying themselves, using Carbonic maceration for the reds, no filtration and no sulfitage. This was a radical move from Gérald, though perhaps more viable in Valvignères, which had long been seen as an agricultural, workhorse grapegrowing enclave that offered little in the way of quality. The freedoms this offered, alongthe size of their estate and their ability to sell fruit, le Mazel could absorb the mistakes that came with learning to make wine this way, often keeping wines in their cellar for years before their release when they started off. They slowly moved away from barrels, preferring steel, and these days their cellar is stacked with great big stainless steel vats along with a large wooden basket press. Having narrowing the aperture of their intention the couple now make wines built on purity of fruit and mineral vitality, and the siblings produce some of the most rewarding wines money can buy. Developing their intuitions over 5 decades, nobody quite understands the subtleties of growing grapes and making wine in this valley quite like Gérald \u0026amp; Jocelyne.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grenache\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine du Mazel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707070290,"sku":"25\/000744","price":58.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/briand-2023-magnum-domaine-du-mazel.jpg?v=1791452517"},{"product_id":"brutal-2024-celler-escoda-sanahuja","title":"Brutal!!! 2024 - Celler Escoda-Sanahuja","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis Sumoll comes from vines between 13 and 30 years old, growing at 450 masl in the shadow of Tossal Gros. The bunches were destemmed before a 10 day maceration. Ageing in 650 litre cherry wood casks followed before bottling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA deep, sultry Sumoll from Joan Ramon here, with a damson, black cherry and spices on the nose. The palate shows the typical fluidity of Joan Ramon's reds, with waves gossamer berry fruit and savoury bush herbs and spices setting this apart in true Brutal!!! fashion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI was first introduced to Joan Ramon Escoda at his impressive cellar and adjoining restaurant Tossal Gros by Jordi Llorens. After spending the day with Jordi at his cellar in nearby Blancafort, I tagged along while he dropped wine to his old friend for a groupage shipment. What followed was a baptism of fire in Catalan wine that lasted late into the evening, and a candid introduction to the characters that sowed the seeds of the region's current rude health.\u003cbr\u003eJoan Ramon grew up in Reus, a petrochemical capital, where he excelled at motocross, winning a regional championship. At the behest of his wife Carmen, he shifted his focus to wine, and began his schooling at Carmen's family estate. After a stint working at a large commercial winery in Catalunya, he travelled across France, striking up an enduring friendship with Thierry Puzelat while in the Loire, which would deeply influence his philosophy going forward.\u003cbr\u003eIn 1997, Joan Ramon and Carmen took the reins at her family estate in Prenafeta, a tiny hamlet close to Montblanc. They set about converting to organics, before establishing the estate under the name Escoda-Sanahuja, as it's known today, in 1999. From this time the influence of biodynamics became more present in their work, in both the vineyard and the cellar, and the estate grew into a thriving system of polyculture, with olive groves and fruit trees merging between the vineyards. By 2005 the pair had ceased adding sulphur to the wines entirely, fining and filtration being things they had never practised. At the time this was unheard of in Catalunya, though they were convinced by the results.\u003cbr\u003eTheir estate sits on the clay and limestone slopes below Tossal Gros, a regional landmark whose pointed peak, just under 870 metres, is known locally as the Nas del Gegant, the giant's nose. A few kilometres away, the Cistercian monastery of Poblet, founded in 1151 and inhabited by monks to this day, cultivated vines through the Middle Ages, as the Romans had done before them.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2012 the cellar was built three storeys down into the mountain it sits on, reached by steep stairs or a rickety cage lift. Here Joan Ramon uses a mix of vessels, barrels, amphora of various sizes and steel, with the vintage determining how each is used. One thing is for certain: all the wines, whites and reds alike, are macerated on their skins, the length varying by cuvée, with Joan Ramon prizing fluidity above all.\u003cbr\u003eSurrounding the cellar, the vines remain splendidly isolated, ringed by forest and woods with no immediate neighbours. Flowers and grasses grow freely between the rows, and the vines are treated with herbal preparations through the growing season. Left to dig deep into the limestone for the water they need, they draw up the intense, almost cavernous minerality that illuminates each of his cuvées, year after year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSumoll's return to the frontier of Catalan wine is a remarkable story. It had been prized up until the 1950s for it's low PH and high potential alcohol, which made it suitable for long sea voyages, servicing export markets Catalunya had established over centuries of trade. A confluence of factors relating to the globalisation of the wine trade in the late 20th century reversed the fortunes of the resilient variety, to the point that by the turn of the millenium there were scarcely 300 acres planted in the region. Somehow, the variety had been excluded from the Penedes DO when it was formed in 1986, further diminishing it's commercial value, before its resurgence in the hands of inspired growers in the region constituted it's inclusion from 2010 onwards. The variety had always been a mercurial charge for those who chose to grow it. It's low yields and big, fleshy berries give an intense juice that demands care and experience in both the vineyard and cellar if it is to reach it's full potential.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sumoll\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Prenafeta, Conca de Barberà, Catalunya, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Celler Escoda-Sanahuja","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707103058,"sku":"26\/001184","price":46.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-brutal-2024-escoda.jpg?v=1793699097"},{"product_id":"brutal-rouge-2022-magnum-la-sorga","title":"Brutal!!! Rouge 2022 Magnum - La Sorga","description":"\u003cp\u003eCinsault (67 years) 100%, from schist soils at Cabrerolles in the Faugères zone. 18 hl\/ha. Hand destemmed, 21 days maceration, aged in stoneware tank for 9 months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA nose of real class, citrus, raspberry, humus and white pepper. On the palate the classic markers of Faugères schist come through, rounded texture, citrus and rose to the fore, long and lace-fine finish. 3,300 bottles produced\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Antony Tortul began producing wines with his négociant project La Sorga in 2008, the iconoclastic verve of his wines and the contrarian artwork he labelled them with cast the aspiring winemaker as a radical disruptor who held little regard for the time honoured traditions of southern wine. Those who paid careful enough attention, however, came to recognise La Sorga's annual production of 30+ cuvées as a vinous almanac of sorts. Sourcing fruit from Toulouse to Provence and as far afield as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Antony's portfolio is a comprehensive catalogue of Mediterranean France and beyond, offering a revitalised perspective on the rich and diverse viticultural topography of the south, much of which had been subsumed by the paint-by-numbers approach demanded by volume driven production.\u003cbr\u003eGrowing up in the Ariège, where he hopes one day to return, Antony learned the fundamentals of winemaking through a chemistry degree in Toulouse. This academic foundation opened windows of opportunity within the industry, and curiosity steered his formative years, working as a nomadic oenologist and cellar technician across Bergerac, Corbières, Fitou and the aforementioned Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Here he could put his academic schooling into practice and sharpen his intuitions as a winemaker. Given that experience and the extensive network he had established, the decision to work as a négociant made perfect sense when he set out on his own in 2008. It challenged the idea du jour, that to make wine the proper way one must grow the grapes oneself. The breadth of his work, and its subsequent significance, would have been impossible that way; his preference was to focus on the winemaking, deepening his understanding of the endless configurations of varieties, soils and sites through his practice as a négociant.\u003cbr\u003eI visited Antony and his young family at his cellar in 2021 (they have since moved), and the immaculate cleanliness was the first thing to strike me. It was a transitional period in the La Sorga story, a turning of the page, with Antony refreshing the intention behind his vinification, the reds especially, in response to the changing climate and his own evolving palate. Cuvées like Tireurs des Litres and Grande Pestilence, once deeply telluric and squid-ink dark, built for long ageing, had become lambent and sculpted, channelling the typicity of each site with clear-eyed precision. The decision to pick a little earlier and extend maceration times, inspired by his friend Alice Bouvot in the Jura, opened a new window of expression that has rewritten the rulebook yet again.\u003cbr\u003eIncidentally, Antony was a founding member of Brutal!!!, an open-source wine label now used by vignerons around the world.\u003cbr\u003eThese days, Antony's skilled cellar work and canny grape sourcing are widely recognised and highly regarded, to the extent that he was the subject of a two-page spread in Jon Bonné's recent tome The New French Wine. Not that it makes much difference to him; when I messaged to congratulate him on this inclusion, he was unaware the book even existed...\u003cbr\u003eFor me, the wines of La Sorga provided a sort of onboarding to Southern French wine, holding a kaleidoscope to the region, with each frame glistening as brightly as the last. In the Anglosphere, terms such as wine lake are often the first that come to mind when we think of the Languedoc, but Antony's wines are a key to unlocking this treasure trove, discoverable to anyone who looks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cinsault\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Montagnac, Languedoc, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Sorga","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707168594,"sku":"1700409","price":53.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/brutal-rouge-2022-magnum-la-sorga.jpg?v=1791452517"},{"product_id":"carmen-2023-celler-escoda-sanahuja","title":"Carmen 2023 - Celler Escoda-Sanahuja","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis cuvée is from a selection of the finst Cabernet Franc picked eached year, from 28 year old vines growing at 450 masl on limestone. The bunches were destemmed before an 18 day maceration, the longest of the wines we have from Joan Ramon right now. Ageing was in 500L french oak casks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe top red of the estate, named for Joan-Ramon's wife Mari-Carmen, whose family they inherited the estate from. Bold, succulent fruits on the nose, with juniper, star anise, and lime leaf. Big volume on the palate, with bold tannins cushioned by sultry fruit volume. A racy acidity keeps this flowing, with the characteristic lucidity and structural complexity of Joan Ramon's treatment of his beloved Cabernet Franc.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJust 12 bottles made it to Ireland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI was first introduced to Joan Ramon Escoda at his impressive cellar and adjoining restaurant Tossal Gros by Jordi Llorens. After spending the day with Jordi at his cellar in nearby Blancafort, I tagged along while he dropped wine to his old friend for a groupage shipment. What followed was a baptism of fire in Catalan wine that lasted late into the evening, and a candid introduction to the characters that sowed the seeds of the region's current rude health.\u003cbr\u003eJoan Ramon grew up in Reus, a petrochemical capital, where he excelled at motocross, winning a regional championship. At the behest of his wife Carmen, he shifted his focus to wine, and began his schooling at Carmen's family estate. After a stint working at a large commercial winery in Catalunya, he travelled across France, striking up an enduring friendship with Thierry Puzelat while in the Loire, which would deeply influence his philosophy going forward.\u003cbr\u003eIn 1997, Joan Ramon and Carmen took the reins at her family estate in Prenafeta, a tiny hamlet close to Montblanc. They set about converting to organics, before establishing the estate under the name Escoda-Sanahuja, as it's known today, in 1999. From this time the influence of biodynamics became more present in their work, in both the vineyard and the cellar, and the estate grew into a thriving system of polyculture, with olive groves and fruit trees merging between the vineyards. By 2005 the pair had ceased adding sulphur to the wines entirely, fining and filtration being things they had never practised. At the time this was unheard of in Catalunya, though they were convinced by the results.\u003cbr\u003eTheir estate sits on the clay and limestone slopes below Tossal Gros, a regional landmark whose pointed peak, just under 870 metres, is known locally as the Nas del Gegant, the giant's nose. A few kilometres away, the Cistercian monastery of Poblet, founded in 1151 and inhabited by monks to this day, cultivated vines through the Middle Ages, as the Romans had done before them.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2012 the cellar was built three storeys down into the mountain it sits on, reached by steep stairs or a rickety cage lift. Here Joan Ramon uses a mix of vessels, barrels, amphora of various sizes and steel, with the vintage determining how each is used. One thing is for certain: all the wines, whites and reds alike, are macerated on their skins, the length varying by cuvée, with Joan Ramon prizing fluidity above all.\u003cbr\u003eSurrounding the cellar, the vines remain splendidly isolated, ringed by forest and woods with no immediate neighbours. Flowers and grasses grow freely between the rows, and the vines are treated with herbal preparations through the growing season. Left to dig deep into the limestone for the water they need, they draw up the intense, almost cavernous minerality that illuminates each of his cuvées, year after year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot the first grape that comes to mind when we think of top Catalan wine, but this is the variety at it's very best. Cabernet Franc was established in the region by the time Joan Ramon and Mari-Carmen took over the family estate, but Joan Ramon's love of the Loire, where he spent a formative stint as an apprentice, made the variety's presence an especially happy coincidence. He has also planted Chenin since taking over. French varieties had been brought to Prenafeta by the Cistercian monks in Poblet in the middle ages, but it was the push by the Torres family who planted French varieties throughout the region that lead to the varieties inclusion in the Conca de Barberà DO. Here, on the elevated hillsides with nights that are relatively cool, the grape thrives, yielding wines that remain true to both variety and place.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cabernet Franc\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Prenafeta, Conca de Barberà, Catalunya, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Celler Escoda-Sanahuja","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707463506,"sku":"1700487","price":58.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/carmen-2023-celler-escoda-sanahuja.webp?v=1791452515"},{"product_id":"chatons-de-garde-2019-magnum-domaine-andrea-calek","title":"Chatons de Garde 2019 Magnum - Domaine Andrea Calek","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne hundred percent Syrah from vines between 25 and 55 years old on calcareous clay soils at Alba-la-Romaine. Twenty-one days of whole-bunch carbonic maceration at low temperature, then ten months in old 228-litre Burgundy barrels (between third and fifteenth use, pretty much neutral).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe long carbonic maceration of Syrah, especially on the clay and limestone here in Alba, gives a distinctive, more heady expression of dark fruits, violet, peat smoke, and fond brun, with softer tannins and curtain-weight aromatic intensity. Supple and elegant, this definitive of the house style and is drinking superbly at the minute.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChatons de Garde, meaning Guard Kittens, is another poke at the wine industry taking itself a little too seriously, mocking the melodrama and pomp of terms like 'vin de garde’.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring a trip to the Ardèche in 2021, I arranged by email to visit Andrea at his cellar. I had tasted the estate's wines on several occasions, in London and elsewhere, and perhaps cowed somewhat by his reputation, I was eager to learn more about how he worked and to explore the potential of importing his wines to Ireland. Following directions to the address listed on Google, I arrived at the cellar door wet behind the ears but with wind in my sails. After a confusing exchange with the bemused proprietor, it soon became clear that Andrea was directing unwanted visitors from Google searches to a neighbouring vigneron (Anders Frederik Steen, as it happens), a joke at both parties' expense. My first experience of Andrea's wicked sense of humour.