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The second vintage of Weinschwärmer is with us, and its an absolute belter:
"This is a once in a decade vintage I think" Michael told us recently. "I'm not allowed to have favourites, but everything in this vineyard in 2019 worked perfectly. If I'm in the cellar working on carpentry projects or cleaning, and I'm having a glass- you start to notice the barrels you return more often than the others- I really love this vintage."
Read moreNew 2020 cuvees are good to go from our young-gun of the Gard, Lori Haon at Domaine de Petit Oratoire. 2020 was one of the first bumper years for Lori, and the new wines sing the carefree tune of his first easy vintage.
Read moreWe spoke with Morgane at Dandelion just before Christmas, whilst her and Christian were pressing apples for their first attempt at making cider. We talked through each of their 7 micro parcels to get a clearer sense of the new vintages and how they've been assembled. Scattered across the hills of the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, their surface now totals just under 3 hectares, with Beaune's limestone as the bedrock beneath each.
Read moreThe latest release from Dan & Nic at Offbeat is here: introducing Field Notes 1.
The first instalment of Field Notes is the by-product of their experimentations with maceration techniques and ageing, a supple and pretty blend of Pinots Noir & Blanc from a plot on clay soils in Crouch Valley, Essex.
Read moreIt's been a tricky year in Beaujolais.
The devastating frost in early April did its worst, followed by hail and high rainfall, perfect conditions for disease: the little fruit that survived was really up against it. It’s a miracle then that we’ve received a 2021 Primeur from Sylvere & Mathilde, the first unlikley survivor of a brutal vintage.
Read moreWe'd like to welcome Alexandre Durand to the fold! Making direct and elegant zero-sulphur expressions of the wild-hearted Faugères as Domaine Pèira Levada. Alexandre works across a tiny patchwork of eight parcels on two distinct terroirs, practicing a no-till organic viticulture.
Read moreReceiving a brace of new wines from Jean Delobre at La Ferme Des Sept Lunes is always cause for celebration, particularly so as these are the first we've received in a little while…
Read moreAs is becoming tradition, the collaborative pet nat between Mataburro & 2PProduction is here.
Read more2020 was kind to the Tisserand family in St Pourcain, with very little in the way of disease and damage, and fermentations that rocketed away. It’s been a while since we’ve had new wines from Loren, and they’re a welcome arrival for Autumn…
Read moreThe latest edition from Ferg Clague and family is here: another wonderful expression of their old vine Grenache.
Read moreThe debut tasting of Domaine Hugo on Monday 23rd August. We'll be at Elliots and Antidote with Hugo pouring to give as many of you as possible a chance to taste the first wines from these biodynamically farmed Wiltshire vineyards.
Read moreHugo Stewart's farming story doesn't begin with fruit, but with pigs. The family farm; Botley's, had belonged to his grandmother and uncle, before the responsibility fell to him. So pigs it was, until twenty years ago. Needing a change of scenery he rented the farm out to a neighbour so he could spend a year in France. Or so he thought.
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The triumphant return of Konni & Evi, these releases from 2019 & 2018 share the focus & purity that we first tasted in barrel back when we met Konrad Buddrus & Evi Wehner at their cellar in Saale-Unstrut, Saxony Anhalt, near Leipzig.
A thrill to taste these at their best again…
For a good while, Paul had his eye on a particular patch of Muscat. Slap bang in the middle of his biodynamically farmed Grenache Gris; the possibility of it falling into hands that might be trigger-happy with the sprays troubled him. So he took the plunge and bought it for himself…
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Having now recovered from a little jet-lag (or rather, lorry-lag?) we can release two more wines from Melanie & Michael's 2019 vintage. These both tell a tale of how intense heat scorching the thin-skinned Bacchus led to major losses of their more aromatic varietal…
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Deep in the garrigue of the Gard, you'll find Olivier Pichon: one-time social worker turned winemaker. Olivier spoke with us recently about wine, community and being able to pass on what he's learnt…
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The German jigsaw puzzle is nearly here. The eagerly anticipated Wilder Satz 2020 will be landing this afternoon, and we're expecting it to be ready to leave us straight away. We caught up with Jonas recently to untangle the recipe for the blend, bottled in April this year…
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We love a delivery from Thomas Boutin. We've just received two vintages of three cuvees that he refines each year with careful consideration, and a small quantity of his 2011 botrytised Chenin, Topaze. We spoke with Thomas recently about the 2019 iterations of some of our favourite Anjou wines, and how the last 12 months have been…
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“Businessmen they drink my wine, ploughmen plough my earth” The next release from Dan & Nic at Offbeat will be with us soon, having been bottled today, the 21st of June. A direct-pressed Pinot Meunier channeling the tension and release of Dylan’s battle cry from his home in the hills.
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Winemaker Clare Pestell at Melbury Vale had been struggling to decide what to do with a rogue barrel from her 2018 vintage. Our pal Daniel Ham from Offbeat suggested to Clare that the base wine still had enough yeasts present that it might do well as a Col Fondo…
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