Wine
personality of the year
Ulrich Martin of
Rebschule Martin, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
You may know the
name of Ulrich Martin from the ‘Historische Rebsorten’ - wines
made from varieties somehow snatched from extinction. Rebschule
Martin is a leading Vine Nursery in Germany so they are in a good
position to propagate cuttings from ancient varieties found growing
up the walls of monasteries, on terrasses and so forth.
Andreas Jung is the
foremost grape archaeologist. He and Ulrich Martin have been working
for 20
years to re-establish these grapes. All that would only be of
academic interest if it wasn’t for the fact that Ulrich Martin is
an exceptionally gifted winemaker.
Indeed the four
‘Historische Rebsorten’ at the recent tasting of 57 varieties
made only by one or a very few producers scored highly in Jancis
Robinson’s tasting.
So in a year when we
haven’t been able to get about as much as we would like, we have no
hesitation in naming Ulrich Martin Slotovino Wine Personality of the
Year. He would have deserved this award at any time.
Best Pet Nat
Little Waddon Col
Fondo 2020.
Made from 100%
Phoenix grapes. ‘Col Fondo’ is an Italian re-fermentation in
bottle process. Little Waddon is not the only UK vineyard to make Col
Fondo wine. Tillingham does also. It’s certainly less complicatesd
a process than the Methode Champenoise or even the Charmat methode
(see below).
Very much a natural
wine – unfiltered and unfined – this Pet Nat is is fermented
spontaneously from wild yeasts present in the vineyard. The grapes
are part hand de-stemmed and foot crushed.
If you like natural
wine, you’ll love this.
Best Red
Bodegas Obanca
Carrasquin. Castro de Limes. Asturias. 2011. 14.5%
At the Slotovino
tasting of 57 varieties made by one or a very few producers only,
Carrasquin scored highly with a 16.5 point from Jancis Robinson.
Despite a higher
Abv. level than we like, we loved this wine and heartily agree with
the assessment that it was ‘really very winning.’
There were others that scored 17 but we heard several warm endorsements for this bottle and we are in the same camp.
Best White
Jesus Recuero, Vinedos de Guzquia, Villanueva de Alcardete, Spain.
2015. 11.8%
This Verdoncho got a
16 from Jancis Robinson in the same tasting. We would have given it a higher score as we kept coming back to this bottle for more.
This is not the first time this wine has featured in Slotovino Awards. In 2020 we gave Wine Personality of the year (Northern Hemisphere) to Jesus Recuero and listed all the wines we could find of his. At that point we hadn't actually tasted his wines. The award was given for his work with forgotten grape varieties irrespective of the quality of the wines that resulted from them.
So it is a double pleasure to award this category of Best White to Jesus Recuero despite the bottle having a dog on the lable. Not being dog-lovers that always seems inappropriate to us. It's a mark of how much we like the wine that we can overlook that unappetising element here.
Best Sparkling
Rose
Flint Charmat Rose
Flint claimed their
Charmat Rose was the first sparkling wine made by that method in the
UK. Since then there has been another and possibly more.
Above, we had an
example of a Pet Nat ‘Col Fondo’ which is the simplest method of
producing sparkling wine – basically it’s bottle fermented with
the lees.
Here’s a
description of the Charmat process;
Primary Fermentation: Here the wine goes through
its first fermentation where the grape juices are store in stainless
steel tanks (the wine will be still at this stage).
Secondary Fermentation: The still wine is now
moved to a new stainless steel tank (autoclave) with added sugars and
yeast (to produce the alcohol) where also naturally carbon dioxide
(bubbles) will be produced.
Cooling Period and Filtering: Once fermentation
is completed to the requirements of the winemaker the wine is chilled
so to stop further fermentation taking place and importantly also the
dead lees cells are removed by filter (otherwise the wine will be
cloudy). The wine is transferred to a new stainless steel tank.
Bottling and Sales: Now the wine is ready
(usually between 3 to 9 months) to be bottled under pressure, stored
and then packaged off to sell.
If Flint’s Charmat
Rose is anything to go by, the Charmat method is a perfectly good one
even if it’s the method by which they produce Prosecco.
