This is the second amazing Aussie wine from the Liberty Ireland wine tasting earlier this year
Shaw + Smith “M3” Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2022
Messrs Shaw and Smith are cousins as well as being partners, having joined forced in 1989. Their wines are mainly from the cool climate Adelaide Hills regions, with a newer outpost in the even cooler Tasmania. The varieties they grow are suited to their sites, with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling the whites and Pinot Noir and Shiraz the reds. For me it’s their Chardonnays which top the bill – this “M3” and the flagship Lenswood Vineyard. “M3” is in quotation marks not just because it’s a name, but the original vineyard from where fruit was sourced has been sold on in favour of sites with different clones and locations. In fact, much of the grapes in M3 now come from the high altitude Lenswood vineyard which S+S bought in 2012, plus their Piccadilly and Lobethal sites.
After hand picking, the grapes are cooled then pressed in whole bunches. The juice is then transferred to French barriques (1/3 new, 2/3 pre-used) to undergo alcoholic and malolactic fermentations. Maturation is over nine months, with some bâtonnage, before blending in steel tanks then bottling.
The 2022 M3 has a fabulously funky nose, yeasty and reductive. Flowers and fresh citrus too. Even smelling it is a treat. The palate has great texture, with creamy notes from MLF and oak. There are stone fruits added to the citrus that comes through from the nose.
For such a young wine this is already showing so well. The price in Ireland has risen somewhat over the last few years (what hasn’t?), but it remains a classy wine and represents good value.
When it comes to naming New Zealand’s wine regions, the significant region which is most often forgotten or overlooked is North Canterbury, close to the major city of Christchurch on the South Island. North Canterbury includes the sub-region of Waipara which is more often seen on wine labels (though not to be confused with Wairarapa which is at the bottom of the North Island and includes Martinborough). I’m not sure why Canterbury is overlooked – perhaps because it doesn’t specialise in Sauvignon Blanc? – but some great wines are made here.
Not too dissimilar to Marlborough which is further north on the South Island, Waipara is situated in the rain- (and wind-) shadow of the Southern Alps and is close to the sea, giving temperate summers with cool nights and dry autumns which allow grapes to achieve full phenolic ripeness as their own pace. The most important varieties here are Riesling and Pinot Noir, though other aromatic whites and Chardonnay also do well.
To show how the terms can be used interchangeably, note that the sign above mentions Waipara whereas the website banner states “Fine North Canterbury Wine” under “Pegasus Bay”
Background to Pegasus Bay
It started with a doctor reading a book. The doctor was Neurologist Ivan Donaldson and the book was one of Hugh Johnson’s wine books, “Wine”, given to him by his then girlfriend Christine. The book lit a fire within him; he journeyed round many of Europe’s well-established wine regions, and on his return he planted Canterbury’s first vines in 1976. This first vineyard was in Mountain View, just south west of Christchurch, and was very experimental in nature. Ivan managed to fit in his wine hobby in between hospital and private consulting work.
Almost a decade later, Ivan and Chris decided to make the jump from a hobby to a proper enterprise. By now they had four sons, so it was a combined family effort to plant vines in the Waipara Valley. They named their winery Pegasus Bay after the large bay running from the City of Canterbury up to the mouth of the Waipara River.1
The first vintage was 1991 which Ivan made in his garage. The family gradually expanded the winery, cellar door, restaurant and gardens. All four sons are now involved in the winery, with the eldest – Matthew, a Roseworthy graduate – being chief winemaker. As well as estate wines under the Pegasus Bay label the Donaldsons also make Main Divide wines from bought in fruit.
Pegasus Bay Wine Styles and Philosophy
In a nutshell, Pegasus bay wines have something of a Burgundian sensibility but they reflect Waipara and the vintage in which they are made. In a interview that Ed Donaldson gave for the Wine Zealand Project2 in 2016 he expounds the family’s philosophy:
So what drives us is – hopefully – making better wine all the time
One of the advantages [we have is that] my brother Matt’s taken over the winemaking so he has a lot of time to experiment, and to tweak, and to change, and see the wines age, and the vines getting some vine age, and just seeing what works and what doesn’t work, and continually trying to evolve and make better wine.
Our winemaking style is to be true to ourselves, not trying to emulate anything. We have a lot of respect for the old world and its wine styles. We as a family drink a lot of wine from all over the world but we’re not necessarily trying to emulate them, we’re trying to make the best example of what we think expresses the region and the season as best we can. Trying not to follow trends, we try to make the best wine we can and find a home for it.
We’ve been members of the Sustainable Winegrowers Programme pretty much since its inception, and we make wine as naturally as possible.
Pegasus Bay Wine Ranges
There are two main ranges, Estate and Reserve. The Estate wines are (obviously) made only with their own fruit, and although they are perhaps the junior wines in the Pegasus Bay portfolio they are not what you or I would call “entry level”, which has connotations of lower quality, simpler wines for drinking very young. Make no mistake, the Estate wines are seriously good.
