Fourteen Tips for ’26 (Part 1, 1-7) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 31/03/2026 by dccrossley

Fourteen tips for ’26? Those of you who know me are doubtless aware of my favourite producers: Gut Oggau, Rennersistas etc, Alice Bouvot’s Octavin, Jean-Pierre Rietsch, Charlie Herring Wines, Florian Lauer, Kelley Fox, Westwell Wines and others. They are all very well established now. What they have in common is that you always get thrilling, electricity-filled wines made with a total respect for the wider ecology of their vineyards.

I thought it would be nice to add to these by highlighting what was originally going to be a dozen young, or newly established, winemakers who have been thrilling me of late. Some of the producers on this list I’ve known and drunk for a few years, others for less time. There’s one estate here that I’ve only drunk one wine from but the buzz around them leads me to suspect it wasn’t a one-off.

Many lists like this consist of a top-ten, but as wine comes in cases of twelve bottles (unless you are buying expensive Burgundy these days), that’s the random number I initially settled on. When I came to write my list, I had fourteen young winemakers which I could not in all conscience cut down further. I could have added several more names, and to be frank I was sorry not to. I also decided to choose the people I wanted to include, so the spread of locations is narrow, with only one entry from outside Europe, and five of the fourteen from France.

I also realised that one article would be way too long to grab your attention, and that as my “Recent Wines” articles usually contain six wines in each part, perhaps I could stretch my readers to seven producers in each, splitting the original article into two. The names listed appear in no particular order at all. It isn’t a ranking.

This is just a personal selection, just for fun, so don’t hate me for my choices. Some of you might have drunk every single one of these producers, whilst it is quite conceivable that some readers might not have tried any. But as for availability, I reckon most of the fourteen should be fairly easy to find, whilst one or two might take a bit of digging around for. I wonder how many you know, and love?

Mountain People Wines (Monmouthshire, Wales)

Mountain People Wines is the label of Plumpton alumni David Morris. David used to make wine at his family’s vineyard, the well-known pioneer of Welsh natural wine, Ancre Hill. Now he has spread his wings, leasing possibly the UK’s oldest plantings, Parva vineyard.  He makes several cuvées from his own fruit, which includes a Pinot Noir vineyard at Ancre Hill, and he also takes grapes from a friend at Mayland Vineyard near Frome in Somerset (the friend’s main job is growing blackcurrants).

My recommendation, from several superb wines, is called TAM. TAM stands for “This ain’t Macon”, though I’d have called it TAJ (this ain’t Jura) because it is a dead ringer for a Stéphane Tissot Chardonnay (the Patchwork comes to mind). It has a very faint touch of deliberately oxidative winemaking…just a tiny hint. I had no idea first time I tasted this that David had consulted Stéphane about making Chardonnay. There seemed to be two different bottlings of TAM, both lovely but very slightly different.

A totally different wine is a Rosé from Welsh fruit from Parva, Gwin Poble y Mynydd Rhosyn. This is a blend of fourteen varieties going back to 1979 plantings. A pretty wine in the best sense. Of course, don’t expect to sniff any sulphur.

In Scotland I’ve bought David’s wines at both Cork & Cask and at Spry Wines (distribution via Element Wines). In England contact David’s agent Carte Blanche Wines.

Jonas Dostert (Mosel, Germany)

Jonas Dostert is widely acknowledged as a rising star of the Mosel, and when you consider he only harvested his first grapes in 2018, and that is based in the very unfashionable Nittel, that’s pretty good going. Nittel is just across the river from Luxembourg, so about as far west on the river as you can grow vines in that part of Germany. Jonas farms his organically on slopes of mostly limestone, which he firmly believes shows through in the wines thanks to his belief in doing as little as possible, and adding as little as possible, in the vineyard and cellar. There’s an extra element to Dostert’s mission: to put this part of the wider Mosel back on the maps, because even in Germany it has been looked down upon.

Jonas’ wines have only fairly recently become available in the UK, and I first got to know them via Russell at Feral Art & Vin in Bordeaux. Russell has been an aficionado of cutting-edge German wines for decades and he has built up a good relationship with Jonas. Collecting the wines in person (plus not having to pay UK transport, excise and import taxes) means he can offer them at prices UK merchants could only dream of…but then he doesn’t ship to the UK. So, we are lucky that Newcomer Wines has started to ship some.

Newcomer currently has three wines in stock. Aside from a Crémant (not Sekt), they have his Chardonnay and Elbling Alte Reben. Elbling is a very unfashionable variety, but a mainstay of the vineyards of what we used to call the Obermosel. In the right hands (hint hint) it can be mineral and expressive. The Chardonnay is my favourite wine from Dostert, and it is magnificent in its own way. But the Elbling will cost you about £35 in the UK, and the Chardonnay a shave under fifty.

Not currently available in the UK is a wine called “Pure Dolomite”. I have some 2022, purchased in France. That is a magnificent blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Elbling. Best of both worlds. That will cost you €22 (the Chardonnay €30) as currently listed by Feral, which has a good few Dostert wines listed right now. This natural wine shop in Bordeaux’s old town is not always open so check times attentively if you find yourself down that way (I shall soon be passing through Bordeaux, but sadly outside their next opening window).

Sophie Evans (Kent, England)

Sophie Evans is a new name in English wine, but potentially the winemaker over whom there is currently the biggest buzz. Sophie has only one hectare of vines in Kent, but she bottled her first wines in Germany, having worked with Melanie and Michael of the astonishing 2Naturkinder, in their cellar. She has also made wine from purchased grapes sourced at…I’m not sure if I should say, but certainly there is an astonishing similarity between Sophie’s Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris blend and the wines of the man in question. I mean super-fruity glou.

Part of the buzz around Sophie is her commitment to regenerative viticulture. She works with teas, herbal tinctures and essential oils, and an array of other biodynamic preps, in the way that Tim Phillips of Charlie Herring Wines does (but he’s been a star to those in the know for a very long time). Sophie has managed to convert a small barn into a winery on-site. She has also taken over the care of a couple more small sites. She studied in the UK but actively rejects a lot of the formulaic learning she experienced, preferring to acknowledge that intuition guides her in most of her decision making.

At the moment I’ve only seen her German Rötling (purchased from Communiqué Wines in Edinburgh), and her “Pinot Pinot”, this new classic pale red (or is it pink?) blend from purchased fruit (which I bought from Spry Wine). Her UK agent is Wines Under the Bonnet. They had three of of her English wines and two of those made in Germany last time I looked. Although these are new, quantities are tiny so you would need to move swiftly.

Matt Gregory Wines (Leicestershire, England)

Matt Gregory first came to my attention via a roundabout route. He did a stint working with my favourite New Zealand winemaker, Theo Coles, of The Hermit Ram, in the wilds of the South Island’s North Canterbury. I later found out that he had also worked at that great Leicestershire wine importer and merchant, Bat & Bottle. B&B specialise in Italy, and it is my great regret that I have never tried the wines Matt made once out there, at Villa Giada in Piemonte.

Matt has a little more in the way of vines than Sophie Evans, around three hectares. He took over the vines in 2020, but like Sophie’s vines, they were about ten years old. Mostly the two Pinots (Noir and Gris), plus Bacchus, and a range of hybrids including Solaris, Seyval Blanc, Madeleine Angevine and Regent. The vineyard is at the highest point of the Leicestershire Wolds, in the east of the county, near Rutland. Here, the terroir is on limestone rubble with flint and quartz. A great mineral mix.

Farming is resolutely low intervention, and Matt makes natural wines, with all that entails, except for the use of low levels of sulphur if deemed necessary. Such viticulture in this part of the country is a near miracle, but although it is wet for sure, it is also windy and this does cut back the chance of fungal disease that the wet weather can bring. The wind’s big disadvantage, however, is that Matt cannot really go for organic certification because he’s in the middle of conventionally sprayed arable land. He’s the first to admit that he can only do his best to minimise any potential contamination. Cross-contamination is a topic many European wine makers prefer to ignore.

The key for Matt is soil health. He uses cover crops, and does everything he can to increase biodiversity (lately, a hedging project). In the winery he makes whatever the grapes seem to want him to, which means you won’t often find the same wine made more than once. For example, I have just drunk his “Little Sister”, a blend of Pinots from 2023 with 2024 white grapes. The result smashes it out of the park, and with only 9% abv it is just delicate and thrilling.

“Hedge Line” is one from 2023 which blends Bacchus with three of his hybrids, a wine whose complexity grows gently in the glass, but which excites with its saline twist and a citrus minerality reminding me of the Prié Blanc grape of Morgex in Aosta. I am eagerly looking forward to “Coral” from 2024 fruit. This is definitely a Rosé, though made from the PN/PG pairing Matt does love. It will come in at only 8.5%, but I’m told it doesn’t taste that low. We shall see. These are not wines with direct and immediate impact. They build gently and carress the senses, but you need to have a bit of the acid hound in your personality too if you are going to truly appreciate them (as I do).

Matt’s wines are usually available to me in Edinburgh from several sources (see Sophie Evans above), but he is one of the growing number of young British winemakers on the roster at Wines Under the Bonnet.

 Domaine D’Ici Là (Bugey, France)

I make no apology for the fact that many of the winemakers I’m mentioning in this article have featured in my current drinking recently. Perhaps that is what inspired me to write this article. But I will say that although I’ve admired this producer for a couple of years, the most recent wine I drank of theirs, “Lithos Chardonnay”, was possibly my favourite so far.

Bugey is a tiny, and in the wider scheme of things, insignificant appellation sitting somewhere between the southern end of Jura and Savoie. Things are further complicated because it is a single region split into two halves. The northern half nods towards Jura in terms of style, whilst the southern makes wines which might often be mistaken for Savoie. The World Atlas of Wine 8th edn gives Bugey a small paragraph at the end of three pages on Jura/Savoie. We shall see if this summer’s 9th edn improves on that. Thankfully Wink Lorch in Wines of the French Alps (2019) gives Bugey a chapter of around fifty pages.

This small and new domaine is in the southern sector, in a hamlet called Groslée-St-Benoït, which is just south of the best-known vineyard in the area, its only “cru”, Montagnieu. It is run by Adrien Bariol and Florie Brunet, who met whilst working in the Rhône. They arrived in Bugey in 2018 and were very lucky to be chosen to take over the vines of local vigneron Patrick Charlin. Charlin was one of those old timers (he’d been farming here for forty years) who hadn’t really sprayed very much onto his vines, so they were in just the right condition for a couple committed to organic viticulture as the basis for low intervention wines.

The varieties farmed here do have a Savoyard ring. Altesse and Mondeuse are paired with Chardonnay and Gamay so far. Some Chardonnay goes into the still wine I mentioned, whilst the majority, I think, goes into sparkling wine, although there is also an “orange wine” made from Chardonnay (“Les Oubliés”).

Their Mondeuse is really good, although it’s the one wine I’ve had from D’Ici Là that I don’t see on their importer’s web site right now. But that importer, Modal Wines, does have a Roussette that I’ve not tried, along with several other wines which include their lovely Bugey Brut (I certainly recommend this as much as any sparkling Bugey, or Savoie for that matter, that I’ve drunk). This is currently a blend of red and white varieties aged on lees for eighteen months.

Sam Lambson/Minimalist Wines (Stellenbosch, South Africa)

Sam Lambson is only one of a host of truly exciting young winemakers now working in the Cape. I could easily find a dozen to write about, although maybe one or two wouldn’t quite qualify as “young”.  Sam is certainly young. He made his first wines whilst still at the University of Stellenbosch in 2018, at the age of just twenty-one. There’s a perhaps apocryphal story of how this young man with zero wine connections fell in love with Syrah over a bottle of Jamet Côte-Rôtie whilst at High School, leading him towards Oenology as a decisive career path.

Back in 2019, just a year after his first harvest, Sam was in London with his new friend Richard Kelley MW of SA specialist Dreyfus Ashby. It was at that amazing “New Wave South Africa” tasting at Soho’s Viny Factory in September of that year. One of those tastings you never really forget. Sam only had one wine to show, Stars in the Dark, made from Syrah whole bunch fermented in large old oak, the only intervention being minimal sulphur added in the winter. I have several times been grateful to Colin Thorne (buyer at Vagabond Wines) for a nod and a wink, and this was one occasion to remember him (who I haven’t seen for some years now) for making sure I tasted it.

Sam now makes wines from Cape Agulhas, Elgin and Stellenbosch, and they are available surprisingly widely in the UK, either from some of the smarter wine merchants (Lay & Wheeler is one, and I’m sure I’ve seen them at Berry Brothers too) or smaller retailers. However, his back labels show his importer as the aforementioned Drefus Ashby, an agreement made on a handshake back in 2018. They are certainly wines to cellar, and I think of all the young winemakers featured here they are wines which need age. I am sure I read a description of Sam as a “visionary” on one web site. I think that is in no way an exaggeration.

