The second and final part of November’s “Recent Wines” (the wines we drank at home) ranges from a rare Alpine treat from Savoie, a genuinely remarkable Sherry and another nice entry-level wine from a well-known Tuscan estate, to another of those great finds under £20, this time from Australia, and finishes with an old friend from Austria.

Gringet “Les Alpes” 2019 Vin de Savoie, Dominique Belluard (Savoie, France)

A lot of you will have read my piece titled “Paradise Lost”, a eulogy for two French winemakers whose lives tragically ended in the Covid years, Dominique being one of them (article published here on 21 June 2021). On moving to Scotland, I had just a few bottles of Dominique’s wines left in my wine store, and this is important because I feel I spotted his genius very early, and his wines (and where he made them) mean a lot to me.

The late Dominique Belluard farmed a little over ten hectares at Ayze, just north of the River Arve and the A40 Autoroute from Geneva to Mont Blanc, the closest large town being Bonneville, at which point many motorcycle fans’ ears will prick up.  Although he made wine from other varieties, Altesse and Mondeuse, it is Gringet, a very rare autochthonous variety, which took centre stage at Domaine Belluard. Although my first introduction to Domaine Belluard was via the excellent sparkling wines made here, it is the still wines made from Gringet which truly woke me up.

“Les Alpes” is 100% Gringet, blended from several sites (“Le Feu” is the more expensive single vineyard rendition). The soils are mostly on yellow marnes (marls) and limestone, farmed mostly biodynamically and without chemical inputs, but Dominique never aimed for certification. It begins life, after a gentle press, in concrete eggs, which latterly were a new horizontal style, Dominique always experimenting. I think the wine spent a short period in stainless steel too, but was bottled after only one year, with minimal sulphur added. Glass stoppers were used for the still wines.

Although we have a grape variety many will not have tasted, it is very much an Alpine wine. The bouquet is floral and lifted on the breeze, so to speak. The palate is dry, initially herbal but then a beeswax texture takes centre stage. It can only be described as “mineral”, whatever your take on the use of this descriptor. Intensely mineral!

It’s a tremendous wine, especially as it isn’t the top cuvée. One cannot help feeling sadness along with joy when drinking it. This was especially so here. Although I have a couple of the single vineyard “Le Feu” from this vintage (which need a couple of years longer before even considering opening), I think this was my last “Les Alpes” (you can never tell, the state of my temporary cellar here).

This cost a mere £36 when purchased from Solent Cellar on release, imported by Les Caves de Pyrene. Good luck in finding any (I genuinely mean that).

La Bota de Palo Cortado 75, Equipo Navazos (Jerez, Spain)

The EN stash diminishes. I still have a decent amount of Fino and Manzanilla, and a few small-format gems for very special, shared, occasions, but of Palo Cortado there are few left in the rack. That said, this is one wine I will stretch the budget to replenish. I would argue that this bottling will give as much pleasure to the connoisseur as any Bordeaux or Burgundy would to their respective acolytes.

Bota 75 was sourced from Hijos Raneira Pérez Marín in Sanlúcar and it was from a saca of July 2017. Just 3,200 bottles were taken, which does add another reason, besides the unique quality of this wine, as to why it costs a lot (it is still available in one or two nooks for between £45 and £55).

The colour is beautiful, dark yet bright. The bouquet is fine toasted almonds with orange essence. As with all EN bottlings, it is intense and concentrated, something which people new to the brand can find shocking. The palate is rich and smooth with a chalky texture just evident. Maybe you might sense a sniff of Earl Grey tea? It translates the terroir, I think, even in a wine at 18% abv. That terroir is the famous Pago Miraflores “La Baja” at Sanlúcar. The grapes came from two plots with vines at fifty, and eighty, years old.

What you might not expect from a wine which is so demonstrative at your first sniff is the delicacy that endures on the finish (and will indeed remain in your glass for a long time after the wine has been supped). Perhaps this, above all else, is what makes this bottle so fine. It is one of the finest EN bottles I have enjoyed these past few years. Whilst much wine has gone up in price far too much, personally I would pay fifty quid for another bash at it.

Equipo Navazos is imported into the UK by Alliance Wine. The current Palo Cortado release, Bota 121, is a stunning single vineyard, vintage wine from 2010 (unusual in that respect, of course). It comes from the same source as Botas 52, this 75 and 102.

Rosso dei Notri 2021, Tua Rita (Tuscany, Italy)

I used to buy this wine, which as the name perhaps suggests is the entry point for this well-known Suvereto producer, from Les Caves for a number of years, when they were the estate’s importer. I was having a quick lunch at Abbey Fine Wines, in the lovely Borders town of Melrose this autumn and spotted this on the shelf, so I grabbed one. I’m glad I did.

Tua Rita was established in the Val di Cornia, which lies in the northern part of The Maremma, on the Tuscan Coast, way back in 1984. It is most famous, of course, for Redigaffi, a Merlot of astonishing quality but equally astonishing price these days. Rosso dei Notri is somewhat easier on the pocket.

