October Trade Tastings

 

We're excited to announce a pair of trade tastings for Autumn - a collaboration between ourselves and Beattie & Roberts, Otros Vinos , Roland Wines, Wright's Wines - and joining for one date only - Wayward Imports & Vine Trail.

On October 7th we head West to pour at the wonderful Marmo in Bristol and then on October 21st we hit the North to pour at the beautiful Where The Light Gets Im - on both occasions from 11am until 4pm.

If you work in the trade and would like to taste at either the Bristol or Stockport tastings, simply drop us a DM to RSVP and we'll get you booked in.

See you there!

 

A Library Release from Hugo!

 

In a real turn-up for the books, Domaine Hugo have released a special wine from their library reserve: the dazzling 2019 vintage of the traditional method sparkling! 

A slightly cooler year than the 2018 and 2020 vintages that bookended this release, the 19 boasts a thrilling acidity and profound length: a wine that has evolved beautifully with its extended ageing. 

From an easeful vintage, nice rain, no disease, good yields - it’s apparent that this is a wine that true to its origins, much more so than much autolysis-leaning Champagne. One feels the chalk here, 2019 in particular is so direct and on-target.

As always: fruit biodynamically farmed, hand harvested. The entire field blend was basket-pressed, spontaneous fermentation and ageing in Burgundy barrels for 11 months before tirage. Aged 18 months on the lees until disgorgement in February 2022 - now a further 30 months ageing in bottle. Zero dosage.

Pics of a very cheerful Paris Barghchi and Hugo last week, just waiting for a bit more sun for ripening vintage '24!

FOR WHOLESALE ENQUIRIES: HELLO@WINESUTB.COM

 

September 30: An Autumn Trade Tasting

 

An Autumn Trade Tasting!

Join us and our pals Otros Vinos for a tasting at Little Duck, Dalston on Monday September 30th

We'll be pouring from 10am - 4pm, featuring new arrivals from Philippe Delmee, Larural and Project 108 - cosy wines for cosy times and some much-needed doses of bottled sunshine for the upcoming shift as autumn sinks it's teeth into summer.

Drop us an email to RSVP

FOR WHOLESALE ENQUIRIES: HELLO@WINESUTB.COM


Poster source image E.D Williams, 1935 Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

 

New from Rémi Sédès

 

Rémi Sédès
FRANCE, LOIRE, ANCENIS

We are so pleased to have a handful of new arrivals from Rémi Sédès in Ancenis, Loire. Slow-macerated, foudre-aged Gamay, dazzling, mineral white, and one of our all-time favourite roses make a welcome return.

A Gamay specialist, Rémi farms 2.5 hectares of 25-year-old isolated vines that he leases from local biodynamic grandfather Jacques Caroge.

Hailing from the Jura, he studied agronomy when he arrived in the area to live closer to his wife's family in Nantes. He earned his white stripes with Vincent Caillé, followed by a brief stint in Bordeaux to grapple with reds, before setting up to take things at his own pace in 2013.

Remi wanted to focus his efforts on Gamay, and the best soils were a key factor in his choosing to work vines in Ancenis, north-east of Nantes. The soil is micro granite - which suits Gamay particularly well - with a mix of clay, sand and limon underneath. Gamay is vigorous, and the acidity in these soils help to reduce yields, and offers particularly aromatic expressions when worked delicately.

Like the Shire horses he uses in the vineyards, Remi prefers to take things slowly. For him, his work as a winemaker is as much a lifestyle choice as a profession. He relishes his time outside and avoids working with machines. As he puts it; he might as well get a job in a factory listening to machinery if he were to sit driving a tractor around the vineyard all day.

The new wines are detailed in full below!

AVAILABLE NOW

WHITE

2020 - Michto - Melon B.

Melon planted over micro-granite, hand-harvested, pressed slowly and gently in a cold room, settled in tank for 3 days in the cold room, racked to fibreglass for fermentation and ageing, bottled unfined and unfiltered with no additions in spring.