Yannick Meckert (Alsace, France)

I first came across Yannick Meckert a few years ago when he was making wine with Vanessa Letort under the “Du Vin Aux Liens” label. By the time I tasted his wine, he and Vanessa had gone their own ways, she now making wine in Lorraine and Yannick had taken on three hectares outside Obernai. He then added to that a further two hectares at Reichsfeld. But then, unusually for a winemaker, Yannick decided to dramatically cut his production and from 2025 he planned to make 8,000 bottles, rather than the 25,000 bottles he was previously capable of.

If most winemakers will say they strive to make the best wine they can, Yannick Meckert will say that he strives to do the best he can for the planet. In Camilla Gjerda’s wonderful Natural Trailblazers book (2024) she describes a guy who had travelled the world learning to make natural wine yet totally stopped flying in 2022 because of the impact it has on the planet. That is just one example of the principles he tries to live by.

Like so many Alsace natural winemakers, Yannick, despite coming from a family of conventional wine producers, was influenced by one of my all-time heroes, Jean-Pierre Rietsch (Mittelbergheim). Yannick is now resolutely as small-scale (relatively speaking) as he is an advocate of fully natural wines (although I have been told he has been forced by atrocious weather to go back a touch on his refusal to even use copper, and occasionally sulphur). Yannick is another of the proponents here for using essential oils though, and by allowing his vines to live beside a variety of flora, he has created a wonderful ecology in the vineyard.

When I first knew he was no longer involved in the Vin Aux Liens project I understood that by choice his only export country was Japan for his new solo project. Now, those in England who have access to Tutto Wines may find his bottles on their Tutto a Casa online shop.  When writing last week I only spotted “Stupeur et Tremblement” (£36), but others come and go so contact Tutto if you are tempted to dive in.

Posted in Alsace, Artisan Wines, Bugey, English Wine, German Wine, Mosel, Natural Wine, South African Wines, Welsh Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recent Wines February 2026 (Part 2) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 24/03/2026 by dccrossley

Remember Recent Wines? I published Part 1 of February’s wines four weeks ago, and with seven articles from two Edinburgh events in between, here is Part 2. It’s almost certainly the biggest gap between Recent Wines posts yet, but I hope the intervening pieces have been interesting and the wait for this selection has been worth it.

Here we have six more bottles, the best or most interesting/exciting that we drank at home during the second half of February. We begin in Champagne before a rare Bordeaux red, though I don’t mean like the ’58 Latour I drank a while ago, just that Bordeaux appears rarely on my table these days, but maybe that will change. Next, a fairly well-known red from The Marches in Italy, and a South African Syrah. We finish with a Bugey Chardonnay from a favourite producer there, and a Chinese wine which scores highly on many levels. It isn’t red, but that is far from being the most interesting and exciting thing about it.

Champagne Gallimard Blanc de Noirs Cuvée Réserve NV (in magnum) (Champagne, France)

Here we have a lesson in how to best appreciate what you might think is a moderately priced Champagne, which can be transformed by first, buying it in magnum, and second, ageing it in your cellar or equivalent. I bought six magnums of this Gallimard for a summer house-warming/anniversary party in the early summer of 2024. This magnum was left over and I decided it was time to open it when seven friends (ourselves plus five) got together for dinner. Two of these friends were visiting from overseas and they needed cheering up, and a magnum gave us two reasonable glasses (two-thirds in a tulip is enough) each, with our salmon or white crab on rye bread aperitif.

Gallimard are in Les Riceys, on the Kimmeridgian limestone of the Aube, which we have come to call the Côte des Bar these days. The vines average thirty years old in the ten hectares farmed by this sixth-generation family house, Didier and his son Arnaud currently at the helm.

This is definitely more golden than it was twenty-one months or so ago, and more so than a bottle of Champagne brought by one of the guests. It has a bouquet of mellow red fruits and apple. The palate has some genuine autolytic development and is quite creamy. It was genuinely impressive. Quite a few of us have known that Gallimard makes some of the best value Champagnes out there. A true family operation, yet you pay £33 for a 75cl bottle (which has only risen by £1 over the past year) at The Solent Cellar. The magnums still cost £70, which is what I paid all that time ago. You could ask Simon how long they have been in his cool storage.

Charmes de Kirwan 2019, Château Kirwan (Bordeaux, France)

“Charmes” is a cuvée made from younger vines at Margaux Troisième Cru Château Kirwan.  Being made from younger vines perhaps you are not looking for the depth you expect in the main cuvée, but for those of us who have long memories, the second wines from some of the once less-exalted châteaux of the Médoc can often (but not always) give more pleasure than the first wines used to back in the day. Of course, in the past, before second wines appeared everywhere, all the fruit would go into the Grand Vin, but nowadays, even the second wines generally receive care and a quality focus that at some estates was not even reflected in their single cuvées in the 1970s.

Why was that? Bordeaux has always been a bastion of both wine conservativism and a degree of arrogance that they were making the absolute finest wine in the world. The 1855 Classification of wines, that which put Kirwan into the third tier, was set in stone and any property could live off its place in that ranking. It was undoubtedly the arrogance of the châteaux owners which has put so many younger drinkers right off the Bordeaux appellations, especially as arrogance and hype had led to grossly inflated pricing.

Those of us who taste regularly began to find both excitement and quality elsewhere, and all but the more conservative writers, or those bound up with the increasingly ridiculous en-primeur circus, began to champion better value fine wines. Meanwhile, the Bordelais sleepwalked into a less certain future where the finest estates could still reel in the obscenely wealthy, but the rest, whether lesser fine estates lacking the cachet of a Latour or a Mouton, or the small family-run Petits Châteaux, and certainly the negoces, became increasingly worried for their futures. Falling sales for some cannot fit easily with today’s increased production costs, but it is clear that complacency has no place in Bordeaux any more.

Things began to change, even back in the 1980s. Some producers looked to the biodynamics that has led them to regenerative agriculture. Biodynamics, and the use of a horse for ploughing, became celebrated at Pontet-Canet, and Caroline Frey began to work the kind of changes at La Lagune that caught the interest of many like me. Châteaux like Falfas (Bourg), Peybonhomme-Les-Tours (Médoc), Cazebonne (Graves), Climens (Barsac) and Meylet (St-Emilion) were all early pioneers of biodynamics, showing the spread of this methodology/philosophy around the whole region.

Whilst biodynamics has spread to the highest echelons, with Châteaux Palmer embracing biodynamics, and experiments taking place at some famous First Growths, the true excitement turned to natural wine, with perhaps Château Le Puy in the Côtes de Francs leading the charge. But hey, this is a major digression from the wine in hand, but it does illustrate that consumers are turning away from Bordeaux just as things start to get exciting once more. The pendulum has begun to swing back towards less extraction in the wines, and less synthetic chemicals sprayed on the vines.

We have a blend of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. There is more Merlot than in the Grand Vin, making this cuvée somewhat softer and less tannic, certainly at six years plus. The fruit is all blackcurrants and it has quite decent length. It will age further if you wish, but without the harsh tannins a big Grand Vin might show at this stage, it is nice on its primary fruit. There’s just a touch of the savouriness that comes (one hopes) with age. You would not think you are drinking 1970s Bordeaux, which could be brilliant or disappointing depending on the bottle (though usually more reliable than Red Burgundy from the same period), but this is a satisfying wine.

This was a gift. It seems widely available at £38/£39 (try Majestic Wine), which probably makes it quite expensive for the quality. But we did enjoy it and it certainly shows that Bordeaux has pulled back from the full-on days of Parkerisation. This has just 13% alcohol, so well done on that score.

Rosso Conero San Lorenzo 2022, Umani Ronchi (Marches, Italy)

When I was somewhat younger, and exploring Italy beyond places beginning with B or C (Brunello, Barolo, Chianti), there were some producers who were ubiquitous, and were among the main representatives of Italian wine regions that were yet to go mainstream. By coincidence next month we have another one of those appearing as well, Alois Lageder. In February we drank this wine, a total classic of its kind, and guess what? It was even better than I remember it a decade or more ago.

The current, soon to be updated, World Wine Atlas remains non-committal about Rosso Conero. Jancis et al say that “the reds of the Marches have been slower to carve out an identity”, and whilst this may have a ring of truth to it, this part of the East Coast does have some exciting wines (not least the various Verdicchios).

Rosso Conero, based around the Adriatic port of Ancona, majors on the Montepulciano grape, which we know can produce very fine wine in the Abruzzo, further south (cf Emidio Pepe etc). Umani Ronchi may not be quite in the “Pepe” league, but they have a sixty-year family history, based originally at Cupramontana in the Verdicchio Classico zone. I remember my first taste of one of their wines was a Verdicchio, back in the early 1990s (from Majestic’s late glory days).

San Lorenzo is a “selection” cuvée of Montepulciano grapes (there is no Sangiovese in this cuvée although the DOC allows for 15%). Ageing is in oak. It combines darker cherry fruit with peppery spice and tobacco. It’s quite rich and at just under four years old still has a moderate tannic structure. The tannins are quite firm but supple. Although Umani Ronchi is a large producer, with 210 hectares in total, I think, this is obviously a flagship wine made with quality in mind. I’d say that you could age it, but I enjoyed it with a rich stew. It’s both meaty and fruity.

At £20 from, again, The Solent Cellar (though San Lorenzo is pretty widely available), it is undoubtedly very good value. This is in no way a natural wine, although company does trumpet its sustainability credentials with “Equalitas Certification”. The importer is Berkmann.

Swartland Signature Syrah 2020, Mullineux Wines (Swartland, South Africa)

It’s a long time since I first met Andrea and Chris Mullineux when they sat on our table at The Ledbury. At that time one of the wine lovers who first invested in their project, which began in 2007, was a regular at our amazing monthly wine lunches in that fabulous restaurant, before a second Michelin Star took its delights out of our grasp. Halcyon days, for sure.

Later on, when the couple needed more investment, they became Mullineux and Leeu, and they have since gone on to great fame, winning the Platter Guide “Winery of the Year” five times. They are based in Reebeck-Kasteel, near Malmesbury, making organic wines with regenerative viticulture to the fore, off the mostly granite and schist of the Swartland. The range has increased quite a lot since those early days but the original wines are released as a signature red and white, along with their straw wines (regarding the latter, grab it if you find it).

2020 (the last but one year they won that Platter accolade) was a long, cool, vintage in Swartland. The Syrah here is a blend of parcels, fermented (90% whole bunches) with native yeasts in barrels. It was aged in a mix of larger 500-litre barrels and 2,000-litre foudres for about twenty months before bottling. There’s dark plum and rich spice on the nose, whilst the palate shows soft tannins so that even though you might say this is young, it is definitely both approachable and enjoyable now. But if you tuck some away and forget about it, you won’t end up disappointed. Right now, it is classy but needs rich food.

Another wine of amazing value. I get mine (I’ve had this cuvée three times since moving to Scotland) from Smith + Gertrude in Portobello (Edinburgh, also in the city at Stockbridge), where it is currently £30. They get it from importer Liberty Wines, though you may also find it at Berry Bros, where the 2020 might be a wee bit more expensive.

Lithos Chardonnay 2023, Domaine D’Ici-Là (Bugey, France)

Bugey might be a strangely split, tiny, appellation between Jura and Savoie, obscure to most, but if you want a good reason to explore it, then this domaine is surely one. Adrien Bariol and Florie Brunet began their adventure in 2017, when newcomers to the region were rare. They began with rented vines, albeit ones that had seen little in the way of chemical treatments having been farmed by Patrick Charlin until his retirement. This made it easier to pursue their intention to make natural wines with minimal intervention and low sulphur additions. They are based at Groslée-St-Benoït, just south of Montagnieu, in Bugey’s southern sector.

This Chardonnay is made from vines at 400 masl at Lhuis, not far from the winery. It is tank fermented and aged on lees. The nose, to me, is pure Yuzu. The palate is both fresh and soft, like lemon sherbet but dry. The lees texture is pleasantly mineral and adds more interest. For me this is brilliant coming from a young couple whose wines I like a lot. It has the kind of wonderful subtlety that actually gives it impact. We drank it with spicy vegetable noodles, a good match and at just 12.5% abv it is a lovely lighter Chardonnay.

Imported by Modal Wines, this came from Spry Wine in Edinburgh. It retails for £30.

“Bloom” Petnat Brut 2023, Silver Heights (Ningxia, China)

If I would recommend the previous wine without question, I would recommend this one with no less energy. It is not only very good, but it is also quite unique in the wines I have so far tasted from China, which admittedly have mostly been quite straightforward, if ambitious, reds. It is made in Ningxia, up in the north, not far from the border with Inner Mongolia.

Made by the Ancestral Method, the grape composition starts off sounding straightforward enough: 80% Chardonnay and 12% Pinot Noir. But the rest (8%) comes from Ningxia Rice Wine. Bottled two years ago, in March 2024, it is dry (Brut) with 12% abv and 6.9 g/l dosage. It is biodynamic and organic, and has no added sulphur.