Grapes involved may
not sound too inspiring (Solaris, Reichensteiner, Cabernet Cortis and
Rondo) but it is surely a testament to Ben Witchell’s winemaking
skills that the result is so delicious.
Best light red
Domaine Philippe
Vandelle Poulsard.
While researching
Poulsard we came to two conclusions; imports into the UK were all
surprisingly expensive and quite a few of these imports were
over-egged, not allowing the personality of the Poulsard variety to
come through.
So we decided to
import some from the Jura ourselves. We went through Wink Lorch’s
book on Jura Wines with a fine toothcomb and alighted on a producer
called Philippe Vandelle. Vandelle’s Poulsard was the right Abv.
(12%) and at the right price (under E.8 per bottle).
This wine is now
sold out even with the price having gone up to over E.8 per bottle by
the way.
Poulsard has been
called ‘The most red of white wines and the whitest of red wines.’
That is accurate and allows a version such as this traditional one
(decidedly not over-egged) to be drunk with almost anything including
fish.
Some call this kind
of Poulsard a rose but we think that is a mistake. It is decidedly a
red wine – just an ethereally light one.
At first we worried
that our Vandelle Poulsard might not be a bit neutral, watery even
but we got into it and now appreciate it for its lightness of touch.
Exactly the thing for this category in our awards. Best Light Red.
You couldn’t get lighter.
Most
surprising discovery
 |
Langmyre's impressive vineyard
|
Langmyre winery,
Gotland, Sweden.
Gotland is the
island in the middle of the Baltic sea. It is Sweden’s largest
island and has a different climate. For instance December is warmer
than March and August is the hottest month. It has the largest number
of sunshine hours in Sweden.
It seems to be a
quiet place as one might imagine. Ingmar Bergman and his
cinematographer Sven Nykvist used to live there as did Andrei
Tarkovsky for a period.
Sweden now has about
50 commercial vineyards. Most are situated near the South-West coast
but there are others towards Stockholm and two on the island of Oland
which lies close to the South-East coast.
So what is special
about the Langmyre Winery of Gotland?
Whereas the typical
varieties grown in Sweden are Solaris and Rondo, Langmyre has gone with varieties obtained by the Vivai Cooperativo Rauscedo and planted Cabernet Volos, Merlot Kanthus, Sauvignon Kretos as well as
Fleurtai and Soreli. These last two are both resistant versions of Friulano
obtained by the Vivai Cooperativo of Rauscedo. This was a surprise
for us because we too have some Fleurtai and Soreli vines and thought
ourselves to be pretty unique in growing these varieties.
In fact Langmyre
have been growing Fleurtai and Soreli longer than us and have even
made their first vintage from these grapes.
The founders of
Långmyre Vineri are Andrea
Guerra from Salerno enologist with many years
experience making wine and Emma
Serner from
Sweden who has strong connections with Gotland. Being Italian would
explain Andrea’s route to planting Fleurtai and Soreli. When we
discovered Langmyre we were keen to order or at least taste wines
from these grapes but Andrea explained that although successful,
production had been very small and we would have to wait another year
and possibly even visit the vineyard to find out how they tasted.
In the meanwhile we
will just have to content ourselves with Langmyre’s tasting notes:
Fleurtai
Crossing of Tocai
Friulano. The high sugar content makes it very suitable for northern
climates.
Strong notes of pear and almonds, followed by hints of
tropical fruit. Wines are clean with minerality and suitable for
short storing.
Soreli
Crossing of Tocai
Friulano. Differs from Fleurtai with a strong white flower scent
combined with a petrol smell that reminds of german Rieslings. Suited
for both young and aged wines.
Prediction for
2022
We’ve scratched
our heads on this one. New import rules and tariffs come into force
on Janurary 1st, 2022 which aren’t going to make wine
any easier or less expensive to buy but that is all too predictable.
We bought wine in a
cardboard bottle in 2021 but we don’t see that catching on in a big
way.
Do we have to make a
prediction? Everything is just so unpredictable.
Most
unexpected hit
Pujalet Cotes de
Gascoigne, Colombard Ugni Blanc. Waitrose. £5.99
This is an appealing
light white from a region full of excellent such wines. The
unexpected bit of our relationship with this wine was that at £5.99
we actually bought it as a cooking wine. While pouring it into the
pot, we took a little taste and wow, that was an unexpected hit –
no doubt about it.