ROSE

2023 - Samplemousse - Gamay

Hand harvested, pressed slowly and gently in a cold room, settled in tank for 3 days in the cold room to retain primary fermentation aromatics, racked to a single Alsatian foudre for 6 months, bottled with no additions.

RED

2019 - Trait Gamay - Gamay

Hand harvested. De-stemmed and lightly crushed. A two week maceration, basket pressed to fibreglass, racked back to fibreglass just before the end of fermentation.

2021 - Trait Gamay - Gamay

2021 marks Remi's new process for Trait: everything is destemmed, for a one month infusion style maceration in an Alsatian foudre, with no extraction. Free-run juice and press juice are assembled together before bottling straight away, ageing in bottle. No additions.

 

New Durrmann: 2023 Releases!

 

We are so thrilled to have just received a kaleidoscope of new 2023 releases from Yann Durrmann in Andlau, Alsace.

2023 was another warm vintage (2022 the hottest on record) but with much more balance, and plenty of rain. A generous vintage in yields, and good maturity, Yann picked a little earlier than he usually would to retain the crispy acidity he loves best.  Thanks to more accessible nitrogen, and a canny practice of macerating all his whites for 24 hours before pressing, fermentations were fast and healthy in 2023, and the wines are all back to being zero sulphur. 

He's very happy with the wines: a lovely vintage with weight and length, and great freshness throughout. 

The wines are detailed below now.

Yann has been heading up the domaine since 2018, taking an already groundbreaking Alsatian family who were dedicated to organic farming, a long-established no-till practice, agroforestry, and indigenous fermentations one step further into unfiltered, zero sulphur winemaking.

Yann is committed to expressing his varied terroir scattered over 30 small parcels around the village, and the new wines are a joyful snapshot of his and his family's hard work in the forested hills of Andlau. 

AVAILABLE NOW

SPARKLING

2023 - Grizzling Négoce - Riesling

Macerated for 24 hours before a slow-pressing, fermentation in stainless steel. Bottled to continue as a pet-nat, disgorged as usual. No additions.

Remarkably clean and bright, high-acid and direct.

2023 - Gaz de Schiste - Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris

From parcels over schist, Pinot Blanc (50%) is macerated for three weeks, before blending with the direct-press Pinot Gris and direct-press Pinot Blanc (25/25%) Continue fermentation together before bottling to finish fermentation in bottle. Disgorged, no additions.

Pithy, zesty and mineral, summer heat bringing that Rubicon Mango energy.

WHITE

2023 - Ron-rond le Litron blanc Négoce - Pinot blanc, Riesling, Gewurz, Sylvaner

Yann has developed good relationships with his organic neighbour over the years, enabling him to fill out the range with the popular negocé cuvees. The edelzwicker blend is macerated for 24 hours, fermentation in stainless steel before assembling and bottling with no additions.

The Litres are so good this year, and the white is all you want it to be: elderflower lemonade with a pithy grapefruit finish.

2023 - Sylvaner - Sylvaner

From parcels of granite and a little clay, 24-hour maceration before a slow, gentle pressing to stainless steel.

The 2023 shows a more serious side to Yann's Sylvaner, with a savoury, herbal edge, good length and fine, peppery tannins.

2023 - Pinot Blanc - Pinot Blanc

A 50/50 blend of Pinot Blanc on Schist for acidity and structure, and Auxerrois on Gres for aromatics and fruit. A gentle pressing of both over six hours after a 24-hour maceration. Fermentation and ageing in stainless steel.

Yann's Pinot Blanc loves the sun: this year it shows with some nice reduction over aromatic orange blossom, salty and textured - very delicious.

2023 - Zegwur - Gewurztraminer

Yann has been picking from two parcels of Gewurz over Granite & Gres for this wine since heavy mildew damage in 2021 - he likes the balance so much that he's continued since. Roughly 25% was macerated for three weeks, the rest for 24 hours, fermentation and ageing in stainless steel.