Pale salmon pink in colour, the bouquet shows a floral-peachy main note with a definite hint (albeit just a hint) of steamed rice. The palate has a peachy clementine thing going on, with just so much freshness. This is a genuine find. I love it and I should get more before it’s all gone (just hanging on for a specific producer I’ve been given a hint about to appear on the list at The Wine Society before placing another order). Winemaker Emma Gao is Bordeaux-trained, not a hotbed of petnat activity, but she’s made a fantastic, interesting, wine here.

TWS has this listed at £32, which may be the only reason they have some left, if indeed they have. I have no idea how much was imported (the importer on the back label is Vinum Eurus in Bedford). The label is pants, but it does come wrapped in an exquisite piece of tissue sporting a Chinese floral design. Is there no end to the number of new producer countries The Wine Society in bringing in at the moment? I do hope not!

Posted in Artisan Wines, Bordeaux Wine, Bugey, Champagne, Chinese Wine, Crémant, Italian Wine, Natural Wine, South African Wines, Sparkling Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trade Tasting at Montrose 9 March 2026 (Part 3: Otros Vinos and La Voluta)

Posted on 21/03/2026 by dccrossley

This third and final part of my articles on the trade tasting at Montrose Edinburgh on 9 March covers Spanish natural wine specialist Otros Vinos and one of their estates, La Voluta, which is not in Spain, but in Roussillon in France. La Voluta was represented by “JB” (aka Jean-Benoït Vivequain). The face of Otros Vinos is Fernando Berry. Fernando, despite his Spanish given name, is originally from Australia if my memory serves me, but he has built up a portfolio of excellent, sometimes astonishing, Spanish natural wines, and is now adding in a selection from France.

Fernando (left) and Jean-Benoït

OTROS VINOS

I first went to an Otros Vinos tasting almost a decade ago and back then I’d have called it a small portfolio. Not having seen Fernando since we moved to Scotland in 2022, the list has grown somewhat, but it is still a selection chosen from small natural winemakers, many of whom do not add sulphur to their wines.

I have currently counted just over twenty Spanish estates, including personal favourites Vinos Ambiz (Gredos), Cauzon (Granada), Clot de Les Soleres (Barcelona), Costador (Tarragona) and Purulio (Granada). There are now seven French producers to accompany them, all located in Languedoc-Roussillon.

Because of time, plus the fact that my phone had died, I only managed notes on three of Fernando’s wines, but seven of Jean-Benoït’s, and you’ll notice the embarrassing lack of photos in this article. That is a shame because the wines here were no less good, and certainly no less exciting, than those in parts one and two.

All I can say is please try the Otros Vinos wines. They do offer something different, and some of the producers Fernando works with (especially those mentioned above, and those tasted here) are well worth seeking out. It was good to see Fernando in Edinburgh, and I hope a few retailers and restaurants liked what they tasted too.

To make up for lack of photos this is the list of Otros Vinos at the tasting

Vinyes Tortuga (Catalunya, Spain)

Tortuga is the label of Dido (a cultural anthropologist by training) and Jurrriaan, who met in Swartland, South Africa, and travelled for four years together, working for wine producers they liked. They settled in Alt Emporda, farming 9.5 hectares of vines, purchased via crowdfunding. Their first vintage was 2018. The vines are at quite low altitude (150 masl) but only fifteen minutes from the sea, in L’Albera National Park in Girona Province. The soils are licorella (a slate/graphite blend), as in Priorat, and the Tramontana wind keeps disease away from the vines, allowing for low intervention natural winemaking. Sulphur is preferably avoided completely, and they are in conversion to biodynamics.

Doolittle Rosé 2024 is something a little different. It is made oxidatively in 500-litre barrels, not topped up. Its flavour is quite unique. It’s a dry wine but with such sweet cherry fruit. And guess what, the grape variety is Barbera, very possibly the only Barbera in Spain. I loved it. It satisfied my appetite for adventure and something thrillingly different.

Doolittle Red 2020 is made from the same variety and the same vineyard. This really could be an Italian Barbera tasted blind, and I mean a very good one. Plump fruit, juicy, but with a bitter lick of savoury goodness on the finish. I should say “very” fruity.

I Loved both of these. The vineyards are planted with an extremely interesting mixture of grape varieties. Besides the Barbera, they have Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnatxa (Grenache), and a recently-grafted single hectare of white varieties (Garnatxa Blanca, Malvasia, Macabeu and some Chenin Blanc for goodness sake – I want to try that one).

I’d absolutely love some adventurous retailer to grab these.

Los Comuns “Estrem” 2024 (Catalunya, Spain)

This estate is a project between Jordi Escoda and Augustí Perelló, who grew up together in El Molar in Priorat. Their vines are within the Priorat appellation but they don’t work to the rules laid down, and the wines are labelled as table wine equivalent. Their vines are on very steep, rocky slopes many fellow producers don’t want to work. Production is tiny, at around 3,500 bottles each vintage.

The wine tasted was a blend of 60% Cariñena and 40% Garnacha, off those licorella soils. It’s a young and fruity wine made in a Crianza style. A natural wine, it is fermented using local yeasts in amphora, where it spends just three months ageing. No sulphites are added. To match the style it has juicy fruit and extract, and I think the alcohol is up at 13.5%.

Some otros vinos from Otros Vinos

LA VOLUTA (Corbières, France)

This estate, of 6.5 hectares, is run by another couple who met abroad, this time in New Zealand. Jean-Benoït Vivequain and his partner Anna Rubio are based at Cucugnan, north of Maury but just inside the Aude, in the Haut-Corbières’ rugged schist hills. They make natural wines to express the terroir, as they say, and in the cellar they will only use tiny amounts of sulphur, and only when absolutely essential.

Kuntur 2024 was the only white wine here. A blend of Marselan and Muscat, it’s a zesty, dry wine with a good savoury edge to it. A simple wine, I think (though youth might disguise its potential) yet a good start. Looking back, it is that zippy fruit that seems to characterise all of the wines here, although the rancios are far more complex, certainly the last (2017) wine.

Zanza 2023 is a delicious zippy, pale, light red made from 100% Carignan. I say light…it tastes light, although I’m sure I spotted 13.5% abv. So tasty.

Bambolina 2021 is a bit of an experiment for them. Grenache and Carignan are fermented separately and then blended together when the fermentation has finished. It’s a super-zesty red bursting with fruity life.

Loro 2023 is a Syrah and Grenache Noir blend, mostly Grenache but with the Syrah berries added as an infusion. Much less zesty than Bambolina, but really beautiful fruit.

Tembo 2023 brings together Carignan and Grenache again (like Bambolina). Both varieties here are fermented separately on their skins in stainless steel and then blended for ageing in barrel (8 months). This is a smooth-fruited wine but vibrant and fresh. There seems to be a toungue-prickling lick of nice CO2.

Karaka 2022 is an amazing Grenache Noir. It ferments in barrels before transferring to glass demijohns outdoors where it ages in the traditional Maury style (but without AOP, as Vin de France). It had a bit more tannin than the local Vins Doux usually have, but it’s a unique style, well worth exploring.

If that was good, the last wine was even better, I think. Joana 2017 is again an oxidatively made/aged (rancio style) Grenache (Noir, Blanc and Gris), but this time with an extra five years in bottle over the Karaka. It is made via the same process as that wine, with the grapes being foot-trodden. It has an astonishing bouquet which you’d think might be from a very much older wine, until you notice its freshness. The palate is dry too (you almost expect it to be sweet), and the 15% alcohol is natural ripeness. They don’t use any mutage, ie no adding spirit to fortify it. Very long, it is also gaining complexity, though I imagine it will age well long-term. Perhaps almost indefinitely.

I thought these wines were pretty exceptional. I think they would retail between around £30-£40, so not cheap, but the quality is there. I don’t know these wines at all, but I’m sure someone will point out that insiders already know them well. Still, for me it was great to meet Jean-Benoït and to taste his wines. It capped-off a great tasting. I do wish I’d had more time.

I failed to taste at the Roland Wines table. Every time I looked someone was sat at a chair commanding full attention, and in the end I had to head off. I hope that Roland will once more make an appearance at one of the Cork & Cask wine fairs this year, as usual.

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Trade Tasting at Montrose 9 March 2026 (Part 2: Beattie & Roberts and Domaine Ami)

Posted on 16/03/2026 by dccrossley

Montrose Part 2 covers the wines of North London-based importer Beattie & Roberts and the wines of Domaine Ami in Burgundy. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I’d probably never heard of Beattie & Roberts before I discovered one of their wines last year, from Les Valseuses, a micro-domaine just outside Arbois, in the Jura. What a lovely list they seem to have, though no Valseuses on show here. They also have a wine bar near their home base of Newington Green, called Cadet. It’s a joint project with charcutier George Jephson, a small food offering provided by chef Mike Murphy. The wine bar showcases their full retail wine list for sale.

Domaine Ami was represented by Paul Perarnau, who runs this domaine with Willy Roulendes. It is based at Paris L’Hôpital, close to the southern Côte de Beaune appellation of Maranges. Both men had previously worked with prestigious names, and Paul even worked for Dynamic Vines for a while. Their wines are imported by Raeburn Fine Wines.

BEATTIE & ROBERTS

Crémant d’Alsace 2023, Christophe Lindenlaub (Alsace, France)

The first of Christophe’s wines on show was his Crémant. The grapes come from his vineyards around Dorlisheim, right up in the far north of the region (south of Mutzig and west of Strasbourg). Once ignored, this is now the wild frontier, the place to look for undiscovered natural wine gems, except that Christophe is not undiscovered. Nor is Crémant d’Alsace these days.

Much of the Crémant from Alsace is mainly Chardonnay, but this is pretty much equal parts Sylvaner and Auxerrois. It only sees 12 months on lees, so it isn’t complex. But what it is gives you clean and fresh fruit carried on a brittle spine of brisk acidity. Another wine whose time has come, judging by the sunshine and riot of yellow daffodils outside my window.

Riesling « A Griffes Acérées » 2023 was also poured. Christophe makes this by direct press juice from his highest parcels of Riesling at Mutzig. Zero additions, zero added sulphur, it is linear and fresh from ageing in stainless steel for 12 months. A nice “wet pebble” gentle texture underlies the fleshy citrus. Two very good wines.

Escumosos 3r 2022, Celler 9+ (Catalonia, Spain)

This domaine is close to the sea, just east of Tarragona in Catalunya. The varietal composition is mostly Cartoixa, a synonym for Xarel-lo, common in Cava. This is a sparkling wine with fruit off rough chalky soil, made by the Ancestral Method. It has a fruity demeanour for sure, but is made very interesting by a mineral texture and more fresh acidity. It would also make a lovely aperitif.

1r Base Blanco 2024 is a delicious still wine from the same estate. 80% Cartoixa and 20% Macabeu gets just six months in stainless steel, so the result is salty and lemony and very fresh. All of these 9+ wines are natural, with no added sulphur.

Transhumància Blanc 2024, Domaine Cotzé (Roussillon, France)

Muscat à Petit Grains was harvested at Domaine Carterole in Roussillon. Whole bunch fermentation (10 days), then ageing in fibreglass before being bottled in spring 2025. This is a very good wine. Amazing to get such tension and salinity out of Muscat. The bouquet has typical florality you’d expect from the variety but the palate has stone fruit and texture.

La Peur du Rouge 2024, Domaine Le Temps des Cérises (Languedoc, France)

Axel Prüfer was born in former East Germany, but after working in the South of France, including with Eric Pfifferling at L’Anglore, he set down roots at Le Mas Blanc, a hamlet near Béziers. This “fear of red” is a blend of Chardonnay and Clairette. A five-day maceration is followed by ageing in tank. The result is a golden yellow colour with tropical fruits and a lovely balance (12% abv shows the vines are up in the hills, away from the heat).

Premier Jus 2024, Domaine Fond Cyprès (Languedoc, France)

We stay in Languedoc, but here we are in the Corbières mountains at the village of Escales. Carignan and Grenache Noir are harvested from north-facing slopes. The Grenache goes into a large tank after pressing, and an infusion of whole Carignan berries is added to the fermentation. Is the result a dark Rosé or a light red? Whatever it is, you get a light-bodied wine with nice aromatics. I would lean stylistically to light red, only because I did detect just a little bit of tannin in what is otherwise pleasantly smooth. Another excellent 12.5% abv wine from a region where the alcohol often runs free.

Syrah de la Penède 2023 is more of a traditional red from Rodolphe Gianesini and Laetitia Ourliac at Fond Cyprès. It’s a single parcel wine from a vineyard backed by forest. They do a four-week maceration of fully destemmed grapes in wooden vats, then the pressed must goes back into oak for one year. You get deep and dark, leggy fruit, quite full and chewy even, but the fruit is nevertheless dark and smooth. B&R suggest it is similar to a Northern Rhône Syrah, and they are probably right. It needs some time, I would suggest, but I think this retails at a little over £30. As such, it’s another example of a route for exploring a grape, in this case Syrah, without today’s cost for a Côte-Rôtie, or even one of the finer Saint-Josephs. You get a wine of individual character and personality.

