Tag: Bunch Wine Bar

Bunch Spring Tasting

One of the great things I like about Bunch Natural Wine Bar on Berry Street in Liverpool is that there is always something different to try. It is a welcome challenge to step out of your comfort zone and give something new and unfamiliar a try. The beauty of wines by the glass is that you don’t have the financial commitment to the whole bottle so if a wine turns out not to be to your particular liking its not such a costly mistake. Not that I ever come across many that I don’t like, there are simply some I prefer, and all of the wines are worth the effort of getting to know even if the odd one just remains a casual acquaintance. The spring tasting, held in the shop last week, was another great example of the diversity of wines on offer and most of them are well worth getting to know better.

I Wish I Was a Ninja. Testalonga. PetNat. 2018 Swartland. South Africa. The more I drink the wines of Craig Hawkins the more I like them. Here is a producer that really is worthy of further investigation. This was a new wine to me and it is absolutely delicious. Made from 100% Columbard, it’s off dry with 25g/l residual sugar. Pear, apple and elderflower along with a gently carbonation and lovely texture. A well balanced and refreshing wine for the summer ahead.

Fruit Basket. Yetti & the Kokonut. 2018. Eden Valley. Australia. From a 95 year old block in South Australias Eden Valley which contains 13 different grape varieties I have enjoyed this wine on several previous occasions. Revealing something different with each sip, it is a fruit salad in a glass. Sadly it didn’t reveal its true beauty tonight but I won’t let that put me off as I know how good it can be!

Chinuri. Iago Bitarishvili, 2015. Kartil. Georgia. They have been making wine in Georgia for 8.000 years or so. This is traditionally made from the indigenous Chinuri grape variety. It is an orange wine made in clay pots called qvevri. The pot is filled with grapes, buried and left for 6 months before pressing and bottling. It produces a style of wine that can divide opinion as it did on the evening but in the hands of a producer such as Iago Bitarishvilli I can’t think of a better place to start exploring these wines. It is dry with flavours of orange and pear with a touch of dried herbs. There are tannins here but nothing too heavy and the finish is incredibly long.

Basis Nobody. Matthias Warnung. 2016 Kamptal. Austria. A field blend of 90% Gruner Veltliner and 10% Zweigelt. Whole bunches are placed in a large old wooden vat for ten days. The bunches are then pressed and the wine bottled with the addition of a minimal amount of sulphur. The result is a delicate and elegant style of rosé that got better and better with each sip. Dry with lovely strawberry fruit and a touch of fennel. A very appealing wine.

Jumping Juice Half Full Red. Patrick Sullivan. 2018. Victoria. Australia. Mainly Shiraz with the addition of some Semillon and Viognier, this is an incredibly delicious and drinkable wine. For all those that think Aussie Shiraz is only a big, bold wine try this. It is so juicy with bags of soft red fruits a lovely texture and a gentle touch of savouriness on the finish. Delightful.

Blaufrankisch. Nachbil. 2016. Transylvania. Romania. To finish a very easy drinking and not unpleasant red. This wine has black fruits and is savoury and smokey. A slight sweetness to the fruit, nicely textured and a long finish.

Otros Vinos Tasting

Otros Vinos means “other wines” in Spanish and it perfectly summarises what this small wine importer is all about. You are not going to find wines that are produced in large volumes or are on supermarket shelves. Otros Vinos imports natural wines from Spain. They champion small producers who work either organically or biodynamically, prefer minimum intervention in the winery and produce wines which have a real sense of place. They have been lovingly nurtured and are wines that have a story to tell. Bunch Natural Wine Bar in Liverpool hosted a tasting of a selection of wines from the Otros Vinos portfolio. It was a relaxed and enjoyable evening and what follows are my notes on some of the wines on show.

Blanco de Negra. Viña Enebro. 2017. From a 7 hectare estate in Murcia and made from Focallat. As the name suggests this is white wine made from red grapes. Production by whole bunch pressing, no skin contact, followed by fermentation in stainless steel. Fresh, clean and dry with stone fruits and a nutty almond character.

Mistras. Albarino. La Bodega de Constantina Sotelo. Rias Baixas. 2017. thirty year old vines from the Salnes Valley. Fermented in stainless steel and zero added sulphur. Clean, crisp, medium bodied with lovely saline minerality.