Very pretty aromatics, delicate and soft. Showing soft tropical fruit, balanced by a good acidity and mineral length - feels like the wine is showing nice restraint this year - not always easy with Gewurztraminer.

SKINS

2023 - Krax - Riesling

Yann's Riesling on sandstone always yields something lovely and soft, which is why he chooses the Krax parcel for his maceration - it's the one he feels can be pushed. Three weeks of de-stemmed maceration, fermentation and ageing in stainless steel. No additions.

Bright with pithy citrus, soft tannins here, a wine that opens up really nicely over an evening if allowed the opportunity!

ROSE

2023 - Rosé Négoce - Pinot Gris

From parcels on sandstone, fruit was macerated for just two days and pressed slowly to stainless steel for fermentation. Bottled with no additions.

Tangy with fresh raspberry and fraise de bois, a little summer rhubarb compote in the mix, lovely balance and length, nice to see a 100% Pinot Gris Rose from Yann this year.

RED

2023 - Ron-rond le Litron rouge Négoce - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris

From parcels on sandstone and little clay, fruit was destemmed and macerated (as separate varieties)very gently for three weeks - assembled and aged in stainless steel.

This is such a winner - natural red with life and bounce, turbid and textured - bags of fun!

2023 - Pinot Noir Rouge Gorge - Pinot Noir

Yann notes that whilst the domaine and negoce (Gorge) Pinots are picked at similar times, both mostly over sandstone, and made the same way, his neighbour's parcel is a site with less sun, and not as diligent yield control as Yann - so not as much concentration of fruit.

Hand harvested and destemmed, macerated gently for three weeks, aged in stainless steel and bottled with no additions.

Bags of crunchy cherry, light and nimble with fine-grained tannin, a wine that opens up beautifully given a little time.

2023 - Rouge de Pinot Noir - Pinot Noir

From parcels over sandstone and schist, hand harvested and destemmed, macerated gently for three weeks, aged in stainless steel and bottled with no additions.

The domaine Pinot is a lot deeper in comparison with the negoce, showing juicy fruit but good structure, real depth and a persistent, mineral length. Showing well now, but will certainly reward good patience in cellars too.

FOR WHOLESALE ENQUIRIES: HELLO@WINESUTB.COM

 

Ham Street's Carbonic Chardonnay!

 

We are very excited to have just received Lucie & Jules at Ham Street Wines new CARBONNAY! 

It's a wine we've been eagerly anticipating since we first saw the fruit arriving at Nicola & Daniel Ham's Offbeat winery where the wine was produced.

The 2022 vintage was a brilliant year for Lucie & Jules, with plenty of sun through ripening leading to fruit with wonderful phenolic complexity, and good yields - they wanted to try and push the possibilities of their Chardonnay, to see what alternative expressions they could tease out of the variety. Photos of the Carbonnay process are below.

Grown organically and regeneratively, they decided to give the Chardonnay a 23 day whole bunch carbonic maceration in stainless steel before being basket pressed to a single amphora and aged for 10 months, with a further 12 months in bottle. 

Spontaneous fermentation, no additions, all movements by gravity and to the biodynamic calendar.

It's a brilliantly unique wine, a proper orange with texture and grip and we only have 252 bottles - get some whilst you can! 

AVAILABLE NOW

SPARKLING

2023 - Pet Nat - Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Bacchus

WHITE/SKINS

2022 - Bacchus - Bacchus

NEW 2022 - Carbonnay - Chardonnay

RED

2022 - Field Blend - Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Bacchus, Pinot Gris

FOR WHOLESALE ENQUIRIES: HELLO@WINESUTB.COM

Ham Street Carbonnay 2022

Carbonnay In The Making

Jules picking Chardonnay at their Ham Street vineyard- him and Lucie have four hectares of mixed varieties, farmed organically, regeneratively and (certified since 2023) biodynamically.

A late-night Chardonnay drop in October to 2022: Lucie & Jules (Ham Street) driving their fruit up to the Salisbury winery of Nic & Dan Ham at Offbeat Wines to help make the 2022 releases.

