Slotovino Hall of Fame - major update overdue

A serious update to our list of great grape discoveries is horribly overdue. After all the list of major grape discoveries is our raisin d'etre. 

We are adding the following whites: Albarin (no relation to Albarino), Bukettraube, Cividin, Eva de los Santos, Maria Gomez, Mtsivane, Passerina, Roter Veltliner, Terret, Tsolikauri, Verdil and Vitovska.

New Reds include Albarossa, Bonarda del Otrepo Pavese/Croatina, Carcaghjolu Neru, Frappato (if only in the lighter style of Feudo di Santa Tresa), Cesar, Gamaret, Garanoir, Grignolino, Hondarrabi Beltza, Juan Garcia, Moravia Agra, Ribeyrenc, Tinta Barocca, Tsimlyanskiy and Xinomavro.

These are mentioned in our posts and may be found with the help of our handy search engine (above left). We apologise for not updating our list more frequently.

Just in case it seems that a grape only has to be obscure to be admitted to the illustrious Slotovino Hall of Fame, here are some recently refused entry;

Baco Noir

Marmajuelo

Mondeuse Blanche                                                   

Rebo

Recantina

This list is admittedly idiosyncratic to an extreme because it is composed of what are to US new discoveries: we do not include what are in our opinion familiar varieties. A good example might be Fer Servadou/Braucol or Mondeuse which we expect anyone interested in wine to have encountered.

 So this is how the list of successful varieties now looks;


Whites:

Albarin
Albillo
Antao Vaz
Auxerrois
Bombino (Trebbiano d'Abruzzo)
Bukettraube
Cividin
Doradilla
Elbling
Encruzado
Eva de los Santos
Goldriesling
Gringet
Incrocio Manzoni
Johanniter
Kerner
Koshu
Len de l'Oiel
Loueiro
Malvasia Istriana
Maria Gomez
Mauzac
Mtsivane
Muller Thurgau
Ondenc
Ortrugo
Passerina
Pecorino
Perlé
Pignoletto
Roter Veltliner
Spergola
Terret
Torbato
Trajadura/Treixadura
Tsolikauri
Verdil
Verduzzo
Vilana
Vitovska
Welschriesling (Riesling Italico)
Xarel-Lo
Zlahtina

Reds:

Albarin
Ancelotta
Argaman
Baga
Blauer Wildbacher
Bonarda del Otrepo Pavese/Croatina
Canaiolo
Carcaghjolu Neru
Casavecchia
Casetta
Cornalin
Dornfelder
Folle noire
Francisi
Frappato
Gamaret
Garanoir
Gascon
Graciano
Grignolino
Grolleau
Gropello
Hondarrabi Beltza
Incrocio Manzoni
Juan Garcia
Maglioppo
Marselan
Mencia
Moravia Agra 
Negrara
Nerello Capuccio
Osoleta
Palagrello Nero
Perricone (aka. Pignatello)
Persan
Piedirosso
Pineau d'Aunis
Plavac Mali
Poulsard
Prieto Picudo
Pugnitello
Raboso
Ramisco
Ribeyrenc
Romé
Rossese
Saperavi
Schioppettino
Sciacarello
Tinta Barocca
Tinto Cão
Tinta Negramoll
Tsimlyanskiy
Uva di Troia
Vermentino Nero
Vernaccia Nera
Vranec
Xinomavro

Just a few notes on the newcomers;

Whites

Albarin together with the other Spanish white varieties Eva de los Santos, 

Maria Gomez 

and Verdil 

makes light, pure and nicely acidic refreshing wines. There is a case to be made that Spain is better at White Wine than Italy whose whites so often have a bitter almond taste on the finish.

Bukettraube from Cederberg was a revelation. Aromatic indeed and despite warnings that it is best drunk young, doesn't keep etc. was able to withstand quite a bit of bottle age (ours was 2006 vintage), bad storage (it had spent a long time standing up) and a week in the fridge with a Vacu Vin stopper. We likesd it a lot.

Cividin was most original; the most golden colour imaginable this side of Barsac, it was nonetheless dry and full of personality.

Mtsvane and Tsolikauri had been stars of our January 2011 tasting and we have praised Passerina in this blog for its role in making a good alternative to Prosecco whose brand is beginning to look unstoppable.  The Prosecco grape is more properly named Glera, let it be remembered.