Riptide 2024, Domaine Cotzé (Roussillon, France)

More Roussillon from Domaine Cotzé here, a blend of four varieties: 40% Carignan and 20% Morvèdre with a two-day maceration, plus 30% Muscat of Alexandria and 10% Syrah, given a slightly longer five-day soak on skins. The wine when blended is in no way heavy, and it’s perhaps surprisingly light until you notice it weighs in at only 11.4% alcohol. Yet it does combine a floral bouquet and a mix of red and dark fruits with a deeper earthy, savoury quality. Lightish but far from weedy. A modern Roussillon wine in the best sense, in that it’s not at all ponderous or jammy, nor is it too chewy..

DOMAINE AMI

Domaine Ami is, as I mentioned in my introduction, a relatively new domaine near Maranges at the southern end of the Côte de Beaune. When I started going to Burgundy in the mid-1980s Maranges was a backwater. The appellation was granted here in 1988. Two friends who had studied together, Paul Perarnau and Willy Roulendes, managed to join to create Domaine Ami, initially as a negociant, but now with five hectares at Paris L’Hôpital (3ha rented, 1ha owned, 1ha owned by investors).

Willy had worked at Domaine de Montille, learning about biodynamics with Etienne, before managing the Clos du Moulin aux Moines in Auxey. Paul started in finance, then worked at Dynamic Vines in London, before joining Willy at Clos du Moulin, gaining further experience with Dominique Hauvette in Provence. His final job before Domaine Ami was as Sales Director for Bruno Paillard in Reims. I think Paul has a famous sister, AthénaÏs de Béru (Château de Béru, Chablis).

I tasted eight wines. The style seems to be to make fruity cuvées but which are also savoury and food-friendly. They also say they aim to make affordable wines, if Burgundy can truly fit that description generally, but certainly within context they are less expensive than many.

I say the wines are fruity, but they do aim for slightly longer fermentations, and only punch down the cap in the small tanks they use just a little in the second week, to, as Paul said, “release the sugars”. They also believe this method helps instil a bit more depth of character. If they add sulphur at all to these wines, it will be below 20 mg/l.

Bourgogne Blanc La Tête dans les Nuages 2021 really surprised me. It comes from the bottom of the slope at Maranges and is an easy-going wine with depth. This was the white “Nuages”, a Chardonnay (there’s a red from Pinot Noir too). This is actually a lovely wine if you don’t want to climb the appellation ladder with its concomitant costs. Organic grapes, no sulphites added, apple and pear fruit notes, quite delicious. It is Chardonnay, with occasionally a little Aligoté in some vintages. It undergoes one of their longer, slow, fermentations and is aged on lees (usually in older oak) for 12 months.

I actually tasted the reds first, Paul going the way I am used to tasting in the Jura. There was a Saint Albin Rouge 2019 (not Aubin) off limestone, a Maranges 2020 called “Ou Maranges”, a Volnay 2017 and a 2015 Pommard, the latter their first vintage, literally a garage wine. All showed increasing levels of fresh fruit purity tamed by a savoury depth with age. The Volnay was slightly atypical because the vines are at the bottom of the slope where there is more clay. It was an attractive wine right now, but if one were generalising, I think 2017 is seen as a vintage for early drinking despite good quality.

Overall, it was nice to taste wines with some bottle age, enough to see them in a positive light.

After enjoying the “Nuages” I was looking forward to the white wines. The Côte de Beaune 2018 comes from a plot between Beaune and Pommard close to some Giboulot vines (apparently…well it might mean they are getting less chemical overspill). We have lemony depth, good length, amplified warmth but acidity too.

The Saint-Romain 2022 is perhaps a step up, but ex-VAT prices here rise from £26 to £33, with another £4 plus VAT for the admittedly lovely Santenay Premier Cru Clos Rousseau 2018. Amplified fruit, mineral but not all that acidic, and drinking well.

This is a good young domaine making good wines and with a dynamic outlook. I think the “Nuages” is excellent value despite being far from the cheapest Bourgogne Blanc around (around £24+ VAT, presumably Trade). Contact Raeburns for further information.

Posted in Artisan Wines, Burgundy, Languedoc-Roussillon, Natural Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trade Tasting at Montrose 9 March 2026 (Part 1: Wines Under the Bonnet and Wayward Wines)

Posted on 12/03/2026 by dccrossley

Montrose has become one of the venues that hosts some of the most exciting trade tastings in Edinburgh since it opened in November 2023, in a former pub near the top of Easter Road. Being under the same ownership as the city’s renowned Michelin-starred Timberyard, it already matches exceptional food with a wine list to enthral even the most picky of Londoners, and other visitors, who seem to head here. They have an exceptional team as well.

On Monday 9 March Montrose was invaded by a selection of small importers and I managed to taste from Wines Under the Bonnet, Wayward Wines, Beattie & Roberts, and Otros Vinos. I also tasted wines from two winemaker guests, Paul Perarnau from Domaine Ami, based at Paris L’Hôpital near Maranges in Burgundy (imported by Raeburn Fine Wines), and JB (aka Jean-Benoît Vivequain) from La Voluta, a natural wine domaine at Cucugnan in Corbières. La Voluta is imported by Otros Vinos.

Three parts will, as briefly as possible because of the number of wines tasted, cover:

Part 1 – Wines Under the Bonnet and Wayward Wines

Part 2 – Beattie & Roberts and Domaine Ami

Part 3 – Otros Vinos and La Voluta

*prices were either not given, or where they were they were trade prices ex-VAT, so I have not included any pricing information, except in a few cases.

All of the wines mentioned were bottles I’d be happy to drink. Those I would like to buy most are only subtly distinguished in the text, and I only refrained from listing my favourites because that list would be pointlessly long. I hope that at 2,300 words, this article isn’t.

WINES UNDER THE BONNET

2Naturkinder (pron. ZweiNaturkinder) is the natural wine domaine of Melanie and Michael Völker, based in Franken, which seems nowadays to be a happening place for a new generation of young winemakers. They have around six hectares near Iphofen. I tried two wines. There used to be a range of wines here labelled “Vater & Sohn”, from Vines Michael shared with his father. Now there is just one per year and this was #6, apparently from the same vineyard as the former “Fledermaus White”. Vater & Sohn #6 is a blend, but mostly Müller-Thurgau with a tiny bit of Pinot Gris and Sylvaner. It’s a non-vintage cuvée blended from 2024 fruit with some from 2023. You get a fruit-filled bouquet with a savoury twist.

That’s a lovely zippy wine, as you expect from this couple. Their second wine comes under the Brutal!!! label. This is made from 2023 vintage Pinot Gris (aka Rülander locally). Apparently, it is the first wine from this Bar Brutal-inspired label to be released in Germany (official Brutal!!! releases have gold lettering which the unofficial releases with white lettering lack). We have fruit off a single steep slope with poor soil, and it goes into 600-litre old oak. It’s fully natural (zero-zero, no added sulphur). Very dynamic stuff, but with depth and concentration.

Complémen’-Terre 68 Ares 2024 is a Folle Blanche (Muscadet’s forgotten variety) made by Manuel Landron and Marion Pescheux at La Haye Fouassière, east of Nantes. It is a different and larger parcel than the original 68 Ares in current vintages but it has kept the name. It’s alive and tasty, and less overtly acidic than many versions of this variety.

Tribute 2024 is a bottling made from Melon vines on sandy soils, shared with Manu’s father, Jo Landron. It’s quite ripe with pear and lemon, but also mineral and has a really nice savoury element. You’d not usually get such spice in a Muscadet. A very good natural, biodynamic, terroir wine from a producer always worth a punt if you don’t know the wine.

[Oops! No Photo]

Peltier-Ravineau is a domaine set up by two friends who studied together at Beaune, who since graduating in 2019 have worked with names such as Pacalet, Hervé Villemade and Tue Boeuf. They are based at Valaire, near Cheverny (close to Blois, in the Loire). These were really nice natural wines, three of them.

La Marnière 2024 is bottled under the Cheverny appellation and is mainly Sauvignon Blanc blended with Menu Pineau. It sees 6 months on lees in fibreglass and is genuinely good, not like your typical “Touraine Sauvignon”. Les Bois on t’ Brûle 2024 is a Vin de France that blends Chardonnay with Sauvignon Blanc, a surprisingly good mix across some of the Loire’s eastern vineyards. It’s rounded and creamy. Last of the three, Balle dans le Pied 2024 (also VdF) is a Gamay-based blend with a little Côt (aka Malbec) and Cabernet Franc from purchased organic grapes. It’s a fruity red with cool acids, light and fresh with a mix of whole bunch fermentation with a little direct press (the Cab Franc). Loved all three of these.

Mataburro Otium [2023] is one of those “the hits keep coming” wines. Laurent Roger and Melissa Ingrand are down in Rivesaltes (Roussillon).  Here, they make this delicate red from Grenache Noir with some Grenache Gris, Macabeo and Carignan (so red and white grapes). Pretty old vines being around 70 years of age are on a clay/limestone mix of soils. A short maceration goes into stainless steel. It’s clean and fresh with red fruits, but I don’t think they add any sulphur. I do think this retails around £30, and is worth every penny.

Xavière Hardy is a potential new star of the Loire. She’s another Anjou producer making a name at a domaine called Les Terres Bleues. Her vines, at La Chapelle-Glain, are not located in a traditional location for vines and it took Xavière several years lobbying to get planting rights, for just 1.5 hectares on blue schist. We are northwest of Angers, almost as close to Rennes as to that city. The vines are all on stakes. Winemaking is distinctly artisanal, and she has needed to adapt her techniques in wet vintages, but basically her wines get a direct press into old barrels and when I say “low intervention”, here this does mean zero added sulphur too.

Three wines again. Baraka 2024 is delicious Grolleau, allegedly a Rosé but if you know this underrated variety, you will expect more of a super-refined yet earthy, delicate pale red. But it’s also saline and rich. Ma Garance Voyageuse 2024 is also made from Grolleau. It undergoes three different macerations to give a wine with concentrated red fruits, juicy but not lacking tension. XH2 (XH squared) is made from hand-destemmed Pinot Noir which sees a seven-day maceration, going into old oak. Again, zero sulphur is added. The importer calls this “nimble”, which is pretty apt. It weighs-in with just 11% abv, and is a subtle wine with charm. I can believe the assertion that these are Xavière’s best wines yet. I was very much impressed.

We finish off at WUTB with one of the famous family names of Gaillac, near Albi in France’s southwest. 2P Production is, I think, the correct name for the operation of Romain Plageoles and Fanny Papelard. Romain is one of the sons of a family who were among my first experiences of natural wines, both via Paris and Artington (the latter, of course, from Les Caves de Pyrene). This is a Merlot and Gamay co-fermentation from the same region, sub-titled Mix 2.0. A short, four-day, fermentation in what was a hot year (2022) has produced a well balanced, fruity wine with a restrained alcohol content of 12.5%, but as you might expect, no restraint of glouglou fruit.

WAYWARD WINES

É Festa Cerreto Sannita 2022, Antonio Gismondi (Campania, Italy) is a traditional method sparkling wine. It is refermented on must from the following vintage (2023), and there’s no disgorgement (ie Col Fondo style). As with Campania’s still whites, this is clean and quite mineral, the kind of brilliant simple summer wine you will soon be looking for, but the traditional method, rather than it being tank-fermented, is probably what gives the good definition.

La Pente de Chavigny 2024, Mikaël Bouges (Loire, France) is a Sauvignon Blanc from vines on gravelly limestone. I don’t know this producer but I was told this is Wayward’s “house wine”. I just thought it was nice to find a SB which is so savoury and mineral, and I think if it retails in the mid-£20 range it would be worth a punt.

Le Rayon Blanc 2023, Thomas Puéchavy (Loire, France) comes from Nazelles-Négron, which I know, it being on the right bank of the river, just above Amboise. Being vaguely east of the Vouvray appellation, this wine is Chenin Blanc. The vines are between 25 and 40 years old on limestone and clay. The site is a windy one, cool but protected to an extent from disease. This is a natural wine and has no added sulfites. Rounded lemony direct-press fruit and a bit of saline minerality makes for a beautiful Chenin.

Il Était Une Fois 2024, La Vrille et le Papillon (Ardèche, France) is another zero-sulphur wine made by Géraldine and Meryl Croizier at Valvignères in the Ardèche. Grenache Blanc is the variety, a tasty wine from two partners who, as with so many winemakers here, left the Co-operative to go it alone.

Pietre 2024 is the second wine from Antonio Gismondi at the tasting. This time it’s a still wine, a blend of Falanghina and Malvasia di Candia, also from Campania. Made without temperature control with a fast, six-day, fermentation it is mouthfilling and textured, and very representative of a region of Southern Italy which, because of altitude, perhaps counter-intuitively makes excellent whites. Chiaro 2024 from the same stable is labelled as a Rosato and is a very pale, direct-pressed, wine with wafts of nice red cherry and berry fruit. Both wines have no added sulphur and have a lightness of touch you are pleased to find for what seems relatively inexpensive.