We have moved it
from the kitchen cupboard to the wine rack. Try it and see if you
agree.
Special award
for re-establishment of endangered variety/Varieties
RHS Wisley have an
experimental vineyard with about 60 varieties. Elsewhere they have
more vines under glass etc. These vines are not being grown with a
view to re-establishing endangered varieties but they could be –
that’s the point.
Here are some of the
more obscure varieties growing at Wisley:
Adelheidtraube (not listed in Galet)
Arnsburger
Aurora
Chasselas Dore 1921
Ciotat (= Chasseles Ciotat)
Precoce de Malingre
Reine O….?
Theresa (Teresa Pirovano?)
Wuerzburger Perle (?)
Theklatraube (not listed in Galet)
Slade Blue (not listed in Galet)
Seibel 13053 (= Cascade)
Queen of Esther (not listed in Galet)
Plantet
Noir Hatif de Marseille
Landot 3217 (Galet has Landot 4511 and 244 but not 3217)
Gamay Hatif
Best online
merchant
Adrien Sevestre, Breuvages.fr
We were looking for the wines of Brendan Tracey, the famous Loire producer of Pineau D'Aunis and Orbois among other natural wines. It was difficult to find them so we contacted Mr. Tracey directly who kindly referred us to 'vinscheznous,' who carried his wines. They were out of stock so with the help of Winesearcher we found this other supplier, https://breuvages.fr/
The owner, Adrien Sevestre couldn't have been more enthusiastic and helpful. He supplied us with his last 8 bottles of the heavanly Brendan Tracey 'Oro Verde' white made from the Orbois grape plus some Pineau D'Aunis and a Gamay called 'Capitalisme Rouge,' He knows Brendan Tracey well and usually tries to stock the following wines when he can get them;
| Mellow Yellow 2018 | 18,50€ |
| Oro Verde 2018 | 16,50€ |
| Hibernatus 2020 | 17,50€ |
| Soft Inside 2020 pet nat | 17,50€ |
| Romo verde 2020 pet nat | 17,50€ |
| Capitalisme rouge 2020 | 14€ |
| Wah wah light 2020 | 15€ |
| Pink 2020 | 13,50€ |
Just so you know how solicitous Adrien is, he followed up quite a bit later offering to get more Brendan Tracey wines when we wanted them. We may well take him up on that.
By the way, Brendan Tracey grew up in California where he was vocalist with a punk band. He is a very cool guy. His great uncle was Yves Tanguy, He called us 'Dude.' We were honoured.
Most
interesting wine trend
The rise of Languedoc and Rousillon.
The Languedoc is the wine region of France that has evolved the most
during the past 20 years or so.’
Rosemary George MW, ‘Wines of the Languedoc.’
Our record for being
ahead of the curve is pretty lamentable but we have recently woken up
to what’s been going on in Languedoc (and Roussillon) in recent
years.
This is the world’s
largest wine region. Andrew Jefford writes “Languedoc actually has
one of the most regular and naturally propitious vineyard climates of
any region I know – which is why, of course, it is such a
significant vineyard region.” It hosts what is claimed to be the
largest vineyard in Europe (Les grands Domaines du Littoral at 2,000
ha). It produces more wine than Australia and New Zealand combined
(around 235,000 ha in Languedoc, and a further 24,000 ha in
Roussillon). So improving overall standards is a slow process.
Here are a few
quotes thrown up by searches on the subject in ‘Purple Pages’
“When we first
arrived here [Languedoc] 31 years ago I had young children and a car
without air conditioning. And the wines were very much less
interesting than they are today.”
Jancis Robinson MW.
“There were so
many great – not just good – wines in the [Languedoc] selection
that was sent to me that there were several times I worried I was
being too generous with my scores. More than once I've re-tasted a
second sample, throwing it in blind with another line-up, just to
make sure I wasn't getting over enthusiastic. Only twice, in nearly
300 reds, did I reduce the score. The producers from the south of
France have become very, very serious over the last 15 years.
and
Overall,
Languedoc-Roussillon as a region must be one of the global leaders in
sustainability and commitment to looking after the environment, light
years ahead of most other wine regions in the world.”
