Organic | Postcards From Here and There

December at Bunch

The December tasting at Bunch Natural Wine Bar on Berry Street in Liverpool was a great way to end the year with some rather special bottles opened. The overall quality was high and these monthly tasting should be on the calendar of anon interested in low intervention wines which exhibit a true sense of place. Unfortunately I was unable to take photographs on the night so no bottle labels to accompany the notes. I’ll try better next time!

Magya Watt. Vinereuse. Gaillac. France. 2018. Marine Leys produces wines organically from five hectares in Gaillac. This is a rosé pet nat made from Gamay grapes which were hand harvested, destemmed and fermented in fibre glass. There was a short 2-3 day maceration on the skins. The wine was bottled without filtration before fermentation was completed. It has the gentlest of mousse with a lovely creamy texture and a nice touch of sweetness. Delicate strawberry fruit with just a hint of pear make this a very drinkable wine indeed.

Mad Dog. Madame Flock Wines. Mosel. Germany. 2018. Madame Flock wines is a joint venture of Robert Kane and Derek Labelle. Mad Dog is a single vineyard with vines of about 30 years old. Grapes were had picked and 30% fermented in old French oak and the remainder in stainless steel. The wine was aged for 10 months before bottling with no fining and minimum sulphur. a wine that really opens up given a few minutes in glass and a gentle swirling. Creamy and quite full with apple, apricot and a nice balance. A real grower, it got better and better.

Vita. Massa Vecchia. Tuscany. Italy. 2016. Massa Vecchia was founded in 1985 and has been certified organic since 1993. Vita is an orange wine made from 100% Malvasia di Candia.It spent two weeks on skins before being pressed into old oak barrels where it was left for a year before bottling. It then had a minimum six months before release. Golden in appearance, the wine is intense, powerful and complex with flavours of orange peel and candied fruits.The finish is incredibly long. A fantastic wine.

Rebela Rosa. Slobodne. Hlohovec. Slovakia. 2018. 50% Blauframkisch and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon which were vinified separately in old oak vats before blending and spending eight months in amphora. The aroma is quite floral with a nice touch of tarragon. The plate is round with a touch of sweetness.

Cette Main Légèrement Serrée M’a Laissé Perplexe. Anders Frederik Steen. Ardèche, France. 2018. Anders was formerly a sommelier and restaurateur in his native Denmark before his move into winemaking. He is now based in Valvignères in the Ardèche region of southern France where he makes a small range of highly individual wines. A blend of Carignan and Chardonnay aged for eight months in oak barrels then bottled without fining, filtration or the addition of sulphur. It is a medium bodied wine with lovely freshness and nice texture. Very drinkable and opens out really nicely in glass. The name translates as “the hand tightened a little too much left me perplexed”

En Remont. Julie Balagny. Beaujolais. France. 2018. Julie Balagny organically farms three hectares of vines in Fleurie from which she makes three wines; Cayenne, En Remont and Simone. She also has a small vineyard in Moulin-à-Vent. En Remont is made from old vines, hand picked, foot pressed before spending time in old oak barrels. This is serious stuff and a great expression go Gamay. Nice concentration, red fruits and hazelnuts in glorious harmony. An elegant wine with real character and a long, long finish. The wine of the evening for me.

Wine Round Up Summer 19

I haven’t written a wine round up for some considerable time despite enjoying some very nice wines. I have no excuse except that sometimes life and travels get in the way. I have been fortunate to try some different wines in recent weeks so it seems appropriate to officially record some of them. Despite the fact that its summer here in the UK there is no summery theme to the wines I have been drinking. The variability of our weather means while you might be drinking a light, summery rosé one day the next may see a heavier red do help deal with the wet and damp. The wines are in no particular order but all were very good and thoroughly enjoyable.

Pittnauer. Perfect Day. Burgenland. Austria. 2017. With 15 hectares of vines Pittnauer has been certified as biodynamic since 2009. Minimum intervention, wild ferments and no additions except perhaps for a little sulphur these are wines which have a purity and a true expression of terroir. Perfect Day is a blend of Chardonnay, Muscat Ottonel, Gruner Veltliner and Traminer. All are vinified and aged separately in barriques for six months prior to blending. Crisp and fresh with citrus and some peachy stone fruit, nice structure and balance.