What we have here is another blend of foreign (to Tuscany) varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc (there may be, or have been, a dash of Petit Verdot as well) and Merlot, ripened in the Tuscan sun, yet cooled by the sea breezes. Ripeness with finesse perhaps. This cuvée is possibly the result of the estate’s increase in size, with now over thirty hectares planted to vines from smaller beginnings of a third of that fifty years ago (time flies). But do not let size fool you.

We have a smoky bouquet with plum and blueberry fruit. There are tannins, although they are rounding out already, at least with air, but there is still grip here, a sign of four months in barrique before further ageing in stainless steel. It definitely needs food, I think. It’s a very good wine on its own terms, the product, I am certain, of a fine estate which wouldn’t sully its reputation with anything less than that. You notice the freshness, the fruit, its definition, length and personality, always the sign in an estate’s cheaper wine that it isn’t an afterthought.

This is another wine I would be happy to take to forthcoming family Christmas meals, except that I won’t be making the drive to Melrose over the next couple of weeks. £20.50 from Abbey Fine Wines, Melrose, and now imported by Armit Wines. They have it at £90 for six In Bond.

Bullets Before Cannonballs 2021, Ricca Terra Farms (South Australia)

Ricca Terra Farms is based at Angaston, a town in South Australia on the border between the Barossa and Eden Valleys, well known to many lovers of Australian wine. It was founded by Ashley and Holly Ratcliff in 2003. This couple have quietly become extremely well-known winemakers in Australia (including “Halliday 5-Star” status for their winery), and thankfully their wines are starting to get UK distribution. They do make a lot of different wines.

Bullets Before Cannonballs comes from Riverland, once derided somewhat by UK wine writers in the 1980s and 90s for its irrigated vineyards on the Murray River in the east-centre of the state, much as they looked down on Riverina’s irrigated vines on the Murrumbidgee in New South Wales, part of the same river system.

Nowadays, Riverland fruit is increasingly sourced by quality producers, some of whose wines I have drunk and written about (Brad Hickey’s Brash Higgins ZBO amphora Zibibbo is one example). The Ratcliffs have been one of the driving forces behind this rejuvenation of quality perception in the Riverland.

Bullets is a blend of four varieties, dominated by just less than 40% Tempranillo, with Lambrusco, Lagrein and Shiraz forming the remainder. These are vines the Ratcliffs own, not bought-in fruit, and they are all planted in small plots over which they have total control. All the grapes were hand picked (this is Australia, don’t forget!) and taken to a cool room. After fermentation the wine was aged twelve months in used oak.

This wine is very fruity but it’s also very concentrated. Along with the 14.5% abv, which the freshness and acidity disguises, it has an air of fun with a serious side just peeking out. Fun but not frivolous. It’s plump, but everything is in good balance. As a bonus, the finish has a savoury, liquorice, note adding interest. It is sealed under screwcap, of course.

I’m not pretending it’s the WOTM here, but for £17.50 it is very good value and almost certainly of higher quality than you might imagine for less than twenty quid. My bottle came from Winekraft Edinburgh. Even though I bought it just two weekends ago, I fear it may well be sold out. Hopefully they will get more, but in the meantime the importer is, once again (I think), Alliance Wine, and they will tell you where to find some, I’m sure.

Waiting for Tom Weiss 2020, Renner & Sistas (Burgenland, Austria)

Stefanie, Susanne and Georg are pretty much the life and soul of Gols, despite the water in that village creating a whole universe of natural wine talent around its streets (not least Susanne’s partner, Klaus Preisinger). The 13-hectare Renner vineyard is farmed naturally without systemic inputs, and winemaking is as natural as it can be, bar occasional additions of SO2. Biodynamic certification (Demeter) has been granted now. However, the siblings (Georg joined his sisters from this vintage) go further, creating biodiversity and farming sustainably. The results are, for me at least, thrilling. Helmuth and Birgit should be proud parents indeed (I think they are).

Waiting for Tom Weiss 2020 is a blend of Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Chardonnay. This pair of varieties are very well suited to blending, and here they make a harmonious natural wine which combines fruitiness and salinity, along with a spritz-like zip. Both varieties shine, giving us melon and pear with a touch of tropical fruit. It’s fantastic for glugging in a bar, slightly funky but not overtly so, but it also has the weight for food.

I genuinely cannot get enough of the whole range this family are producing, and wines keep appearing which I’ve yet to taste (their Gewurztraminer, which looks like a skin contact version from its colour, has been fascinating me for a while). But the Waiting for Tom wines remain core components of their eclectic range.

In the UK, importer Newcomer Wines has the 2021 now listed for £28. French readers can find some 2020 Weiss, and the red version, if they are swift, at Feral Art et Vin in Bordeaux for 22€.