The Reserve range is a significant step up again, in both quality and corresponding prices. This range includes two botrytis sweet wines; a Semillon Sauvignon blend reminiscent of Sauternes and a Riesling which evokes the Rhine. The Reserve wines are named with an operatic theme as Chris Donaldson is an opera devotee.
The Vengence range has just two experimental wines whose composition varies from year to year. They are totally different in style from the main two ranges; they are fun and quirky rather than being serious. They give the winemakers the opportunity to play around with different vineyard and winery choices that they couldn’t just jump into with the main ranges.
Reserve: Bel Canto Dry Riesling, Aria Late Picked Riesling, Virtuoso Chardonnay, Prima Donna Pinot Noir, Maestro Merlot/Malbec, Encore Noble Riesling, Finale Noble Semillon Sauvignon
Vergence: Vergence White (Semillon blend), Vergence Red (Pinot Noir)
Wines in bold are reviewed below
Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2017
As with most of Pegasus Bay’s vines, this Chardonnay is harvested from vines which are mainly ungrafted. The vines now average 30 years old and are planted on rocky soils which are free draining and low in fertility. These facts all lead to lower yields but with concentrated flavours. The climate is warm, rather than hot, yet with cool nights, so the growing season is long.
I mentioned above that there’s a Burgundian sensibility to Pegasus Bay wines, but in the case of this Chardonnay the winemaking is definitely Burgundian in nature. Multiple passes were made to hand harvest the fruit at optimum ripeness. The grapes were whole bunch pressed then transferred to 500 litre oak barrels, 30% new and 70% used. Spontaneous fermentation took place in these puncheons and the young wine was left to mature on its lees over winter and spring. Malolactic fermentation started naturally into the summer months, with the winemaking team halting it based on regular tasting to get the balance between fresh malic and round lactic acids.
When poured this Chardonnay is a normal lemon colour. On the nose there are citrus fruits but they initially take a side seat to outstanding “struck-match” reductive notes. There are also soft yellow fruits and a stony mineral streak. The palate is magnificent, a really grown up Chardonnay that balances fruit, tanginess, minerality, freshness, texture and roundness. This is one of the most complete Chardonnays I’ve had the pleasure of trying in many years.
ABV: 14.0%
RRP: €38
Stockists: Donnybrook Fair, Donnybrook; The Corkscrew, Chatham St.
Source:media sample
Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir 2016
This 2016 pours a medium intensity ruby red, consistent across the glass. The nose has lots of fruit, more black than red; the black fruits appear at first (blackberry and black cherry) but gradually cede attention to red (red cherry and pomegranate). Enticing savoury notes and spice complete the olfactory picture. It’s a very sophisticated and complex nose that deserves – nay demands – frequent revisits.
The palate is savoury and fruity in taste. Those same black fruits come to the fore but with black liquorice and black olive counterpoints, Fine grained tannins and acidity provide a fantastic structure, but this is a supple and sappy wine, not austere.
The alcohol is little higher than we usually see in a Pinot Noir, but the 14.5% does not stick out at all when tasting. This is a well-balanced wine, albeit a powerful one. When it comes to food pairing, Pinot Noir is often matched with mid level meats such as veal or pork – and to be fair this would be excellent with charcuterie – but this has the weight and intensity to match well with game, lamb or even beef.
ABV: 14.5%
RRP: €45
Stockists: 64 Wine, Glasthule; World Wide Wines, Waterford: The Corkscrew, Chatham St; Donnybrook Fair, Donnybrook; La Touche Wines, Greystones; D-Six, Harolds Cross
Source:media sample
Pegasus Bay Encore Noble Riesling 2008
Pegasus Bay have four Rieslings in their portfolio, as befitting a top Waipara producer:
The Estate Riesling is produced every year
The Bel Canto (Reserve) Dry Riesling has a little botrytis and is made in two out of every three years, depending on vintage conditions
The Aria (Reserve) Late Picked Riesling is a late harvest style that often has a small proportion of Botryis grapes and is made roughly one on two years, vintage dependent
The Encore (Reserve) Noble Riesling is only made with fully botrytised berries, often requiring multiple passes, and of course when there are sufficient grapes in a particular vintage.
Only in very exceptional years such as 2008 and 2014 are all four styles made. The Riesling vines are on a rocky outcrop which has warm days but very cool nights, helping to maintain acidity and thus preserve freshness.
As the pure botrytis (and therefore sweetest) Riesling in their range, Pegasus Bay liken it in style to a Séléction de Grains Nobles (SGN) from Alsace or a Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) from Germany. When harvested the grapes are totally shrivelled and so produce a very small amount of juice – but such luscious juice! After clarification the juice is allowed to ferment naturally; when the yeast finishes its task there is plenty of residual sugar, though the precise figure is not published.
On the nose it’s instantly identifiable as Riesling, but with honey and tropical fruits to the fore. In addition to the pineapple, mango and grapefruit there are also hints of mushroom. The palate is beautiful but perhaps confounding for the uninitiated – it’s rich and sweet yet full of acidity, giving your palate a smorgasbord of experiences. The finish is amazingly long.