Bye Bye Garnacha. Vinya Ferrer. 2017. Seven day carbonic maceration in stainless steel. Zero sulphur. Production is tiny at only 800 bottles. Cherry and raspberry with earthy spices and a long finish. As it opens it there are dried fruits and an almost tawny port like character. At 15.2% alcohol one wonders if its not a touch too high?

Two wines from Marenas which farm six hectares of vines around Montilla in Cordoba. Cerro Encinas 2017. 100% Monastrell from a vineyard planted in 1998. A little closed on the nose but the palate shows some nice red fruits and spice. La Vélo 2017 is made from 100% Tempranillo from a high altitude vineyard of 3000 vines. Dark and brooding with some very pleasant black fruits and savoury spice, there are some tannins here but overall very nice.

Costador Terroirs  produce wine close to the city of Tarragona in north eastern Spain. La Fassina. Trepat. 2017. 100 year old Trepat vines grown at an altitude of 800m. Fermnted in amphora and then aged in a mix of old French oak barrels and amphora. This was probably my favourite wine on show. Well structured with spicey, peppery red berry fruits. Excellent. Metamorphika is from 50 year old bush vines grown at 500m above sea level. Fermented and aged in amphora. Nice red berry fruit with a touch of savoury spice. tannins are a little grippy but very nice.

Bodega Cauzon. Mozuelo. Made by Ramon Saavedra, a former chef, in Andalucia from Garnacha vines planted in 1999. Following a short period of maceration grapes are pressed and vinified naturally in stainless steel. The wines is unfiltered and unfined. Red fruits, spice and a touch of dried herbs make this a very easy drinking wine.

Diego Losada is the driving force behind Bodega La Senda, located in Bierzo in Castilla y Leon in the north west of Spain. El Aqueronte 2017 is made from 100% Mencia from a single vineyard of 60-90 year old vines at 555m elevation. Production is small at around 700 bottles. Fermentation is with wild yeasts and ageing is in chestnut barrels. The wine has lovely cherry fruit with a savoury, smokey backbone. Vindemiatrix 2017 is 80% Mencia, 10% Palomino and 10% Dona Blanca from seven different parcels of vines. A charming and very drinkable wine, juicy red fruit with a touch of spice.

October Tasting at Bunch

The October tasting at Bunch, the natural wine bar on Berry Street in Liverpool, provided the opportunity to taste six wines chosen by host Bobby in honour of his birthday.

Muller Thurgau. Pet Nat. Minimus. Oregon. USA. Slightly off dry with a lovely gentle mousse. There are pears, touch of honey and some bready yeast from the lees which gives the wine a nice texture. There is a slightly floral edge to the finish.

El Bandito Cortez. Testalonga. 2017. Swartland. South Africa. 100% Chenin Blanc from vineyards planted in 1972. Hand harvested, whole bunch pressed. Half fermented in stainless steel and half in large, old barrels then blended together. Nose is very understated with some apple, pear and stone fruit character. The palate is dry with a good rounded texture with stone fruit, almond and a slight touch of honey. Shows lovely balance with a hint of white pepper on the finish. Very nice indeed.

Cutis Deviner. Sobodne. 2015. Slovakia. Deviner is a cross between the rare Slovakian Devin and Traminer. Skin contact for 5 weeks. Ambient temperature ferment outside in open vats. The wine is then aged in old barrels for two years. The palate has lovely balance with orange, apricots and a floral touch giving a nice texture. An orange wine for those that don’t like orange wines! Very enjoyable.

Pomagrana. Lectores Vini. 2017. Catalonia. Spain. Very light in appearance. The nose is expressive red fruits, strawberry, cranberry. The plate is light and juicy, herby and slightly savoury with a hint of pepper on the back palate. A red wine that can be chilled down. Very enjoyable and good value.

Suspended Animation Syrah. 2017. Skinny Legs. Swartland. South Africa. Good depth of colour, nose is dark fruits and touch of farmyardy Brett. Palate is dry with dark berry fruits, it is savoury and smokey. tannins are dry. Needs to open out a little to show its best.

La Milla. Borgata. Piemonte. Italy. Dolcetto from 60 year old vines. Intense, inky colour. The nose is not very expressive with some black fruits and a hint of mint. The palate has earthy black fruits, a little spice and dry tannins. A wine for food.