Etna Rosso. Fondo Filaria. Nicosia. Sicily. 2016. A blend of Nerello Mascalese (80%) and Nerello Cappuccio (20%) from an organic vineyard at an altitude of 650m on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily. The altitude gives a cooler climate producing a vibrant and fresh wine with delightful red berry fruits, cherry and warming spice. Medium bodied and with lovely balance.

Villa Barthenau. Vigna S Michele. Pinot Bianco. Hofstätter. Alto Adige. 2016. From a gentle sloping vineyard at an altitude of 450m in the Adige valley. Vigna means single vineyard and the estate has been making this particular wine since 1987. A short maceration before grapes are pressed and the juice put into large oak casks for fermentation. Maturation occurs on lees in oak for 15 months followed by 6 months ageing in bottle before release. This is a delightful wine, the nose is complex with stone fruit, citrus, almond and a hint of floral. The palate is medium with great balance and structure. A refreshing wine which is to be taken seriously. Great stuff.

Barolo Cannubi. GB Burlotto. Piemonte. 2014. Wines have been made here since the middle of the eighteenth century and wine making is very traditional. Much of the estates holdings are in the commune of Verduno but they do have around 2.5 hectares in Barolo of which 1.5 hectares are in the famous Cannubi vineyard. This is a seductive, ethereal wine with red fruit, cherry and savoury mushroom. Lovely structure and great depth with a great long finish. There is much to admire here, a truly great wine.

Verve Chardonnay. Oceans Eight. Mornington Peninsula. Victoria. 2015. Cool climate chardonnay from the Mornington Peninsula just 60 miles south of the city of Melbourne. A sublime nose of citrus with hints of tropical fruit and green apple. The palate has lovely balance and a dry marzipan finish that lasts and lasts.

Bernoota. Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon. Lake Breeze. Langhorne C reek. South Australia. 2016. Growing grapes for over 130 years and producing wine since 1987 Lake Breeze is an award winning winery about an hours drive from Adelaide. Bernoota is an Aboriginal word which means ‘camp among the gum trees’ and it was the original name for the house built on the property. This wine is a blend of Shiraz (60%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) from the Follett family vineyard. It has been matures for twenty months in a mixture of French and American oak. Black fruits with a touch of cooling eucalyptus and some warming peppery spice. It is soft and round and is a lovely drink now but it is youthful and can only get better.

Chateau La Canorgue. Luberon. 2011. I don’t think I have ever had a bad bottle of this wine and it drinks very well either young or with a bit of age. Furthermore it is always such excellent value for money. The property produces red, white and rosé wines from a 35 hectare estate which is farmed organically near the Provencal town of Bonnieux. The red is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and old vine Carignan and has dark berry fruits, a gentle touch of dried herbs and lovely savouriness on the nose. The palate is medium bodied, well balanced and soft. There is a long gamey, spicey finish.

Garrigae. Domaine Ollier Taillefer. Faugères. 2014. A family owned property of 36 hectares in the appellation of Faugères in the Languedoc region of southern France. Vineyards are managed organically. I know very little about this wine, which I came across in a supermarket on a recent visit to the area, but I did enjoy it very much. The nose is wonderful with red berry fruits, dried herbs and wild flowers. The palate is medium bodied with soft red fruit and a gentle savouriness that supports but doesn’t dominate. The finish is long.

Rosso di Sera. Poggiopiano. Toscana. 2013. Nine hectares of vines owned and managed by the Bartoli family since 1993 and located just south of Florence in the Val di Pesa. This supertuscan is a blend of Sangiovese and 10% Colorino and is rich, dark and seductive. Dark cherry, chocolate and the lightest touch of mint. It is generous, with lovely balance and finish of lingering dark cherry.