At 13 years of age this bottle has had plenty of development, possibly rounding off the acidity slightly while also tapering the apparent sweetness to some degree (the mechanism for which is not yet understood). It still has plenty of life left though – it could easily keep to the end of this decade.
ABV: 11.0%
RRP: €35 for 2016 vintage (375ml bottle)
Stockists: currently no retail stockists, but available in some restaurants
Source: own cellar
Other Pegasus Bay Wines available in Ireland
In addition to the three wines reviewed above there are three further Pegasus Bay wines available in Ireland
Sauvignon / Semillon: RRP €29, Stockists: Barnhill Stores, Dalkey; The Corkscrew; Jus De Vine, Portmarnock
Bel Canto Dry Riesling: RRP €35, currently no retail stockists, but available in some restaurants
Prima Donna Pinot Noir: RRP €75, Stockist: The Wine House, Trim
Frankly Wines and Pegasus Bay
Now, those who follow me on Instagram may realise that I live in the Dublin suburb of Glasnevin, also home to the National Botanic Gardens, the Irish Met office and the large Glasnevin cemetery. It was therefore a huge surprise when, while touring New Zealand on honeymoon, we suddenly realised that we were driving through Glasnevin, Canterbury. And where was our first stop? Pegasus Bay, of course!
Yours truly, about to go through the entire Pegasus Bay range at their Cellar Door.…and afterwards, very happy with his purchases to be supped on the journey round the South Island.
1Ironically Pegasus Bay was originally known as “Cook’s Mistake” – I’m glad I didn’t find that out on my honeymoon!
2Taken from the YouTube video A Day In Pegasus Bay Any transcription errors are my own.
Champagne Laherte Frères is based in the village of Chavot, a ten minute drive south-ish of Epernay. The estate was established in 1889 by Jean-Baptiste Laherte and was expanded incrementally over the generations. The estate is named after sixth generation brothers Christian and Thierry, though I couldn’t confirm if they were the first to make the big leap from growing grapes to making their own Champagne. Thierry’s son Aurélien has been a part of the firm for the last fifteen years.
Laherte’s 11.38 hectares of vineyards are covered in detail on their website. The majority are in villages of the Coteaux Sud d’Epernay, split 4.22 ha planted to Chardonnay, 3.88 to Pinot Meunier and others 1.18 ha. A further 1.48 of Pinot Meunier is in the Vallée de la Marne and 0.62 of Chardonnay on the Côte des Blancs. They have identified 75 different plots which are vinified separately; 80% of the wines are fermented and matured in wood barrels or casks.
Credit: Laherte Frères
Since 2011 Laherte has also bought in grapes from growers who farm around 4 hectares in the Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs; of course these growers share the same philosophy.
This is our way of celebrating the terroir: by respecting differences, promoting uniqueness, and letting the soil express itself.
In his excellent book on Grower Champagne “Bursting Bubbles”, Robert Walters makes some excellent point about the style and quality of Grower Champagnes in general. Firstly, many who make Champagne under the Récoltant-Manipulant (RM) label are simply much smaller versions of the big Houses; it is those who focus on their terroir and allowing their wines to express it that can make great Grower Champagnes. Secondly, small producers who take such care but also buy a small amount of grapes from close contacts – and therefore have the Négociant-Manipulant (NM) label – can also make excellent terroir Champagnes.
Aurelien Laherte was noted as a promising grower in Bursting Bubbles, but of course as the firm now buys in grapes they are classed as NM. Walters specifically mentions Jacquesson & Fils as an example of terroir focused small houses, but I believe that Laherte Frères would also qualify for that accolade.
Laherte make a large number of different wines, grouped into three different types. The wines in blueare reviewed below.
Ultradition: Brut, Brut Rosé, Brut Blanc de Blancs
Special & Original Cuvées:Ultradition Extra Brut, Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature, Rosé de Meunier Extra Brut
Terroir Fundamentals Cuvées: Les Beaudiers (Rosé de Saignée Meunier), Les Longues Voyes (Blanc de Noirs 1er Cru), Les 7 (all 7 Champagne grapes in a “solera” system), Les Vignes d’Autrefois (Old Vine Meunier), Les Grandes Crayères (Vintage Blanc de Blancs)
Champagne Laherte Frères “Ultradition” Extra Brut NV
This is a blend of the three main varieties: 60% Pinot Meunier (60%), Chardonnay (30%) and Pinot Noir (10%). 40% of the total is from reserve wines which are kept in barrel and add complexity. Malolactic fermentation is blocked for a portion of the base wines to give a mix of roundness and freshness. Those base wines also spend six months on their lees while maturing.
Ultradition Extra Brut has an amazing nose of lifted floral, citrus and pear aromas; so lifted, in fact, that you feel like you’ve got the elevator to the top of the Empire State Building. In the mouth it pulls off the trick of being both creamy and fresh, briochey and citrusy, with a lively mousse and a satisfying, fresh finish.