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow a Czech ended up making wine in the remote valley between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine is a contested story, but what's certain is that Andrea managed to find himself in the right place at the right time on several occasions on his way to eventually establishing his own estate in 2007, buying 5 hectares from Gérald and Jocelyne Oustric, for whom he had been working. Prior to this, Andrea worked with Dominique Hauvette in Provence, successfully converting her estate's vines to organic viticulture. His time in the south was preceded by a stint in the Beaujolais, where he had fallen in with a progressive faction of vignerons like Guy Breton and Marcel Lapierre, whose influence remains fundamental to Andrea's philosophy of wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story of Domaine Andrea Calek cannot be told without the reinvigoration Stephana Nicolescu brought when she joined Andrea in 2016, and she has since assumed the majority of the work in both the vines and the cellar. Stephana had been working with Loire vigneron Samuel Boulay, and had also spent time making wine in southern Spain. Today the estate is as much hers as it is Andrea's; she assembles a team of predominantly female vendangeurs for each harvest and ensures the estate's day-to-day running is relatively smooth. Stephana is fastidious in her management of the vines and delicate in the cellar, staying true to the estate's reputation for sultry, languid drinking reds and radiant, sinuous whites, while ensuring that every wine carries her recognisable signature (just not on the labels... yet).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate is a single block of about 4 hectares on the slope below the cellar, between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine. The soil is blue marl with a silty character, heavy and clay-like when wet and baking almost to concrete once it dries. Roughly half is Syrah, with Grenache, a little Merlot and a single row of Viognier grafted onto Merlot during a grafting workshop with other local growers, the fruit that goes to Pénultième. There are proper old vines - a parcel of gobelet-trained Grenache around sixty years old on very long rows, and older Syrah lower down the slope. Grenache is in gobelet, but Syrah flops if left alone, so it is trained low and kept aligned within the row, what Andrea calls a \"crushed gobelet,\" a low hedge run without wires. Farming is largely by hand, with a tractor used from time to time. They no longer practise biodynamics, and they keep the certification off the label, explaining it only if asked. Sprays are the standard organic copper and sulphur, and disease pressure is usually low here, though a very wet spring can bring heavy downy mildew and long hours removing marked leaves by hand, vine by vine. Working the soils goes by every other row, one left in grass, the next lightly scratched to open the soil before rain, with the centre of the row left to whatever grows on its own. Yields average around 40 hectolitres per hectare in a good year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe winery, built in 2010 on the Saint-Philippe site he took over from the Oustrics, is half dug into the foothill and designed to run by gravity. Grapes come in from above through three hatches and drop straight into the tanks whole-bunch, where fermentation starts. Sulphur is rarely added, though they prefer to add a small dose over losing a whole tank. Reds macerate whole-bunch for roughly a week to a month depending on the cuvée, worked by foot rather than pumped over; the free-run juice is drawn off and the marc pressed in a small 15-hectolitre Vaslin press, then the wine goes either to old barrels or back to tank until bottling. Wines that finish fermenting in barrel move to a fully underground cellar next door that stays cool and stable. During fermentation the tanks are tasted three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening, because an acetic spike can take a tank in the blink of an eye. The primeur cuvées like A Toi Nous, offering remarkable value, stay in tank for early bottling and come in around 10 to 12.5 percent, while more extracted wines like Chatons de Garde and Pénultième spend around a year in old Burgundy barrels, sourced by Andrea via his old contacts from his time as a barrel merchant in the Czech Republic.\u003cbr\u003eThe whites are fermented and aged in old barrels only, on very long, slow ferments that often finish well after the reds, with élevage up to about two years. They come in around 13.5 to 14 percent, and volume is tiny, roughly 4,000 bottles out of a total nearer 40,000, usually selling out within a couple of months. Historically the white fruit has been bought in, organic Viognier and Chardonnay from Gérald Oustric at Le Mazel, harvested by Andrea's own team.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Calek estate is just off the road between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine, with the estate vines surrounding the cellar in a single block. When Andrea first arrived here to make wine, and for several years afterwards, he lived in a trailer by the vineyards, building a  collection of old Citroen cars that remain strewn around the property in various states of disrepair. Andrea and Stephana have since built a cellar and bioclimatic home for themselves, and sitting on their front terrace, you feel how exposed the site is to the elements. The mistral blows strong, and devastating summer hails are becoming a regular scourge. The scrub and bush are sparse, and the sky feels heavy and close overhead. Here, in warm conditions on limestone and clay, Syrahs sugars climb fast and tannins and pigment accumulate rapidly. The semi-carbonic maceration teases out the subtleties of the variety in these conditions and helps to retain the elegant aromas of the Syrah.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Syrah\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Alba-la-Romaine, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine Andrea Calek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707627346,"sku":"1700022","price":60.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/chatons-de-garde-2019-magnum-domaine-andrea-calek.jpg?v=1791452516"},{"product_id":"chien-noir-chat-blanc-2022-domaine-in-black","title":"Chien Noir, Chat Blanc 2022 - Domaine in Black","description":"\u003cp\u003eA true vin d'auteur from Lambert, showcasing his creative tendencies in the cellar. The pressed marc of his pinot noir from the sandstone of Reichsfeld macerates in the direct press juice of Auxerrois growing in Dambach-la-ville on granite. Maceration for a year in stainless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA cherry stone thread of bitterness is reminiscent of amaro and we get a cranberry, white currant fruitiness. In the mouth we feel the fruit volume and mineral compression of the Auxerrois, framed by fine tannins extracted from the marc of the Pinot. Best lightly chilled\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePedigree and lineage continue to sing loudest in the chorus of Alsatian wine, but the emergence of local vigneron(ne)s from outside of the region's famous families and cellars has added dynamism and vitality to this fascinating story in recent years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNone more so than Lambert Spielmann, who from his meticulous cellar in Saint Pierre in the Bas-Rhin, has been churning out remarkably precise, terroir driven wines since 2019, built around his preference for gentle pressing, delicate macerations, general soft touch at the cellar, and the beautiful fruit of his vines. Having no family ties to viticulture, Lambert was confronted with the familiar financial barriers to entry for those in his position in Alsace, but he got his start working with Yves Amberg, just outside neighbouring Epfig, in 2016. Deeply influenced by Yves' approach, who had tended his vines organically since 1997, Lambert closely follows the lunar cycles and works with biodynamic treatments in vineyard, with minimal copper and sulfur. The parcels hum with life during the growing season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFurthering his experience at the cellar of Christophe Lindelaub, Lambert wasted little time setting out on his own, renting vines from his mentor Yves in Epfig and Beck-Hartweg in Dambach-la-ville, and later from his friend Léo Dirringer, also in Dambach-la-ville. Overall he tends about 2 hectares, with yield of between 35 and 45 hectolitres per hectare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAway from the riot of life among his vines, Lambert's cellar in Saint Pierre is, conversely, both pristine and serene, lined with fibre tanks, stainless, and the odd barrel. Everything is conducted with the softest of hands, with gravity preferred to the pump, and pigeage only employed when absolutely necessary. With this approach, Lambert’s wines evoke the living soils and carefully farmed fruit from his vineyard sites with clarity and verve. Having spent the day with Lambert at his cellar and vines in 2022, it's a pleasure to finally have a limited number of cases here in Cork.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSaint Pierre is a small commune in the Bas-Rhin, along the banks of the Andlau river. Historically the village was known for tobacco, though wine has taken up that mantle today. While Lambert’s cellar is on the outskirts of his village, his parcels of vines are dotted around the neighbouring areas on a variety of soils and expositions, many isolated or out of the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Auxerrois, Pinot Noir\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Saint Pierre, Alsace, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine in Black","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707725650,"sku":"1700610","price":39.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-chien-noir-chat-blanc-2022.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"cote-pelee-2021-jean-yves-peron","title":"Côte Pelée 2021 - Jean-Yves Péron","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom half a hectare of south-facing, 100 year old vines on Albertville mica-schist. Macerated for two months with pigeage, and aged three years in 225L barriques.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the time Jean-Yves returned to Savoie to make wine in 2004, he was already a well-travelled student of wine. Growing up between Paris and his mother's home in Annecy, his formative years were spent in the Haute-Savoie, not far from where he keeps his cellar today. After completing studies in biochemistry he went to Bordeaux to study oenology, then on to Oregon as a budding apprentice. Returning to France, he took a job with the legendary Rhône winemaker Thierry Allemand, whose work on the abandoned terraces of Cornas is reflected in Jean-Yves' approach today. He also spent time with Jean-Louis Grippat, a foundational figure in modern Rhône winemaking, in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage. Both men farmed the steep slopes of the northern Rhône, and the influence of the two can still be felt in Jean-Yves' work. During his time there he met Hirotake Ooka of la Grande Colline, through whom he came to know Bruno Schueller in Alsace, ending up as his apprentice. He set out on his own in January 2004, picking up old plantings on steep sites his neighbours had deemed too difficult to work. Those first fermentations did not finish until August 2005, a bold debut from a nascent estate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJean-Yves' vines grow in Conflans, a walled medieval quarter above Albertville where the Arly meets the Isère. Over a century ago the hillside carried 80 hectares of vines, but phylloxera devastated the region and the industrial expansion of Albertville drew the working population away from viticulture. The pervasive availability of cheap wine from the Midi did not help, and the wines of Savoie came to be considered vins de laboureur. By the time Jean-Yves returned, the terraces were home to mature oaks and in places had been reclaimed by the forest. Where most saw worthless land, Jean-Yves saw Savoie's own Reynard, the great lieu-dit of Cornas from which Thierry Allemand had reclaimed some of his most cherished parcels. Like his mentor, he could see the diamond in the rough and an opportunity to resurrect these old sites. Today he has restored or replanted 2.5 hectares, and with further holdings in Fréterive he farms 4.5 hectares himself. He embarked on the project solo, but the thankless work on these steep hillsides, all of it by hand, made help necessary, and today Briton Camilla Murray works full time with Jean-Yves in the vines and the cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mondeuse\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Conflans, Albertville, Savoie, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jean-Yves Péron","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988707955026,"sku":"170890","price":67.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/cote-pelee-2021-jean-yves-peron.webp?v=1791452516"},{"product_id":"flickering-through-my-naked-thoughts-2023-anders-frederik-steen-and-anne-bruun-blauert","title":"Flickering through my naked thoughts 2023 - Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","description":"\u003cp\u003eDestemmed Grenache Noir from their vineyards on the hillside of Valgrand, just outside the village, macerated in the directly pressed juice of Cinsault from Le Mazel. The maceration was long, a little more than nine months. This was because winter and the cold came early in 2023, and they didn't want to press the grapes in the cold cellar and expose the wine to the risk that follows. Instead they waited until the cellar regained some temperature in the spring of 2024 and made the décuvage in May. From the pressoir the wine was filled directly into barriques, where it stayed another year, and was bottled in June 2025. The complexity of this wine is obvious and outspoken. With its light colour you might think it an easy, light wine, but the long maceration has given it another direction and a whole other structure, closer to a full-bodied wine with richer tannins. Not that it is a wine with a lot of tannins, but it has a beautiful strong structure, dressed up as a Ploussard of Jura according to Anders himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the midst of the dynamic and collaborative viticultural and winemaking esprit emanating from the remote valleys of southern Ardèche, Anders and his wife Anne remain distinct among their peers in both ambition and approach. The undeniable individuality of their wines is a result of their deep commitment to their process in the vineyard and cellar techniques developed over 15 years in Valvignères, where Anders first began making wine with the enigmatic Jura vigneron Jean-Marc Brignot at a small cellar in the village in the noughties. Anders had met Jean-Marc during his time working as a sommelier at Noma, and by the time he had opened Relae and Manfreds as chef sommelier with Christian Puglisi, the seeds of this collaborative winemaking project had been sown.\u003cbr\u003eAnders' path to wine was somewhat serendipitous, resulting from a brave decision he took while working as an ambitious young chef in Copenhagen. The bright lights of San Sebastián were an irresistible draw for most of his colleagues, with elBulli in its heyday at the centre of world gastronomy. Swimming against the current, Anders took a job at Noma as a sommelier. For the budding chef, bridging the divide between kitchen and service could only deepen his understanding of cuisine.\u003cbr\u003eThe timing here is important. Pontus Elofsson was the head sommelier at Noma at the time, and the restaurant began serving wines that upheld the philosophy already at work in the kitchen. Anders would never look back.\u003cbr\u003eFirst splitting his time between Valvignères and Copenhagen, Anders became fully immersed in viticulture and winemaking with Jean-Marc. Eventually, after Brignot moved to Japan, Anders moved to southern Ardèche full time and was joined by his wife Anne and their young family, setting up in a tiny, 2,000-year-old cellar at the heart of the village. Initially Anders bought fruit from his neighbour and mentor Gérald Oustric and his wife Jocelyne, who had been farming organically in the village for 40 years and making wines in the way they learned from Jacques Néauport. Anders also rents a small cellar in Alsace, where he heads directly after the harvest in Valvignères every year, buying fruit from the Bannwarth family in Obermorschwihr. They now farm 3 hectares of vines themselves around Valvignères, growing on clay and limestone, with a small holding of Petite Serine growing on a vein of Marne Bleue that goes to their cuvée Les Vignes des Enfants every year.\u003cbr\u003eIn the vineyards, Anders is exacting, refusing to use sulphur or copper, preferring the lactoferments and tisanes he brews from local bush herbs and the seawater he collects from the Mediterranean. In the cellar, the fruit is most often pressed slowly over several days, with Anders determining how each portion of the press will be used by tasting the juice. Fermentation is usually started in fibre, and a long élevage in barrique non-ouillé follows, meaning many of these wines take quite some time to rediscover their balance and be released. The idea is to let the wine go where it wants to go, reading the cues he detects as they evolve over time and following along.