Roter Veltliner amazingly enough is no relation to Guener Veltliner but is similar in taste and just as lovely. Even more extraordinary is the fact that it is very ancient and is ancestor to Neuburger, Rotgipfler and Zierfandler. How did it manage to evade our radar until now?

Terret is one of those minefield as there are several manifestations. Terret, Terret Blanc, Terret Gris and Terret Noir. There is the further complication that bunches of Terret Noir sometimes include white and pink grapes! Crazy. They all come from Languedoc/Rousillon although Terret Noir is one of the permitted varieties in Chateauneuf du Pape. Perhaps not so surprising since 18 varieties are allowed. Anyway, whether Terret Blanc, Gris or just Terret, the example we tasted was thoroughly worthy of inclusion in our pantheon.

Vitovska seems to be a thoroughgoing chamelion of a grape. The first time we tasted it it was insipid and neutral. We then found an example which has been vinified as an Orange Wine and finally we acquired a bottle which was downright aromatic. On the basis of this last sample, Vitovska is admitted.

Reds

Albarossa. A crossing between Nebbiolo and Barbera. An obvious thing to do but the result is good.

Bonarda del Otrepo Pavese/Croatina. This has been one of our favourites for a long time so its exclusion from the SHOF (Slotovino Hall Of Fame) cannot be explained.

Carcaghjolu Neru. We recently found this at L'Epicerie in Aix-en-Provence, The price tag is weighty but so is the wine. This Corsican rarity is something like Pugnitello, Casavecchia or Juan Garcia. A sort of identi-kit winter warmer but none the worse for that.

Frappato (if only in the lighter style of Feudo di Santa Tresa). We had not been bowled over by Frappato until we tasted it in this lighter style which suited the grape's character perfectly in our humble opinion. We're sure the producer Feudo di Santa Tresa would agree with us.

Cesar. This dates back to before the existence of this blog. Since then it has proved very difficult to find an example of 100% Cesar and yet it is one of the permitted grapes of Burgundy no less. We still remember the wonderful wine made from Cesar in purezza so that should mean something.

Gamaret, Garanoir. We love both these inspired Swiss crossings. You can't go wrong with either. They are both crossings of Gamay and Reichensteiner. The first is intended for French Switzerland and the second for the German part. They are full siblings whatever that means.

Grignolino. The "vino da ragazza" as the curmudgeonly chap at Torino airport described it when we asked if he could open a bottle for tasting. What a male chauvinist! If Grignolino is for the ragazze, then it could only mean they have good taste. Only a few days ago Andrew Jefford sang its praises in the Financial Times. We rest our case. The heitz version from California is delicious by the way.

Hondarrabi Beltza. Like Afros Vinho Verde (Vinhão, aka Sousão), a savoury, aromatic mouthful. Great.

Juan Garcia. This was a recent discovery. Magnificent.

Moravia Agra. Moravia has been an obsession for quite some time. We have always drawn a blank with Spenish winemerchants but here in London, we found a wine at Green and Blue of which Moravia Agra was  a major part of the blend. Based on the fact the wine tasted like no other and tasted good, we have bent the rules somewhat and we hail Moravia Agra as a member of the S.H.O.F.

Ribeyrenc. Our Variety of the year 2011/12 (see Slotovino Awards), this is a major find and ticks all the boxes. It is an ancient variety now reduced to a tiny area brought back practically from extinction by a brilliant winemaker (Thierry Navarre) and now producing the most wonderful and characterful wine imaginable. And we can say this after just one sip!

Tinta Barocca. Another old favourite, pre-dating this blog. It varies rather a lot between vintages but the most recent one, thanks to the Duty Free shop at Bergen Airport in Norway is just as we remember it at its best. We used to get it from the South African Wine centre in Wigmore Street in the good old days when you could go on to the Strand to the Australian Wine Centre, both now alas gone. The proponents of this fine variety are Allesverloren. Their Tinta Barocca was originally planted for Port type wines no doubt.

Tsimlyanskiy. We had a taste of this at the 2011 Wine fair at Excel and were impressed. One day we intend to make a trip to Russia and Ukraine to check out these interesting local varieties and visit the Magarach Wine Institute.

Xinomavro. We have had some we didn't like and some we did. On balance we are happy to admit this variety to our hallowed institution on the grounds that the grape itself is intrinsically fine.