The spring tasting season got off to a chaotic start in Edinburgh on Monday. Rather like the cliché about buses coming along in twos and threes, there were four wine tastings and a whisky tasting on the same day, all at widely dispersed venues. This could potentially be a shame for overall attendance, because the Edinburgh wine scene is certainly nothing compared to that in London.

Tutto Wines at Montrose would have been more than tempting, but for their limiting attendees to “buyers only”, but for me (and evidently for others, judging by comparative numbers), the obvious choice was Timberyard’s Spring Tasting. It was the only “multiple agent” event, with wines shown by Carte Blanche Wines, Passione Vino and Element Wines, along with a few winemakers under the Element Wines umbrella showing their own wines, and even, if all this were not enough, a well-stocked free-pour table.

As is increasingly the case, I don’t really have the will to taste a hundred wines in a day, like I used to. However, I did manage to sniff, slurp, photograph and take notes on around sixty wines, which I’m going to divide into three articles. There are unmissable wines in each.

Part One will focus on Carte Blanche Wines, partly out of politeness as they put me on the guest list. Part Two will cover Passione Vino, and Part Three will divide between the super-interesting wines of David Morris (formerly winemaker at Ancre Hill and now making his own wines in Wales) and Element Wines.

If there seem to be more wines here than you can take in, despite my attempt to break this tasting down, I have highlighted my very favourite wines (a tough choice) at the end of each article.

CARTE BLANCHE WINES

Ben Llewelyn founded Carte Blanche in 2009, initially to import the wines of growers he’d met when working in France. Ben has had an illustrious career in wine, beginning, I think, in Oddbins back in the day when it was arguably the UK’s most innovative wine company, through to becoming a director of Enotria Winecellars, a company that was instrumental in turning me on to Italian wines when I was a wee lad down in London.

Ben Llewelyn with Alan March (Mas Coutelou and A March in the Vines)

I should perhaps mention that long-time friend of Carte Blanche, and now an employee, Ruth Spivey was instrumental herself in introducing me to a number of people on the Edinburgh wine scene when we moved up to Scotland in 2022. I can’t thank her enough.

The producers shown here all presented a pair of wines, the first to show what they can do at entry level, the second being a wine near or at the top of the range. It’s a fascinating comparison to make, and one which really gives the measure of a producer in a snapshot. The Carte Blanche ethos is “terroir, purity and drinkability” (from the CB web site), one which the European wines on show at Timberyard easily fulfil.

We opened with a pair of wines from Muscadet. Vincent Caillé’s Domaine Le Fay d’Homme is probably known to many readers. Muscadet 2023 is a blend of terroirs but mostly vines on mica schist soils, adventurously made in underground concrete cubes. This is much more than basic Muscadet, with a fine mineral element.

Muscadet Gorges 2020 is a cru wine from very old vines. Aged twenty-four months in 600-litre foudres on lees, but with no pumping or stirring, it comes from one of the region’s most exciting crus, in the south of the Sèvre-et-Maine sub-region. Muscadet has almost silently crept up in terms of quality and is now a place where you will find some of the best value and most under-rated serious wines in France. Serious, maybe, for the Gorges, but “drinkability” is still to the fore.

Domaine Cheveau is a 14-ha family estate near Fuissé, the most famous village of the Mâconnais. The whole vineyard is worked by hand and no agri-chemicals are applied. Macon Solutré-Pouilly 2023 is, of course, Chardonnay, from clay and limestone soils located in a tiny plot below the spectacular Solutré rock. Vinified mostly in stainless steel but around a third in old oak, this is so impressive for what is supposedly an entry level wine with around a year’s ageing before release.

Pouilly-Fuissé Vignes du Hameau 2023 is made from a selection of fruit located in three plots, all premier-cru. It is fermented and aged on lees in 600-litre used oak for 14 months. It is young, but there’s plenty of depth. It’s a beauty, but for drinking now the Solutré provides plenty of excitement. Wait for this Fuissé a few more years.