\u003cbr\u003eThe results are breathtaking, peerless expressions of Valvignères and Obermorschwihr respectively, wines that remain true to the place they come from while taking an entirely new perspective on what is possible with the ripe fruit of southern Ardèche or the rich, unctuous fruit of Obermorschwihr. Often lightly oxidative and salty in expression, the wines have a complex structure that does not rely on acidity. Anders picks at the very last minute, prioritising phenolic ripeness above all else, building instead on a thread of saltiness and fruit drawn out over these long, thorough presses. Since expanding their cellar a few years back, Anders and Anne have moved to lengthen the élevage in their wines further. The results speak for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistorically overlooked and ignored, Valvignères has emerged as an epicentre for progressive viticulture and winemaking in the 21st century. Existing in the shadow of the hulking economy of the Rhone valley, the small valley west of le Teil made it's name when Gérald Oustric and his sister Jocelyne decided to cease selling their fruit to the local co-op(which Geralds father helped found in 1919) to begin producing wines themselves. Having farmed organically since the 80s, Gérald had been convinced to make his own wine after several trips to beaujolais in the early nineties, where he met Jacques Neauport, Jules Chauvet, Pierre bonneton et al. This move would have significant domino effects, with Gerald adopting Carbonic maceration for his reds, no filtration or fining, and no sulfitage in his cellar. this freed to small region from the shackles of the etablished wine industry in the region and reconnected with the valleys historical winemaking traditions(Valvigneres comes from the Roman Valis Vinaria, meaning valley of vines). Gerald would go on to mentor 15 growers in the region, cultivating a spirit of collaboration and sharing of ideas that existed few other places in France. The wines from cellars in this cluster share an iresistably heady, telluric, and deeply soulful quality that makes them great value and well worth exploring. In terms of Geology, we are almost in the south, but noticeably cooler than you might find just 20km south. Situated on what's traditionally known as the Bas Vivarais, the soils are predominantly clay and limestone, with outcrops of marne bleue and basalt\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grenache, Cinsault\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.8%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988708512082,"sku":"17000194","price":46.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-flickering-through-my-naked-thoughts-2023-75cl.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"flickering-through-my-naked-thoughts-2023-magnum-anders-frederik-steen-and-anne-bruun-blauert","title":"Flickering through my naked thoughts 2023 Magnum - Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","description":"\u003cp\u003eDestemmed Grenache Noir from their vineyards on the hillside of Valgrand, just outside the village, macerated in the directly pressed juice of Cinsault from Le Mazel. The maceration was long, a little more than nine months. This was because winter and the cold came early in 2023, and they didn't want to press the grapes in the cold cellar and expose the wine to the risk that follows. Instead they waited until the cellar regained some temperature in the spring of 2024 and made the décuvage in May. From the pressoir the wine was filled directly into barriques, where it stayed another year, and was bottled in June 2025.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe complexity of this wine is obvious and outspoken. With its light colour you might think it an easy, light wine, but the long maceration has given it another direction and a whole other structure, closer to a full-bodied wine with richer tannins. Not that it is a wine with a lot of tannins, but it has a beautiful strong structure, dressed up as a Ploussard of Jura according to Anders himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the midst of the dynamic and collaborative viticultural and winemaking esprit emanating from the remote valleys of southern Ardèche, Anders and his wife Anne remain distinct among their peers in both ambition and approach. The undeniable individuality of their wines is a result of their deep commitment to their process in the vineyard and cellar techniques developed over 15 years in Valvignères, where Anders first began making wine with the enigmatic Jura vigneron Jean-Marc Brignot at a small cellar in the village in the noughties. Anders had met Jean-Marc during his time working as a sommelier at Noma, and by the time he had opened Relae and Manfreds as chef sommelier with Christian Puglisi, the seeds of this collaborative winemaking project had been sown.\u003cbr\u003eAnders' path to wine was somewhat serendipitous, resulting from a brave decision he took while working as an ambitious young chef in Copenhagen. The bright lights of San Sebastián were an irresistible draw for most of his colleagues, with elBulli in its heyday at the centre of world gastronomy. Swimming against the current, Anders took a job at Noma as a sommelier. For the budding chef, bridging the divide between kitchen and service could only deepen his understanding of cuisine.\u003cbr\u003eThe timing here is important. Pontus Elofsson was the head sommelier at Noma at the time, and the restaurant began serving wines that upheld the philosophy already at work in the kitchen. Anders would never look back.\u003cbr\u003eFirst splitting his time between Valvignères and Copenhagen, Anders became fully immersed in viticulture and winemaking with Jean-Marc. Eventually, after Brignot moved to Japan, Anders moved to southern Ardèche full time and was joined by his wife Anne and their young family, setting up in a tiny, 2,000-year-old cellar at the heart of the village. Initially Anders bought fruit from his neighbour and mentor Gérald Oustric and his wife Jocelyne, who had been farming organically in the village for 40 years and making wines in the way they learned from Jacques Néauport. Anders also rents a small cellar in Alsace, where he heads directly after the harvest in Valvignères every year, buying fruit from the Bannwarth family in Obermorschwihr. They now farm 3 hectares of vines themselves around Valvignères, growing on clay and limestone, with a small holding of Petite Serine growing on a vein of Marne Bleue that goes to their cuvée Les Vignes des Enfants every year.\u003cbr\u003eIn the vineyards, Anders is exacting, refusing to use sulphur or copper, preferring the lactoferments and tisanes he brews from local bush herbs and the seawater he collects from the Mediterranean. In the cellar, the fruit is most often pressed slowly over several days, with Anders determining how each portion of the press will be used by tasting the juice. Fermentation is usually started in fibre, and a long élevage in barrique non-ouillé follows, meaning many of these wines take quite some time to rediscover their balance and be released. The idea is to let the wine go where it wants to go, reading the cues he detects as they evolve over time and following along.\u003cbr\u003eThe results are breathtaking, peerless expressions of Valvignères and Obermorschwihr respectively, wines that remain true to the place they come from while taking an entirely new perspective on what is possible with the ripe fruit of southern Ardèche or the rich, unctuous fruit of Obermorschwihr. Often lightly oxidative and salty in expression, the wines have a complex structure that does not rely on acidity. Anders picks at the very last minute, prioritising phenolic ripeness above all else, building instead on a thread of saltiness and fruit drawn out over these long, thorough presses. Since expanding their cellar a few years back, Anders and Anne have moved to lengthen the élevage in their wines further. The results speak for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistorically overlooked and ignored, Valvignères has emerged as an epicentre for progressive viticulture and winemaking in the 21st century. Existing in the shadow of the hulking economy of the Rhone valley, the small valley west of le Teil made it's name when Gérald Oustric and his sister Jocelyne decided to cease selling their fruit to the local co-op(which Geralds father helped found in 1919) to begin producing wines themselves. Having farmed organically since the 80s, Gérald had been convinced to make his own wine after several trips to beaujolais in the eighties, where he met Jacques Neauport, Jules Chauvet, Pierre bonneton et al. This move would have significant domino effects, with Gerald adopting Carbonic maceration for his reds, no filtration or fining, and no sulfitage in his cellar. this freed to small region from the shackles of the etablished wine industry in the region and reconnected with the valleys historical winemaking traditions(Valvigneres comes from the Roman Valis Vinaria, meaning valley of vines). Gerald would go on to mentor 15 growers in the region, cultivating a spirit of collaboration and sharing of ideas that existed few other places in France. The wines from cellars in this cluster share an iresistably heady, telluric, and deeply soulful quality that makes them great value and well worth exploring. In terms of Geology, we are almost in the south, but noticeably cooler than you might find just 20km south. Situated on what's traditionally known as the Bas Vivarais, the soils are predominantly clay and limestone, with outcrops of marne bleue and basalt\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grenache Noir, Cinsault\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.8%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988708577618,"sku":"17000196","price":92.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/flickering-through-my-naked-thoughts-2023-magnum-anders-frederik-steen-and-anne-bruun-blauert.jpg?v=1791452517"},{"product_id":"i-vicini-nebbiolo-2022-jean-yves-peron","title":"i Vicini Nebbiolo 2022 - Jean-Yves Péron","description":"\u003cp\u003eNebbiolo from half a hectare of east-facing 50 year old vines at Casale Monferrato. Three months of maceration with punch-downs, followed by two years in 225L barriques.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the time Jean-Yves returned to Savoie to make wine in 2004, he was already a well-travelled student of wine. Growing up between Paris and his mother's home in Annecy, his formative years were spent in the Haute-Savoie, not far from where he keeps his cellar today. After completing studies in biochemistry he went to Bordeaux to study oenology, then on to Oregon as a budding apprentice. Returning to France, he took a job with the legendary Rhône winemaker Thierry Allemand, whose work on the abandoned terraces of Cornas is reflected in Jean-Yves' approach today. He also spent time with Jean-Louis Grippat, a foundational figure in modern Rhône winemaking, in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage. Both men farmed the steep slopes of the northern Rhône, and the influence of the two can still be felt in Jean-Yves' work. During his time there he met Hirotake Ooka of la Grande Colline, through whom he came to know Bruno Schueller in Alsace, ending up as his apprentice. He set out on his own in January 2004, picking up old plantings on steep sites his neighbours had deemed too difficult to work. Those first fermentations did not finish until August 2005, a bold debut from a nascent estate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJean-Yves' vines grow in Conflans, a walled medieval quarter above Albertville where the Arly meets the Isère. Over a century ago the hillside carried 80 hectares of vines, but phylloxera devastated the region and the industrial expansion of Albertville drew the working population away from viticulture. The pervasive availability of cheap wine from the Midi did not help, and the wines of Savoie came to be considered vins de laboureur. By the time Jean-Yves returned, the terraces were home to mature oaks and in places had been reclaimed by the forest. Where most saw worthless land, Jean-Yves saw Savoie's own Reynard, the great lieu-dit of Cornas from which Thierry Allemand had reclaimed some of his most cherished parcels. Like his mentor, he could see the diamond in the rough and an opportunity to resurrect these old sites. Today he has restored or replanted 2.5 hectares, and with further holdings in Fréterive he farms 4.5 hectares himself. He embarked on the project solo, but the thankless work on these steep hillsides, all of it by hand, made help necessary, and today Briton Camilla Murray works full time with Jean-Yves in the vines and the cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Nebbiolo\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Asti, Piemonte, Italy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 14.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jean-Yves Péron","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988709200210,"sku":"170935","price":52.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/i-vicini-nebbiolo-2022-jean-yves-peron.webp?v=1791452515"},{"product_id":"iris-senvole-a-travers-le-ciel-2022-les-bories-jefferies","title":"Iris s'envole à travers le ciel 2022 - Les Bories Jefferies","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Joe's vines growing on basalt and limestone scree in Caux. 6 days of whole-bunch maceration, before ageing in fibre tanks over winter on the lees.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA striking, mineral purity is the fabric of this wine, threaded with delicious red fruits, white currants, and bay leaf spice. A crackle of effervescence heightens the sensuous charm of this wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoe’s introduction to wine came via legendary vigneron Bernard Bellahsen, from whom Joe bought bread at a local market. When the opportunity to take charge of 3 hectares of vines from his father-in-law presented itself, encouragement from Bernard, along with Julien Peyras and Antony Tortul of la Sorga, emboldened Joe to accept.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe went back to study winemaking in Montpellier, and despite the guidance of his well-seasoned mentors, initially worked with an oenologist and made wines to ‘the Languedoc recipe’. Robust, bold, reds with big tannins and high alcohol conformed to the status quo, and whites that received filtration and generous sulfitage. Growing frustrated with his inability to find the unique terroir of Caux in his wines, and endless arguments with the oenologue on his books, Joe began to practice the methods of his early mentors, ceasing debourbage post press, filtration, sulfitage, and, scandalously, began vinifying the reds with carbonic maceration. In the vines, the work is far beyond the requirements of organic, and his treatments in the vines are minimal and preventative rather than responsive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter 12 years, Joe’s wines have become definitive of the new Languedoc, utterly elegant and vital while retaining the Mediterranean soul and ripe fruit of southern France. They are remarkable wines that detail the breadth of possibilities one can uncover in the Languedoc.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCaux, Languedoc\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grenache Gris, Noir, Cinsault\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Caux, Languedoc, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Les Bories Jefferies","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988709364050,"sku":"1700418","price":38.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/iris-senvole-a-travers-le-ciel-2022-les-bories-jefferies.webp?v=1791452515"},{"product_id":"kikiriki-2020-clos-lentiscus","title":"Kikiriki Black 2020 (Litre Bottle) - Clos Lentiscus","description":"\u003cp\u003eUll de Llebre and Carinyena from the calcareous sands of the Parc del Garraf. Hand harvested and destemmed, before 15 days maceration and a further 24 months of ageing. Softened black fruits and peppery florals. Neat and precise, with an appetising interplay of fruit and acidity. Juicy red.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom a visit in March 2026…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecord breaking rains in early 2026 brought a dramatic end to years of punishing drought that pushed the vineyards of Mediterranean Catalunya to the brink. For the oldest vines at Clos Lentiscus, planted in 1939, the rains came just in time. “We didn’t think they would make it” muttered Nuria Avinyo as we gathered in the early March sun beside their cellar, overlooking a parcel of Malvasia de Sitges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvidence of the extreme conditions, and the extraordinary methods employed by Manel and Nuria to help their vines to survive, is there to behold. A thin black pipe running beneath a budding row of vines - the estates first ever use of irrigation. The roots of these vines reach 12ft down into the bedrock, but years of consecutive drought depleted the water table such that these vines were dying of thirst, and this step was necessary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis was also the first year that particular ground cover crops were cultivated between the vines. Leguminous shrubs that help the soils retain moisture and enrich it with nitrogen were planted every second row, as to not introduce too much competition to the vines as they regained their strength. With 10 storms already this year, this ground cover also helps secure the thin layer of clay that sits above the limestone and sandstone bedrock, preventing flash rains from washing it away. The white mustard is already flowering, and with small buds appearing and sap moving in the vines, a feeling of hope prevails as the season gets underway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe property itself is remarkable, nestled at the foot of Montgros, over looking the Mediterranean. Both factors distinctly influence the microclimate of this 40 hectare estate, with the mountain shielding the vines from hail and storms, and the Mediterranean providing cool breezes that help mitigate disease among the vines, while facilitating the thermic inversion that optimises ripening during the hot Catalan summers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith 20 hectares under vine, the remaining 20 hectares are forest and bush, the crown of which is a 1000 year old lentiscus tree after which the estate is named. The tree\/shrub is a potent symbol of the symbiosis between man and nature that underpins the work Manel Avinyo has done to revive his family’s commercial winemaking project. Inheriting techniques that were aligned with biodynamics from his grandfather and uncle, who had worked using natural resources before it became widely acknowledged as an approach to farming Manel. The lentiscus tree itself is an example, with it’s phenolic-rich, resinous leaves having been used by Roman winemakers to clean amphora, a practice Manel still uses today. The forest is a resource, with tisanes and lacto-ferments foraged and brewed from the estate's flora play a key role in disease management and sun protection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWild bushes and flowers also play an intimate role in the fascinating typicity of these wines. Manel uses honey from his native bees for secondary fermentation of his famed traditional method sparkling wines, having become unhappy with the process of freezing their must for the same purpose. After much trial and error, honey from rosemary flowers is now the preferred choice. This practice, of course, excludes Manel’s sparkling wines from the Penedès DO. Curiously, his cultivation of indigenous variety Sumoll also excluded his wines when he first returned to his family estate in 2000, an example of Kafka-esque bureaucracy that has stripped these classifications of their relevance in contemporary wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate is a living ampelography of sorts. Wine has been made here continuously for over 600 years, thus centuries of massale selection has made the vines here uniquely adapted. Here, Xarello expresses a heady herbal quality that bears too close a resemblance to the fragrant leaves of the Lentiscus tree not to remark upon it. They call Xarello ‘Cartoixa’ in this part of Catalunya, and they also cultivate a rare pink clone, Cartoixa Vermell, not often found in commercial vineyards. Its character is quite distinct to the rest of Penedès. Two distinct profiles of Sumoll have also been selected. One yields ovular berries suited to producing sparkling wine. Another, with small round berries suited to the production red wine, which is seemingly ageless, usually released after 7-10 years bottle ageing. Every single parcel of vines is vinified and bottled seperately, a practice more common in places like Burgundy. If nothing else this shows the respect the family has for their land and the unsung pedigree of soils they work. It also makes for quite fascinating verticals, that allow the family deep insights into their vineyards and wines. This region was once the seabed, and as such boasts all the mineral deposits and marine fossils you would expect, with hard limestone and sandstone and a touch of Marne Bleue speaking to the quality they are working with.