Champagne Lahertes Frères Rosé de Meunier Extra Brut NV
This is a “Rosé d’Assemblage”, incorporating both saignée and pressée techniques. Made solely from old vine Pinot Meunier, it consists of 30% macerated wine, 10% red wine and 60 % white wine. 40% of the later is from reserve wines aged in barrels. Vinification is the same as for the Ultradition Extra Brut, though dosage is even lower at 2.5 g/L.
The nose is full of juicy red fruits that leap out of the glass. On the palate they are further defined as strawberry, cherry and raspberry. The dosage is low, even for an Extra Brut, but the quality of the fruit and the fact they are picked when fully ripe means that more is not required. The fruits are so fresh and vivid that, if tasted blindfolded, you’d be peeking to see if any berries were floating in your glass.
Champagne Lahertes Frères Blancs de Blancs “Les Grandes Crayères” 2014
This is a single vineyard, single variety, single vintage wine made from one of Laherte’s best sites. As you might be able to guess from the name “Les Grandes Crayères” the vines are grown on chalky soils. Not in the Côte des Blancs, however, but rather in their home village of Chavot where the chalk in some plots is only 20 cm down. Unlike the other cuvées above, MLF is totally blocked for this wine to preserve acidity as the wine ages over the years.
The Champagne geeks among you might wonder what the single variety is; for the vast majority of Blanc de Blancs Champagnes this would automatically be Chardonnay, but when a producer makes a wine with all seven permitted varieties (five white, two black) then it could be any one of five. But it’s Chardonnay!
And what a Chardonnay! The nose has layers of flowers, lime and toast plus a little candied peel. In the mouth it is creamy yet fresh and refined, with mineral notes and a certain tanginess. This is an amazing wine that could be nothing else than a Blanc de Blancs Champagne.
While the Remelluri estate’s origins hark back over six hundred years, the Rodríguez family’s involvement started relatively recently in 1967 when Jaime Rodríguez bought the key vineyards. They lie on the high slopes of the Sierra de Toloño mountains – at a high altitude, but with a southerly exposure and protected from overly harsh weather. Significant diurnal temperature swings help the grapes to become fully ripe yet retain flavour and acidity.
Chemicals have never been used in the vineyards but the organic approach has been extended to a holistic system; far from being a monoculture, the estate has fruit groves and hedges to maintain a natural balance.
After decades spent raising the bar in Rueda, Ribero del Duero and Galicia, prodigal son Telmo Rodríguez returned to Rioja in 2010 and set about further developing the Remelluri estate. Amongst his initiatives are reexamining old training systems and evaluating the best variety for each specific plot and microclimate.
There are currently five wines in the Remelluri range:
Remelluri Blanco
Lindes de Remelluri ‘Viñedos de San Vicente’
Lindes de Remelluri ‘Viñedos de Labastida’
Remelluri Reserva
Granja Remelluri Gran Reserva
The two Lindes wines are made from the grapes of growers in the surrounding villages. Now we turn our attention to the top wine in the stable:
Remelluri “Granje Remelluri” Gran Reserva 2012
The “Granje Remelluri” Gran Reserva is made only in the best years, and then only in very small quantities. The blend for 2012 breaks down as 70% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha and 5% Graciano.
The vines selected for the Gran Reserva vary in age from 40 to over 90 years old and are at elevations between 480m and 705m. Vinification takes place in small wooden vats with ambient yeasts, followed by maturation for 24 months in a variety of seasoned oak vessels from 225L barriques up to 2,000L foudres. After bottling the wine is kept in Remelluri’s cellars for a further five years before release.
This is an epic, immense wine still in the early stages of youth. The nose has a cornucopia of fruit: blackberries, plums, black cherries and wild strawberries joined by cedar, exotic spice and vanilla from the oak. It is warming and powerful in the mouth, with dark fruits and vanilla, yet with elegance and freshness. No shrinking violet this, it’s a substantial wine that would be best with hearty food now or to be kept for the long haul. If I had the spare readies I’d be opening one every couple of years.
Pinot Noir can be tricky to make well. It is very particular about the climate it’s grown in – not too hot, not too cold. Here are a pair of antipodean cool climate Pinots that are worth your hard-earned:
Innocent Bystander Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2018
The Yarra Valley is part of the Port Philip zone which surrounds Melbourne in Australia. Its proximity to Melbourne makes it a popular wine tourism destination; indeed, my first trip there was on a day trip wine tour from Melbourne. That should not detract from its status as one of the best cool climate regions of Australia, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir starring – both still and sparkling.
Innocent Bystander was founded in 1996 by Phil Sexton after selling his previous Margaret River venture Devil’s Lair. Innocent Bystander (IB) wines are often blends from multiple sites to achieve complexity and balance at a reasonable price point. Alongside IB, in 1998 Sexton also began creating single vineyard wines under the Giant Steps label.
The Pink Moscato explosion in Aussie wine led to a large increase in volumes being made and sold by IB, so Sexton sold it to another family owned Victorian wine producer – Brown Brothers of Milawa – in order to concentrate on Giant Steps. Once picked IB’s grapes now make a three hour journey in refrigerated trucks to be crushed at Brown Bros’ winery. Sexton’s Yarra Valley tasting room wasn’t part of the transaction so Brown Bros bought and converted a brewery – formerly run by Phil Sexton!