Grubersbuckel 2023, Martin Hirsch takes us to the village of Kitzingen, in Franconia (Germany). It’s one of a growing number of newer, exciting, producers from this sub-zone of villages east of Würzburg (Iphofen, the home of 2Naturkinder, tasted above, is just down the road). The variety is Pinot Gris (often called Rülander here). I think this is new to Wayward, and it’s another young producer who, on the basis of this peachy, smoky, textured wine, is going to be much better known, at least to me. A definite “hit”.

Camaleonte 2024, Fabio Ferracane (Sicily, Italy) is a Rosato wine coming from the Marsala zone, and is a blend of Catarratto, Grillo, Nero d’Avola and Merlot. It’s a fruity summer wine, not super-pale but with a pleasant macerated chalky texture grounding the fruit. The blend changes every vintage, but the ’24 has more red grapes. The result combines cranberry and cherry with a lick of salinity. The wine does, after all, come from the Sicilian coast.

La Tangente Ostara 2023, Patricia and Rémi Bonneton (Ardèche, France) gives us an interesting blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault. It is made from grapes purchased in the Gard, to the south of this couple’s base at Étables in the Ardèche. It is nevertheless made from organic fruit with native yeasts and zero additives (no added sulfites). It’s a mix of direct-pressed grapes with an infusion of whole berries added as the fermentation gets going. Cherry and rhubarb notes add freshness and a touch of complexity.

Beaujolais-Villages 2024, Elisa Guerin (Beaujolais, France) is made by a young grower in Chénas, where she has taken over a small domaine. You need to listen up here. According to Nat Hughes in her 2025 “The Wines of Beaujolais”, Elisa is becoming one of the most sought-after winemakers in the region. She did research on the impact of global warming on viticulture at the UK’s Plumpton College before, eventually, returning to her family’s vines in 2018.

She makes natural wines without ever playing on this, and uses mostly concrete and carbon dioxide for her fermentations, but this wine is made in stainless steel. This entry-level “Villages” is from a parcel she rents in Quincié. It is packed with zippy and glossy cherry and strawberry fruit, but still has a little texture. I like this a lot. I think it retails around £24. Wayward brings in four of Elisa’s wines at the moment, and this Villages is additionally available in magnum.

Back to the Ardèche again for our penultimate wine. This is a jump in price (a little over £40 retail, I think). Pauline Maziou began her Petite Nature label in 2019 with just a half-hectare of vines at Quintenas, in the north of the region. This may be why Sorcières 2024 majors on 50% Sérine (a Syrah clone of the Northern Rhône), along with Cinsault (around 20%) and Viognier (30%), the latter grown in the Gard.

The result is indeed a little “Northern Rhône-like”, but with its own personality. The vintage conditions were cool and the wine is pure and elegant, very perfumed, perhaps enhanced by Pauline’s zero intervention/zero sulphur approach, and the wine’s 11.5% abv. It’s one of those wines undoubtedly worth the money yet it must be hard convincing others of that worth. I dread to think what it would cost in a restaurant. I’d definitely love a bottle but wines at this price are becoming rarer additions to my cellar these days.

Finally, a wine from a producer that many people scanning a retail shelf or restaurant list will know, Olivier Cousin. Olivier hopefully needs no introduction. He calls himself a “Paysan Angevin” and his back label motto is “Aimer, Observer, Cultiver”. He makes electricity-charged biodynamic wines in Anjou, and this one, Le Franc 2022, fits that bill.

Old massale selection Cabernet Franc vines, grafted by Olivier’s grandfather in the 1940s, are macerated and aged in old oak barrels for 18 months, a somewhat longer time than most of his cuvées. It’s packed with quite dense pure fruit but even with a few years in bottle it still has a tannic structure. You could age it, ideally, or just go crunchy. This is going to retail at around £40 but I’d like to give a shout-out to his “Qveveri” cuvée, also Cabernet Franc, also sold by Wayward Wines, and I think about a fiver cheaper.

That’s all for Part One. The quality doesn’t diminish when we head to Parts Two and Three, but we have seen a consistently high quality and excitement level here from these two importers, the first whose wines I’ve known for some years, the second who is new to me.

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Clay Wine Fair 2026 (Part 4)

Posted on 10/03/2026 by dccrossley

This Part 4 is the final part of my coverage of the Clay Wine Fair 2026. Here, we have some of the wines presented by Woodwinters with special guest Shota Natroshvilli of Teliani Valley/Ibero Winery in Georgia, and by Slonk Selections. Woodwinters is an importer that is very well known in Edinburgh, with a shop on Newington Road, about a twenty minute walk from Waverley Station and the city centre.

Slonk is an international wine consultancy run by Edinburgh-based Isobel Salamon, who is also the organiser of the Clay Wine Fair. It covers branding, sommelier services, wine education (trade and consumer), team and business development and more. Australian native Isobel has a legal background but has a host of wine qualifications from WSET to regional wine certification. Anyway, you can find out the whole list of what Isobel does at www.slonkwine.com . She deserves a plug for organising such and important, instructive, and fun event in Edinburgh.

WOODWINTERS

Altos de Guarilihue Semillon 2023, Ana María Cumsille (Itata Valley, Chile)

Itata is towards the south of Chile in wine terms, just north of Bio Bio, and close to Chillán. It is colder and wetter this far south, with less protection from the ocean, but wine regions on the edge can often thrill. The main variety here, with very old vineyards, is País, but this wine is made from 80-year-old Semillon. Ana María Cumsille is chief winemaker of the well-known Viña Carmen, but she had previously worked in the Itata Valley and fell in love with it. She makes single parcel wines where she buys fruit, acknowledging the grape grower on the label.

This Semillon was grown at altitude (well, around 300 masl) about 20km from the Pacific by Ariel Sandoval. The fruit goes partly into amphorae and partly oak. Skin contact and amphora give this wine some texture, but it is not at all overwhelming. Loads of purity in the fruit and not tannic. Delicious. I really liked this. At £26 a cert next time I’m down Newington way.

El Litre Cinsault 2022, Ana María Cumsille (Itata Valley, Chile)

The grower here is Charles Rodriguez and this Cinsault parcel is 100 years old, sited at Guarilihue Alto, head-pruned vines on granite. The grapes go mostly into amphorae, a small batch being aged in older oak. Ripe fruit gives 13.5% alcohol. It has a fruity yet savoury richness but a nice linear acidity and grippy texture (but not harsh). I liked this too and would buy it, but I did prefer the Semillon slightly. £25. NB, despite what the name suggests this is a 75cl bottle.

Rioja Tinaja 2022, Peña el Gato, Bodega Juan Carlos Sancha (Rioja, Spain)

This is a family producer from Rioja Alta with vines at 650 masl which were planted in 1927. This cuvée is made (I’m told) in small amphora, although generally their wines are made in large oak or granite vats. This is a natural wine with very low sulphur addition. The result is dense and dark to an extent, but the Garnacha fruit (100%) is beautiful, with smoky blackberry mixed with black pepper and a mix of tannic structure and richness that verges on voluptuous. Despite the high-altitude vines, the alcohol does hit 15%. £27.

Next were several wines from special guest Shota Natroshvili of Teliani Valley Winery and Ibero Winery, in Kakheti, Georgia. I tasted three wines.

Kakhuri Mtsvane 2024, Ibero Winery (Kakheti, Georgia)

About four-to-five thousand bottles of this wine are made. It’s fruity and, for Georgian wine, quite zippy, made with six months buried in qvevri. It has some texture, but far from overwhelming for anyone reticent to buy the full-on orange experience. Very user-friendly. The art on the label is also by the winemaker. No price listed, but the red with the same label (last of the three, below) is £21.

Glenkhuri Kisiskhevi Saperavi Qvevri 2022, Teliano Valley Winery (Kakheti, Georgia)

Kisiskhevi is a village in Kakheti where the fruit is grown. This is a cuvée of around 6,500 bottles. Deep garnet coloured, it has red fruits (cranberry) and a bit of something darker, but it is definitely fruit-forward, despite the traditional qvevri ageing. It is also quite intense and structured, so it’s very much a traditional Georgian red, yet fruity more than tannic. No price given.

Saperavi 2024, Ibero Winery (Kakheti, Georgia)

This is a lighter Saperavi, just 12.5% alcohol. It is very fruity with good acidity and it is very easy to drink. It saw just a couple of weeks on skins and six months in qvevri. The fruit is sourced from the village of Vachnadzion in the Central Kakheti Region’s Mukuzani PDO. £21.

That’s a brief description of three very nice and, I think, quite inexpensive Georgian wines (if the retail prices are correct). Shota was a nice guy, which also makes a difference, so long as the wines are good. I’m not sure whether this is correct, but someone told me that Waitrose has a Teliani Valley Saperavi? I couldn’t find it on their web site.

SLONK WINE SELECTIONS

For stockists contact isobel@slonkwine.com

Circum Solem 2020, Labara Wines (Imereti, Georgia)

Tsolikouri is a major white variety of Western Georgia, mostly found in Imereti. It usually produces wines with lively acidity, and the qveveri tradition here (where the vessels are often called churi ) is for less skin contact than in Kakheti. But here we do have a full six months in clay. The fruit is nicely rounded and I was getting greengage notes with quince and pear. There’s a little texture. The vintage is 2020 so there’s some nice bottle age, and 13.5% abv adds a little food-friendly richness. A nice wine, especially for £19.50.

Tïn 2019, Montesecondo (Tuscany, Italy)

This is a very interesting IGT wine made from Trebbiano in the Val di Pesa (San Cascino). The fruit is grown at 300 masl. It is fermented in amphora with indigenous yeasts, and aged for ten months on skins (sulle bucce). This adds tannin and structure as well as colour. The wine retains a classy freshness but has a lot more depth than most Trebbiano. It’s an example of how amphora and skin contact can enhance all sorts of grape varieties (as we saw with amphora Bacchus in Part 3, with “Artefact”). Pretty good for Trebbiano, and at £42 it reflects this, and its age. Still cheaper than Valentini though.

Le Anfore di Elena Casadei 2021, Castello del Trebbio (Tuscany, Italy)

This is part of Elena’s Anfore project. More Trebbiano, aged in amphora because Elena believes that the clay best shows the wine’s terroir. You don’t find a lot of people believing in Trebbiano as a terroir wine, but wines like this suggest they should. This is an attractive wine which clearly shows the life in the soil from where it came, in this case close to the winery at Pontassieve, near Florence. £34.

Elena also makes several more wines from her Anfore Project, one being Migiu 2022. It’s labelled Isola dei Nuraghi Bianco IGT, from Sardinia and is made at the Olianas Winery (see below). Here we have perhaps my first taste of a wine made from the autochthonous white variety, Semidiano, grown at just under 400 masl. It’s an “orange wine” with a bit of texture/structure, both interesting and delicious. £34.

Olianas Cannonau di Sardegna 2023 (Sardinia, Italy)

Although it doesn’t bear her name on the label like the previous two wines, this is also made in Sardinia by Elena Casadei. It’s a vibrant red, quite dark in colour for the variety (Cannonau is a synonym of Grenache, of course), but with nice lifted fruit, very clean with a bit of grainy texture which gives it a nice edge. It hits 14% but not in a bad way as it’s a lovely wine. It also retails for £34

Akhoebi Saperavi 2022, Alexander Mtivlishvili/Alazani Wines (Kakheti, Georgia)

It’s always good to end a tasting on a high note and this wine was one of a handful of favourites. Grapes come from the Akhoebi “micro-zone” in Kakheti, which I admit I couldn’t find on my map, but it appears to be in Kardenakhi, which is at the southeastern end of Kakheti. This is quite a powerful qvevri red wine, dark, with good acids balancing a mix of fruits and savoury elements. It has a big mouthfeel which blends the fruit with a bit of tannin from the qvevri maceration. But the alcohol is balanced at 13.5% and the palate is super-fresh. It was bottled in April 2024, so it has had a good period to mature a little in bottle. The label is very Georgian, isn’t it. No price given.

This brings to an end a mega-set of articles on Clay Wine 2026. It deserves the coverage because aside from being a great concept for a wine fair, it always throws up some brilliant bottles that you might otherwise miss on the shelf.

Slonking (To slonk: Scots/Northern dialect, to swallow greedily, devour or gulp down)

Posted in Amber Wine, Amphora Wine, Artisan Wines, Georgian Wine, Natural Wine, orange wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Festivals, Wine Merchants, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Clay Wine Fair 2026 (Part 3)

Posted on 06/03/2026 by dccrossley

In Part 3 of my coverage of the Clay Wine Fair 2026 at Sotto Restaurant in Edinburgh on Sunday 1 March we have the wines presented by Astral Wines and Passione Vino. Astral Wines also showed a couple of wines from Enrico Rivetto from the Langhe/Barolo. Enrico was due to be there, but he hadn’t arrived by the time I tasted his two delicious wines. Passione Vino was, as is usual in the northern reaches of the UK, represented by Greg Turner (of the Wild Wine School). Greg is great friends with Luke Harbor, who alongside his role as Group Beverage Director of the Pig Hotels down south, collaborates with Castlewood Vineyards in Devon to make a wine I’ve written about in previous vintages, Artefact. The new 2023 vintage was also on show at Greg’s table.