Tamlyn Currin,
Purple Pages.
There are big
producers of high standard wines such as Gerard Bertrand, Paul Mas
and Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s Domaine de Baronarques (110 ha) but a plethora of small producers with an average of 10 ha. under vine.
Languedoc grapes
include (in order of plantings)
Carignan
Grenache
Cinsault
Merlot
Syrah
Cabernet Sauvignon
Mourverdre
Cabernet Franc
White wine accounts
for only 13% of production. Grapes are
Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc
Terret
Viognier
Rolle
Roussanne
Marsanne
Piquepoul
Muscat
Varieties prevalent
in pre-Phylloxera times included Aramon, Fer Servadou, Malbec,
Aspiran, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Carignan Blanc, Grenache Gris,
Chenin, Maccabeo, Mauzac, Oeillade (closely related to Cinsault),
Picpoul, Ribeyrenc and others.
Rousillon has
similar varieties although in different quantities. Grenache is the
most widely planted red variety. Lledoner Pelut (a ‘hairy’
Grenache) is also grown together with ordinary Grenache as apparently
is the Spanish custom; Roussillon being just over the border with
Spain and drawn into Spain’s (Catalan) orbit. Grenache Blanc and
Tourbat (aka Malvoise de de Roussillon) are also more of a feature
than in Languedoc as is Muscat.
Appellations in both
Languedoc and Rousillon are a surprisingly recent phenomenon. If you
discount Blanquette de Limoux (1938), the first in Languedoc for
still wines was Fitou in 1948 and in Roussillon Cotes du Roussillon
as late as 1977.
There are about 25
appellations in Languedoc with 19 IGP denominations and 14
designations or vineyard sites who have filed an application for
specific recognition.
Despite
the size and diversity of the region, improvements are ongoing. In
1975, Languedoc producers gradually began shifting their focus toward
standards that would raise the region’s level of quality. Selection
and research into soil makeup, vineyard management, yield control,
and winemaking methods have
led to improvements in the
quality and authenticity of Languedoc wines. That’s
for sure.
It’s difficult to single out
the new classic wines of Languedoc and Roussillon but here are a few
names that kept cropping up in tastings;
Domaine de Cebene. Faugeres
Domaine de la Colombette,
Beziers
Mas de L’Ecriture, Terrasses
du Larzac
Chateau de’Angles, La Clape
Chateau de Negly, La Clape
Chateau Puech-Haut, La Drezery,
Languedoc
Domaine de L’Horizon, Cotes
Catalanes
Domaine Gayda, Limoux
Domaine de l’Hortus, Val de
Montferrand
Domaine Jones
Domaine de la Reserve d’O,
Terrasses du Larzac
Gerard Bertrand
Mas Amiel, Cotes du Roussillon
Thierry Navarre, Saint-Chinian
La peira, Pays de l’Herault
Prieure St. Jean de Bebian
Roc D’Anglade, Coteaux du
Languedoc
Andrew
Jefford who lives there writes;
The greatest
Languedoc wines I have tasted so far have come from Terrasses du
Larzac, with a few further contenders from St Chinian and Pic St Loup
(plus some individual outliers in other zones); and all of them may
be eclipsed by what Roussillon’s Agly valley has yet to give us,
assuming that climate change doesn’t trash its potential. But
it’s too soon even to open betting on the lion race; best to sit
back and enjoy what the entire menagerie has to offer as it canters
round the paddock.
Best
restaurant winelist
Brat
There are two Brat restaurants, one in Shoreditch and the other in Hackney. They describe themselves as Basque influenced and rustic. The food is outstanding and so is the winelist which is far too long and eclectic to analyse here. Brat's website allows you to see the entire list which is not something every restaurant does. In the case of really extensive and interesting lists it is such a help to be able to do your research before you go and not hold up your table for hours while you try to select something from the amazing range on offer.
To give a favour of ho good the list is, take a look at the special feature only Brat seems to offer - the 'Brat Pour.' That tells you everything;
BRAT POUR
Our monthly focus on a single producer’s wine.