The wines in the Innocent Bystander portfolio include the following:
Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
Moscato
Pinot Gris
Gamay
Gamay / Pinot Noir blend
Syrah
Tempranillo
Arneis
It’s the last two which are the most unusual for Australia, and therefore piqued my interest, though sadly they haven’t yet made their way to Ireland.
In the main this Pinot Noir is fruit-driven: raspberry, blackberry and tart red cherries dominate the nose and palate, though there are also herb and spice notes in the background. It is not, however, a “fruit-bomb”; acidity and gentle tannins provide a framework against which the fruit can sing, and boy do they sing!
Marlborough’s Framingham is probably the most respected producer of Riesling in New Zealand, but has added additional varieties across its three ranges:
Sauvignon Blanc
Pinot Gris
Chardonnay
Viognier
Gewurztraminer
Montepulciano
Pinot Noir
Their wines are all very well crafted and offer a substantial step up from everyday Marlborough wines, but prices are sensible. The firm’s winemaker for 18 years was Dr Andrew Hedley, who was then succeeded by the returning Andrew Brown at the beginning of this year (what a year to join!) In between his stints at Framingham, “Brownie” had worked in several cool climate regions including Alsace, so he has great experience with Riesling.
Framingham’s own vineyards and those of partner winegrowers are all in the Wairau Valley, the central open plain of Marlborough which is on a mixture of alluvial and clay soil. Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately, with grapes from clay soils in particular receiving more time on the skins. MLF and maturation takes place in new (20%) and used French oak barrels, before final blending and bottling. No fining or filtering is carried out to preserve flavour and mouthfeel.
When speaking to Jared Murtha (Framingham’s Global Sales Manager) earlier this year I remarked that the Pinot Noir seemed more like a Martinborough Pinot than a typical Marlborough one to me. This was meant as a compliment and taken as one, as I find many Marlborough Pinot Noirs to be light, simple and less than interesting. Jared replied diplomatically that Framingham aren’t aiming to make a “smashable” wine, but rather one which is a little more serious and gastronomic.
And hell have they succeeded! It has typical Pinot red fruit notes – cherry and wild strawberry – but also layer upon layer of smoky, spicy and savoury characters. There are lovely round tannins giving the wine additional structure. Umami fans will love this wine!
These two wines are made from the same grape variety in neighbouring countries (yeah, still quite a journey) and are close in price, so a like for like comparison is perfectly fair. The most obvious difference, though, is their style. The Innocent Bystander is a great, fruit-forward all-rounder and would really appeal to the casual wine drinker. The Framingham is a different proposition, more savoury and serious, and would shine the brightest in a setting with food – though it’s not a “this needs food” wine. My preference would be to spend the extra €4 on the Framingham … but if someone offers me a glass of Innocent Bystander I would be delighted.
For those of us living in the UK or Ireland it is rare to think of international borders moving. Yes, there’s the Northern Ireland border between the two sovereign states, but that hasn’t moved since its inception a century ago and is hopefully fading away. Because we live on islands even the concept of driving to another country seems a little strange for many, never mind that border moving over time.
The movement of borders has created some unusual situations for wine folk, such as the Becker family in Germany’s Pfalz – whose vineyards run into Alsace – and also the Gravner family – whose lands were in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at one point but now lie (just) in Italy.
This all came to mind as I was thinking about a pair of wines I tasted earlier in the year. They are based on the same geological set of hills (Gorizia Hills in English, Collio Goriziano in Italian or Goriška Brda in Slovene) but in different countries. The drive between them is less than an hour an a half:
So now for that pair of wines:
Gašper Rebula 2016
First things first: Gašperis the name of the producer (literally, as Gašper Čarman is the gentleman who own and runs the place) and Rebulais the grape variety. The latter is better known to most of us as Ribolla Gialla in Friuli but it is a major variety in Brda.
Gašper’s vines are planted in “opaka” soil (silica-calcite sedimentary rock) on terraces between 80 and 200 metres above sea level. Both altitude and proximity to the sea help to retain aromas and freshness in the wine.
This Rebula is made with 16 hours skin contact – far more than more white wines but nowhere near as long as orange / amber wines. Fermentation is in huge (4,000 litre) casks, temperature controlled to preserve fruit characters and freshness. Maturation takes place first in old French barriques (1 year) then in old, large big format Slavonian oak casks.
The time spent on skins adds a real depth of colour to the wine – it deserves the “Gialla” (yellow) descriptor in its Italian name. The nose shows bright citrus – lemon, grapefruit, orange – and mixed citrus peel. The palate is soft, not too shouty with great texture. The fresh and dried fruits are joined by a certain creaminess and they resolve in a clean, fresh finish.
Gašper himself told me that the wine has great ageing potential – and I have every reason to believe him.