Okay, I know, but the light was low and it’s a miracle this was the only blurred photo to go unnoticed, but I thought the wines were too good not to show the labels!

Camille Braun is a completely new grower to me. Based at Orschwihr, in the far south of Alsace, they are within sight of the great Ballon d’Alsace. This is one of the hottest and sunniest parts of France, and yet Christophe Braun manages to make wines with both phenolic ripeness and low alcohol. The holding is quite large, around 18-ha, but farming is biodynamic and all wines are low intervention. Sometimes a little sulphur is added, other times none at all.

The Edelzwicker “Melting Potes” 2023 is just so good, if like me you are into these once ubiquitous and now fashionable once more blends. We have a base of Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner with smaller amounts of Riesling, Chasselas and Gewurztraminer. Beautifully scented, this has a lovely perfumed bouquet, spice and warmth on the palate, but also fresh acids and a bit of texture from lees ageing. I’d totally buy this for summer picnics and the beach. If you are so inclined, it would make a perfect breakfast wine too. Don’t tempt me.

Riesling Pfingstberg 2021 is from the local Grand Cru. 12.5% abv for a GC wine in Alsace is very rare, so that commends the wine straight away (in other words over-ripeness avoided). Off mixed soils, ageing is half in oak, half in innox. Another wine to age, I’d suggest, but it’s already a nice steely, mineral, Riesling.

José Antonio Garcia moves us to Spain, and Bierzo in the northwest of the country. I always have a soft spot for Bierzo. I visited the region not far short of forty years ago (honestly!) and later it was one of the first regions of the so-called “New Spain” I became interested in, mostly via Raul Perez and his Ultreia cuvées, in the 2000s. José works an amazing 29 tiny parcels in Valtuile de Abajo, all biodynamically and with zero synthetic inputs.

Dona Blanco + Godello 2023 is made from old vines of these two varieties, grown on sandstone. It’s a zesty white, refreshing and if initially simple, let it linger on the palate and see more unfurl. It is very nice but a bit in the shadow of the Palomino Corullón 2021 though. A sought-after wine from the vertiginous slopes of Corullón, which José shares only with Alvaro Palacios, this is a marvel. From 0.2 ha of a rare chalky outcrop, the vines are 120 years old. The wine is just so concentrated, but also drinkable. One of several standouts at the Carte Blanche table.

Weingut Thörle will be known to many readers, especially this Rheinhessen estate’s entry-level Spätburgunder. It’s a very good example of affordable German Pinot Noir, a village blend from 2022, aged one year. Plenty of cherry fruit with a bit of texture. I’d never tried their Probstey Spätburgunder (also 2022) before. They call it a Grand Cru, although these Rheinhessen sites are not officially classified. 0.3ha of old vines on a south-facing slope of pure kalk (limestone). A wine of considerable potential, which should not be wasted, especially as the previous wine is drinking so well.

Fabien Jouves is another stalwart of natural wine. Cahors is where we are in France, Tu Vins Plus Aux Soirées 2023 being a glouglou vin de soif of considerable smashability (Copyright Goode, used with permission). A blend of several red grapes with a short cuvaison. His Mas del Périé Les Acacias Malbec 2021 focuses on the Cahors grape, tasting here like little or nothing you would find from the variety in a beefy Argentinian version, for sure. Fabien also calls this his Grand Cru. Fermented and aged in both amphora and concrete egg, it pumps out a mere 11%abv, but there’s such concentration without any great weight, flab or over-ripeness. A keeper, still, but what you’d expect from this producer in terms of quality.

Bodegas Abeica is a fourth-generation producer at Abalos, northeast of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, itself just a short drive from Haro. The hilltop town of San Vicente, with its early medieval castle keep, is high on the agenda of many Rioja tourists, and Abeica is noted for its guided tours and stone lagares. This is a family winery now using all its own fruit and with a rising reputation.

