After a couple of very recent tastings, I need to take you all the way back to May. We moved house in May and we were consumed by decorating, unpacking, and actually a week of enforced eating out because we were in for a week before the kitchen was up and running. It was that kind of move, but now, two months later, at least there is only one small job we have to persuade the builder to come back and do.

The result is that I have to short-change you (metaphorically speaking, of course), because you are just going to get one part containing five wines and a cider from May. To make it worth the wait, I have here a Swiss speciality, two English offerings (one cider and one still wine), a German Chardonnay from an exceptional new producer, a red blend from Piemonte and a lovely Portuguese white wine from Lisbon.

Oeil-de-Perdrix 2020, Domaine de Montmollin (Neuchâtel, Switzerland)

This is a very old (from the 17^th century) family domaine whose wines I try to buy regularly. They are based in the village of Auvernier which lies on the western side of the Lac de Neuchâtel. Despite the great antiquity of the domaine, they make modern wines with modern labels, and there are none I enjoy more at this time of year than the pale pink “partridge eye”, a designation that the region has taken as its own (to the disappointment of some Geneva producers I know, but that’s another story).

Oeil-de-Perdrix is similar to the “Ramato” style you see in Northeastern Italy, a pale pink with often a very slight coppery hue. Here they take Pinot Noir and create a wine in stainless steel which tastes clean, fresh and fruity, yet it boasts 13% abv, which makes it food-friendly and assists with its ageability.

The bouquet has haunting red fruit scents, but the palate is dry with a bit of texture. It’s a Rosé but with the citrus-led attributes of a white wine. It is also, though you’d not know from a distance because the label is quite modern yet conservative, a low intervention organic wine. It’s also described as “vegan”, not something you see a lot on Swiss wine labels.

Close to four years old might seem a bit ancient for a Rosé, especially such a pale one. The producers themselves recommend ageing for 2-3 years. This had a nice richness but I wouldn’t say it had lost its freshness. Importer Alpine Wines has the 2020 and 2022 for £33, along with a decent selection of other Montmollin cuvées. The Solent Cellar (where I sourced my bottle) has the 2022 Oeil de Perdrix for £32.

Perfect Strangers Artisan Cider 2021, Charlie Herring Wines (Hampshire, England)

Tim Phillips has an orchard adjacent to his walled vineyard near Lymington. The sprawling old trees have a majestic beauty about them, but Tim has cleared most of the scrub that surrounded them (revealing the former estate’s old tennis court) and at the same time he has planted a few more apple trees.

Tim does make a fantastic cider from the apples, and as his wine production is so small, the odd bottle of cider is a welcome addition to the odd bottle of wine that may or may not be available to purchase on a visit.

Much of the cider Tim has made in the past has been sparkling, but this version of Perfect Strangers is still. Tim here has made something quite different, a cider that seems to have taken on a wine-like complexity in bottle. It’s interesting because I think Tim kept some older cider back and plans to release a 2018 vintage, unless I dreamt this. It’s cider with the kind of depth and complexity I’ve never had before, so even knowing Tim’s wines as I do, it still shocked me a little. Amazing!

This cider came as a direct purchase. Retail you may find some occasionally at The Solent Cellar (who only seem to have a couple of Tim’s wines at the moment, including his new multi-vintage Chardonnay called Legion), or equally rarely, at Les Caves de Pyrene, who have been great supporters of Tim’s talent.

Chardonnay 2021, Jonas Dostert (Mosel, Germany)

Many adventurous boundary-pushing talents are beginning to made very good Chardonnay in Germany, but the one I’d urge people to try is that made by this young man. He is without doubt one of a handful of the next wave of star winemakers in Germany. His first vintage was 2018.

Based at Nittel, he is right up on the Luxembourg border, which here is the Mosel, or Moselle as the Luxembourgeois call it. Instead of slate his vines are on limestone, which is potentially more suited to Chardonnay than the more usual slate through which most of the river flows. Jonas is farming old parcels which have been organic for more than a decade. However, Jonas is currently tasting these early wines and learning, because his longer-term aim is to make different cuvées from each parcel. Doubtless they will become more expensive, so get in quick.

You get almost zero intervention because Jonas says that the less you do in the cellar, the more you taste the vineyard, but he will add a tiny amount of sulphur if deemed essential. Aged in large wood, this really is delicious. Best of all perhaps is its poise and balance, just perfect amounts of freshness and fatness (by which I definitely don’t mean flab). The fruit and acids are very bright.

