(2024) Nice and unusual to have a delicate, 11% rosé from the volcanic island of Madeira, made from the local Tinta Negra Mole grape. The colour is a light to medium salmon pink, and it's a very fragrant wine with flowers and pert red berries, a sense of minerality too. On the palate juicy and quite creamy, a pulpy strawberry fruit quality comes through, but it keeps that spritely mineral crispness.
(2023) There's Soave and there's Soave, and this superior example from Tedeschi, 100% Garganega, comes from family vineyards in the heart of Monteforte d’Alpone and volcanic clay soils. The nose is charming with its fresh, bright fruit and subtle background of honey and nuttiness. In the mouth the amalgam of peach and citrus means this is both ripe and quite luxurious, but pin-point sharp, the acidity of the dry finish is poised and precise, without ever becoming shrill. A lovely example.
(2023) From clay and limestone soils, this blends all the grapes you can think of from Provence: Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Rolle and Tibouren. The highly unusual bottle certainly makes a statement and will surely divide opinions, but the stuff inside is an intense and gastronomic rosé, perhaps more at home on the dinner table than the patio. Rose-hip and watermelon aromas move into peach and lychee, before the palate delivers and concentrated fruitiness, around apricot and exotic mango and lychee. The searing core of citrus pith acidity gives it those food matching credentials. For me there are probably better Provence pinks around for less money, but it talking point for sure. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.
(2022) The blend includes Petit Verdot 8% and Malbec 2%, 20 - 40 years old grown on well-drained gravel loam soils. A small proportion saw carbonic maceration, and the wine was aged in French oak barriques (44% new) for 18 months. A year since I last tasted this, and the impression is much the same: lifted and fragrent, the olive/tapenade hint of the herbal adds a smoky savouriness to the sweet and solid black fruit. On the palate a tongue-coating raft of thick black fruit and creamy tannin, smokier barrel components combining with brighter cherry acid for a long, fruit and acid-driven finish.
(2021) A cool start to the vintage meant careful canopy management to avoid disease, but mild conditions through the growing season extended the harvest to finish with ripe fruit, slightly lower alcohol and good acidity. Matured in French oak barriques for nine months, 61% new. Plenty of flinty, mineral and gunsmoke character to the fore here, a subtle oatmeal creaminess and some lemon meringue pie aromas follow. In the mouth it is bracing stuff, a nervy sweep of acidity punches through nuttier, creamier texture and ripe but lean fruit flavours. Long and tensioned from front to back, a very nice Chardonnay indeed with intensity and cellaring potential.
(2021) Made only in stainless steel ('Acero') with no oak contact, Marimar selects the most intense fruit from the coolest, ocean-influenced sites for this cuvée. The nose has a gentle creaminess, presumably from some lees ageing, nutty and creamy apple fruit and a zesty hint of lemon. On the palate good bite and freshness here, clarity to the fruit and acidity, which is well-balanced without being aggressive. It's a wine that does not have the sharp precision of the best Chablis (unsurprisingly) and arguably should or could be a few pounds cheaper in my opinion, but it is elegant, restrained and delicious.
(2021) First produced in 1989, three different Chardonnay clones are picked and whole-cluster pressed and barrel-fermented in French oak, 40% new. This wine sees 100% malolactic fermentation. The buttery and lightly-toasty richness of the oak is quite apparent on the nose, giving an impression of depth and generosity. On the palate, the rush of sweet, ripe stone fruit fill the mid-palate, the wine full and textured, but a good level of acidity fills in on the finish, a hint of nutty barrel component, in a very satisfying Chardonnay.
(2021) This organically-grown Russian River Chardonnay is whole-bunch fermented in French oak barrels (44% new) where it matures for a further 11 months. With a tinge of gold to the colour it it a fairly buttery and opulent style, some delicate tobacco spice and cool orchard fruits. In the mouth there is toast and spicy richness, a weighty and textured wine, but the fruit profile retains that cool edge, juicy and ripe, but restrained by the acidity into a very pure finish.
(2020) A blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and 10% Syrah from 25-year-old vines, this is a medium peachy-pink colour and has an overtly fruity nose, pomegranate and redcurrant, small and little peppery berries. In the mouth there is weight, richness and texture, plenty of summery, mixed berries character along with a cool, clean acid balance to finish on a savoury note.
(2020) Lovely plump creamy fruit here, more red fruits and a touch of vanilla or toffee. Beautifully fresh and fruity on the palate, The purity of the fruit glides across the mid-palate, fine cocoa and cherry acids to balance.