Whole-bunch Chardonnay before its 23 day carbonic maceration...

... and whole-bunch Chardonnay after its 23 day carbonic maceration.

Nicola Ham (Offbeat Wines) inspects the just-opened tank of Carbonic Chardonnay.

Daniel Ham (Offbeat Wines) giving the Chardonnay a little battonage before pressing.

Nicola getting the Ham Street carbonic Chardonnay through the basket press before it is aged in amphora for the next 10 months - the final day of vintage 2022. 

 

New 2023 Editions from the Brands

 

BRAND BROS - DANIEL & JONAS BRAND
GERMANY, PFALZ, BOCKENHEIM

We are very pleased to receive new arrivals from Daniel & Jonas Brand in Bockenheim, Pfalz.

Fresh from the 2023 vintage, the new wines sing with their signature acidity, and successfully manage the balancing act of being both intense and easy-going, as is so often the case with the brothers' wines.

2023 didn't bring the heatwaves of 2022, but was a very warm year nonetheless - a mild winter, followed by a very warm spring - things cooling in July with plentiful rain that continued into August - alternating with huge bouts of sun that meant conditions were primed for mildew: lots of sorting at harvest to distinguish the good from the bad.

But Daniel & Jonas are profoundly hard-working, diligent in the vines year-round, and particularly so come harvest time: their efforts rarely go unrewarded, and the new wines are a testament to their commitment.

AVAILABLE NOW

SPARKLING

2023 - Shake & Wait Orange - Chardonnay, Kerner, Pinot Blanc

Hand-harvested, varieties were destemmed and macerated for four weeks, bottled in October 2023 to continue fermentation. No disgorgerment, the resulting wine is a lightly frizzante orange, great fun.

WHITE

2023 - Wilder Satz - Field Blend

Bright and fresh, returning to a lighter hue after the more orange-leaning 2022 thanks to lots of pre-harvest rain. The process is the same, varieties macerated between 12 hours to two days, fermentation partly in steel, part in old barrels, assembled shortly before bottling in April 2024.

2019 - Holy Chapel - Pinot Blanc

From one of the oldest sites in Bockenheim. Sitting on the middle of the hill at 240 metres, as Jonas puts it "like a little dent in the mountain." With a chapel still intact among the vines, it has been a special site for many generations, with incredibly vigorous, fertile soils - a loess topsoil with limestone beneath, macerated for 12 hours and aged in old oak for 12 months. The 2019 is profoundly intense and long, stone fruit and salt abound.

RED

2023 - Brand Red - Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Cab Franc, Riesling

Alive and energised in 2023, with a pleasing bit of integrated reduction - varieties undergo carbonic maceration for 10-14 days, fermentation mostly in old barrels (Pinot remains in stainless steel) - one to chill and enjoy in the sun.

 

Ham Street 2023 Pet Nat Arrives!

 

We are so pleased to release the 2023 vintage of Lucie & Jules' pet-nat!

It marks the first year in which they have reached biodynamic certification. From a cool, wet vintage in 2023, this year's pet nat is light on its feet, an energetic and bright expression of the spoils of a British summer.

A five-day carbonic maceration of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Bacchus, pressed to fibreglass, bottled shortly after to continue fermentation as a pet nat. No additions, and all movements according to the biodynamic calendar.

Their Pet Nat 23 is available now!

FOR WHOLESALE ENQUIRIES: HELLO@WINESUTB.COM

 

10 years of 2Naturkinder: New wines from Melanie & Michael

 

It's a true thrill to be able to release new wines from Melanie & Michael at 2Naturkinder. Among them are very special releases from their 10th vintage, resplendent in the new labels (and new names in some instances) that the wines will share moving forwards.

Watching Melanie, Michael and their development over the last decade (8 of those years working together) has been a huge privilege.

Spread across the Eselberg hill in Kitzingen, Franconia, the 2Naturkinder project unfolded from a hopeful experiment with one family parcel in 2013 (the Heimat Silvaner) to now farming all six hectares. They produce carefully considered expressions of their sloping vineyards on shell limestone.