My bottle came from Feral Art et Vins in Bordeaux and cost 28€. Newcomer Wines has begun importing Jonas Dostert. They don’t have this gorgeous Chardonnay but they do have an Elbling (£29), and a blend of Elbling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made on skins, called Karambolage (£30). You may recall that I drank an Elbling made by Jonas’s friend on the opposite bank of the river, Kaja Kohv (Racines Rebelles), a few weeks ago. A good example of a derided variety which, in the right hands, is capable of ugly duckling to swan treatment.

Bacchus 2023, Lyme Bay Winery (Devon, England)

Lyme Bay Winery began producing grapes in 1993 in East Devon. Their current winemaker is the talented Sarah Massey (she’s in good company with Phillips and Dostert). In fact, Sarah makes some very fine Pinot Noir, although of course sourcing fruit in Essex, from the wonderful vineyards of the Crouch Valley. This Bacchus is a multi-regional blend, made from fruit sourced in Essex and Kent as well as Devon, and this particular cuvée is made exclusively for UK supermarket Marks & Spencer.

Bacchus is a crossing between Müller-Thurgau and an unknown Riesling x Silvaner cross, which somehow seems to produce wines which, so long as they are not over-done, taste quintessentially of English summer. Elderflower with hints of lime and grapefruit appear here. Unfortunately, after we chilled it down we had (I noted) the first rain in two weeks, but this will make a nice summer wine and grabbing a bottle or two (only £15 from Marks & Spencer) would be an act of optimism.

I had rather hoped that M&S might have doubled up and given us a Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir as well, but sadly not. Either they were not clever enough, or the winery had none to give them (most likely the latter). They do seem to have this Bacchus in all the branches I’ve been in though. A nice wine at a very nice price.

“Rosso Noah” 2022, Coste della Sesia Rosso DOC, Noah (Alto Piemonte, Italy)

This is a refreshing (in more than one way) blend from the Noah winery at Brusnengo in Alto Piemonte. This is east of the slightly better known Lessona. The grapes comprise 50% young vine Nebbiolo with older Croatina (40%) and Vespolina (the remaining 10%). The winery is run by a young couple who have taken on the task of reviving around four hectares of vines in the old Bramaterra sub-region.

As far as Piemonte goes I’d describe this young wine as an early drinker. It’s made in stainless steel, seeing no wood. You get very nice strawberry and cherry fruit with a lick of liquorice spice on the finish. There’s also some stony texture underneath the fruit. It kind of combines a bit of structure with overt drinkability, but I’d not call it tannic as such. It will probably develop in bottle for a couple of years but it’s basically good to go now with food.

Alto Piemonte is definitely “up and coming” as a place to find quite exciting wines, and there are wines there which are undoubtedly very fine. This comes more in the “enjoyable” category, but I’m not putting it down. This only cost £16.50 from Butlers Wine Cellar (Brighton), and as Astrum is the importer, I’m sure you will find it in a number of other indies. Very good value, nice packaging too.

“Falatório” Sercial Reserva 2020, Cas’ Amaro (Lisbon, Portugal)

Designated a Vinho Regional Lisboa, this lovely gem is made from a grape variety much better known on the island of Madeira. Hand harvested, this is another wine made in stainless steel, where it is aged six months, but it then goes into used French oak for a further six. Only 999 bottles were produced in 2020.

It’s a Reserva, and I’d not call it exactly fruity, more dry, with lemon rind and herbal notes, but also grapey too (for want of finding a better word). It also has a decent bit of texture, though it isn’t harsh.

The winemaker at this 4.5-hectare estate on the coast north of the capital is Jorge Páscoa. He makes a range of wines from autochthonous varieties but just one hectare is planted to Sercial. I would not be able to certify this is a “natural wine”, though it does state that it is made through “sustainable agricultural practices in harmony with the ecosystem” (whatever that means).

What I can certify is that this is a wine with character and personality and I enjoyed it very much. Certainly, enough to drink again, or to try Jorge’s other wines from the same vineyards. There’s a Bastardo, and a “Palhete” (a traditional blend of red and white grapes making a pale wine) that I know of. There’s also a Cas’ Amaro Madame Pió Reserva (their top white, Arinto with some Sercial).

The Sercial cost £21.50 from Butlers Wine Cellar (still available). The Pió is £24.50. As Butlers stocks Breaky Bottom, Sugrue and Westwell, not to mention Pieter Walser’s Blank Bottle (and the Noah featured above), you wouldn’t have any probs putting together a mixed selection.