Jaroslav Osička’s winery is a small 3-hectare family winery based in Velké
Bílovice in Moravia. Jaroslav is a true maverick of natural winemaking in
the country.
Legends are told of Jaroslav, an influential figure who taught for 30 years
at local wine college, a godfather of the nascent natural/low-intervention
wine movement in Moravia. He’s been tending to his 3ha of vineyards in an
organic way since the beginning of 1980’s.
Jaroslav is inspired by flavours and characteristics of Jura wines but his
wines are far from being “copy cat”, rather they have a deep sense of place
and belonging to Moravia.
Jaroslav Osicka, Pinot Gris, South Moravia, Czech Republic 2016 56
125ml 11.5
Worst Duty Free/Airport Free Shop
We only made one trip in 2021 and that was to Kerry in the Southwest of Ireland. So the chooce was between Stansted and Kerry airports. Both are poor but with Kerry airport being only a tiny fraction of the size of Stansted the comparison is unfair.Nevertheless they could have done better. There was precious little choice and what there was showed nobody cared, sorry to say.
There is an interesting opportunity here nonetheless. The Irish Times reports that for passengers arriving from the UK
Under Revenue’s rules people will be allowed one
litre of spirits or two litres of other alcoholic drinks with no more
than 22 per cent alcohol . These might include port, sherry, sparkling
wine and some liqueurs
Up to four litres of wine and 16 litres of beer will also be exempt from duty under the new post-Brexit rules.
We may have missed something but it didn't look as if KIR was offering duty free shopping for UK passport holders. Strange because the Irish have always been enthusiastic Duty Free merchants. You only have to think of the concession they had at Sheremetievo. It always reminded us of the film 'Local Hero' where the Russian sea captain is part of the remote Scottish community. Maybe Michael O'Leary could encourage KIR to branch out a bit?
Best Book
A decent bottle of
Wine in China (Chris Ruffle).
This book could be
classified under ‘Wine’ or otherwise ‘Humour (black).’
It is a hilarious
and sometimes stomach-churning account of a chap called Chris Ruffle
trying to get a decent bottle of wine in China. Instead of working
his way through the many bottles of Chinese wine produced at the time
(2004), he simply gave up and decided to plant his own vineyard
there. Naturally, he built a Scottish baronial castle to serve as
winery, cellar door and entertainment/hospitality venue as you would.
Chris Ruffle has a
degree in Chinese from Oxford. He sold Fairy Toilet Soap for Procter
& Gamble in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, before moving to Beijing in 1983
to work for metal trader Wogen Resources. After studying Japanese at
Sheffield University he became a financial analyst in in Tokyo in the
late 1980s then moved to Taiwan. He was one of the earliest foreign
investors in China's domestic stock market on behalf of Scottish fund
manager Martin Currie. He is now based in Shanghai where he manages
specialist China funds. Previous publications include "China: An
Insider's Guide".
Chris has a great
sense of humour considering the hoops he had to go through to achieve
his goal. Do read this book. We guarantee you will never set up a
vineyard in China or probably anywhere else after doing so but just
give thanks to those who did.
Various
accolades and acknowledgements
Chris Lisney Smith of the Wine Grape Club (as always). Gina and Aldo
of Cibi Market, Elisabetta Barberis, Aldo Barberis and Paolo Addis
for their vineyard work and advice. Sue and her team for planting in
the rain. Georgie Balmain for keeping our vines at Coates and Seely
prior to collection. Sam Barnes of S.J.Barnes Ltd, Viticultural
Contractors, Paul Woodrow Hill and Sue Osgood of Vinecare (planting),
Stephen Duckett, Hundred Hills Vineyard, Jan Mirkowski, Fairmile
Vineyard, Phil Rossi, Oaken Grove Vineyard all for valuable advice
and help, Parcel Brokers for their excellent parcel (wine cases)
import service, Andras Palerdi also for his help with wine
importation (from Hungary), the helpful winery staff who assisted
with our small imports including Ludovic Gigou of Domaine Gigou,
Muriel Boudier of Domaine Philippe Vandelle, Erica of Italo Cescon,
Brendan Tracey (himself), Adrien Sevestre (www.breuvages.fr
for Brendan Tracey wines), Tamas of Tasting Table Hungary,