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSant Pere de Ribes, Penedès\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sant Pere de Ribes, Penedès, Catalunya, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clos Lentiscus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988709396818,"sku":"1700670","price":39.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-kikiriki-black-2020-litre.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"les-vignes-des-enfants-2023-magnum-anders-frederik-steen-anne-bruun-blauert","title":"Les Vignes des Enfants 2023 Magnum - Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","description":"\u003cp\u003efrom anders…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlways made from the little parcel called Les Vignes des Enfants, planted in 2000 with Petit Sirah (also known as Serine), on seven small terraces at Valgrand. Valgrand's soil is dominated by Marne Bleue, and the pairing of its salty minerality with the small fragile tannins of Petit Sirah is fascinating. Despite being a southern wine, these vines always give something reminiscent of Pinot Noir, fittingly, grape researchers believe Petit Sirah is ancestral to both Pinot Noir and Syrah. In 2023, half the grapes were destemmed and macerated 20 days in the directly pressed juice of the other half. After décuvage the wine went back into the tank to ferment through winter, soutirage in spring 2024, then into demi-muid for another year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the midst of the dynamic and collaborative viticultural and winemaking esprit emanating from the remote valleys of southern Ardèche, Anders and his wife Anne remain distinct among their peers in both ambition and approach. The undeniable individuality of their wines is a result of their deep commitment to their process in the vineyard and cellar techniques developed over 15 years in Valvignères, where Anders first began making wine with the enigmatic Jura vigneron Jean-Marc Brignot at a small cellar in the village in the noughties. Anders had met Jean-Marc during his time working as a sommelier at Noma, and by the time he had opened Relae and Manfreds as chef sommelier with Christian Puglisi, the seeds of this collaborative winemaking project had been sown.\u003cbr\u003eAnders' path to wine was somewhat serendipitous, resulting from a brave decision he took while working as an ambitious young chef in Copenhagen. The bright lights of San Sebastián were an irresistible draw for most of his colleagues, with elBulli in its heyday at the centre of world gastronomy. Swimming against the current, Anders took a job at Noma as a sommelier. For the budding chef, bridging the divide between kitchen and service could only deepen his understanding of cuisine.\u003cbr\u003eThe timing here is important. Pontus Elofsson was the head sommelier at Noma at the time, and the restaurant began serving wines that upheld the philosophy already at work in the kitchen. Anders would never look back.\u003cbr\u003eFirst splitting his time between Valvignères and Copenhagen, Anders became fully immersed in viticulture and winemaking with Jean-Marc. Eventually, after Brignot moved to Japan, Anders moved to southern Ardèche full time and was joined by his wife Anne and their young family, setting up in a tiny, 2,000-year-old cellar at the heart of the village. Initially Anders bought fruit from his neighbour and mentor Gérald Oustric and his wife Jocelyne, who had been farming organically in the village for 40 years and making wines in the way they learned from Jacques Néauport. Anders also rents a small cellar in Alsace, where he heads directly after the harvest in Valvignères every year, buying fruit from the Bannwarth family in Obermorschwihr. They now farm 3 hectares of vines themselves around Valvignères, growing on clay and limestone, with a small holding of Petite Serine growing on a vein of Marne Bleue that goes to their cuvée Les Vignes des Enfants every year.\u003cbr\u003eIn the vineyards, Anders is exacting, refusing to use sulphur or copper, preferring the lactoferments and tisanes he brews from local bush herbs and the seawater he collects from the Mediterranean. In the cellar, the fruit is most often pressed slowly over several days, with Anders determining how each portion of the press will be used by tasting the juice. Fermentation is usually started in fibre, and a long élevage in barrique non-ouillé follows, meaning many of these wines take quite some time to rediscover their balance and be released. The idea is to let the wine go where it wants to go, reading the cues he detects as they evolve over time and following along.\u003cbr\u003eThe results are breathtaking, peerless expressions of Valvignères and Obermorschwihr respectively, wines that remain true to the place they come from while taking an entirely new perspective on what is possible with the ripe fruit of southern Ardèche or the rich, unctuous fruit of Obermorschwihr. Often lightly oxidative and salty in expression, the wines have a complex structure that does not rely on acidity. Anders picks at the very last minute, prioritising phenolic ripeness above all else, building instead on a thread of saltiness and fruit drawn out over these long, thorough presses. Since expanding their cellar a few years back, Anders and Anne have moved to lengthen the élevage in their wines further. The results speak for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese vines grow on old terraces just outside the village of Valvignères. The vines were planted in 2000 on a vein of blue marls, or marnes bleues. This is the Bas-Vivarais, where Urgonian limestone caps the hills. The surrounding slopes have older, softer soils, where the fine mixture of clay and limestone never ossified. The blueish grey cast of the soils tells us about the conditions they were formed under, with organic matter breaking down in oxygen starved water millions of years ago. Petite sirah, or Serine, is a small berried Syrah that was selected for, giving a finer expression of the variety's characteristics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Petite Sirah\/Serine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 14%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988710019410,"sku":"17000197","price":104.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-les-vignes-des-enfants-2023-magnum.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"like-pearls-on-a-string-2022-anders-frederik-steen-and-anne-bruun-blauert","title":"Like pearls on a string 2022 - Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","description":"\u003cp\u003efrom the winemaker…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo, in short, in 2021 we lost 100% of the grapes from our own vineyards to a very violent hailstorm that was centered in the area around Valgrand. Again in 2022 we were hit by a hailstorm, less violent than in 2021, but a combination of the two events left us in 2022 with only 25% of a “normal” harvest.\u003cbr\u003eBecause of that we decided, in 2022, to harvest all the remaining grapes the same day, destem the Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc, the Petit Sirah, Syrah and the Viognier, to be able to sort and select only the most beautiful berries, and blend them into the directly pressed juice of Sauvignon Blanc to macerate for around a month. After décuvage the fermenting juice was filled into one of our old Foudres. Here it continued to ferment for a year, but without the yeast being able to finish the sugar. For that reason, we made a soutirage in the summer of 2023 and transferred the wine to Demi-Muid. In these barrels the yeast worked better and finished the sugar within 6 months, from there we kept the wine another two years of élevage in the barrels, meaning in total around three years of élevage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the midst of the dynamic and collaborative viticultural and winemaking esprit emanating from the remote valleys of southern Ardèche, Anders and his wife Anne remain distinct among their peers in both ambition and approach. The undeniable individuality of their wines is a result of their deep commitment to their process in the vineyard and cellar techniques developed over 15 years in Valvignères, where Anders first began making wine with the enigmatic Jura vigneron Jean-Marc Brignot at a small cellar in the village in the noughties. Anders had met Jean-Marc during his time working as a sommelier at Noma, and by the time he had opened Relae and Manfreds as chef sommelier with Christian Puglisi, the seeds of this collaborative winemaking project had been sown.\u003cbr\u003eAnders' path to wine was somewhat serendipitous, resulting from a brave decision he took while working as an ambitious young chef in Copenhagen. The bright lights of San Sebastián were an irresistible draw for most of his colleagues, with elBulli in its heyday at the centre of world gastronomy. Swimming against the current, Anders took a job at Noma as a sommelier. For the budding chef, bridging the divide between kitchen and service could only deepen his understanding of cuisine.\u003cbr\u003eThe timing here is important. Pontus Elofsson was the head sommelier at Noma at the time, and the restaurant began serving wines that upheld the philosophy already at work in the kitchen. Anders would never look back.\u003cbr\u003eFirst splitting his time between Valvignères and Copenhagen, Anders became fully immersed in viticulture and winemaking with Jean-Marc. Eventually, after Brignot moved to Japan, Anders moved to southern Ardèche full time and was joined by his wife Anne and their young family, setting up in a tiny, 2,000-year-old cellar at the heart of the village. Initially Anders bought fruit from his neighbour and mentor Gérald Oustric and his wife Jocelyne, who had been farming organically in the village for 40 years and making wines in the way they learned from Jacques Néauport. Anders also rents a small cellar in Alsace, where he heads directly after the harvest in Valvignères every year, buying fruit from the Bannwarth family in Obermorschwihr. They now farm 3 hectares of vines themselves around Valvignères, growing on clay and limestone, with a small holding of Petite Serine growing on a vein of Marne Bleue that goes to their cuvée Les Vignes des Enfants every year.\u003cbr\u003eIn the vineyards, Anders is exacting, refusing to use sulphur or copper, preferring the lactoferments and tisanes he brews from local bush herbs and the seawater he collects from the Mediterranean. In the cellar, the fruit is most often pressed slowly over several days, with Anders determining how each portion of the press will be used by tasting the juice. Fermentation is usually started in fibre, and a long élevage in barrique non-ouillé follows, meaning many of these wines take quite some time to rediscover their balance and be released. The idea is to let the wine go where it wants to go, reading the cues he detects as they evolve over time and following along.\u003cbr\u003eThe results are breathtaking, peerless expressions of Valvignères and Obermorschwihr respectively, wines that remain true to the place they come from while taking an entirely new perspective on what is possible with the ripe fruit of southern Ardèche or the rich, unctuous fruit of Obermorschwihr. Often lightly oxidative and salty in expression, the wines have a complex structure that does not rely on acidity. Anders picks at the very last minute, prioritising phenolic ripeness above all else, building instead on a thread of saltiness and fruit drawn out over these long, thorough presses. Since expanding their cellar a few years back, Anders and Anne have moved to lengthen the élevage in their wines further. The results speak for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistorically overlooked and ignored, Valvignères has emerged as an epicentre for progressive viticulture and winemaking in the 21st century. Existing in the shadow of the hulking economy of the Rhone valley, the small valley west of le Teil made it's name when Gérald Oustric and his sister Jocelyne decided to cease selling their fruit to the local co-op(which Geralds father helped found in 1919) to begin producing wines themselves. Having farmed organically since the 80s, Gérald had been convinced to make his own wine after several trips to beaujolais in the early nineties, where he met Jacques Neauport, Jules Chauvet, Pierre bonneton et al. This move would have significant domino effects, with Gerald adopting Carbonic maceration for his reds, no filtration or fining, and no sulfitage in his cellar. this freed to small region from the shackles of the etablished wine industry in the region and reconnected with the valleys historical winemaking traditions(Valvigneres comes from the Roman Valis Vinaria, meaning valley of vines). Gerald would go on to mentor 15 growers in the region, cultivating a spirit of collaboration and sharing of ideas that existed few other places in France. The wines from cellars in this cluster share an iresistably heady, telluric, and deeply soulful quality that makes them great value and well worth exploring. In terms of Geology, we are almost in the south, but noticeably cooler than you might find just 20km south. Situated on what's traditionally known as the Bas Vivarais, the soils are predominantly clay and limestone, with outcrops of marne bleue and basalt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc, Syrah, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13.8%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988710117714,"sku":"26\/000393","price":46.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-like-pearls-on-a-string-2022-75cl.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"like-pearls-on-a-string-2022-magnum-anders-frederik-steen-and-anne-bruun-blauert","title":"Like pearls on a string 2022 Magnum - Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Anders…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo, in short, in 2021 we lost 100% of the grapes from our own vineyards to a very violent hailstorm that was centered in the area around Valgrand. Again in 2022 we were hit by a hailstorm, less violent than in 2021, but a combination of the two events left us in 2022 with only 25% of a \"normal\" harvest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause of that we decided, in 2022, to harvest all the remaining grapes the same day, destem the Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc, the Petit Sirah, Syrah and the Viognier, to be able to sort and select only the most beautiful berries, and blend them into the directly pressed juice of Sauvignon Blanc to macerate for around a month. After décuvage the fermenting juice was filled into one of our old Foudre. Here it continued to ferment for a year, but without the yeast being able to finish the sugar. For that reason, we made a soutirage in the summer of 2023 and transferred the wine to Demi-Muid. In these barrels the yeast worked better and finished the sugar within 6 months, from there we kept the wine another two years of élevage in the barrels, meaning in total around three years of élevage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the midst of the dynamic and collaborative viticultural and winemaking esprit emanating from the remote valleys of southern Ardèche, Anders and his wife Anne remain distinct among their peers in both ambition and approach. The undeniable individuality of their wines is a result of their deep commitment to their process in the vineyard and cellar techniques developed over 15 years in Valvignères, where Anders first began making wine with the enigmatic Jura vigneron Jean-Marc Brignot at a small cellar in the village in the noughties. Anders had met Jean-Marc during his time working as a sommelier at Noma, and by the time he had opened Relae and Manfreds as chef sommelier with Christian Puglisi, the seeds of this collaborative winemaking project had been sown.\u003cbr\u003eAnders' path to wine was somewhat serendipitous, resulting from a brave decision he took while working as an ambitious young chef in Copenhagen. The bright lights of San Sebastián were an irresistible draw for most of his colleagues, with elBulli in its heyday at the centre of world gastronomy. Swimming against the current, Anders took a job at Noma as a sommelier. For the budding chef, bridging the divide between kitchen and service could only deepen his understanding of cuisine.