After two World Wars Friuli’s agriculture and viticulture was significantly diminished and almost abandoned by the flight from countryside to city. Livio Felluga was one who had a great vision of restoring Fruili’s proud tradition of winemaking. He bought up old vineyards planted new ones and over the course of decades reinvigorated the region. He has long been acknowledged as the driving force behind the restoration of Friuli and as an ambassador for its wines.
Illivio was created as by Livio’s children to celebrate his 85th birthday. It’s a blend of Pinot Bianco (60%), Chardonnay (30%) and indigenous variety Picolit (10%). Picolit was traditionally used for sweet wines as it has a good balance between sugar and acidity, with a flavour profile not too far form Viognier, and had a cult following in the 1960s and ’70s.
The wine is fermented in small oak casks then left on the lees in those barrels for 10 months. While oaked Chardonnay is of course very common internationally, oaked Pinot Blanc is mainly an Italian thing – but it can make for excellent wines.
Illivio pours yellow in the glass, though not from skin contact as the Gašper Rebula above, but rather from the influence of oak. The nose is intense, as floral and fruit notes compete with rich smoky notes from the oak. The palate is rich yet tangy, with buttered brioche and juicy fruit exquisitely mixed. This is a serious wine, but seriously nice!
Part 1 covered French wines and Part 2 some Portuguese and NZ whites. Now for some Italian reds, plus an interloper from Croatia – though, to be fair, made with a grape that has Venetian origins:
A few firsts for me with this wine. Firstly, it’s from the Croatian province of Istria, and although I’ve had Croatian wines before, never (knowingly) one from Istria. Secondly, 30% of the blend is contributed by a grape I’ve never heard of – Teran – though I have heard of the Refosco family of which it is a member. The remaining components are much more familiar – Merlot (60%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) – as are the French barrels in which the wine is matured for 15 months. The vineyard is located in Brdo (surely a place name with too few vowels) in Central Istria. The winemaker is pioneer and living legend Ivica Matošević.
The French and local varieties complement each other well – the Merlot gives plum and dark chocolate notes, filling the mid palate, while the Teran gives fresh, ripe-but-tart forest fruits. Overall, it’s velvety smooth goodness all the way.
Though I’m far from an expert in Piedmontese wines, it’s easily understandable that there are differences even within DOC and DOCG areas. Franco Massolino sources his Nebbiolo grapes from several plots in the Commune of Serralunga d’Alba at an altitude of 320m – 360m. The soils are mainly limestone and the vines age from 10 up to 60 years old. Serralunga d’Alba is regarded as one of the best parts of Barolo and produces well-structured wines that can age for decades, so it’s a little surprising that this 2014 is already so accessible – softer and more approachable, in fact, than Massolino’s 2016 Langhe Nebbiolo. The nose is floral with forest fruits and the palate has rich, smooth black and red fruits, kept fresh by a streak of acidity.
One of the unique things about this producer is that they have reduced their output over the last twenty years, more than halving production from 180,000 bottles to 80,000 bottles from the same 25 hectares of vines, all with an eye to improving quality. It seems to have worked! Established by Aldo Conterno himself in 1969, nowadays his son Stefano is the winemaker, with his other sons running the business. The Cicala name comes from the single vineyard where the grapes are sourced from. This 2014 is half a percent lighter in alcohol than other recent vintages, but it’s no lightweight – it’s an immense wine, though not impenetrable. The nose is enticing and rewarding; it’s worth just enjoying the rose and tar aromas for a while before even taking a sip. On the palate there’s still plenty of oak evident, but balanced by ripe fruits. This is an “Oh wow” wine.
The Petra estate is large compared to the Barolos above at 300 hectares. It was created close to the Tuscan coast by the Moretti family of Bellavista fame (particularly known for their Franciacorta). This is Super-Tuscan territory, borne out by the blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Sangiovese. However, this is not a Bordeaux copy; it has some similarities with Médoc wines but tastes Italian – whether due to terroir or the 10% Sangiovese is up for debate. With ripe red and black fruits framed by tannin and acidity, this is a well put-together wine that offers better value than most Bordeaux at this price.
This is the Petra estate’s top wine, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. The must is fermented in open top 100 hl vessels, then matured in barriques, of which 30% are new. It has a highly perfumed nose, full of violets and a whiff of vanilla. There’s lots of structure here, but also juicy cherry, blackberry and blueberry fruit. At five years old this is still in the flushes of youth, so I’d expect it to keep evolving and improving over the next decade or so. A Super-Tuscan which is expensive, but doesn’t cost the earth.
Last – but no means least – of our awesome foursome from Spit is GrapeCircus. Enrico’s wines are the most “edgy” of the whole gang (if you’ve got a moment, some are edgier than U2’s guitarist walking along the side of the Cliffs of Moher watching Tom Cruise film “Edge of Tomorrow” on his Samsung phone.) This means that even open minded wine geeks such as myself won’t necessarily likeevery wine in a tasting line-up, but it’s highly likely that we will lovelots of them!
Founded in 1889, Laherte Frères is now in the hands of the sixth and seventh generation of the family. The latter is represented by Aurelien Laherte who has spearheaded the estate’s move to organic and biodynamic practices. A key strength is their use of over 350 old oak barrels to ferment each parcel separately, giving lots of options when putting together each cuvée.