Passione Vino is a London-based merchant specialising in Italy, specifically “small, independent, and authentic Italian winemakers”. They have bars with food in Shoreditch and Exmouth Market in London, an online wine shop, and a twenty-year history of supplying their wines to the trade. Astral wines is a new name on the Edinburgh wine scene, founded by Ed Almond in August last year. They don’t yet have a web site up and running, but they are on Instagram. The wines Astral showed were, as far as I can tell, all Les Caves de Pyrene lines. Les Caves don’t sell directly in Scotland, using L’Art du Vin as a distributor.

ASTRAL WINES

“Phaunus” Loureiro Vinho Verde DOC 2023, Aphros Wines (Minho, Portugal)

Aphros is a 20-hectare estate, run by Vasco Croft (a veritable Portuguese wine name) since 2004. The estate is fully biodynamic, with a very strong focus on biodiversity and regenerative viticulture, and they use clay and concrete in the cellar. This branco (there is a lovely Vinho Verde Tinto from Aphros that is among the very best of its type) spent eight months in clay. It’s super-vibrant with mineral notes, with citrus (lemon and even tangerine) on the palate. Light and refreshing but with depth too. It’s a rare Vinho Verde which, within reason, will improve with age. £29.

Orgo Rkatsiteli 2023, Teleda Wines (Kakheti, Georgia)

Teleda is a premium producer based near Telavi in northwestern Kakheti, in the Tsinandali appellation. They naturally specialise in the qvevri tradition, and this Rkatsiteli was fermented and aged six months in qvevris buried underground. The bouquet has apricots and spices, and the palate is complex. You get rich dried fruits and nuts, very savoury and also showing some tannins. But the clay makes for a wine with bags of freshness too. For those of us who like the style, it’s a very good example. Winemaking is low intervention using indigenous yeasts etc. They recommend pork as a match…they have the right idea. £25.

Elevate 2022, Mersel Wines (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Mersel is one of the new names in Lebanese wine, introduced to the UK by Doug Wregg and Les Caves de Pyrene. They have some of the highest vineyards in the Bekaa Valley, their vines reaching between 1,700 and 2,400 masl. These are very old head-trained vines on limestone. This wine (it’s white but there is a red version of Elevate as well), is made from grapes growing at the lower end of that range (but still very much high altitude).

The white cuvée is 100% Daw Al Amar, an autochthonous variety. It is fermented in stainless steel and then aged in a mix of older oak and Georgian qvevri. No sulphur is added to this wholly natural wine. The bouquet is both nutty and appley, with a palate showing confit lemon and a nice lick of acidity. It is both subtle and complex in equal measure, but not hard to drink at 12.5% abv. It tastes like a high-altitude wine, maybe imagine The Valais or Aosta. It’s hard to write about this producer without being aware that the Bekaa is right in the firing line once more and maybe they deserve our support, especially as the wines are good. £31.

Zibibbo in Pithos 2023, COS (Sicily, Italy)

I can remember what now seems an age ago when this cuvée was first released, in magnums. Zibibbo, aka Muscat of Alexandria, is a variety very well suited to amphora, and COS is just the right winery with the expertise (founded in the 1980s) to do it justice. This is an IGP from one of the first natural wine producers I ever drank, from Les Caves of course. They are based outside Vittoria in the southeast of the island. The bouquet is, for me at least, iconic. Oxidative, almost smelling of its six months in amphora on skins, along with floral notes (blossom) on top. The palate is very fresh, very vibrant. There are hints of honey riding smoothly above a saline texture which also speaks of apricot stone, with gorgeously complex phenolics for the variety. I always adore this wine. £34.

Creta Pinot Noir 2021, Beckham Estate (Oregon, USA)

Ceramicist Andrew Beckham founded his estate, with his wife Annedria, in 2004. His former career is of relevance because it led him to follow what Elisabetta Foradori was doing with clay vessels in Northeast Italy. Andrew cites the longer and cooler fermentations you get in amphora as the main reason he began to favour their use. Viticulture is regenerative with sheep and chickens among the vines, and they try to encourage pollinators through wild flowers and a varied ecology. Winemaking here is pretty much natural, including native yeasts, which I think really make a difference when fermenting in clay. Minimal sulphur is added.

This is a wine from the Creta vineyard’s “Jory” volcanic soils, high in the Chehalem Mountains, fermented and aged in amphora which I believe Andrew made himself. The Creta wines stay in clay for both fermentation and ageing (Lignum is the label for wines aged in oak). Red fruits are layered over an earthy bouquet. The fruit is textured but rounded on the palate, and there is also that texture I used to call “iron filings”. By coincidence, iron filings (okay, in my imagination) is exacctly what I used to find on the amphora reds from COS (see above), especially their Cerasuolo di Vittoria. This Pinot is long and very fine. Actually, that undersells it. It’s brilliant! It deserves a bit more bottle age though. £53.

RIVETTO, LANGHE (Piemonte, Italy)

I could easily write a page on the Rivetto philosophy, but perhaps the illustration below gives an idea of the regenerative methods employed on the beautiful Lirano Hill (Vigna Lirano), a ridge between Serralunga d’Alba and Sinio, or between Alta Langhe and the Barolo Hills. Enrico calls it a magnetic hill, a complex ecosystem which he farms biodynamically (possibly the only certified biodynamic producer in the Langhe?). Two wines from Vigna Lirano were on show and poured by Ed of Astral Wines in Enrico’s absence.

Langhe Nascetta DOC 2022 is an example of a fairly rare autochthonous white variety which has been known in the region for centuries. This is a version which combines the grape’s natural aromatics with a bit of heft (13.5% abv). It saw 30 days, one-third in amphora and two-thirds in stainless steel, with three days on skins. The palate has nutty depth and is quite savoury with just enough pithy texture. Lovely, and super-interesting. £28.

Nebbiolo d’Alba DOCG Vigna Lirano 2023 is classic cherry-packed Nebbiolo, biodynamically produced and with the freshness and brightness to prove it. Fruit is harvested at 400 masl. Fermented in amphora it is pretty young right now, but the tannins are more lightly-grained than hard. Wild herb and violets are slowly appearing on the nose. Sulphur additions are very low. It needs time but it will do for me against most Barolos. £38, but looking at comparable Barolo prices, this is definitely a bargain.

I tasted the 2022 at last year’s Clay Wine and gave it high praise. This 2023 is even better, and will blossom with age, I am certain. It is quite sought after.  But it’s an impressive wine for a Nebbiolo d’Alba, a biodynamic beauty with a remarkable sense of terroir.

PASSIONE VINO

“In Amphoris” Langhe Arneis DOC 2023, Ronchi di Giancarlo Rocca (Piemonte, Italy)

It has taken a while for Arneis to make a name for itself. Much used to be pretty dull, with a few exceptions, and of course this is a region far better known for red wine, where for some producers a white wine might be an afterthought.

This one, from a family estate in Barbaresco, is nice and this is because it manages to retain acidity and freshness alongside its 14% alcohol. In fact, the nose is fresh with zesty citrus and apple, along with the classic white flowers you expect. The palate has quite crisp acids and more pear than any other fruit. The fruit is direct pressed into stainless steel, then moved to amphora, where the fermented wine spends eight months. £30.

 Vermentino Toscana IGT 2024, I Mandorli (Tuscany, Italy)

This is an estate in the Suvereto sub-region of, effectively, the Tuscan Coast, but it lies inland from Val di Cornia and Bolgheri. Although Vermentino used to be better known in Sardinia and Liguria, it has found a home in this part of Tuscany. I Mandorli is a family estate farming biodynamically on mostly stony clay and marl soils.

This Vermentino is an “orange wine”, made from vines on hills of around 300 masl close enough to the sea that you can imagine that’s where its salty tang comes from. This is clean, lemony, with the added texture of skin contact in amphora adding plenty of interest. It’s a wine suited to seafood (especially with its salinity), and maybe a cheese platter. I also think it will perform even better at the table than at a tasting, where its subtlety (at only 11% abv) could be lost. Use a fine glass, not a clay cup, for this one. Not cheap at £40 though.

“Zino” Zibibbo Bianco 2023, I Mandorli (Pantelleria, Italy)

I Mandorli make this wine from Muscat of Alexandria (for which Zibibbo is a synonym). Zino, founder of I Mandorli, fell in love with an abandoned parcel of very old Zibibbo vines on the island of Pantelleria off the south coast of Sicily. I first came across the remarkable wines of this island via the passito wines of Marco di Bartoli, but this is a dry wine with a super-clean directness, only a little texture, and real concentration. However, small production of an immaculately made wine isn’t cheap. £55.

« La Quinta » IGT Toscana 2021, Podere Giodo (Tuscany, Italy)

Podere Giodo is an estate in Montalcino where consultant winemaker Carlo Ferrini crafts fine Brunello. La Quinta, made with Carlo’s daughter, is a 100% Sangiovese from younger vines (7-to-10 years old) aged in a mix of amphora and oak. It takes the place of a Rosso di Montalcino in the estate’s lineup.

It has the classic red cherries and berries you’d expect with a nice touch of spice. The amphora gives it a nice earthy grounding along with a little bit of texture. Not too much, but enough to make this wine a whole lot more interesting than a lot of “afterthought Rosso”. Definitely more bright and pristine fruit than is the norm. It’s just a shame that you used to get good Brunello for the £67 this wine retails for. But then again, this wine is at or around that level of quality for half of today’s prices for the big B.

Artefact 2023, Luke Harbor and Castlewood Vineyards (Devon, England)

This is the third vintage of Artefact I’ve tasted. It’s a Bacchus, grapes harvested in October ’23, fermented on skins in large Tuscan amphorae. There it stays, on lees, for eleven months [so says the blub I read], or 18 months according to Greg Turner whilst pouring the wine.

Greg told me that Luke is always pushing towards lower intervention, with one result that this is now fermented with native yeasts. What I love about this wine is that it combines the freshness of the grape variety (citrus, apple, zippy acids) with the depth and texture of the long time spent in amphorae. It brings out a lot more than your average tank-aged Bacchus. I’ve not yet seen the ’23 on any shelves yet, although AJ Mellis, the cheesemonger where I usually find this up in Scotland, still had a few bottles of the 2022 in Stockbridge last Sunday. £28. I always make a big effort (and a big effort is often required) to get a couple of bottles, and maybe one or two to give away to convert those who are not in the know.

So, just one more part to come. Part Four will cover Woodwinters and Slonk Wines Selections.

Posted in Amber Wine, Amphora Wine, Artisan Wines, Italian Wine, Lebanese Wine, Natural Wine, orange wine, Piemonte, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Festivals, Wine Merchants, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Clay Wine Fair 2026 (Part 2)

Posted on 03/03/2026 by dccrossley

In Part 2 of my coverage of the Clay Wine Fair 2026 held at Sotto Restaurant in Edinburgh on 1 March we have wines presented by Fion Edinburgh and Wanderlust Wines.

Fion is by now a well-known Edinburgh operation offering wines to the trade that they import, an online wine shop for retail customers and a wine club. They aim to bring in emerging fine wines from equally emerging regions, emphasising artisan producers crafting terroir-driven wines. Miguel Crunier has a deep knowledge of Spain, which forms a large part of their portfolio, reflected in the wines shown here.

Wanderlust Wines was founded by former chef, Richard Ellison, who works with a group of smaller producers, most farming organically, many being biodynamic or low intervention growers, from around the world, like Fion with a nod towards emerging regions. All of the portfolio reflects a passion for sustainability. The portfolio’s diversity is reflected in the wines they brought to the table, including fine examples from Argentina, South Australia, West Sussex and Bordeaux.

FION

Palomino Dorada “Mahara” 2021, Bodegas Vinificate (Cadiz, Spain)

This is a Palomino table wine from vines on bare white chalk soils (albariza) at San Fernando, near Cadiz. The Mahara range is for single site Crianza wines, but all wines are made without any interventions or additives. They are also biodynamic practitioners. This is a relatively recent operation, at least in the region. Founded by brothers José and Miguel Gomez in 2011, they are part of the new wave regenerating the wider Jerez region.

This Palomino spent nine months in amphora under flor. Zero sulphur was added. It is super-fresh with really nice salinity and a long, linear, finish. With only 12.3% alcohol it’s a perfect option for a seafood or fish lunch, or it would work equally well as an aperitif. It’s quite elegant, and neither the clay texture, nor the flor influence, is too strong. £32.50.

