(2012) A nice time to revisit the first ever release from Seven Springs, which was good enough to be my Wine of the Week back in February 2011. It's a Sauvignon in a very dry, pure and elegant style, and that character is still abundantly clear two years on. Apples and creamy citrus are more dominant than any grassy aromas, with the palate still vibrant and punchy, a squirt of lemon juice cleaving through a quince-like ripeness and some salty mineral tones in the finish.
(2012) What a lovely perfume this wine has, its youth compared to the 2010 quite obvious, with a lot more of the herby, dill-like character coming through, but still very subtle as the wine focuses on minerality and cool, pristine fruit. The palate almost lets some nectarine and mango ripeness through, but then the acid structure takes grip to give this real freshness and steely precision with just a lingering fruity and floral note of tropicality. Another terrific and intelligent Sauvignon from Seven Springs.
(2012) As it says on the label, a Chardonnay fermented in steel tanks with no exposure to oak, and a new product in Seven Springs' range, showing a restless need to explore the potential of their young vines and this terroir. There's an elegant perfume to this wine, with a little blossom or peach-skin fragrance, some dry apple fruit notes and a hint of something stony and mineral. On the palate it is juicy and led by citrus and underripe apple - a quite steely, in some ways quite austere, but there is a burgeoning sense of creaminess and those peachy tones beneath the citrus tang. A nice wine that would be joyous with some pan-fried mullet or seabass.
(2012) Fermented only in older oak barrels, there is barely any oak influence discernible on the nose of this very natural wine with its gently earthy and oatmeally edges to citrus and crisp, fresh, apple-skin fruit. On the palate it is a wine with a fine texture and its moderate 13.5% alcohol adding no real weight, so that crisp, racy and fresh fruit drives the wine, with a little nutty and honeyed character that is quite Burgundian, and plenty of clean, fresh, nicely long and precise acidity into the finish. Subtle and absolutely lovely.
(2012) A second tasting based on a fairly brief encounter where this wine was shown at The Wine Gang Fair in London earlier this month again struck me as a nicely fragrant, pepper and sleek black-fruited wine. This is my full note from a proper assessment of it in July 2012. This Syrah from young vines is a new release. The nose is opulently rich and crammed with plum and red berry fruit. Ageing in older French barrels adding some spice and delicate smokiness, with a hint of crisply-grilled bacon fat. On the palate it is fresh and vibrant, with real depth but bounding youthfullness and ocean-influenced clarity.
(2012) I can't think of many wine producers who would boast - or is that admit - to 'Young Vines' right on the front label of their Pinot; there's a common belief amongst many wine lovers that only old vines make great wine. In fact this is an over simplification. Various viticultural practices can instil quality even in young vines, most importantly making sure the yield of these vigorous youngsters is controlled. What young vines can - and in this case do - bring to the party is a joyous, upfront fruitiness. The colour is a lovely pale garnet and the nose offers authentic, lightly smoky and truffly aromas of woodland and berries. On the palate this is finely-wrought and beautifully fruity, with cherry and summer pudding berries against a background of tobacco and briar, into a fresh, juicy, positively crisp finish. Just lovely.