“Ultradition” is of course a portmanteau of “ultra” and “tradition”, though at 4g/L the dosage is extra brut rather than ultra brut. The blend is 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir (including 40% reserve wines). The nose is quite floral with a touch of biscuitiness. Fresh red and citrus fruit dominate the palate
Xarel-lo is best known as one of the three traditional Cava grapes, along side Macabeo and Parellada. Agustí Torelló Matá does indeed make Cava but this is a single varietal still offering designed to be fun and drinkable. It does drinkable in spades, so delicious and moreish! The palate abounds with fresh quince, apple, grapefruit and lime. This is a stunning wine that really drinks ahead of its price point.
So now to Austria’s Burgenland and an aromatic white blend from biodynamic producer Meinklang. And it’s aromatic as hell! Enrico made sure I tasted this when he showed it at the Ely Big Tasting as he knew it’s my kind of wine (he’s a shrewd man). A blend of 50% Grüner Veltliner, 40% Welschriesling and 10% Muscat, this is just a downright delicious liquid that puts a smile on your face when you sniff it and a sh*t-eating grin when you drink it!
Welschriesling’s origins have yet to be discovered. Also known as Riesling Italico, Olaszrizling, Laški Rizling or Graševina, it is unrelated to “true” (Rhine) Riesling or Schwarzriesling (better known as Pinot Meunier).
Le Due Terre “Sacrisassi” Bianco 2014 (13.0%, RRP €49.00 but on-trade only at the moment)
This wine is exactly why independent wine festivals like SPIT are important – they give trade, press and public an opportunity to try wines that they otherwise would not have the chance or the yen to try. The hefty price tag and lesser known region of production might put many off, but this is a wine that, once tried, goes straight into the “special treat” category.
A blend of 70% Fruliano (the grape formerly known as Tocai) and 30% Ribolla Gialla, on tasting this wine has the “wow factor”, such depth of flavour. It shows wonderful soft stone fruit at the core, surrounded by an envelope of sea-spray freshness.
Paolo Veglio follows the traditional “hands off” winemaking practices of Barbaresco, making wines that would be considered by many to be “natural” (though more on that another day.) As well as their overall quality, Paolo’s wines are known for their drinkability and their texture. Too often (for me at least), 100% Nebbiolo wines are too tannic and a little on the thin side, even though they might have prodigious levels of alcohol. At Roccalini they use a traditional third way of extracting colour and flavour from the grape skins; instead of punching down or pumping over, they wedge sticks in the top of the concrete fermenters which keep the cap submerged
This is a thick, chewy, viscous, amazing Barbaresco that needs to be tried!
The Spanish team (now with added Polish) at Vinostito have put a firm focus on low intervention winemaking – not for the sake of it, but for the authenticity and excellence of the wines it can produce. Of course they have an extensive selection from Spain, but also other countries such as Portugal, Germany, France and Italy.
Here are five which really piqued my interest at October’s SPIT festival:
Immich-Batterieberg is one of the oldest estates in Germany’s Mosel, being noted in the first, second and now third millennium. The Immich family themselves began making wine back in 1425, and were instrumental in the creation of the Batterieberg between 1841 and 1845 using lots of explosives!
The CAI is a Trocken, i.e. dry style of Riesling, with an alcohol of 11.5% which is higher than many sweeter wines, but remains modest. It isn’t bone dry, however, with just a touch of residual sugar which enhances the attractive, zippy fruit. Full of Riesling Goodness!
Compared to the CAI, this is somewhat drier, still young and tight – waiting for its wings to unfurl. It’s made from superior grapes which don’t quite make it into the single cuvées. The steep slate vineyard soils really show in the minerality of the wine, even though the minerals themselves are not technically soluble enough to be absorbed by the vines. This is a fairly serious wine which would be at its best with shellfish or after some years to develop and open out.
Dão wines aren’t particularly well known in Ireland, though they deserve more attention. The region is situated about a third of the way down the country from the northern border and roughly equidistant from the Atlantic and the eastern border with Spain. It sits on a granite plateau topped by well drained sandy soil – not too bad for quality wine! This is a blend of local speciality Encruzado plus some Malvasia Fina and Verdelho. It’s quite different from the by-the-glass selection in your local pub, with a lovely mouthfeel and richness to it, but not oiliness. A dry, textured finish seals the deal.
I’ve reviewed this wine at least once before, but no apologies for repetition will be forthcoming as it’s so damn good – and so damn interesting – that it never disappoints. Suertes del Marqués are a relatively new outfit but they have access to plenty of older vines – the ones for this blend range between 10 and 150 years old, all in the Valle de La Orotava of Tenerife. I say “blend” as the majority of the wine is Listán Blanco (aka Palamino of Sherry fame) but there are also dashes of Pedro Ximenez, Albillo Criollo, Gual, Marmajuelo and Malvasia. As pictured on the front label, the vines are (mainly) trained with the traditional trellis system of cordón trenzado after which the wine is named.