Tintilla de Rota “Mahara” 2021, Bodegas Vinificate (Cadiz, Spain)

Tintilla is often cited as a local variety, but there are some suggestions that it may be identical to Graciano, or a Graciano clone. In any event, it is a variety that generally produces dark-coloured wines with high acids, but also fine aromatics. This red wine sees longer in amphora than the Palomino above, around 15 months. It is still made by the same low-intervention methods with no added sulphites, but they generally make around 3,000 bottles as opposed to 2,000 of the previous wine.

The colour is indeed deep, quite blood-rich in the clay cup. You’d sum it up as rich, rounded and ripe. I say rounded…that’s the fruit. It is also a little grippy. That’s no bad thing with food. The alcohol has been kept at 12.6%. Also £32.50. Both are very nice wines, each in their own way. I’d be happy to buy either.

Clarete “El Jaguar” 2020, Juan Jose Martinez Palmero (Valencia, Spain)

This wine remains an enigma because I could neither find it on Fion’s online shop, nor anything on the internet. The back label is almost as unforthcoming as the front. The online Clay Wine Fair tasting booklet lists it as “2020 Field Blend (clarete), MUT Salvaje, Terre d’Art, Valencia”. The back label references little if anything of that, although it does confirm the vintage, and that it is made in tinajas with no addition of sulphur. From the Fion table I further gleaned that it is a field blend of red and white varieties which saw two days on skins and 18 months in tinaja.

However, it is a lovely pale wine with vibrant, almost electric, cherry fruit and a hint of, well I got incense but I was told “perhaps sandalwood”. Anyway, it is beautifully scented and nicely balanced. There are only 400 bottles made of this, so I was surprised to see it listed at just £27 (it could be had on the day for £24). A rather fascinating wine for that price.

Tempranillo Pico Lunar, Malaparte 2019, Bodegas de Frutos Marin (Segovia, Spain)

This is part of a range of natural wines made in Tinajas/amphorae by Elisa de Frutos and Rubén Salamanca outside of the Ribera del Duero appellation. Vines are up at around 900 masl, in a small plot of Tempranillo planted at the end of the 1980s. The soils are complex, mostly clay but with limestone, sandstone and silica. Fermentation takes place in open casks over fifteen days, but ageing is in the terracotta amphora (the clay comes from France) over eight months for the 2019 (sometimes up to 12 months).

The colour here is again quite dark ruby. The aromatics are lovely, quite subtle, with strawberry over some darker fruit. The palate adds in spice and savoury notes of bottle age, but although the texture is fine rather than aggressive, there’s plenty of it. However, you would characterise this as a very pleasant drinking wine which has clearly benefitted from the cool nights up at altitude in retaining beautiful freshness in a wine that is labelled at 14.1% abv. Just over 1,600 bottles made. £28.

I would say that of the four wines shown here it is genuinely too difficult to choose a favourite from a strong group.

WANDERLUST WINES

Chardonnay 2022 Alpamanta (Mendoza, Argentina)

I’m always on the lookout for exciting wines from South America, and this is a nice one. The grapes come from a single vineyard at 950 masl in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza. Here we are up in the mountains, but pretty close to the western edge of the city of Mendoza itself. Luján de Cuyo is not as aspirational as say the Uco Valley further south, but there are a lot of old vines in the hills here. This is a biodynamic estate (the first to be certified as such in Mendoza), low intervention viticulture and low sulphur additions being practised too.

Fermentation, using only indigenous yeasts, is in stainless steel, but ageing is 50% in amphora and 50% in large used oak. The result is a lovely fresh wine with just a little well-balanced clay texture, and quite a bit of depth. Maybe I’ve not said a lot here, but I really liked it. There was just something that caught my attention. At just £22.50 I would 100% buy some.

Watervale Riesling 2024, Koerner (Clare Valley, South Australia)

I remember buying a few bottles of Koerner wines a long time ago, when they were with the Red Squirrel agency (now Graft Wine). Now they are with Wanderlust. This is a selection from two individual sites at Leasingham, close to the winery: the Gullyview and Parish vineyards. It is made 50% in ceramic vessels, the rest probably in stainless steel. Damon Koerner has dedicated this vintage to new daughter, Poppy, born in January 2024.

It’s a classic Clare/Watervale Riesling. It has 12% alcohol and a rapier-like acidity. It’s quite limey with crisp apple and the acids are prominent, but tamed just a little by the fruit. It’s a sure sign of youth and you might age this. Clare Riesling can age spectacularly well and I have some Jeffrey Grosset Rieslings from the early 2000s that prove it. But open it up this summer after a good chilling and, if you like acidity, you’ll find it thrilling. At just £22 the choice doesn’t weigh too heavily.

Qvevri Ortega “Artego” 2024, Tillingham Wines (West Sussex, England)

I see Tillingham wines far less these days, compared to the early days under Ben Walgate, when I was able to visit and taste there. The restaurant and rooms are doing very well now, I am told (the restaurant has a Michelin Green Star), and perhaps the wines have changed a little too. I am told they are more consistent, though one wine here isn’t a lot to go on to verify that.

This is fermented in the original qvevris under the oast house, which came in by lorry from Georgia and might well have been the first to be used in the UK. The style is fresh and fruity. Indeed, it combines Ortega’s fresh and fruity profile with the influence of clay, which I think gives the wine a bit more elegance and complexity. The nose is aromatic, floral, with some bergamot. The palate is salty and nutty, showing that flor developed over the fruit in the submerged qvevris. It finished with a hint of orange marmalade. £35.

Margaux « Le Hameau » 2020, Château Durfort-Vivens (Bordeaux, France)

Bordeaux is kind of a hotbed of experimentation nowadays and I think much experimentation and reassessment has gone unnoticed on account of us all turning our back on the arrogance of some proprietors and their Parkerised renditions of what was once a more subtle and savoury wine. Even the very top châteaux are looking at low intervention, regenerative, farming and the ranks of oak and shiny stainless steel are now being interspersed, even replaced in some places, by either once-traditional cement, or all manner of ceramic and concrete eggs, and amphora.

Durfort-Vivens is in the heart of Margaux, in fact not too far from Château Margaux itself. Today it is under the direction of Gonzague Lurton. Apparently, they make three “second wines” here, and Le Hameau comes from vines in the commune of Cantenac, reattached to Durfort-Vivens in 1970. The other two are named Le Plateau and Les Plantes. It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Amphora were introduced at the estate in 2016 and are used for around 40% of the wine produced. For Le Hameau they use horizontally-placed eggs, which the team believes aids the movement and distribution of lees.

This cuvée has nice minerality and a lighter touch. I’d say classic but vibrant. Winemaking is certified biodynamic at the estate (Demeter). Alcohol seems pretty balanced at 13.5%. It has a nice sophistication already. I’m very much drawn to this wine, though you’ll need to shell £44.50 to get a bottle. That’s always the problem when you want to revisit the classics.

Another clutch of nice wines. I’d not argue that it is objectively the best wine here, but I did enjoy tasting the Argentinian Chardonnay, and that is the one I’d buy faced with all four on the shelf.

Sotto…

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Clay Wine Fair 2026 (Part 1)

Posted on 02/03/2026 by dccrossley

A break in the usual flow of articles has been occasioned by the Clay Wine Fair, which I went to on Sunday (1st March). The second part of my “Recent Wines” from February will follow later in March. I tasted forty-two wines at the Clay Wine Fair (out of a total of sixty-nine on show) which were all fermented and aged, in whole or in part, in various forms of clay vessel, mostly amphora. These were shown by eight importers/retailers. Rather than write one or two very long articles I plan to publish eight shorter pieces, which I think will do better justice to the wines.

The articles will cover the wines in order of tasting. So here in Part 1 we begin with Cork & Cask and Raeburn. Part 2 will cover Fion and Wanderlust Wines and Part 3, Astral Wines and wines from Passione Vino. Part 4 closes with Woodwinters and Slonk Selections. It was unfortunate that I didn’t get to taste the three Georgian wines from 266 Wines. I just couldn’t fight my way in.

The event was held downstairs at Sotto Restaurant in Stockbridge (Edinburgh). In general, I found it less crowded than last year, but as a public event it did get pretty full by the time I left. The staff at Sotto put on a range of small plates, as they did last year, much appreciated to soak up the alcohol that didn’t quite make it into the spittoons.

Clay Wine is organised by Isobel Salamon, along with her team. The idea of a clay event was genius in my opinion, and I’m so glad to see it continue in its second year. Check out @bellespick @claywines and @slonkwine on Instagram.

Every wine tasted was well-chosen, with no poor wines, at least passing my lips, and a whole range of levels of “orange” was on show alongside plenty of reds as well. Some wines were full-on in terms of textures, whilst other wines gave only minimal signs of having seen clay. There were some classics here.

Prices where given are retail as provided on the day. Where not given the wine may not yet be listed.

CORK & CASK

Cork & Cask is one of Edinburgh’s finest wine shops, south of The Meadows in Marchmont. They are known very much for their adventurous range which has a focus on lower intervention wines, including many natural wines, and their approach to buying which brings wine from many different importers rather than the convenience of one or two. Their wine and spirit buyer, Jamie Dawson (also one of the people behind Blind Summit Whisky), was on hand to pour.

Rustaveli Signature Blend 2022, Shilda Winery (Kakheti, Georgia)

A Rosé which blends Kisi, Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane. It’s fermented in qvevri, but with just 10% skins (six months maceration and six months after). Bright pink-straw colour*, the bouquet is stone fruit (apricots). Acidity is balanced in a nice wine with 13% abv, which means I’d drink it with food. A good start here. £25.

*We were given lovely clay cups, glazed on the inside, to taste from. It’s a fun way to taste at an amphora event, but you had to be inventive to analyse colour. Some of those pouring the wine were using glasses to show colour where they felt it was an important aspect of the wine, to show levels of orange/extraction, or perhaps for very pale reds.

Kha Mé Garnacha Blanca, Bodegas Bhilar (Rioja, Spain)

Bodegas Bhilar is based at Elvillar in Rioja Alavesa, but this amphora-aged white wine is not labelled under the appellation, nor any other IGP. However, it’s an excellent bottle with a floral bouquet. The palate is clean and fresh, more “mineral” than tannic. The Japanese kanji is a close translation of amphora. Lovely wine. £30.

Acqua Delle Serpa Bianco 2019, Anne-Santi (Umbria, Italy)

Made by Francesco Annesanti at Arrone in Umbria (not in Portugal, as the C&C web site oddly suggests), this amphora-fermented wine has a lovely citrus bouquet mirrored on the palate by equally lovely fresh lemon acidity. It has a nice mix of zip and texture, and all of this builds by the second sip into a rather intriguing wine. One of the more subtle amphora wines on show, but not lacking weight despite just 12% alcohol. £37.

Langhe Rosso “Adessa” 2022, Camparo (Piemonte, Italy)

This is a superb value Langhe blend of 70% Nebbiolo with 30% Barbera from a producer at Diano d’Alba. Although the 2023 was made in amphora, this ’22 was actually made in oak. However, I would buy this at the current price, and Jamie reckons the ’23 amphora version is even better (it simply hadn’t arrived in time). Fresh acids despite 14.5% alcohol make it quite rich and smooth, although there’s tannin too, for sure. But only £22.

Kimera Amphora Garnatxa 2022, LMT Wines (Navarra, Spain)

LMT Wines is the project of two friends, Luis Moya and Gonzalo Celayeta, who are based in Olite. It is made in traditional Tinaja de Barro. It’s a fascinating wine because the vibrant red colour isn’t exceptionally dark (though not pale), and the freshness, which may come from the clay, covers up 14.5% abv very well. But the clay does give plenty of texture. £26.

Amphore Pinot Noir 2018, Fontaine Goby (Burgundy, France)

We finish at Cork & Cask with a bit of a stunner, on several levels. Marie-Noëlle and Laurent Ternynck make wine at Préhy, which I’m sure you recognise as being within the Chablis appellation. This red wine is both fermented and aged in amphora (12 months), which seems less common in Burgundy, even if it has become fashionable in Bordeaux. There’s no added sulphur.

It’s so fascinating. Pure cherry scents dominate the nose. The palate is both textured and earthy alongside more cherry fruit. It’s labelled as 13.9% abv and that carries richness. As Jamie says, “a real game wine”. He suggested pigeon, and I’d add partridge, but also autumn mushrooms in garlic and a red wine reduction for those averse to meat. £42 isn’t cheap, but how much good Burgundy is these days. It wasn’t quite the best amphora Pinot at the tasting, but if the Beckham Estate from Oregon (see Pt 3) beats it, then that costs even more than this wine.

RAEBURN FINE WINE

Raeburn Fine Wines, to give them their proper name, are based in Stockbridge, maybe ten minutes from Sotto. Here they have a retail shop piled high with wonderful wines. Although they have “Fine Wines” in their name, and they do import a lot of traditional wines, they also have wide tastes, and if you pay them a visit something will jump off the shelf. They bring in a lot of wines, so perusing their list can take a while, though a fun activity it is. Murray, who was pouring on Sunday, is exceptionally knowledgeable.