Having worked no-till since 2016, and experimenting with biodynamic treatments in 2021, the organic approach has become even more holistic and locally-minded, swapping biodynamic preps for compost teas and "Effective Microorganisms" (to encourage a healthy rot in the cover crops) - dramatically increasing soil health and diversity.

An exciting development -and one we've kept a close eye on since they planted it in 2018 - is the first wine from the 'garden vineyard' - planted to the centuries-old field blend of nearly 20 varieties, known historically as 'Frentsch'. The wine, Siebenschläfer is a co-fermentation of the entire yield from this special vineyard: a kaleidoscope of aromatics and fruit.

We're also particularly pleased to have received the dazzling new vintage of Black Betty, the welcome return of a new Vater & Sohn, and 'Wilde Meute' - the new moniker for the longstanding skinsy favourite Drei Freunde.

All the wines are available now and detailed in full below:

NEW FROM MELANIE & MICHAEL

WHITE

NV - Vater & Sohn - Muller Thurgau, Silvaner, Riesling

"The Vater & Sohn is a multi-vineyard white blend (named in homage to the time when Michael and his dad still worked on blends together.) that now features the fruit from the vines once picked for Fledermaus Weiss: Müller-Thurgau is the main act here. Grapes all get stomped and pressed shortly after. Same happens to the grapes of one Silvaner vineyard. Fermentation and aging happens partly in big barrels, partly in steel. The wine stays on the lees until the following summer to be finally blended with a splash of Riesling and bottled after harvest, with no additions."

SKINS

2022 - Wilde Meute - Silvaner, Bacchus, Muller-Thurgau

A new name and label for Drei Freunde - the three birds here a nod to its original 'three friends' moniker, once named for the three most widely planted varieties in Franconia that the blend champions.

"Wilde Meute (“wild bunch”) is our skin-contact blend. The defining varieties are Bacchus and Silvaner with a splash of Müller-Thurgau. Bacchus, an aromatic crossing of Silvaner and Riesling, gets destemmed, stays on the skins for about a week and tends to finish fermentation in stainless steel where it stays on the full lees for the next ten months. Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau get vinified the same way but continue their journey after fermentation in Franconian oak. Bottled October 2023 with no additions."

2021 - Kleine Heimat - Silvaner

"The Kleine Heimat (“little home”) is a single vineyard Silvaner from one of our satellite vineyards next to the village of Rödelsee. Unlike the rest of our vineyards the bedrock soil is Keuper. Fruit is destemmed and macerated for 7 days before fermentation starts. Pressed after another week, fermentation continues in a big oak barrel. That’s where the wine also ages until being racked to a tank before the next harvest where it stays before it gets bottled about 18 months after being picked. No additions."

2021 - Weinschwärmer - Pinot Gris, Riesling

"The Weinschwärmer (the German name of the small elephant hawk-moth) is a blend of Pinot Gris and Riesling. The varieties grow next to each other on a stand-alone limestone hill close to the winery. To extract the beautiful Pinot Gris color and fruitiness we destem the bunches and let the crushed berries ferment on the skins for about 10 days. Our last picking day usually is our Riesling, which gets pressed directly. Both wines age in a big old oak barrel before they get racked and blended the following summer to stay in a tank for another six months before being bottled."

"The idea of the wine is to have a very ripe, rather low-acid Pinot Gris providing colour, texture, and fruit before 20-30% of direct-press Riesling jumps in that gap with razor-sharp acidity to add another layer of complexity."

2020 - Heimat Silvaner - Silvaner

"The Heimat (“home”) is the Silvaner parcel it all started with. 40 year old vines grow on a limestone hill close to the winery, a vineyard that has been farmed organically since the 1990s. Over time we leased two equally old Silvaner plots right next to it so we make versions of each parcel and take the best barrels for the final blend. The heart of the wine is a classic destemmed and crushed skin-fermentation for about two weeks, aged in old oak barrels. A small batch gets destemmed by hand for a carbonic maceration. The following summer all barrels get racked and the final blend goes in a tank for another six months before being bottled with no additions."