\u003cbr\u003eThe timing here is important. Pontus Elofsson was the head sommelier at Noma at the time, and the restaurant began serving wines that upheld the philosophy already at work in the kitchen. Anders would never look back.\u003cbr\u003eFirst splitting his time between Valvignères and Copenhagen, Anders became fully immersed in viticulture and winemaking with Jean-Marc. Eventually, after Brignot moved to Japan, Anders moved to southern Ardèche full time and was joined by his wife Anne and their young family, setting up in a tiny, 2,000-year-old cellar at the heart of the village. Initially Anders bought fruit from his neighbour and mentor Gérald Oustric and his wife Jocelyne, who had been farming organically in the village for 40 years and making wines in the way they learned from Jacques Néauport. Anders also rents a small cellar in Alsace, where he heads directly after the harvest in Valvignères every year, buying fruit from the Bannwarth family in Obermorschwihr. They now farm 3 hectares of vines themselves around Valvignères, growing on clay and limestone, with a small holding of Petite Serine growing on a vein of Marne Bleue that goes to their cuvée Les Vignes des Enfants every year.\u003cbr\u003eIn the vineyards, Anders is exacting, refusing to use sulphur or copper, preferring the lactoferments and tisanes he brews from local bush herbs and the seawater he collects from the Mediterranean. In the cellar, the fruit is most often pressed slowly over several days, with Anders determining how each portion of the press will be used by tasting the juice. Fermentation is usually started in fibre, and a long élevage in barrique non-ouillé follows, meaning many of these wines take quite some time to rediscover their balance and be released. The idea is to let the wine go where it wants to go, reading the cues he detects as they evolve over time and following along.\u003cbr\u003eThe results are breathtaking, peerless expressions of Valvignères and Obermorschwihr respectively, wines that remain true to the place they come from while taking an entirely new perspective on what is possible with the ripe fruit of southern Ardèche or the rich, unctuous fruit of Obermorschwihr. Often lightly oxidative and salty in expression, the wines have a complex structure that does not rely on acidity. Anders picks at the very last minute, prioritising phenolic ripeness above all else, building instead on a thread of saltiness and fruit drawn out over these long, thorough presses. Since expanding their cellar a few years back, Anders and Anne have moved to lengthen the élevage in their wines further. The results speak for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grenache Noir \u0026amp; Blanc, Petit Sirah, Syrah, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13.8%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anders Frederik Steen \u0026 Anne Bruun Blauert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988710150482,"sku":"26\/000394","price":92.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/like-pearls-on-a-string-2022-magnum-anders-frederik-steen-and-anne-bruun-blauert.jpg?v=1791452551"},{"product_id":"maelys-2020-magnum-le-raisin-et-lange","title":"Maelys 2020 Magnum - Le Raisin et l'Ange","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Antonin’s own vines below the cellar, on open Urgonian limestone. Syrah planted by Gilles in the early oughties, picked by hand at a tiny 17 hl\/ha. Twenty-one days of maceration, four fifths destemmed with a fifth in whole bunches, with elevage in stainless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2020 was a warm, with harvest in early September, and this wine shows cool minerality and tension to compliment the ripeness of the Syrah. Allow time to breathe before service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGilles Azzoni left office life in the banlieue of Paris behind in the early 1980s and journeyed south, eventually settling in les Salelles, a remote hamlet in southern Ardèche, in 1983. He took the scenic route south, studying at the agricultural school in Mâcon, after which a spell with Gilbert Violot in Pommard and cellars further south in Bandol and Provence emboldened him to pursue winemaking as his métier. Setting out on his own at 29, Gilles took on a fermage from a retiring farmer, complete with six hectares or so of vines. In those early days, Gilles followed the prescriptions of conventional viticulture as it is taught in the formal schools, making vin de pays and Vivarais VDQS (an extinct level between vin de pays and AOC; Vivarais has since been promoted to AOC status). With the passing of time, the use of agricultural products in his vineyards diminished, and by 1997 he was fully organic. Impressed by how this affected his wines, Gilles extended his philosophy to his cellar work, and by 2007 his wines were made without filtration or sulphur. This would herald the dawn of a vital new chapter for the wines of the southern Ardèche, and Gilles' philosophical approach to making wine, alongside that of his good friend Gérald Oustric of le Mazel, would inspire generations of winemakers and sommeliers to come, none more so than his son Antonin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAntonin, a trained chemist, succeeded his father in 2014, with Gilles continuing to mentor and advise up to 2023, when he finally retired. Having grown up in the cellar with his father, with a rotating cast of winemakers visiting at weekends, Antonin has a palate as sharp as a tack, and this is his primary guide in his work: he follows his intuitions in the cellar and only afterward applies his training in chemistry. More often than not, this confirms what he had expected. He wasted no time in stepping out of his father's shadow, focusing solely on winemaking and continuing to work as his father did in the cellar. Antonin refers to Gilles as his sulphur, with his almost prescient ability to detect problems in the wines before they have appeared. Building on his father's legacy, Antonin encouraged young growers around the region to move to organic viticulture, with the promise that he would buy their fruit to make his wines. And so le Raisin et l'Ange became primarily a négociant house. Gilles kept a couple of hectares for himself, as did Antonin, and the rest was taken over by Samuel Boulay, who had moved into the adjoining cellar from the Loire. This new approach opened windows for Antonin, who could now showcase the diverse terroirs of southern Ardèche and the talents of the region's growers, such as the Ozil brothers and Vincent Fargier of les Deux Terres.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe harvest is intense. Antonin works with a small team to harvest early in the mornings in small crates, and the sight of their iconic yellow Transit zipping through the bending gorges of the Vallée de l'Ibie provokes beeps and hollering as they pass neighbouring cellars. The fruit is sometimes chilled for a day or two at the cellar after harvesting, a technique that helps preserve the fruitiness Antonin cherishes in his wines and precipitates an early, almost pre-carbonic fermentation in the bunches. Conveniently, this also serves as a holding space while the cellar is at capacity! The whites go mainly to the press, sometimes seeing a little time on skins first, and the reds are primarily vatted as whole bunches before pressing in a 1960s Vaslin press from Burgundy. The idea is to make wines that they like to drink themselves: soft and supple in the fruit, digestible, and full of character. Somehow, the languid charms of the region and the winemaker have found a voice in these wines, and the soulful, spirited quality of wines made from well farmed fruit has become their calling card. Antonin always makes the assemblages post fermentation, each year recreating the estate's iconic cuvées like Nedjma from a new configuration of varieties, capturing the typicity of the fruit and the intricacies of the vintage while somehow staying true to the recognisable personality of each wine year after year. Antonin has now taken over Gilles' smallholding of Roussanne, Muscat, and Syrah, along with his tiny cellar below the house, so we're entering a new chapter for this storied estate. With their succulent fruit, effortless drinkability, and irresistible personality, these are wines we always keep close to hand, offering value that has become all too rare these days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis parcel sits below the cellar, across the Gardon riverbed. The open, rocky urgonian limestone makes it tricky to manoeuvre, even by foot, and the vines have to reach deep down into the earth to reach the water and nutrients they need. These tough conditions significantly limit yields, and result in intensely concentrated berries that give deeply coloured must, even with light maceration. Antonin chooses neutral vessels when vinifying this wine, as not to distract from the particularly pure expression of Syrah on limestone this special parcel of vines gives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Syrah\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Les Salelles, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Le Raisin et l'Ange","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988710248786,"sku":"1700432","price":73.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/maelys-2020-magnum-le-raisin-et-lange.jpg?v=1791452551"},{"product_id":"paloma-2023-es-daqui","title":"Paloma 2023 - Es d'Aqui","description":"\u003cp\u003eUgni Blanc and Carignan from Adissan that sees a 15-day vatting of whole bunches followed by 6 months ageing in clay.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA pretty nose of white currants, umeboshi, hibiscus, and blackberry, followed by a ripeness of fruit appearing with time in glass. A saltiness from the ugni gives the tannins a stony, porous grip, lifted by a wave of berry fruits, sea spray, and a bright effervescence. Light red, best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJean-Louis works from an unassuming cellar below his house in Moulin-neuf, close to Limoux. Trained as an oenologist, he worked at large commercial wineries in the mid-noughties, at one point managing a cellar that produced 160,000 bottles a year. After tasting the wines of his friend Antony Tortul of la Sorga, Jean-louis was convinced to walk a different path, and established his own label the following year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePredominantly a micro-negociant, Jean-Louis scouts fruit from remote and isolated vineyards across the South-West, from Gaillac out to Saint-Chinian and further afield, as well as working closely with respected growers like Remi Poujol. A varying portion of his output every year comes from his own vines nearby, depending on the vintage. Bottling under the label Es d'Aqui, meaning \"from here\" in Occitan, Jean Louis reminds us that each of his wines is a singular expression of where they come from. Producing about 10,000 bottles a year, some cuvées in tiny quantities(sometimes as little as 400-800 bottles), Jean-louis' wines catalogue the breadth of intricacies that define southern wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdissan sits in the flat heart of the Hérault, the cradle of Clairette du Languedoc, home to one of the oldest AOCs in the region, recognised in 1948. Archaeological digs around the village have turned up evidence that people were making wine here in antiquity. The terroir developed on lacustrine limestone and Quaternary terraces, composed of quartz, flint, and calcaire. Those ancient lake-bed stones (rather than marine) drain fast but hold moisture in their fissures, buffering vines through the oven like Mediterranean summers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe two grapes here are both, in their own ways, thoroughbred workhorses. Carignan arrived from Spanish Aragon in the 19th century and within a few decades it accounted for roughly 52% of the entire Languedoc-Roussillon vineyard. It was the engine of the Midi's industrial wine era, drought-resistant, enormously productive, and largely unloved by critics for most of the 20th century. On poor limestone soils at low yields, though, it shows a completely different face with dark wild fruit, detailed structure, a brightness of acidity, and a garrigue sensuality. Ugni Blanc had an equally unglamorous reputation, planted everywhere, valued mainly as a high-acid blending grape and for distillation, rarely taken seriously on its own. It is now only rarely found in France's Mediterranean wine regions.\u003cbr\u003ePlanting them together was once completely ordinary. Before varietally-labelled commercial wine took over, growers across the Languedoc planted mixed fields and harvested everything at once. This was a practical approach, white grapes macerated alongside red ones soften the tannins, lift the aromatics, and help stabilise colour. The result was something like what we find here, evocative and vital while remaining true to its mediterranean roots.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ugni Blanc, Carignan\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ariège, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Es d'Aqui","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711428434,"sku":"1700273","price":31.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-paloma-2023.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"pause-canon-rouge-le-raisin-et-lange","title":"Pause Canon Rouge - Le Raisin et l'Ange","description":"\u003cp\u003eHalf Merlot, with 30 per cent Gamay and 20 per cent Syrah, hand harvested at 45 hl\/ha. Each variety spends nine days in whole bunch carbonic maceration before the blend comes together in stainless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoft fruited and juicy, with an expressive nose and plush fruitiness on the palate with a hint of spice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGilles Azzoni left office life in the banlieue of Paris behind in the early 1980s and journeyed south, eventually settling in les Salelles, a remote hamlet in southern Ardèche, in 1983. He took the scenic route south, studying at the agricultural school in Mâcon, after which a spell with Gilbert Violot in Pommard and cellars further south in Bandol and Provence emboldened him to pursue winemaking as his métier. Setting out on his own at 29, Gilles took on a fermage from a retiring farmer, complete with six hectares or so of vines. In those early days, Gilles followed the prescriptions of conventional viticulture as it is taught in the formal schools, making vin de pays and Vivarais VDQS (an extinct level between vin de pays and AOC; Vivarais has since been promoted to AOC status). With the passing of time, the use of agricultural products in his vineyards diminished, and by 1997 he was fully organic. Impressed by how this affected his wines, Gilles extended his philosophy to his cellar work, and by 2007 his wines were made without filtration or sulphur. This would herald the dawn of a vital new chapter for the wines of the southern Ardèche, and Gilles' philosophical approach to making wine, alongside that of his good friend Gérald Oustric of le Mazel, would inspire generations of winemakers and sommeliers to come, none more so than his son Antonin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAntonin, a trained chemist, succeeded his father in 2014, with Gilles continuing to mentor and advise up to 2023, when he finally retired. Having grown up in the cellar with his father, with a rotating cast of winemakers visiting at weekends, Antonin has a palate as sharp as a tack, and this is his primary guide in his work: he follows his intuitions in the cellar and only afterward applies his training in chemistry. More often than not, this confirms what he had expected. He wasted no time in stepping out of his father's shadow, focusing solely on winemaking and continuing to work as his father did in the cellar. Antonin refers to Gilles as his sulphur, with his almost prescient ability to detect problems in the wines before they have appeared. Building on his father's legacy, Antonin encouraged young growers around the region to move to organic viticulture, with the promise that he would buy their fruit to make his wines. And so le Raisin et l'Ange became primarily a négociant house. Gilles kept a couple of hectares for himself, as did Antonin, and the rest was taken over by Samuel Boulay, who had moved into the adjoining cellar from the Loire. This new approach opened windows for Antonin, who could now showcase the diverse terroirs of southern Ardèche and the talents of the region's growers, such as the Ozil brothers and Vincent Fargier of les Deux Terres.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe harvest is intense. Antonin works with a small team to harvest early in the mornings in small crates, and the sight of their iconic yellow Transit zipping through the bending gorges of the Vallée de l'Ibie provokes beeps and hollering as they pass neighbouring cellars. The fruit is sometimes chilled for a day or two at the cellar after harvesting, a technique that helps preserve the fruitiness Antonin cherishes in his wines and precipitates an early, almost pre-carbonic fermentation in the bunches. Conveniently, this also serves as a holding space while the cellar is at capacity! The whites go mainly to the press, sometimes seeing a little time on skins first, and the reds are primarily vatted as whole bunches before pressing in a 1960s Vaslin press from Burgundy. The idea is to make wines that they like to drink themselves: soft and supple in the fruit, digestible, and full of character. Somehow, the languid charms of the region and the winemaker have found a voice in these wines, and the soulful, spirited quality of wines made from well farmed fruit has become their calling card. Antonin always makes the assemblages post fermentation, each year recreating the estate's iconic cuvées like Nedjma from a new configuration of varieties, capturing the typicity of the fruit and the intricacies of the vintage while somehow staying true to the recognisable personality of each wine year after year. Antonin has now taken over Gilles' smallholding of Roussanne, Muscat, and Syrah, along with his tiny cellar below the house, so we're entering a new chapter for this storied estate. With their succulent fruit, effortless drinkability, and irresistible personality, these are wines we always keep close to hand, offering value that has become all too rare these days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAntonin sourced the fruit from Jean-Benoît and Armelle Plagnol, whose Merlot and Gamay grow on sandstone at 350 to 400 metres near Les Vans, and Quentin and Charlotte of Domaine des Agrions, whose Syrah grows on Urgonian clay-limestone on the Plateau de Gras at Saint-Remèze. Both farm organically as part of the cross pollinating community of growers in Southern Ardèche.