Liòm 2022 IGT Alpi Retiche, Barbacàn (Valtellina, Italy)

The Barbacàn label of Angelo Sega and Sons (now run by Angelo, Luca and Matteo) in San Giacomo di Teglio is one of a growing number of exciting estates in the Valtellina region of Northeast Italy. It is often seen as a good source for Nebbiolo hunters priced out of Piemonte’s major DOCGs. This certainly contains Nebbiolo (here called Chiavennasca) but with local varieties (including Róssola and Róssolino Rosa). The vines for this cuvée grow on the famous terraces at between 550-600 masl. It is vinified in amphora, where it spends one year.

Pale ruby red, it’s very juicy, quite ethereal, beautifully scented. It has a grainy texture, very mineral. It’s a great artisan wine showing a different side of the Valtellina region, and it was very much one of my Wines of the Day. £36.

Saumur Blanc « Les Perruches » 2021, Bruno Dubois (Loire, France)

This wine is a pure Chenin Blanc planted on the region’s argilo-calcaire (clay-limestone) soils. The vines are between 40-to-50 years old, and they are farmed biodynamically. Dubois is also committed to diversity in the vineyard, pursuing a regenerative approach. This cuvée sees one year in amphora, from a belief that this medium best expresses the terroir.

It’s certainly a wine of lovely purity. It has rounded fruit (lemon, lime, peach and a touch of pear) which all bring freshness to a wine that tastes alive. The texture is there, but it doesn’t hit the palate immediately leaving time to savour the purity of the fruit. £28.

Saumur-Champigny « Vue Sur Loire » 2018, Bruno Dubois (Loire, France)

Another wine from Bruno, who is based at St-Cyr-en-Bourg. It comes off the same clay-limestone soils as Les Perruches, the vines also being farmed biodynamically (see above). The variety here is Cabernet Franc, which as with the Chenin, sees 12 months in amphora. It mixes purity of ripe Cabernet Franc (at 14%) with grainy tannic texture, and just a little poise from age. It’s a cool wine, elegant, with a nice mixture of ripeness and structure. £30.

Vino Bianco Corteggio 2020, Cantine Mezzacane (Lombardy, Italy)

This Lombardy estate follows Georgian culture closely. The amphora, imported from Georgia, are buried underground. The organic Cortese fruit spends nine months on skins in the vessels. No sulphur is added to the wine.  The nose shows almond and vanilla along with floral aromas, the palate showing quite concentrated fruit with a little spice. The texture is more like a gentle amphora-style brushing, rather than full-on tannin. Extremely pleasant and tasty, as well as classy. £47.50 retail makes it quite pricey, though the quality is undoubtedly there.

That sums up Part 1 for us. A very strong start from Cork & Cask and Raeburn, which we shall hope to continue in the parts which follow.

Jamie and Murray hard at work

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Recent Wines February 2026 (Part 1) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 26/02/2026 by dccrossley

February. Oh, that dark time. Actually, I’m feeling quite upbeat as I type this because the weeks of wet weather have given way to sunnier days, quite pleasant, with temperatures up to eleven degrees or more (in Celsius, which I presume will mean nothing to some of you, but it is quite pleasant). That sure sign of spring approaching comes first with the snowdrops and crocuses, and now with a few daffodils poking their yellow flowers from their tightly packed stems. The oyster catchers are out in ever greater numbers and the first gannets are arriving, though on a sadder note a good few puffins arrived way too early and didn’t survive the two big recent storms.

The first part of the month saw a mix of new bottles and old favourites. A Swiss producer I didn’t know, another brilliant Czech Sauvignon Blanc from a new favourite producer, my first Raul Perez Bierzo for what seems like a few years and then a brand-new Gamay, fruit from Beaujolais but made near Arbois. We finish with a perennial Auvergnat regular, this time a Chardonnay from someone whose wines I rate highly, ending Part 1 with another old favourite from Chianti’s Classico zone. Remember, all of the wines I include are wines worth reading about, and making a detour to find. Nothing here is as shockingly good as the one coming in Part 2 that is pretty much a certainty for wine of the month, but all but the most accidental visitor here would find these wines worth grabbing…and four of them are £30 or under.

La Bosse à Rousseau 2023, Domaine de la Pierre aux Dames (Geneva, Switzerland)

I’ve never seen this Geneva estate before. They also appear to go by the name of Maison Forte, not to be confused with Maison Forte in Southern Burgundy, in France. They are located at Trionex, east of St-Julien-en-Genevois, in the vineyards to the south of the city. Viticulture is organic, and this cuvée is a blend of Gamaret and Garanoir, aged in barrique. These are interesting Swiss-bred varieties which are beginning to be planted in the UK and are worth looking out for.

Despite its very dark colour the tannins have become well integrated after a couple of years in bottle. It’s only 12.5% abv, which is promising. The bouquet is a mix of pleasant red and darker fruits. The palate has that super-concentrated darker fruit flavour without any real complexity, though you do get a touch of leather and spice in there. Nice acids too.

In fact, I’d expected the wine to be way less approachable than it is. It went very nicely with a rich mushroom and pasta dish, to which a few glugs of the same wine were added. Just what we wanted for an early in the week bottle. It was a gift from Swiss friends so I’ve no idea what it costs and online searching didn’t help. Chances of finding it might be minimal, but we enjoyed it.

Sauvignon Blanc 2023, Mira Nestarcová (Moravia, Czechia)

Mira has been making her own wines for a few years now, alongside those of her husband, Milan Nestarec, and they seem to get better with every vintage (they were, to be fair, pretty good to start with). Milan may have seen the competition because I think he’s now making his best wines ever as well.

I’ve bought all of Mirka’s wines at some point, but among those I show them to it is her Sauvignon Blanc which seems to excite them most. I drank a couple of the wonderful 2022s, but this ’23 differs from that in one obvious respect: 13.5% alcohol. The ’22 had just 11%. I think the 2023 was still made in a mix of steel and concrete, just a very different growing season.

Where the 2022 was redolent of pear and gooseberry, this vintage has peaches right from the off, on both nose and palate. The peach shows very clearly and with purity through the wine’s acidity, which isn’t shy. As the wine warmed in the glass we got ginger on the finish, which is long and mouth-filling. Electric! It is at least as good as that wonderful 2022, even better, I think.

I have the 2024 in the cellar, but I might keep it a little longer. This ’23 seems to have benefitted from age. The importer, whose web site I bought it from, is Basket Press Wines. The 2024 costs around £36, I think.

Las Gundiñas, Lomas de Valtuille La Vizcaina 2019, Raul Pérez (Bierzo, Spain)

This should perhaps rather be called “La Vizcaina Las Gundiñas”, but in any case, it is a Bierzo made from mostly Mencia, with other local varieties Alicante Bouschet, Saison and Estaladiña. The latter variety is made as a varietal wine by Bodegas Mengoba, run by Gregory Pérez. There are a few Pérez’s in Bierzo, Raúl being the man who perhaps started the whole Bierzo thing a couple of decades ago. For a time, he seemed to be the most talked about winemaker in Spain.

The vines for this rendition of Bierzo are on clay, and although the vineyards are on slopes, they are not the old terraces which Raúl was famous for bringing back into production. The grapes see a whole-cluster fermentation with a long maceration, taking place in used French oak.

The bouquet has scented cherry, blackcurrant and liquorice. There are some tannins evident but the fruit on the palate is so silky that it smooths them considerably. Of all the sites Raúl bottles from Vizcaina, Las Gundiñas is considered the most sensual cuvée, and I’m not going to suggest that is wrong. For me, comparisons with Côte-Rôtie would not be far off the mark, but this is delicious despite being drunk quite young, and served almost cellar cool. A lovely bottle, this really hit the spot, both in terms of enjoyability, quality and value for money. Tastes like a fine wine to me.

I bought mine from The Solent Cellar (£28, still available).

 “Love Will Tear Us Apart” [2021] Vin de France, Les Valseuses (Beaujolais fruit via Jura, France)

I cannot believe that the name which Antoine Le Court-Chedevergne and Julia Naar selected for their tiny domaine at Les Planches-près-Arbois was not chosen without being fully aware that “Les Valseuses” does not only mean innocently “the walzers” in French (insert shocked face emoji, perhaps). But their tiny domaine, of less than a hectare, is gaining plenty of attention for the wines they make, not for its potentially rude name.

Antoine and Julia met in Brazil. With such a tiny vineyard right now, they are also buying grapes from further afield and this “Joy Division” cuvée is made from Gamay sourced in Beaujolais. Some sources suggest a dash of Mauzac, but others don’t mention it.

Les Planches, where Antoine and Julia have their winery, and also a lovely-looking guest house called Casa Antolià, is just a few kilometres south of Arbois in great walking country. Here, the River Cuisance which flows (occasionally pretty swiftly) through Arbois, appears from beneath the limestone plateau. You have the famous Cirque du fer à Cheval and the Cascade des Tufs, and you also have some great walks, a couple of which I describe in a popular article for Arbois visitors, on this site. If you want to see how rivers work their way through limestone scenery like this, you can visit the underground cave system known as the Grottes des Moidons (when they eventually re-open).

Anyway, I digress. This Gamay, and maybe a little Mauzac or maybe not, is macerated as whole bunches, and spends ten months in tank to age. Nothing is added, including zero sulphur, and there’s no manipulation like pigeage or pumping over etc. Antoine worked for Alice Bouvot at L’Octavin and this only reinforced his natural wine philosophy. The result is supremely fresh and zippy, with great acidity. There was no volatility but you know it’s a natural wine with no sulphur muting the wild berry fruit. It’s kind of on a tightrope but not falling off. That tension is part of its appeal.

I found this bottle in the Dundee shop of Fife organic brewery, Futtle. Their wine range, all natural, is tiny but usually has a few gems. I don’t believe they have this any longer, so I’m glad I spotted it. Never pass a wine shop as you never know what you might miss. Beattie and Roberts may be the importer. They list a large number of wines from Les Valseuses on their web site. I don’t know them at all but I soon shall as they will be at a trade tasting at Montrose (Edinburgh) early next month.

Puy Long XXIII (Vin de France), Jean Maupertuis (Auvergne, France)

The Auvergne has been above the radar for a good while now, but it was once a remote and wild place, perfect for a few wild winemakers to make their mark away from too many people and chemicals. Some consider Jean Maupertuis the “original” natural wine maker in the region, via his first estate, Domaine de Peyra (now no longer operating), in the 1990s.

Jean moved on to farm around 3.5 hectares, mostly at Saint-Georges-sur-Allier. He works primarily with Gamay, both the famous local Gamay d’Auvergne and Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc (the Beaujolais strain). Expect Maupertuis wines to be wholly natural with no added sulfites, to be unfiltered and to be mostly made by whole berry fermentation. I can’t remember a year when I have not drunk at least one of his wines for a very long time, but this might be the first time I have bought this Puy Long.

We have a still Chardonnay off Jean’s mix of limestone and volcanic soils at Saint-Georges. The grapes see a direct, gentle, press and are both fermented and aged in used oak, on the lees. The bouquet is very aromatic and pure, mostly lemon citrus. The palate has both a lightness to it, as in a natural wine that seems to skip gently across the tongue, but also a bit of weight as well, nothing heavy, more a presence.

I’ve seen people suggest pairing it with sushi, which would work very well. We drank it with a stir-fry, with which I would usually be careful about pairing with Chardonnay, especially if it says 13% abv on the label. It doesn’t feel like a 13% wine. I think I can sum this up well by calling this “understated class”. It came from The Solent Cellar (£30), imported by Les Caves de Pyrene.

Chianti Classico 2022, Riecine (Tuscany, Italy)

Riecine produces organic and biodynamic wines from just north of Gaiole in Chianti, in the Classico Zone’s southeastern sector. Here, the vineyards are a little bit higher than the Classico norm. The estate is in the lee of Monte Grossi, which rises to just over 700 masl. It’s a much-used generalisation to say that the higher altitude in Chianti gives “fresher”, perhaps more acidic wines, but Riecine wines do always seem to have freshness. However, that is in part down to low intervention viticulture and winemaking, including using native yeasts rather than cultured ones.

The Riecine Classico is 100% Sangiovese, so no addition of minor varieties, or Merlot, heaven forbid. It is fermented in concrete and aged in oak, and the fruit is fully estate-grown from Gaiole. The bouquet is concentrated, with fine cherry fruit dominating, along with strawberry and redcurrant, but I also got a nice waft of tea leaf.

The palate has fine and grippy tannins, but paired with cherry fruit that has both depth and body. The thing I love about this wine, which I’ve drunk frequently if not recently, is that it will age well, without doubt, but it is also open to go for a nice youthful glass or two. We drank it with a haggis-based roast dinner and it went very well indeed, matching the peppery spice of the haggis. My bottle came from The Solent Cellar and I think cost around £24. The importer is Alliance Wine.

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