2021 - Siebenschläfer - "Frentsch" Ancient Field Blend

There is such a huge historical story to tell with the Frentsch field blend that makes up the Siebenschläfer - so we'll do a separate post digging deep into this very special vineyard, and wine. With just one barrel produced in 2021, we have tiny quantities available. A little more info below from Melanie & Michael:

"The Siebenschläfer (German for “edible dormouse”) comes from the first vineyard we planted ourselves. It’s a field-blend historically called 'Frentsch' - the way it’s been planted in our region for centuries until single varieties took over the show. Co-planted in the vineyard you find green, yellow and blue Silvaner, Bukettsilvaner, Heunisch, Gewürztraminer, red and yellow Muskateller, Riesling, Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder and Spätburgunder, Vogelfränkisch, Adelfränkisch, Lagler, Kleinberger and Elbling. The mix was a traditional insurance policy against the weather: different varieties thrive in different conditions, so you could always guarantee some yield."

"The 2021 is the first vintage: everything was picked together, destemmed and fermented on the skins for about a week. The fermentation finishes in old oak where the wine stays until it gets racked the following summer to stay in a tank for another six months."

"All those varieties make for an incredibly unique and complex wine with a touch of color that comes from the red skinned varieties, muscatel flavors, a gentle red berry fruit and a mineral Silvaner backbone."

RED

2022 - Black Betty - Domina, Regent, Pinot Noir

"Black Betty is our light red. Named after the first sheep born in our vineyards, the blend has changed over time as Betty grew up and older. Domina – a crossing of Blauer Portugieser and Spätburgunder – and Regent – a hybrid crossing of Diana (Müller-Thurgau x Silvaner) and Chambourcin – define this blend. We press the Regent bunches directly and pour it over the Domina bunches picked shortly after for just a touch of color and tannin extraction before pressing a few days later. The wines age in big old oak barrels before they get racked the following summer and blended with a small but noticeable batch of carbonic Spätburgunder making an incredibly juicy, glou-glou-style wine."

2019 - Spätburgunder - Pinot Noir

"Our Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) comes from an old limestone vineyard next to the town of Volkach. With our first vintage in 2015 we drafted our new idea of German Pinot: high acid, light, neutral oak. So we pick relatively early (at least for our region), alcohol is not that important to us here. A layer of whole bunches gets covered by destemmed and crushed berries. When fermentation is finished we press and put the wine in an old, neutral barrel so the wine can breathe but doesn’t pick up oak flavors. The following summer the wine gets racked and moves to a tank where it stays for at least another 18 months before being bottled."

 

A Field (Trip) in England: Domaine Hugo & Offbeat, July 2024

 

A beautiful visit (on an otherwise drizzly July day) to see Hugo, Nicola, Daniel & Paris in Wiltshire on Monday!

It's always a privilege to take the teams from restaurants, shops and bars to visit growers & winemakers. Travelling less than 100 miles in a couple of rented minivans to bring passionate, like-minded people together to share ideas, stories, food, and wine remains quite the thrill.

It's a vital part of what we do: to offer the opportunity to learn about the commitment to soil health, biodiversity, and winemaking happening on our doorstep.

Monday was a chance to take a wander through the vines and see how the 2024 vintage is progressing (less rain, more sun, please); to taste the latest Domaine Hugo and Offbeat releases, and to enjoy lunch together in the shelter of the winery: salads from the garden, very good hummus, homemade bread, and the second biggest love on the farm: cheese!

A big thanks to the guys for having us down on Monday, and a huge thanks to the teams from Gnarly Vines, Ducksoup, Primeur, Westerns Laundry, Gladwells, Klose & Soan, Highbury Library, Joyce, Salthouse, Jolene, Carmel and Ploussard for joining us for the day!

WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING WINES AVAILABLE FROM EACH PROJECT NOW:

DOMAINE HUGO

SPARKLING

2020 - Hugo - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris

2021 - Botley's Col Fondo - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris

WHITE

2020 - Two Times A Half - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris

PIQUETTE

2023 - Loose Juice 2 - Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Honey

CIDER

2022 - Sunbeams and Rainbows - Orchard Nlend

WINE/CIDER HYBRID

2021 - Combo - Apples, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay

WHITE

2021 - Field Notes 3 - Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay

2020 - Many Moons - Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay

RED

NV Magic Number - Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc

FOR WHOLESALE ENQUIRIES: HELLO@WINESUTB.COM

 

Quatro Mustachios 2023 Release

 

We are very pleased to have available this week a new pet-nat from Sam & Dave at Quatro Mustachios!

Introducing s.l.u.g: a pithy, refreshing maceration of Solaris with a dash of direct-press Pinot Noir to lift its acidity, ideal summer drinking! The wine was disgorged a few weeks ago, and has seen no additions. More details below.

Alongside s.l.u.g we've also received a little top-up of their dancefloor refresher: Last Night A DJ Seyval'd My Life. Both wines featuring the wild illustration work of Ducksoup's own Marc Springhetti.

If you're unfamiliar with the story: Sam & Dave met whilst studying at Plumpton in 2017 (alongside Sophie Evans, Lucy Chilvers and Titch Hill's Alex Tristram) and started their 'international wine collective' Quatro Mustachios in 2020.

Working at vineyards across Europe, they produced their first collaborative wine (alongside their friends Teo Vitsas & Matthias Altmann) under the Quatro Mustachios tag in Austria, with further releases from Catalunya and Ribeira Sacra in 2021, before returning home to the UK, to focus on channelling their mutual love of hybrids/PIWI's into highly delicious wines from homegrown fruit in 2022.

Their wines are huge fun, a testament to their intuitive, experimental winemaking and the wild potential of PIWIs in the right hands.

AVAILABLE NOW

NEW 2023 - s.l.u.g - Solaris, Pinot Noir

Picked from a co-planted vineyard over loamy clay in Toppesfield, Essex: whole-bunch Solaris was foot crushed and macerated for 4 days, pressed to tank, topped up with 10% direct-press Pinot Noir and fermented for 3 weeks before bottling to continue fermentation as a pet-nat. The wine was disgorged a few weeks ago, and has seen no additions.

2022 - Last Night a DJ Seyval-ed My Life - Seyval Blanc

FOR WHOLESALE ENQUIRIES: HELLO@WINESUTB.COM

 

To The Moons and Back: New Offbeat Wines

 

We are so pleased to be able to finally release two very special wines - both years in the making - from Nicola & Daniel at Offbeat. 

Many Moons is a thrillingly elegant and mineral white, the result of perfect 2020 fruit and four years of age. Magic Number is a detailed, pretty red with complexity, length and substance - they are a testament to the rewards of patience.

These two wines are an important step in their journey: representative of the direction they have been guiding the project towards, in styles they love to drink and have become incredibly accomplished at.

Each is a proper labour of love, the beneficiary of delicate, considered winemaking and a watchful eye in the cellar during their lengthy gestation.  

We caught up with Dan to discuss the journey of the wines, where they fit into the project and the story of the new labels - one most of the wines will now feature. Scroll below to read more on the wines, and the story from Dan.

Both wines are available now, we truly hope you enjoy them.

2020 - Many Moons - Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay

MANY MOONS marks significant milestones in their journey. From the exceptional 2020 vintage, it was the first fruit into their winery and through their traditional Coquard press. We can still remember the joy in the winery as they received this Essex fruit.

It was also the first wine into their 1500-litre Stockinger foudre, a vessel perfect for the longer ageing methods they were eager to explore. As Offbeat transitioned from a side project to a full-time endeavour in 2020, Nic & Dan looked to the high-acid, long-aged wines of the Jura, reflecting on the possibilities open to them with similar varieties and growing conditions.