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Merlot, Gamay, Syrah\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Les Salelles, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Le Raisin et l'Ange","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711559506,"sku":"1700106","price":24.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-pause-canon-rouge.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"pedecastello-rosso-riserva-2021-alex-della-vecchia","title":"Pedecastello Rosso Riserva 2021 - Alex della Vecchia","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom 1.5 hectares of Pinot Nero planted by Alex in 2010, on the gravelly, alluvial soils of the Piave, harvested in early October.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe juice and skins fermented in open wooden vats over 10 days, followed by a year of ageing in old barriques. Just 800 bottles produced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eViolet and crushed walnut on the nose, with black fruits and peppery red fruits rising after a little time in glass, with baking spices and wet moss completing this impressive aromatic plumage. In the mouth, that mountain freshness, soft tannins and a arboreal, vegetal note on the finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlex grew up on his family farm in Belluno, in the northern reaches of Veneto, far from the hulking economy of wine booming from the plains of Treviso to the south. After inheriting some land from his grandfather, Alex initially intended to continue his work as a victualler, producing cured meats from the animals he reared on this inherited land. Having grown up making wine with his grandfather at their farm, Alex wanted to plant some vines so that he could carry on the tradition. In Belluno, the tradition of growing grapes had existed on the south facing terraces of Piave, where vines gres in the old promiscura way,and were mainly used to make wine for the family. That had been washed away with the arrival of oidium, then phylloxera to the hills. Soon after, Piave was a front during the first world war, after which mass emigration emptied thesee mountains of their working population, many travelling to America, Belgium and Switzerland. The Valley floors are at 400 metres in elevation, and farming is on narrow terraces higher up the mountains, so even though it’s warmer these days, the onditions are still challenging for the vines. Alex planted his first parcel of Pinot Noir there were only 60 hectares or so in the region under vine. If it wasn’t for the changing climate there would be none at all, according to Alex himself. After early success with his Pinot, Alex planted varieties of the Veneto like Bianchetta Trevigiana, a handul of PIWIs, and eventually varieties suited to the mountain conditions like petit Arvine. When it came time to make wine, Alex’s timing was serendipitous. He met Ernesto Cattel in the early days of Costadilà, who by chance was looking for some cattle. Alex took his opportunity and negotiated a spot at Ernesto’s cellar where he could vinify his grapes. This was the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between the enthusiastic student and the old master, and Alex worked alongside Ernesto over the years to come, eventually taking over from Ernesto at Costadilà after his untimely passing in 2019. Alex safely guided this now legendary estate through a difficult period before returning his focus to his own project in 2023. Tirelessly curious and eager to learn, Alex has worked with vineyards from across the north of Italy and beyond, absorbing the lessons and techniques he picked up along the way to implement them back at the family farm. In recent years, as his vines have matured, Alex has extended the time his wines age on lees in cask, with sensational results. He also continues to produce his ‘fermo’ and frizzante wines, showcasing a breadth of experience that belies his relatively youth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Nero made its way to Italy in the 1800s, first finding a comfortable home in Alto Adige, where it is still produced to notable quality today. Despite its proximity to Alto Adige, there exists no tradition of growing the variety in Belluno, so Alex's work here is carrying on the pioneering legacy of his mentor Ernesto. The particular situation of Alex's farm and the presence of gravel in the soils there are what made it viable to cultivate this notoriously picky variety. The gravel retains warmth, helping the variety to ripen at this altitude and allowing for efficient drainage. This Pinot is a fascinating departure from what you might expect, definitely alpine in its expression, almost reminiscent of Mondeuse from a good site, but with a more linear, mineral-dense structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pinot Nero\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Belluno, Veneto, Italy\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alex della Vecchia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711657810,"sku":"1700645","price":40.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-pedecastello-rosso-riserva-2021.jpg?v=1793699098"},{"product_id":"perill-negre-carinyena-2019-clos-lentiscus","title":"Perill Negre Carinyena 2019 - Clos Lentiscus","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarinyena from vines planted in 1939 on calcareous sandy clay soils in the Garraf at 220-310 metres above sea level. The destemmed fruit macerated in stainless steel for twenty days, then aged in used French oak (225L and 300L barriques, 500L and 600L foudres) and 300-litre clay amphorae.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA thicket of intense dark fruits, heady spice, and charred herbs on the nose; bold and substantial on the palate, with a bedrock minerality lasting through the finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom a visit in March 2026…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecord breaking rains in early 2026 brought a dramatic end to years of punishing drought that pushed the vineyards of Mediterranean Catalunya to the brink. For the oldest vines at Clos Lentiscus, planted in 1939, the rains came just in time. “We didn’t think they would make it” muttered Nuria Avinyo as we gathered in the early March sun beside their cellar, overlooking a parcel of Malvasia de Sitges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvidence of the extreme conditions, and the extraordinary methods employed by Manel and Nuria to help their vines to survive, is there to behold. A thin black pipe running beneath a budding row of vines - the estates first ever use of irrigation. The roots of these vines reach 12ft down into the bedrock, but years of consecutive drought depleted the water table such that these vines were dying of thirst, and this step was necessary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis was also the first year that particular ground cover crops were cultivated between the vines. Leguminous shrubs that help the soils retain moisture and enrich it with nitrogen were planted every second row, as to not introduce too much competition to the vines as they regained their strength. With 10 storms already this year, this ground cover also helps secure the thin layer of clay that sits above the limestone and sandstone bedrock, preventing flash rains from washing it away. The white mustard is already flowering, and with small buds appearing and sap moving in the vines, a feeling of hope prevails as the season gets underway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe property itself is remarkable, nestled at the foot of Montgros, over looking the Mediterranean. Both factors distinctly influence the microclimate of this 40 hectare estate, with the mountain shielding the vines from hail and storms, and the Mediterranean providing cool breezes that help mitigate disease among the vines, while facilitating the thermic inversion that optimises ripening during the hot Catalan summers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith 20 hectares under vine, the remaining 20 hectares are forest and bush, the crown of which is a 1000 year old lentiscus tree after which the estate is named. The tree\/shrub is a potent symbol of the symbiosis between man and nature that underpins the work Manel Avinyo has done to revive his family’s commercial winemaking project. Inheriting techniques that were aligned with biodynamics from his grandfather and uncle, who had worked using natural resources before it became widely acknowledged as an approach to farming Manel. The lentiscus tree itself is an example, with it’s phenolic-rich, resinous leaves having been used by Roman winemakers to clean amphora, a practice Manel still uses today. The forest is a resource, with tisanes and lacto-ferments foraged and brewed from the estate's flora play a key role in disease management and sun protection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWild bushes and flowers also play an intimate role in the fascinating typicity of these wines. Manel uses honey from his native bees for secondary fermentation of his famed traditional method sparkling wines, having become unhappy with the process of freezing their must for the same purpose. After much trial and error, honey from rosemary flowers is now the preferred choice. This practice, of course, excludes Manel’s sparkling wines from the Penedès DO. Curiously, his cultivation of indigenous variety Sumoll also excluded his wines when he first returned to his family estate in 2000, an example of Kafka-esque bureaucracy that has stripped these classifications of their relevance in contemporary wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate is a living ampelography of sorts. Wine has been made here continuously for over 600 years, thus centuries of massale selection has made the vines here uniquely adapted. Here, Xarello expresses a heady herbal quality that bears too close a resemblance to the fragrant leaves of the Lentiscus tree not to remark upon it. They call Xarello ‘Cartoixa’ in this part of Catalunya, and they also cultivate a rare pink clone, Cartoixa Vermell, not often found in commercial vineyards. Its character is quite distinct to the rest of Penedès. Two distinct profiles of Sumoll have also been selected. One yields ovular berries suited to producing sparkling wine. Another, with small round berries suited to the production red wine, which is seemingly ageless, usually released after 7-10 years bottle ageing. Every single parcel of vines is vinified and bottled seperately, a practice more common in places like Burgundy. If nothing else this shows the respect the family has for their land and the unsung pedigree of soils they work. It also makes for quite fascinating verticals, that allow the family deep insights into their vineyards and wines. This region was once the seabed, and as such boasts all the mineral deposits and marine fossils you would expect, with hard limestone and sandstone and a touch of Marne Bleue speaking to the quality they are working with.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFew varieties are better suited to the arid conditions that the vineyards of Catalunya have endured in recent years than Samsó, the Catalan name for Carignan. Planted 87 years ago by Manel’s grandfather, these vines grow in low trained gobelet surrounded by bush and scrub. The soils here differ slightly from the usual sandy limestone of the estate in that it has a higher portion of clay rtetaining a little more moisture than other sites. The climate is moderated by the Mediterranean and the Garraf park, 13000 hectares of gnarly limestone and wild bush, in which the estate is situated. The timeless quality that distinguishes Manel and Nuria’s reds is difficult to unpack, but the intense herbal aromatics somehow evoke the thick, perfume laden air that you cannot escape when walking through these vineyards. The old vines, particularly on these carbonate rich soils, show Carignan at its very best.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Carinyena\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sant Pere de Ribes, Penedès, Catalunya, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clos Lentiscus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711788882,"sku":"1700690","price":35.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/perill-negre-carinyena-2019-clos-lentiscus.jpg?v=1791452552"},{"product_id":"perill-negre-sumoll-2011-5-litre-clos-lentiscus","title":"Perill Negre Sumoll 2011 - 5 litre - Clos Lentiscus","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne hundred percent Sumoll from vines planted in 1939 on sandy clay soils in the Garraf at 220-310 metres above sea level.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree weeks of maceration for the destemmed fruit, then ageing in a mix of used French oak (225L and 300L barriques, 500L and 600L foudres) and 300-litre clay amphora.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow almost 15 years from harvest, this is just getting going, with the Cherry and spice of Sumoll developing a rich complexity, dried herbs and roasted spices, with remarkable fluidity and mineral freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom a visit in March 2026…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecord breaking rains in early 2026 brought a dramatic end to years of punishing drought that pushed the vineyards of Mediterranean Catalunya to the brink. For the oldest vines at Clos Lentiscus, planted in 1939, the rains came just in time. “We didn’t think they would make it” muttered Nuria Avinyo as we gathered in the early March sun beside their cellar, overlooking a parcel of Malvasia de Sitges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvidence of the extreme conditions, and the extraordinary methods employed by Manel and Nuria to help their vines to survive, is there to behold. A thin black pipe running beneath a budding row of vines - the estates first ever use of irrigation. The roots of these vines reach 12ft down into the bedrock, but years of consecutive drought depleted the water table such that these vines were dying of thirst, and this step was necessary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis was also the first year that particular ground cover crops were cultivated between the vines. Leguminous shrubs that help the soils retain moisture and enrich it with nitrogen were planted every second row, as to not introduce too much competition to the vines as they regained their strength. With 10 storms already this year, this ground cover also helps secure the thin layer of clay that sits above the limestone and sandstone bedrock, preventing flash rains from washing it away. The white mustard is already flowering, and with small buds appearing and sap moving in the vines, a feeling of hope prevails as the season gets underway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe property itself is remarkable, nestled at the foot of Montgros, over looking the Mediterranean. Both factors distinctly influence the microclimate of this 40 hectare estate, with the mountain shielding the vines from hail and storms, and the Mediterranean providing cool breezes that help mitigate disease among the vines, while facilitating the thermic inversion that optimises ripening during the hot Catalan summers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith 20 hectares under vine, the remaining 20 hectares are forest and bush, the crown of which is a 1000 year old lentiscus tree after which the estate is named. The tree\/shrub is a potent symbol of the symbiosis between man and nature that underpins the work Manel Avinyo has done to revive his family’s commercial winemaking project. Inheriting techniques that were aligned with biodynamics from his grandfather and uncle, who had worked using natural resources before it became widely acknowledged as an approach to farming Manel. The lentiscus tree itself is an example, with it’s phenolic-rich, resinous leaves having been used by Roman winemakers to clean amphora, a practice Manel still uses today. The forest is a resource, with tisanes and lacto-ferments foraged and brewed from the estate's flora play a key role in disease management and sun protection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWild bushes and flowers also play an intimate role in the fascinating typicity of these wines. Manel uses honey from his native bees for secondary fermentation of his famed traditional method sparkling wines, having become unhappy with the process of freezing their must for the same purpose. After much trial and error, honey from rosemary flowers is now the preferred choice. This practice, of course, excludes Manel’s sparkling wines from the Penedès DO. Curiously, his cultivation of indigenous variety Sumoll also excluded his wines when he first returned to his family estate in 2000, an example of Kafka-esque bureaucracy that has stripped these classifications of their relevance in contemporary wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate is a living ampelography of sorts. Wine has been made here continuously for over 600 years, thus centuries of massale selection has made the vines here uniquely adapted. Here, Xarello expresses a heady herbal quality that bears too close a resemblance to the fragrant leaves of the Lentiscus tree not to remark upon it. They call Xarello ‘Cartoixa’ in this part of Catalunya, and they also cultivate a rare pink clone, Cartoixa Vermell, not often found in commercial vineyards. Its character is quite distinct to the rest of Penedès. Two distinct profiles of Sumoll have also been selected. One yields ovular berries suited to producing sparkling wine. Another, with small round berries suited to the production red wine, which is seemingly ageless, usually released after 7-10 years bottle ageing. Every single parcel of vines is vinified and bottled seperately, a practice more common in places like Burgundy. If nothing else this shows the respect the family has for their land and the unsung pedigree of soils they work. It also makes for quite fascinating verticals, that allow the family deep insights into their vineyards and wines. This region was once the seabed, and as such boasts all the mineral deposits and marine fossils you would expect, with hard limestone and sandstone and a touch of Marne Bleue speaking to the quality they are working with.