Mas de Daumas Gassac. Vin de Laurence. 2011. Only made in exceptional vintages, this is only the fourth since 1997. Produced by a double fermentation, firstly with Serial grapes and then with late harvested Muscat Petit Grains. The blended wine is then aged for between 8 and 10 years in oak barrels. Sherry like with masses of sweet peach, apricot, honey and orange marmalade. The Serial gives it a lovely freshness. Complex and very drinkable .Excellent.

Classic Muscat NV. Stanton & Killeen. Rutherglen. New South Wales. Making wines for seven generations, they produce a range of wines that are well worth investigating, if like me, you enjoy this particular style of sweet wine. There are toffee, figs and raisins a plenty here but it is clean, fresh, well balanced and not at all cloying. A very long finish of dried figs with a feint touch of cinnamon.

Real Wine Fair

The Real Wine Fair was held at London’s Tobacco Dock on the 12/13th May. The fair champions small, independent producers who produce wine that is a pure expression of time and place, made with minimum intervention both in the vineyard and winery. While there is no definition of real wine many of the wines on show are produced organically without the addition of any chemicals except perhaps for a tiny amount of sulphur in some cases.

Tobacco dock is a grade I listed building in East End of London and is a perfect venue. It is bright, with plenty of space for exhibitors and visitors alike. Having said that I visited on the Sunday and while it was relatively quiet in the morning it did get very busy by mid afternoon. The fair also features a number of artisan food producers and street food stalls so there is something for when you just need to take a little time out.

There was something around 178 producers from 21 different countries so choices most certainly had to be made for a successful visit. I concentrated mainly, but not exclusively, on wines from the New World and the notes that follow were some of the wines that I particularly enjoyed.

Rainbow Juice. Gentle Folk. 2018. Adelaide Hills. Australia. Gareth and rainbow Belton have been making wine under the Gentle Folk table since 2012 in the hills east of Adelaide. Rainbow juice is a blend of 23 varieties of both red and white grapes. This is what summer drinking is all about. Light, juicy with delicious red berries on the palate. An easy drinking wine which is just a little bit serious. Lovely stuff. All the wines on show were very good and I aLSO Particularly liked the 2018 Tiersman Syrah which was full of dark berry fruit, peppery with a touch of savoury spice.

Ada Chardonnay. Patrick Sullivan 2018. Yarra Valley. Australia. From grapes grown on volcanic soils at a higher elevation than his Baw Baw Chardonnay this is richer, well balanced and with lovely texture.

Coquelicot Cabernet Franc. Lo-Fi Wines. 2017. Santa Barbara County. USA. Two lifelong friends making wines with a philosophy of “nothing added, nothing removed”. The grapes were grown organically and were wild fermented whole bunch for 12 days before pressing to tank. Aged for 10 months in neutral oak. This has produce a fruit driven, super juicy and well balanced wine full of Californian sun. If you love vinyl records you’ll love the labels too.

Hughes Hollow Pinot Noir. Bow & Arrow. 2015. Oregon.USA. Scott Frank produces makes wines from the Willamette Valley in the Pacific Northwest. Specialising in Loire Valley varietals he produces a great range of wines including an excellent Johan Vineyard Melon Blanc. For me however it was the point noir which was the star of the show. A lovely nose of savoury red fruit with a gentle touch of perfume. The palate is well balanced and very inviting. Drinking very well. This plot of pinot was included. as part of a deal to buy Gamay grapes, it has turned out to be a rather good deal.

Riesling Off The Grid. Ovum Wines. 2017. Oregon.USA. Grapes from a single vineyard in southwest Oregon underwent a wild fermentation in concrete egg. This is wonderful stuff; limes, petrol, floral with a touch of honey and lovely balance. The finish is incredibly long and lingering.

El Bandito “Monkey Gone to Heaven”. Testalonga. 2018. Swartland. South Africa. 100% Mouvedre. Deep rose in colour, medium bodied,dark berry fruits, perfumed and with grippy tannins. Very nice.

Coef. Sebastien David. 2016.Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil. Loire. France. Fermented in amphora this is lovely stuff indeed. An intense nose of berry fruits . Earthy with a touch of peppery spice. A wine of real character. I also enjoyed the 2018 Hurluerlu that was on tasting.