Tasting the foudre over its two years, they loved its direction. Honing its focus, Dan remembered a Pierre Overnoy quote - that a wine is best spending equal time in bottle as in wood - so the wine was bottled and tucked away for two years before release. Time well spent.

A field blend of Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay grown on the blue clay soils of the Crouch Valley, Essex. Slowly pressed through the Coquard, fermented and aged for two years in foudre. The wine was bottled directly from the vessel via gravity, to the lunar calendar and with no additions.

Loading up the Coquard for the first time, October 2020

NV - Magic Number - Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc

MAGIC NUMBER is emblematic of Nic & Dan's journey with red varieties - it's been a road of discovery, learning how best to develop their ideal characteristics with UK fruit. With Magic Number, they had tapped into a vein of possibility they are still following.

The wine is a one-off by nature: a masterful assembly of different barrels, where outliers from certain vinifications find balance in each other. Featuring three Pinots from the 2021 and 2022 vintages: grown by Lucie & Jules at Ham Street (2021 Pinot Noir) and in the Crouch Valley in Essex (2022 Pinots Meunier and Blanc).

The Pinot Noir had a two-month semi-carbonic maceration and aged in oak for 19 months. Essex fruit macerated together semi-carbonically, before pressing off to oak barrels. Roughly an even split of the two years and vineyards, the wine was assembled and bottled by gravity in July 2023, to the lunar calendar and with no additions.

First juice off the Coquard press, October 2020

LUNAR PHASE: A chat with Daniel Ham, July 2024

"It's really exciting for us to be releasing these two wines that show the direction we're aiming towards. Many Moons is a very momentous one, as it signifies so many firsts for us, and also feels like a real achievement, capturing that year. 2020 was one of the best UK vintages in a decade, we were fortunate to begin the journey in the new winery with that fruit."

"But it was also the year Nic & I started drinking more widely, looking at the wines we love from similarly cooler climate regions - particularly the Jura. With the white varieties, there are so many regions that translate and crossover when you compare with the UK. There's a wealth of inspiration that has helped guide us in where we'd like to go. Less so with the reds, there's certainly not as much crossover or variety, and it's been crucial for us to cut our own path a little more in that regard. We've utilised quite a few different methods in trying to find where we can push things, playing with VA, all sorts of different types of macerations and extraction and ageing."

"There were lots of different barrels that went to Magic Number, perhaps wines that weren't topped up, or were stylistic outliers, things that have been brought together to paint a clearer picture. It's really the story of our journey learning how we want to handle red fruit."

"With the two wines really being a marker of where we're at, and where we're going, we wanted to work on new labels for the whole project: something that represents us a little better, looking to simplify the visual so there's a clear theme through everything."

"For a long time we'd been following the work of Man In The Woods - an artist who used to live around Wiltshire, and has been doing six years of these 'Friday Walks' walking 18km into the countryside, having a pint of ale at the end, then catching the bus to that journeys end-point the following week and picking up the walk from there. He's interested in lots of the same things we are: rural history, ancient folk traditions, standing stones and pubs. I really like his connection to nature, his surroundings, and their history. Stonehenge, which is quite nearby, is of mutual importance to us. "

"We asked him if he would do some illustration ideas based on those shared interests and how they overlap with our winemaking. He brought a few round and there was one little one, on this two-inch square piece of paper. Together, we picked it as the one instantly! He asked if we wanted any revisions or a bigger version of the sketch - but it was perfect as it is."

"It's the 12 phases of the moon around the sun: which are crucial to what we do here. Obviously the sun for the vines, and the moon dictates everything we do in the cellar, it just felt very grounded and connected."

"So nearly all the wines going forward will feature this lovely drawing, with their name on the front. Many Moons is named for its long elevage, a wine that has seen many lunar cycles. Magic Number is three Pinots, and I'm a big De La Soul fan, so it felt right to give a nod to three being the magic number."

The original Man In The Woods sketch