Chulato 2023 is said to be Abeica’s house wine, a Rioja Joven, mostly Tempranillo but with some white Viura added. Juicy fruit and fresh fruit acids make for a delicious modern red. I’d buy some, for sure. El Bardallo 2022 is a parcel wine, and one which employs 30% white grapes. High-toned with Cherry and violets, a nice wine to show as it’s a little different to most Riojas you’ll taste.

Aseginolaza y Leunda keeps us in Spain, but takes us to Navarra. When I was cutting my wine teeth, Navarra wine was (on the whole) unexciting but that has completely changed. This is an example of that change, a small five-hectare organic estate at San Martin de Unx. Jon Aseginolaza and Pedro Leunda are natives of San Sebastian, and resolutely Basque. These low intervention wines are bottled with just a small addition of sulphur.

Birak 2023 is a varietal Grenache, 40% whole bunch pressed. I found it had a rather odd nose, yet the palate was fantastic. Deliciously fruity with a bit of texture. Camino de Otsaka 2021 is the big boy here. A tiny plot of 0.1 hectare of Grenache, made only every few years, this is unquestionably grippy/tannic and young, even at over three years old, but it has concentration, elegance and finesse, and certainly some brilliance.

I think these two wines, and the two from Rioja above, illustrate well the dilemma the retailer faces. The senior wine is without doubt a wine of real quality, yet with a hefty price to match (though for Otsaka not as hefty as many here). On the other hand, the entry-level wine is just so amazingly drinkable and, in context, perhaps far easier to sell. Wine lovers should try to grab the senior wines, but the junior wines have that appeal you always get with a fine producer’s entry level.

Julien Mus/Domaine de la Greveirette is a producer I have never come across from Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe. Ju de Vie Rouge 2023 is a multi-varietal blend in the local tradition, but one made using no Syrah. These are nursery vines off what some see as unfavoured sand and silt soils. Very drinkable. Domaine de la Graveirette Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2020 is from two parcels up on the Crau plateaux. Biodynamic, mostly Grenache plus Syrah and Mourvèdre. Impressive and not too alcoholic, despite 14.5% abv (I’m tired of 15.5% Châteauneuf if I’m honest).

Finally, Ben opened a couple of singular treats from José Gil. Gil is also at San Vicente de la Sonsierra, with hillside sites as high as you can go in this sub-region of Rioja Alavesa. These are tiny plots making hand-produced terroir wines, very much the direction quality Rioja is traveling now. The soils are mostly alluvial sandstones and clays, and average heights of 400 masl, some as high as 750 masl.

José’s San Vicente de la Sonsierra cuvée (2023 here) is made from 80% Tempranillo with 15% Grenache and 5% Viura. This is no mere village wine. The vines range from 80 to 130 years old. Half destemmed, half whole bunch fermented, aged 50-50 in concrete and old French oak, this is structured but shouting latent complexity. It already has a lovely mouth feel. Seek it out. Bardallo 2023 is scented, concentrated, elegant…stunning. The fruit is so sweetly intense but it is savoury too. Like Garcia’s Corullon (above), it is a remarkable wine.

That is the end of our visit to the Carte Blanche table. There are some stunning wines here, and it’s almost too hard to single out merely a few, but I will try. If buying for myself, I’d grab the Domaine Cheveau Solutré and Camille Braun’s Edelzwicker for glugging whites, and similarly Jouve’s “Soirées” and Abeica’s Joven “Chulato” as gluggable reds. For my big hitters, Garcia’s Corrullón for a majestic white. For ageable reds it’s harder but the Navarra Camino de Otsaka impressed, as did both wines from José Gil. I was going to keep it to a six-pack but there’s nothing here I’d throw out (if money no object), and many more I’d include in a mixed full case.

Next up, Passione Vino, taking us to some wonderful Italian regions with wines to match. As here, some genuine stunners to come in Part Two.