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eTasting this wine, with its depth and complexity, it’s difficult to comprehend how it was excluded from the DO Penedès when it was drawn up in 1960. Before Phylloxera ravaged the vineyards of Catalunya, Sumoll was prized for it’s export compatibility, with it’s high acidity, firm tannins, and alcohol making it suited to long sea voyages. Incidentally, the Clos Lentiscus estate was active in this export trade, sending wine to France and the Americas in the 1700s. By the late 20th century, just 100 or so hectares were left planted. The revival of the variety was sparked across the world in Australia, where it’s drought resistance was prized for producing wines in hot climates. In the decades that followed, historic estates began returning to this old variety, and after initial success with still wines, it was permitted in the DO in 2009. Today the variety produces some of the region’s most sought after wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sumoll\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sant Pere de Ribes, Penedès, Catalunya, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clos Lentiscus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711821650,"sku":"1700445","price":319.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/perill-negre-sumoll-2011-5-litre-clos-lentiscus.jpg?v=1791452553"},{"product_id":"perill-negre-sumoll-2017-clos-lentiscus","title":"Perill Negre Sumoll 2017 - Clos Lentiscus","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne hundred percent Sumoll from vines planted in 1939 on sandy clay soils in the Garraf at 220-310 metres above sea level.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree weeks of maceration for the destemmed fruit, then ageing in a mix of used French oak (225L and 300L barriques, 500L and 600L foudres) and 300-litre clay amphora.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow almost 10 years from harvest, this is just getting going, with the Cherry and spice of Sumoll developing a rich complexity, dried herbs and roasted spices, with remarkable fluidity and mineral freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom a visit in March 2026…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecord breaking rains in early 2026 brought a dramatic end to years of punishing drought that pushed the vineyards of Mediterranean Catalunya to the brink. For the oldest vines at Clos Lentiscus, planted in 1939, the rains came just in time. “We didn’t think they would make it” muttered Nuria Avinyo as we gathered in the early March sun beside their cellar, overlooking a parcel of Malvasia de Sitges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvidence of the extreme conditions, and the extraordinary methods employed by Manel and Nuria to help their vines to survive, is there to behold. A thin black pipe running beneath a budding row of vines - the estates first ever use of irrigation. The roots of these vines reach 12ft down into the bedrock, but years of consecutive drought depleted the water table such that these vines were dying of thirst, and this step was necessary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis was also the first year that particular ground cover crops were cultivated between the vines. Leguminous shrubs that help the soils retain moisture and enrich it with nitrogen were planted every second row, as to not introduce too much competition to the vines as they regained their strength. With 10 storms already this year, this ground cover also helps secure the thin layer of clay that sits above the limestone and sandstone bedrock, preventing flash rains from washing it away. The white mustard is already flowering, and with small buds appearing and sap moving in the vines, a feeling of hope prevails as the season gets underway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe property itself is remarkable, nestled at the foot of Montgros, over looking the Mediterranean. Both factors distinctly influence the microclimate of this 40 hectare estate, with the mountain shielding the vines from hail and storms, and the Mediterranean providing cool breezes that help mitigate disease among the vines, while facilitating the thermic inversion that optimises ripening during the hot Catalan summers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith 20 hectares under vine, the remaining 20 hectares are forest and bush, the crown of which is a 1000 year old lentiscus tree after which the estate is named. The tree\/shrub is a potent symbol of the symbiosis between man and nature that underpins the work Manel Avinyo has done to revive his family’s commercial winemaking project. Inheriting techniques that were aligned with biodynamics from his grandfather and uncle, who had worked using natural resources before it became widely acknowledged as an approach to farming Manel. The lentiscus tree itself is an example, with it’s phenolic-rich, resinous leaves having been used by Roman winemakers to clean amphora, a practice Manel still uses today. The forest is a resource, with tisanes and lacto-ferments foraged and brewed from the estate's flora play a key role in disease management and sun protection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWild bushes and flowers also play an intimate role in the fascinating typicity of these wines. Manel uses honey from his native bees for secondary fermentation of his famed traditional method sparkling wines, having become unhappy with the process of freezing their must for the same purpose. After much trial and error, honey from rosemary flowers is now the preferred choice. This practice, of course, excludes Manel’s sparkling wines from the Penedès DO. Curiously, his cultivation of indigenous variety Sumoll also excluded his wines when he first returned to his family estate in 2000, an example of Kafka-esque bureaucracy that has stripped these classifications of their relevance in contemporary wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate is a living ampelography of sorts. Wine has been made here continuously for over 600 years, thus centuries of massale selection has made the vines here uniquely adapted. Here, Xarello expresses a heady herbal quality that bears too close a resemblance to the fragrant leaves of the Lentiscus tree not to remark upon it. They call Xarello ‘Cartoixa’ in this part of Catalunya, and they also cultivate a rare pink clone, Cartoixa Vermell, not often found in commercial vineyards. Its character is quite distinct to the rest of Penedès. Two distinct profiles of Sumoll have also been selected. One yields ovular berries suited to producing sparkling wine. Another, with small round berries suited to the production red wine, which is seemingly ageless, usually released after 7-10 years bottle ageing. Every single parcel of vines is vinified and bottled seperately, a practice more common in places like Burgundy. If nothing else this shows the respect the family has for their land and the unsung pedigree of soils they work. It also makes for quite fascinating verticals, that allow the family deep insights into their vineyards and wines. This region was once the seabed, and as such boasts all the mineral deposits and marine fossils you would expect, with hard limestone and sandstone and a touch of Marne Bleue speaking to the quality they are working with.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e2017 was a difficult year for Penedès, with spring frosts followed by a hot, dry summer. The character of this wine, from old vine sumoll, is an example of how well suited the variety is to the challenging conditions here, retaining a searing acidity through to the harvest. The concentration of the old vines is intensified by the lower yields in 2017, down 17%, so we have a deliciously ripe fruit density this year particularly. The parcel is on sandy limestone, so the roots must dig deep into the earth to find the water they need. Tasting this wine, with its depth and complexity, it’s difficult to comprehend how it was excluded from the DO Penedès when it was drawn up in 1960. Before Phylloxera ravaged the vineyards of Catalunya, Sumoll was prized for it’s export compatibility, with it’s high acidity, firm tannins, and alcohol making it suited to long sea voyages. Incidentally, the Clos Lentiscus estate was active in this export trade, sending wine to France and the Americas in the 1700s. By the late 20th century, just 100 or so hectares were left planted. The revival of the variety was sparked across the world in Australia, where it’s drought resistance was prized for producing wines in hot climates. In the decades that followed, historic estates began returning to this old variety, and after initial success with still wines, it was permitted in the DO in 2009. Today the variety produces some of the region’s most sought after wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sumoll\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sant Pere de Ribes, Penedès, Catalunya, Spain\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clos Lentiscus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711887186,"sku":"1700510","price":35.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-perill-negre-sumoll-2015-2017.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"penultieme-2022-domaine-andrea-calek","title":"Pénultième 2022 - Domaine Andrea Calek","description":"\u003cp\u003eNinety percent Merlot, ten percent Viognier, co planted and co-fermented. Thirty days of maceration on skins, then twelve months in old 228-litre Burgundy barrels that have held 15 wines. 13.5%\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe most structured wine from Andrea and Stephana, which the name meaning ’second to last’ suggests(I’ve taken it to mean there’s never actually a last bottle, given the stamina of it’s makers).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring a trip to the Ardèche in 2021, I arranged by email to visit Andrea at his cellar. I had tasted the estate's wines on several occasions, in London and elsewhere, and perhaps cowed somewhat by his reputation, I was eager to learn more about how he worked and to explore the potential of importing his wines to Ireland. Following directions to the address listed on Google, I arrived at the cellar door wet behind the ears but with wind in my sails. After a confusing exchange with the bemused proprietor, it soon became clear that Andrea was directing unwanted visitors from Google searches to a neighbouring vigneron (Anders Frederik Steen, as it happens), a joke at both parties' expense. My first experience of Andrea's wicked sense of humour.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow a Czech ended up making wine in the remote valley between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine is a contested story, but what's certain is that Andrea managed to find himself in the right place at the right time on several occasions on his way to eventually establishing his own estate in 2007, buying 5 hectares from Gérald and Jocelyne Oustric, for whom he had been working. Prior to this, Andrea worked with Dominique Hauvette in Provence, successfully converting her estate's vines to organic viticulture. His time in the south was preceded by a stint in the Beaujolais, where he had fallen in with a progressive faction of vignerons like Guy Breton and Marcel Lapierre, whose influence remains fundamental to Andrea's philosophy of wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story of Domaine Andrea Calek cannot be told without the reinvigoration Stephana Nicolescu brought when she joined Andrea in 2016, and she has since assumed the majority of the work in both the vines and the cellar. Stephana had been working with Loire vigneron Samuel Boulay, and had also spent time making wine in southern Spain. Today the estate is as much hers as it is Andrea's; she assembles a team of predominantly female vendangeurs for each harvest and ensures the estate's day-to-day running is relatively smooth. Stephana is fastidious in her management of the vines and delicate in the cellar, staying true to the estate's reputation for sultry, languid drinking reds and radiant, sinuous whites, while ensuring that every wine carries her recognisable signature (just not on the labels... yet).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe estate is a single block of about 4 hectares on the slope below the cellar, between Valvignères and Alba-la-Romaine. The soil is blue marl with a silty character, heavy and clay-like when wet and baking almost to concrete once it dries. Roughly half is Syrah, with Grenache, a little Merlot and a single row of Viognier grafted onto Merlot during a grafting workshop with other local growers, the fruit that goes to Pénultième. There are proper old vines - a parcel of gobelet-trained Grenache around sixty years old on very long rows, and older Syrah lower down the slope. Grenache is in gobelet, but Syrah flops if left alone, so it is trained low and kept aligned within the row, what Andrea calls a \"crushed gobelet,\" a low hedge run without wires. Farming is largely by hand, with a tractor used from time to time. They no longer practise biodynamics, and they keep the certification off the label, explaining it only if asked. Sprays are the standard organic copper and sulphur, and disease pressure is usually low here, though a very wet spring can bring heavy downy mildew and long hours removing marked leaves by hand, vine by vine. Working the soils goes by every other row, one left in grass, the next lightly scratched to open the soil before rain, with the centre of the row left to whatever grows on its own. Yields average around 40 hectolitres per hectare in a good year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe winery, built in 2010 on the Saint-Philippe site he took over from the Oustrics, is half dug into the foothill and designed to run by gravity. Grapes come in from above through three hatches and drop straight into the tanks whole-bunch, where fermentation starts. Sulphur is rarely added, though they prefer to add a small dose over losing a whole tank. Reds macerate whole-bunch for roughly a week to a month depending on the cuvée, worked by foot rather than pumped over; the free-run juice is drawn off and the marc pressed in a small 15-hectolitre Vaslin press, then the wine goes either to old barrels or back to tank until bottling. Wines that finish fermenting in barrel move to a fully underground cellar next door that stays cool and stable. During fermentation the tanks are tasted three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening, because an acetic spike can take a tank in the blink of an eye. The primeur cuvées like A Toi Nous, offering remarkable value, stay in tank for early bottling and come in around 10 to 12.5 percent, while more extracted wines like Chatons de Garde and Pénultième spend around a year in old Burgundy barrels, sourced by Andrea via his old contacts from his time as a barrel merchant in the Czech Republic.\u003cbr\u003eThe whites are fermented and aged in old barrels only, on very long, slow ferments that often finish well after the reds, with élevage up to about two years. They come in around 13.5 to 14 percent, and volume is tiny, roughly 4,000 bottles out of a total nearer 40,000, usually selling out within a couple of months. Historically the white fruit has been bought in, organic Viognier and Chardonnay from Gérald Oustric at Le Mazel, harvested by Andrea's own team.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the estate’s vines growing on clay and limestone across from their cellar. Penultieme, never quite the last one! In the typical fashion of this estate, they have made their own interpretation of the Rhone tradition of adding a splash of Viognier to Syrah. Merlot arrived to these vineyards during the heyday of the cooperative era, when its high yields and potential alcohol, the two parameters by which growers are paid, made it a popular choice. Andrea and Stephana’s contrarian spirit is realised here, with the Merlot planted for cheap co-operative wine now used to produce their vin de garde. The Viognier in this wine was grafted onto the rootstock of old merlot plantings, so this all comes from that one parcel of coplanted vines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Merlot, Viognier\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Alba-la-Romaine, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 13.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine Andrea Calek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711919954,"sku":"1700023","price":39.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-penultieme-2022.jpg?v=1793699099"},{"product_id":"queendom-2024-katla-wines","title":"Queendom 2024 - Katla Wines","description":"\u003cp\u003eA blend of Regent, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. Jas vinified all three separately. The Regent and Pinot Gris both saw short, semi-carbonic maceration. The Riesling went straight to the press, burnishing the blend. All fermented and aged in stainless. We find the characteristic sylvan expression of the Regent, mineral density and texture from the Pinot Gris, and the flexure of the direct press Riesling. Just 1,600 bottles produced, with the label designed by Moonla Boucané, winner of the Bordeaux Drag Games.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally from the suburbs of Mönchengladbach in the industrial Rhineland, it took leaving Germany for Jas to find her way into wine. Following her nose and picking her mentors well, Jas is now settled in Wöllstein in Rheinhessen, where she runs her micro-négoce, as well as keeping just under a hectare of vines herself. Working and studying wine at restaurants around Europe, Jas' swansong in service came at Dill in Reykjavík, the first restaurant in Iceland to win a Michelin star, where she worked as a sommelier. What followed was a series of stages with producers whose wines she loved, most notably a now-retired doyen of southern Ardèche wine, Gilles Azzoni, who incidentally introduced me to Jas' wines while I myself was staging at Gilles' cellar in les Salelles. It was Gilles who impressed on Jas the possibility of producing wines without a family estate or owning vines (Gilles, himself a Parisian, did it in 1980). Inspired and encouraged, Jas took what savings she had to rent a corner of a cellar in the Mosel, and source fruit from the disparate band of growers behind the region's burgeoning viticultural enlightenment.