New wines

2017 Cascina Zerbetta "Shan Pan", Monferrato, Piedmont

This is a bit of an early harvest + late harvest natural wine experiment, and it's delicious! Most of the grapes (100% Sauvignon Blanc) are early picked in August followed by an initial fermentation and ageing for a few months. Very late picked grape juice is then added in November to kick-start secondary fermentation in bottle. Unfined, no filtration, no addition of sulphites. Best given a quick "shake to wake it" and served cloudy to give it its uniquely refreshing texture. I must apologise to the passers-by and customers who may have got sprayed the other Saturday night.

2015 Cacina Zerbetta Quattrocento, Monferrato, Piedmont

This is 95% Sauvignon Blanc, like no other I've tasted. Very small production as with the Shan Pan, the juice has a little skin contact followed by a slower fermentation and three months lees contact. The result: a really beautiful texture, almost salty with a real mineral edge. Oysters anyone?

2014 Rocher des Violettes Pétillant Originel, Montlouis, Loire

We’ve gone from Méthode Traditionelle to Pétillant Nuturel to Pétillant Originel. Don’t quiz me on the legal differences, but – ironically – Petillant Originel is a fairly new appellation in Mountlouis in the central Loire region. Unlike Champagne there is no dosage, as the still wine is bottled with some ‘natural’ sugar still remaining. Similar to Champagne, there is lots of lees age in bottle (28 months) and the wine is completely free of sediment following disgorgement. This is piercingly fresh delicately sparkling Chenin with a real taste of the Tuffeau (=the local limestone of the Loire Valley, a great word to slip into conversation in the shop to look knowledgeable).

2017 1753 Viognier, Nimes, France

The 1753 rose has been THE wine of the summer so far, so it only made sense to bring in its brother, this extremely elegant, very lightly oaked Viognier. This wine and I have some very happy memories together, we will be officially re-united on Thursday, when winemaker Franck-Lin will be pouring his wines in the shop. You’ll have to wait till then…

2015 Slobodne Deviner, Hlohevic, Slovakia

This is 50% Devin (a Gewurztraminer + Roter Veltliner cross) and 50% Traminer. There’s a long-ish period of skin-contact (aka orange wine) here followed by 18 months of lees age. This wine’s intense aromatics got me instantly. Rich, complex on the nose, yet with a brilliant freshness on the palate. Really impressive stuff.

2016 38740 Clarete, Victoria Torres, La Palma, Canary Islands

Finally a wine from the Canaries I hear you say! Clarete is traditionally made from a mix of red and white grapes all vinified together. Victoria has small parcels of Listan Blanco, Albillo and Negramoll all over the island, up to 1200m in altitude, some vines up to 80 years in age. You can almost feel the salty breeze in your face when you taste the sea in this wine… a very fine, beautifully balanced wine.

2015 Balazu des Vausieres Rose, Domaine Charmasson, Tavel, Rhone

After tasting the red from this producer I knew I had to taste more. Their philosophy is about as natural as it gets, yet with none of the funkiness people sometimes expect. The rose has so much honeyed fruit, quite developed and the taste stays with you for a such a long time. A wine for those looking for a rosé with the intensity and complexity cranked up to eleven - very popular when we opened it in the shop a couple of weeks ago.

2012 Balazu des Vausieres Red, Domaine Charmasson, Tavel, Rhone

It was love at first taste with this wine. Charmasson don’t bottle their wines until they’re tasting just right. Similar to the rose, there is no oak and no manipulation with this wine, just a really well-balanced, nicely developed, elegant red wine that is tasting absolutely on point right now.

2016 Priorat Classic, Fredi Torres, Priorat, Spain

I’ve been looking for a Priorat for the shop for a while, this one finally hit all the right spots. Fredi likes to plant in cooler parts of Priorat, on granite, which gives a lighter, fresher, softer style of wine. With just 20% of the wine aged in oak, this is a really accessible style of Priorat.