Closure Type: DIAM

(2025) What a lovely Pinot from the original cool climate Valley of Chile, Casablanca. After foot treading it is vinified in open-topped oak tanks and aged in French oak foudres and a small percentage of barriques, for 12 months. Pale and attractive in colour. The nose has an array of classic Pinot aromas: truffle and mushroom, ripe berry fruit, hints of damp undergrowth and a touch of roasting chestnut. In the mouth, this is similarly impressive, with great balance of fruit, tannin and orangey acid, all in an authentically Pinot expression, gently inviting yet with a certain strictness. Most impressive at the price. Watch the video for more information.

(2025) Another family company where second generation winemaker Rebecca Valent-Borgo Stajnbech presented this wine. Soft pressing of this Tocai Friulano was followed by eight months ageing on the lees in stainless steel, with frequent stirring. Though soils are clay, Rebecca explained that these vineyards have a specific well-draining sub-soil and that the wine can age well for many years. This is a gently peachy and almond-scented Lison, even a touch of hazelnut. On the palate it is sweetly-fruited and elegant, with a finish distinguished by it's fine line of acidity.

(2025) The fourth generation of this family now work with their mother, Ornella. 100% Tai (Friulano), this comes from calcareous clay soils and grapes are over-ripe, harvested in the middle of September. It is made in big, old barrels and steel tanks, and aged with lees stirring. That ripeness is immediately evident, the fruit having moved into an exotic, mango and lychee spectrum, much more aromatic. The palate is not sweet, but has a Gewurztraminer-like character with both luscious fruit weight, spice, some almond and the richness cut by good acidity. A very pleasing style, reminiscent of top Traminer from Alto Adige perhaps?

(2025) Co-owner Domenico Veronese suggests the Tai grape might have developed from Sauvignon Vert. Certified organic since 1993, this is 100% Tai, from soils of clay over limestone. It comes from a tiny vineyard planted in 1943, and aged for 10 months in concrete vats with regular bâtonnage. Only 5112 bottles produced. A relatively deep, buttercup tint to the colour and aromas that are herbal, sappy and fresh, with citrus and a hint of white flowers. The palate is richly textured and has a confident, decisive quality of fresh fruit and cutting acidity. Again that herbal character edges the fruit, into a concentrated finish. Interesting, Domenico has also made 'Noble rot' versions when conditions where right and says the variety suits Botrytis very well.

(2025) A family company founded in 1925. Again 100% Tai, or Friulano, organic certified since 1993, and coming from limestone and clay soils in the Classico area. Pale with a hint of straw-yellow, this is another charming wine aromatically, where herb and flower nuances sit over fresh white fruits, running from pear to peach. The palate has plenty of sweetness here, and though there may be a touch of residual sugar I suspect, it is more to do with ripe and juicy fruit. It's a pretty wine, with some talcum and chalk notes but then a surge of tangerine and lime citrus. Highly quaffable this one. I note that the Wine Society carries other wines from this producer, but not this one.

(2025) What a lovely, juicy and fragrant wine. The nose offers a basket full of ripe cherries, spring flowers and red liquorice, buoyant and swirling in the glass. On the palate spices join those juicy red fruits, a background of gravelly tannin and pert acidity. Most enjoyable and well priced for a wine of this style and quality. Other stockists have it for around £12 per bottle. Watch the video for more information.

(2025) An interesting take on Gewurz, here, 60% fermented in tank, 35% in new oak barrels, and 5% made as a skin-contact 'orange wine'. The nose is undeniably expressive of the variety: lychee and Nivea cream notes, spices, old roses and herbal nuances. In the mouth it is textured and rolling, the fruit is dry, like citrus peel. The acidity is modest, and though this variety does often have a twist of something bitterswet, I did find something slighty bitter about the finish here, a little phenolic, that detracted (marginally) from the overall positive picture.

(2025) This cherry-scented red is a barrel-aged blend of 29% Shiraz, 29% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc and 13% of the resistant Cabernet Jura. As well as that sweet cherry and some buoyant cassis, a hint of green olive and briar. The palate continues in that cherry-ripe, juicy style. Tannins are minimal, but acidity and a warming touch of barrel spice mean the wine finishes elegantly.

(2025) Blended from a number of vineyard parcels, with a significant portion from Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault, this was matured for 14 months, 70% in oak barrels (10% new oak) and 30% in stainless steel. It has a delightful and elegant aroma, limpid with pear and melon over fresh almond. In the mouth elegant again, the citrus and salts of the acidity defining the ripe but focused fruit of the mid-palate.

(2025) 100% Cinsault from red sandstone and limestone soils, this is organic certified and made from 11- to 20-year-old vines. It is made with indigenous yeasts and no added sulphur, in stainless steel. It's pale coloured soft and pretty, the nose filled with buoyant cherries and sappy, summery freshness. The palate has plenty of sweet red berries, a touch of rhubarb and theres a nice sense of mineral freshness; a certain taut precision with spicy, ripe tannins and pert and nimble acidity. Watch the video for more information.