\u003cbr\u003eHer first vintage was 2019, with 2,500 litres produced. It was a case of the right place at the right time for Jas. As a micro-négoce, she collaborates with growers at the epicentre of contemporary German winemaking from her base in Rheinhessen, working with varieties well-adapted to the pressures of the modern vineyard and a shifting climate. Sourcing grapes from Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinhessen and beyond, Jas applies the same subversive spirit in making her blends, deliberate in her crossing of borders, varieties, and colours, critiquing the hegemony of single-sites or noble varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Regent and Riesling come from Christine Pieroth of Piri Naturel, based in Burg Layen in the lower Nahe valley. Protected by the Hunsrück hills, this pocket of Nahe enjoys a warm, dry microclimate. Christine's estate is a microcosm of wider Nahe, with fragmented geology that includes slate, loam, and quartz, three of the 180 distinct soil types in the region. With her family having farmed this estate for almost 250 years, few understand the intricacies of these soils like Christine, and Jas' deft approach in the cellar allows the quality of her friend's farming to shine in this wine. The Pinot Gris comes from Andi Mann in Eckelsheim, in the southwest of Rheinhessen, where his family has farmed since 1699. Growing on limestone, this Pinot Gris brings texture and mineral depth to the wine. A quick note on the Regent: it was bred in the 1990s in southern Pfalz and has been permitted for commercial cultivation since 1996. It produces bold wines that certainly have a German feel, with plenty of pine-wood, mossy, cacao, and dark fruit character, and it's also a teinturier, with its red flesh yielding particularly pigmented juice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Regent, Riesling, Pinot Gris\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rheinhessen, Germany\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Katla Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988711985490,"sku":"17002110","price":30.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/queendom-2024-katla-wines.webp?v=1791452551"},{"product_id":"raoul-2023-magnum-domaine-du-mazel","title":"Raoul 2023 Magnum - Domaine du Mazel","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarignan from older vines(approx. 50 years old) that saw 10 days of carbonic maceration and ageing in stainless. All the intensity of Carignan here but with a soft stone mineral freshness that opens everything up. Superb right now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI met Jocelyne and Gérald after Claire, who runs la Tour Cassée in Valvignères with her husband Jean-Claude, insisted I visit them while during a stay in 2021. She kindly arranged a tasting at their cellar for the following morning. The gesture was my introduction to the generosity of spirit with which anyone who has visited the region is familiar. The tasting the following morning was an education in wine that i will never forget, free from the pretence and ego that too often characterises encounters with vigneron(ne)s of such esteemed reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA venerable estate of Ardèche wine, Domaine du Mazel was founded in Valvignères by Jocelyne \u0026amp; Gérald's grandfather in 1919. Today, Gérald and Jocelyne farm twenty-two hectares or so around the valley, selling some fruit to local winemakers and making about 60,000 bottles per year themselves. \u003cbr\u003eLe Mazel is a prelude for many of the region’s wine successes in recent decades with the likes of Sylvain Bock, Andrea Calek, Jerome Jouret, and Anders Frederik Steen all having worked with or at the estate before going out on their own. Gérald's influence can be felt throughout southern Ardèche, where the collaborative spirit he helped to cultivate has fomented a vibrant, dynamic scene that has few comparisons in the world of wine. \u003cbr\u003eWhen the siblings took over from their father in 1982, they continued as coopérateurs, remaining active to the point that Gérald would become its vice president. Convinced by his wife, who had travelled with a friend to work in Beaujolais with Jean-Paul Thévenet, that something very interesting was happening in the region, Gérald travelled north, where over several visits he befriended Marcel Lapierre and Jacques Neauport. Inspired by the wines they were making, Gérald brought their methods back to Valvignères and decided to chart a new direction for his family's estate. They left the cooperative and began vinifying themselves, using Carbonic maceration for the reds, no filtration and no sulfitage. This was a radical move from Gérald, though perhaps more viable in Valvignères, which had long been seen as an agricultural, workhorse grapegrowing enclave that offered little in the way of quality. The freedoms this offered, alongthe size of their estate and their ability to sell fruit, le Mazel could absorb the mistakes that came with learning to make wine this way, often keeping wines in their cellar for years before their release when they started off. They slowly moved away from barrels, preferring steel, and these days their cellar is stacked with great big stainless steel vats along with a large wooden basket press. Having narrowing the aperture of their intention the couple now make wines built on purity of fruit and mineral vitality, and the siblings produce some of the most rewarding wines money can buy. Developing their intuitions over 5 decades, nobody quite understands the subtleties of growing grapes and making wine in this valley quite like Gérald \u0026amp; Jocelyne.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistorically overlooked and ignored, Valvignères has emerged as an epicentre for progressive viticulture and winemaking in the 21st century. Existing in the shadow of the hulking economy of the Rhone valley, the small valley west of le Teil made its name when Gérald Oustric and his sister Jocelyne decided to cease selling their fruit to the local co-op(which Geralds father helped found in 1919) to begin producing wines themselves. Having farmed organically since the 80s, Gérald had been convinced to make his own wine after several trips to Beaujolais in the 80s, where he met Jacques Neauport, Jules Chauvet, Pierre bonneton et al. This move would have significant domino effects, with Gerald adopting Carbonic maceration for his reds, no filtration or fining, and no sulfitage in his cellar. This freed to small region from the shackles of the establishment in the region and reconnected with the valleys historical winemaking traditions(Valvignères comes from the Roman Vallis Vinaria, meaning valley of vines). Gerald would go on to mentor 15 growers in the region, cultivating a spirit of collaboration and sharing of ideas that existed few other places in France. The wines from cellars in this cluster share an irresistably heady, telluric, and deeply soulful quality that makes them great value and well worth exploring. In terms of geology, we are almost in the south, but noticeably cooler than you might find just 20km south. Situated on what's traditionally known as the Bas Vivarais, the soils are predominantly clay and limestone, with outcrops of marne bleue and basalt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Valvignères, Ardèche, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine du Mazel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988712083794,"sku":"25\/000748","price":58.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/raoul-2023-magnum-domaine-du-mazel.jpg?v=1791452552"},{"product_id":"rotburger-kreuzegg-weingut-schnabel","title":"Rotburger Kreuzegg - Weingut Schnabel","description":"\u003cp\u003eRotburger from 20 years old vines on the Kreuzegg vineyard. The fruit was harvested and destemmed by hand, with fermentation on the skins over 6 weeks and manual pigeage. Ageing in 228L casks on lees followed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA classy, expansive perfume, with cherry, sage, spices, and blackberry. The palate shows poise, with an intensely mineral timbre, and silky tannins. The structure is delicate and elegant, with soft fruitiness on the finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first tasted Karl and Eva's wines sitting at the bar of Neighbourhood Wine in North Melbourne in 2018. It was a bottle of Urgestein, a blend of red varieties from their three vineyards. I was struck, as anyone familiar with their work will understand, by the weightless power of the wine, despite its mineral density and ripe fruit. I reached out to their Australian importer, Campbell Burton, for their details, which he obligingly provided. Since then we've remained in touch, and I visited them at their stand at La Dive Bouteille on several occasions in the years that followed, through challenging lockdown years. Their philosophy of farming, and they see themselves as farmers above anything else, is as Karl describes it, puritanical, and I've always left their company with a deeper fascination with the remarkable wines of the Sausal. The Sausal Inselberg, or island mountain, is a geological formation older than the Alps, with ancient slate soils that produce wines unlike anything you will find elsewhere in Europe. It's no exaggeration to say that these wines were instrumental in my pursuit of a career in wine, and so it's a great pleasure to work with Karl and Eva to represent their wines here in Ireland.\u003cbr\u003eThe couple make their wines at the venerable farm known as Ermihof, Karl's old family holding in the hamlet of Maierhof, in the municipality of Gleinstätten, in Styria. Ermihof is the farm name, or Vulgoname, an old Styrian tradition by which the farm itself retains its name regardless of who owns it, in fact the owner would often have been known by the farm name rather than their surname. This was useful to identify who exactly one was gossiping about at the local inn at a time when many villagers would have shared the same first and last names. Karl and Eva live at the roadside inn that was run by Karl's mother. A popular drinking spot for the locals, it was where she met Karl's father, who was the farmer at Ermihof at the time. Their eventual marriage presented a happy commercial opportunity, and they began working together, selling the wines from the farm at the inn, where they became the local favourite.\u003cbr\u003eThe sudden death of Karl's parents when he was 17 closed the chapter on an intergenerational period of active operations at Ermihof, and it lay fallow for several years. Karl went to study agricultural economics at BOKU, while Eva read business administration at WU. Neither attended the illustrious wine schools of the German speaking world, Klosterneuburg, close to Vienna, or Geisenheim in the Rheingau. This would prove significant when they returned home to reactivate the farm in 1998. Before doing so, Karl spent two years working in Burgundy, though refuses to disclose where. Nevertheless, he brought the techniques of the region's red wine production back to Ermihof, and began replanting his three parcels with Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, Rotburger (Blauer Zweigelt) and Morillon (Chardonnay). The couple's sanity was questioned by their neighbours and friends, with the prosperity of the region's wine economy built on the success of highly technological white wines, particularly from Sauvignon Blanc.\u003cbr\u003eWith Karl's family having never used chemicals at Ermihof, the farm had always been organic, and so when they were certified by Demeter in 2003, it was ratifying a longstanding practice rather than a conversion. Keeping a small herd of rare breed, horned Celtic cattle, who provide the manure for the preparations they use, the couple's decisions were in pursuit of the closed circuit aspirations they had from the beginning. This was inspired by their vision of the farm as a single living organism, a holistic view that requires work that others would find painstakingly tedious.\u003cbr\u003eTheir wines began to be denied a Prüfnummer as they withdrew filtration and sulphur addition at the cellar, a process completed in 2007. The turbidity and breadth of expression was seen by the assessment panel as atypical and faulty. They made the decision to label their wines outside of the classification, losing the protected Ried designation for their three vineyards, and they have been sold as Landwein ever since. Karl stipulates that had they followed the usual path and attended Klosterneuburg or Geisenheim, their playbook could have been very different.\u003cbr\u003eParallel to these developments on the domestic front, the Schnabels began looking outward to the international market, joining S.A.I.N.S., a French collective who are committed to producing wines without manipulation through filtration or sulphur addition. Their wines became cult favourites among winemakers from both the conventional and radical traditions, and they developed a healthy international distribution network outside of the usual corridors of the day. The idea of world class reds coming from the Sausal seemed almost paradoxical in the context of the day, and so curiosity attracted collectors and importers from far and wide.\u003cbr\u003eThe region itself is an isolated massif that stands alone in the wider Südsteiermark. The massif was pushed higher when the Alps were forming, so there are no marine deposits or clays here, just the primary siliceous slate and schist with threads of quartz. The weathering of the rock over time means the soils are quite rocky and open, so they drain well and retain heat, useful with Styria being the wettest wine region in Austria and the elevation here of 500 to 520 metres above sea level.\u003cbr\u003eThe climate is Illyrian-Mediterranean. The Illyrian influence is humid air drawn up from the Adriatic sea and Balkan corridor, carrying most of the yearly rainfall of 900 to 1000mm or so. This precipitates significant fungal pressure for the vines, making the steep gradient, which is in some places 70%, particularly important, helping to drain standing water very quickly. The Sausal's exposure is also useful here, with steady airflow naturally reducing the risk enough that the Schnabels' treatments of minimal sulphur and kaolin, alongside their herbal tisanes, are robust enough to mitigate the conditions and protect the vines. The tisanes are brewed from nettle, horsetail and yarrow gathered in the vineyards themselves, in a thousand litre kettle. The meadows on the estate provide the plants for their biodynamic compost preparations, chamomile, nettle, yarrow, oak bark, dandelion and valerian, with the cattle providing the manure. They use a scythe to cut the grass beneath the vines, but allow the rows between to grow free.\u003cbr\u003eThe southerly exposition of these vineyards, and the heat retaining stony soils, facilitates a warm microclimate that helps ripening, despite the cold nights at this altitude. The Mediterranean influence is visible too, with wild thyme growing on the barren, rocky slopes, to the point that visitors often remark on the similarities. The sites are managed as biotopes, and Karl and Eva have also installed nesting sites and stone mounds that promote animal presence, with water carried up to the sites, which have no running water of their own. The conditions allow them to wait at harvest time, as picking at full ripeness is their preference, with everything brought in by hand.\u003cbr\u003eAt the cellar, the influence of Karl's time in Burgundy is apparent. The reds are destemmed and fermented spontaneously in open wooden vats, with pigeage by hand. They don't use must pumps at any stage. Usually the maceration lasts 10 to 14 days, and after pressing the wines age in used 228 litre Burgundian barrels for about 12 months. Nothing is added at any point, with no chaptalisation, fining, filtration or sulphur addition. They clean their bottles with spring water before bottling by hand and use natural cork of the highest grade as closures. The cellar is cleaned with hot water and nothing else.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2020, Gault Millau named them Ausnahmewinzer des Jahres, with their Blaufränkisch Koregg 2017 taking 18.5 out of 20, in the top 10 reds of Austria. Karl's own verdict on the honour was that it had been a long and stony road.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith its thin layer of humus above the bedrock and a south-southwesterly exposure that's amplified by the 60% gradient of the site, this is the warmest site in the Schnabel estate. The altitude of 500 metres is also a factor here. Zweigelt was bred to be an early ripening workhorse, often losing acidity rapidly in the August sunshine. Here on the mountainside, where the air cools significantly at night, the acidity survives through to harvest, giving us this Rotburger of grace and class. Incidentally, many Austrian growers refuse to use the official name for the variety, Zweigelt. The variety was bred in 1922 at Klosterneuburg by Fritz Zweigelt, it’s a cross between St. Laurent and Blaufrankisch. Zweigelt was a committed National Socialist, and ran Klosterneuburg during the years of Anschluss. One can understand why Austrian growers increasingly decline to print the name on their labels.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rotburger\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sausal, Sudsteiermark, Austria\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Weingut Schnabel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988712280402,"sku":"26\/000525","price":30.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-rotburger-kreuzegg.jpg?v=1793699099"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.brianswines.ie\/collections\/red.oembed?page=3","provider":"Brian's Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}