(2024) í
From the sub-zone O Rosal, this has a skin-contact suggestion of lime peel and peach skins, again a nice suggestion of saltiness in a leaner picture than the Torre la Moreira for example. A little bit leesy, the palate is driven by lemony, zesty fruit, the spark of sherbetty, salty acid nicely balancing the finish.
(2024) From chalky-clay soils and low-yielding old vines, 'Les Six' in question are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, with smaller components of Cinsault, Counoise and Carignan. It was fermented in large 6,000 litre, conical oak vats with natural yeasts and matured in vat for 10 months. It's an alluring and powerful wine, combining deep spice, blueberry and plum aromas with floral highlights and a glimpse of smoky bacon rind. Sweet and mouth-filling with 14.5% alcohol, there's a chewy robustness, firm and liquoricy tannins and good balancing acidity. Lovely, large-scaled stuff.
(2024) The blend here is Grenache Blanc, with Roussanne and Clairette, the wine fermented in 300 and 400 litre oak barrels, new and older wood, where it ages for six months before bottling. Nutty, creamy and chalky on the nose, it's a delicate but quite intense aroma, followed by a similarly yin and yang palate: there's no shortage of lightly toasty vanilla notes, and the fruit is ripe and mouth-filling, and yet this 13% alcohol wine has a lightness and finesse about it too.
(2024) Schiava is one of the oldest cultivated varieties in Trentino. In the Middle Ages, farmers invented a technique to control the growth of the vines by tying young plants to a rigid support. This gave rise to the expression ‘Cum Vineis Sclavis’, literally ‘enslaved vines’, later shortened to schiava, meaning 'slave'. Vines for this wine are at least 30 years old, planted at 250-350m altitude. It spent 10 months on the fine lees, 40% in stainless steel and 60% in concrete vats. It has a delicate, medium-pale garnet colour moving into orange. Made in a leafy, mellow and light style (only 12% alcohol) there's a soft, easy drinkability with very mellow tannins and a nip cherry acidity. One to please the Pinot Noir or Beaujolais drinker perhaps, but with its own Italian twist of bittersweetness in the finish.
(2024) An unusual blend of 55% Sauvignon Blanc blended with 25% Chardonnay and 20% Semillon, this comes from the high altitude vineyards of the Bekaa Valley. The Chardonnay component is fermented and given a couple of months maturation in French oak. It's a fresh, fragrant and zippy style, a peachy, nectarine ripeness cut by lime and just a small hint of gooseberry. The palate is textured, citrussy, dry and licked by a saline breeziness in the finish. A racy, fish and seafood friendly white that is medium-bodied and has a bit of substance too. Watch my full video review for more information.
(2024) Paler than it's Sunset cousin, Grenache Gris dominates this rosé along with 40% Carignan. More subtle and mineral than the Sunset cuvée, and a year younger, red fruits and peach in the background. In the mouth it is drier than the Sunset, with more of a lemony thrust of acid at its core but there is still sweetness to the berry and stone fruit, and that drier citrus finish adds welcome balance.
(2024) This is the 'Silver Label' bottling, priced above the regular yellow and below the blue label versions. The Monastrell used in the production of this organic certified wine come from 50- to 60-year-old vines on chalky and rocky limestone soils. It spends 12 months maturing in French oak barrels. Deep and ripe red fruits, hints of leather and tobacco spice, a certain sense of dusty heat on the nose but also a garrigue-like floral and herbal background. The fruit is sweet, plush and mouth-filling, a bittersweet liquorice and endive bite, keen tannins and the smoothing background of the barrel. A big mouthful of wine this.
(2024) Re-energised after the country gained independence in the early 90s, Georgia's Tblivino is one of the better known names on export markets, though this rosé is a new wine for me. Deeper in colour than most wines in this report, redcurrant and raspberry on the nose, before the palate showing some of Saperavi's tannin and gravelly bite, to give this gastronomic appeal.
(2023) I believe the 2015 was 100% Sangiovese, but given a very similar winemaking treatment to the 2018, with 20 months in 500-litre French oak barrels and extended time in bottle before release. It's loaded with tobacco and spicy aromas over black fruit - cherries, but blackcurranty depth too. In the mouth lots of cherry depth over swirling smoky notes. Tannins are big and very drying, so I think these needs to be decanted or preferably given more time. Acid balance is excellent. A substantial wine for sure.
(2023) From a single vineyard of 40-year-old vines on granite soils in Salnés, free-run juice is fermented with indigenous yeast and aged on the lees for a full 36 months. This has a fabulous nose, blending exotic and luscious fruit with a more steely, lemon and salts firmness, but an oatmeally sense of richness too. The palate echoes the nose, weighty and rich, gently nutty, but with a beautiful limey fruit purity and acid finish.
