John Wilson featured Geil Pinot Noir 2021 & Dautel Spatburgunder Sonnenberg 1G 2018 in The Irish Times as part of a series on German Wines which he describes as “the best kept secret in the Wine world.”
Domaine Rijckaert produce wines of exceptional quality from small plots of vines in the Jura and Burgundy. Florent Rouve, who runs the estate today, studied forestry and agricultural engineering before going on to study oenology in Dijon. His Burgundian wines are from 4 hectares of land in the Maconnais, and his Jura wines are situated … Read More
“Germany has been on a roll for several decades now, producing superb wines…” Amongst them, according to John Wilson is Dautel’s Bonningheim Riesling Trocken 2021 which he describes as having “stimulating, intense mouth-watering stone fruits with a lively seam of mineral acidity and a lengthy finish. Wonderful wine.” We may be a little biased here … Read More
Mallorca is undergoing a defiant and welcome wine revolution. As the island has become synonymous with great gastronomy wine production has followed suit, with a small handful of winemakers at the helm, making wines they are proud to call Majorcan. Fighting the good fight, sixth generation winemaker, Tomeau Llabrés opened the doors of his garagiste … Read More
We showed 12 Austrian wines on Wednesday morning, to complement our Regional Discovery Masterclass held in the afternoon. We divided the wines into the following themes: The Wines of Herbert Zillinger, Aromatic Expressions, International Varieties and Indigenous Blends. Below are a few bottle shots for reference.
Having joined Winemason in April, I have the joyful task of tasting my way through the portfolio, one wine (sometimes more) at a time! A standout for me, so far, has been La Justice which sent me on a deep dive of Domaine de Bellevue and Muscadet. Jérôme Bretaudau, a maverick winemaker from Domaine de … Read More
John Wilson says that “Chianti is one of the great food wines, going perfectly with most red meats and pork, as well as rich Mediterranean vegetarian dishes.” He describes Volpaia Chianti Classico as “A harmonious, supremely elegant Chianti with pristine cherry and wild stawberry fruits. Unputdownable”. Agreed.
Time to dust off those barbecues and enjoy some non alcoholic rosé in the garden! “The right drink for your big grill.” John Wilson describes the Kolonne Null Rosé as a “non alcoholic with light strawberry and raspberry fruits with good acidity. Serve chilled with fresh summery salads, goat’s cheese and grilled chicken or fish.” … Read More
Etna Bianco 2022 has just arrived as well as Etna Rosato 2022. We are selling through the last few cases of Etna Rosso 2020 and will have to wait until late September before Etna Rosso 2022 is in stock. Enjoy the whites and rose in the meantime or consider some of the Cru vineyards where we have stocks of 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The wines of Etna have been in short supply due to climatic challenges and especially due to the recent lows yields in 2021.
In 2021 production plummeted and the yields were the lowest of the last 20 vintages. April freezes, coulure, difficulties at flowering, followed by a four month drought resulted in very small berries with tough skins and little juice, with roughly a 30% loss in production, only partly compensated by several hectares of new vines of Nerello coming into production. On the positive side, the prolonged drought yielded all grapes in the healthiest sanitary condition ever seen. The harvest was long and deliberate, lasting over one month, and allowed slow but sure ripening.
2022 also produced climatic challenges. Winter was long and warm but with no significant snowfalls. In Spring rainfall was concentrated in the last weeks inducing a later budding. Stable Spring weather and above average temperatures were followed by a drought starting in early June and an unusual heat wave. July temperatures were lower though it was dry. The only advantage to the drought is the absence of disease pressure from either mildew or oidium. Good rainfalls in August preceded delightfully warm September and October months though the diurnal range was less than usual. Ultimately yields were good and the red wines are expected to be elegant and silky with rich volume and tannins having an opulent grip. The whites are lofty and more lavish in nature. Enjoy!
“Made with ancient methods and in the super-sour style of a modern Stateside piquette, this limited-edition side project of Vasco Croft from Aphros Wines will appeal to fans of funky kombucha, sour beers, pet nats and natural wines. Cloudy, lightly spritzed and popping with aromas of wild strawberry and raspberry, sour cherry and pink peppercorn, … Read More