For anyone studying wine this is a great example to do a model tasting note for as it shows so many different types of aroma and flavour: various citrus fruits, nuts and sea-washed pebbles on the nose, with the same on the palate but also a slightly waxy character. It’s a fairly different wine but it’s one that’s easy to like and to love.
Luís Seabra makes a fantastic range of wines in Portugal’s north, the Douro Valley and Vinho Verde regions. His Douro wines are very different from the normal big reds found there, with lots of fruit, oak, tannin and alcohol. His wines are lighter and judiciously oaked, but don’t lack in flavour or length. As “Xisto” is the Portugese for “schist”, it’s not too hard to guess what type of soil the vines are planted in!
This 2016 is a blend of several grapes, some of which are coplanted in old and almost forgotten plots: 30% Touriga Franca, 20% Tinta Amarela, 20% Tinta Roriz, 10% Rufete, 10% Tinta Barroca, 5% Malvasia Preta and 5% Donzelinho Tinto. Luís’s approach to grape variety selection and winemaking both lead to his wines being very interesting and very fresh.
I was browsing some new additions to the shelves of Baggot Street Wines in early 2018 and noticed several wines from Luis Seabra in Portugal. What really caught my eye was the “REPROVADO / DISAPPROVED” warning notice on the back label of the 2015 Tinto – the first time I had ever seen anything like that on a wine label.
Speaking to the man himself a few weeks later at the Vinostito portfolio tasting, he recounted that when the wine was not allowed the Douro classification due to being “untypical” of the region, he sought permission to put a warning label on. The wine authorities had never received such a request previously, but they allowed it.
For the 2016 vintage (above) the Tinto was immediately given the Douro badge – I think the wine authorities learned their lesson!
While WineMason’s specialities are Portugal, Austria, Germany and South Africa, Nomad is a Burgundy specialist outfit. Of course, the range has seen additions from other regions – particularly in France – but Burgundy is still at the heart of the portfolio. As with all of the SPIT crew, Nomad’s wines are generally from small producers who practise sustainable, organic or biodynamic viticulture, but they remain fairly conventional – though excellent – in taste.
Here are five of Nomad’s best that caught my eye at SPIT.
Leclerc Briant was the first organic and biodynamic producer in Champagne – no mean feat when the cool and sometimes damp climate is taken into account. They are based in the Vallée de la Marne where Pinot Meunier is most at home, and it shows in the blend: 65% Pinot Meunier, 20% Pinot Noir and 15% Chardonnay.
30 months on the lees (double the minimum requirements for a non vintage Champagne) softens out the wine somewhat, meaning that a low dosage of 4g/L is all that’s required. The Pinot(s) dominance really comes through in the red fruits flavour profile – raspberry, redcurrant and cranberry. A lively, clean and refreshing Champagne!
If Tolkein’s Dwarves drank a wine, it would be from Savoie, made in the shadow of Mont Blanc. Like the other wines in Brice Omont’s biodynamic range, Schiste is labelled after the soil type on which it is grown. The grapes are a mix of the fairly well-known and the almost unknown: 40% Jacquère, 30% Roussanne, 20% Malvasia and 10% Mondeuse.
My Tolkein reference might be far-fetched, but there is definitely something other-worldly about this wine. It somehow manages to combine butter and sweet stone fruits with zippy citrus, and has a very long, soothing finish. A remarkable wine!
As vineyard and grape prices have rocketed in Burgundy’s heartland of the Côte d’Or, many producers have been looking further south to the Maconnais where costs are much lower, but the astute have also been investing in the Côte Chalonnaise which lies in between the two. Rully is my favourite village from the Chalonnaise, and in good hands can produce some seriously good wine.
BOOM!! This is one of the best wines I tasted in the last twelve months*.
I’ve enjoyed previous vintages of Ponsot’s Rully, but this is easily my favourite yet. It has a mesmerising nose of pear and peach; they follow through onto the palate and are joined by apricot, apple and a hint of citrus. It’s soft, gently oaked and obviously young, but drinking so well at the moment. Decant it or use a big glass – you won’t rue your choice!**
After the exuberance of the Rully, we now take a step back to enjoy the power and elegance of an excellent Puligny-Montrachet. There are some obvious oak notes on the nose, smoky and leesy, with soft pip fruit and citrus on the palate. It’s still quite tight – probably a criminal offense to drink right now– but if I had a few bottles I would take the risk and enjoy!
Domaine Audoin Marsannay Cuvée Marie Ragonneau 2015 (13.0%, RRP €42.00 at SIYPS and 64 Wine, Glasthule)
Marsannay is the most northerly village-level appellation in the Côte de Nuits, extending almost into Dijon itself, and the most recent as it was created in 1987. It is also the only Burgundy village appellation which can produce the trio of red, white and rosé wines.
Domaine Audoin’s Marsannay is somewhat serious and savoury, but what a wine! A complex melange of red and black fruit, plenty of acidity and fine tannins. It might sound strange to the average wine drinker, but this €40+ Burgundy is great value for money!
