Just when you needed it you slided a joker down the sleeve. A real surprise it was, from Argentina’s huge wine region Mendoza.
Gerardo Michelini and his wife Andrea Muffato started this venture in the village Gualtallary (in the Uco valley) in 2012, after having worked for a long time in wine. Everything is organically farmed. In general they use whole cluster maceration with long skin-contact. A spontaneous fermentation is carried out in cement eggs, steel or large oak vats. Additions are kept at a minimum.
This is a blend of 50% malbec and 50% pinot noir from a young vineyard (planted in 2006) situated at 1.400 meters altitude in calcareous, stony soils. It’s made in steel, and saw some carbonic maceration. Unfined and unfiltered.
Ji Ji Ji Malbec CO2 Pinot Noir 2017 (Gen del Alma)
Dark cherry, violet hue. Fruity, aromas of dark berries (blackberry, blueberry), stony minerality and a hint of pepper. Fresh, juicy and carbonic with a touch of tannin. The alcohol is low at 11.5%.
Price: Low
Food: Meat (poultry, veal, pig), white fish, salads, fresh and hard cheeses
We have seen several natural wines now that really can age. (Here is a good one from Granada, and here an even older wine from Dão, Portugal.)
Let me tell you about one from Ribera del Duero, Castilla y León (Spain). Goyo García Viadero, the man behind it, comes from a respected family in wine. I got in touch with him through Bodegas Valduero of Gumiel del Mercado, where his sister Yolanda is winemaker.
Goyo started to produce his own naturally made wines in 2003. He has three small plots near Roa, with different soil types and at various altitudes. And they are the “toda la vida” kind of vineyards, where white varieties grow together with reds. The idea is to express the characteristics of the vineyard, rather than each grape variety.
(Credit: G. García)
All wines are de-stemmed, fermented exclusively with wild yeast, and nothing is added during elevage, neither any SO2. The wines are raised in old French barrels in a very old underground cellar in Gumiel.
The Viñas de Arcilla is Goyo’s only mono-varietal cuvée, 100% tinto fino (tempranillo). It comes from a very old vineyard, clay-dominated (as the name suggests) with some lime-stone, at more than 800 meters altitude. It’s produced with a similar vinification and elevage as outlined above.
Finca Viñas de Arcilla 2010(Goyo García Viadero/ Explotaciones Valduero)
Deep cherry red, signs of development. Cherry, mature fruits, a bit earthy and peaty. Still some fine-grained tannins, lovely acidity and quite persistent. Not heavy at all, and with none of the oakiness often associated with this wine region.
At a younger stage it is perhaps the most powerful of his wines, with a solid structure, but it’s always juicy and surprisingly open too. Now I would say it’s near its peak.
Price: Medium
Food: The suckling pigs or lambs of the region, any kind of roasts and red meat, and don’t forget the wild mushrooms
Domaine de Majas is run by Alain and Agnes Carrère. The 30 hectare domain is located in the Roussillon by the village Caudiès de Fenouillèdes. Tom Lubbe from nearby Domaine Matassa helped to change into organic cultivation. The vineyards are at 350-400 meters’ height in slopes with good exposure and drenage. We see around 120 year old vines of carignan, grenache noir and macabeu, and younger (30-35 years) of syrah, cabernet franc, merlot, rolle and chardonnay. The climate is affected by the nearness of the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean sea.
The wines are fermented with natural yeasts in old cement tanks, some steel and a small percentage old, used wood.
Here we experience harsh winters and warm, sunny summers. The tough northwestern wind from the Pyrenees and the wet Mediterranean breeze often follow each other.
Even if the domain lies within the AOC Côtes du Roussillon they often choose to classify their wines as Vin de Pays de Côtes Catalanes, to honour what they consider te be a unique area.
The soil is mainly chalky clay and schist.
The grapes for this wine are grenache 50%, grenache gris 25%, and grenache blanc 25%. They were hand-harvested, naturally fermented in cement and aged there for 6 months.
Cortado 2017(Dom. de Majas)
Light ruby. Aroma of white flowers, plums, peach and raspberry. In the mouth it’s intense, fruity with round tannins.
Chateau Maris started out in 1997, with an aim to make good wines working in harmony with nature. They soon discovered that biodynamics was the best for their vineyards.
It’s now a 32 hectares estate comprised of small vineyards on the hillside above the village of La Liviniere of Minervois, Languedoc.
This wine is a varietal syrah made with no added sulphites. Maceration went for one month with gentle pumping
over and ‘pigeage’ (punching down).
Savoir Vieillir 2017(Ch. Maris)
Dense, dark red, almost opaque. Fruit-driven, with young berries (blueberry, blackberry), hints of spices. Luscious, juicy mouthfeel, a touch of young tannin, cool fruit, but also a touch of warm alcohol (14,5%).
Here is another varietal cinsault. This variety can be said to be in fashion today. The reason is probably that many vintners have seen its virtues as much more than a grape for blending. Today it’s used many places, in particular have we seen many interesting wines from South Africa. Here is one from southern France, where we used to meet it most often in the past.
(Credit: Mas Onésime)
Mas Onésime is located in La Liquière, one of the tiny villages in is hillside of the Faugères appellation. The domaine consists of 12 hectares within the village.
Vigneron Olivier Villanueva talks about the many colours of the schists in Faugères, “from ochre and grey to orange with deep blue veins”. This sub-oil is among the oldest, and consists of gravelly schists that date, in his own words “back to the beginning of time”.
Most of the vines at the Mas are fifty years old, in steep vineyards with breathtaking views.
The grapes are harvested by hand, sorted, de-stemmed and brought to the cellar immediately after being picked. The grapes are placed in vats, without pumping and using only a natural gravity. Olivier strives to make authentic wines, with techniques as natural as possible.
This wine is only cinsault, hand harvested, sorted and fully destemmed. The yield was 25 hl/ha. It had 14 days of maceration in stainless steel tank, and also ageing in a tank for 14 days.
Le Cinsault 2016 (Mas Onésime)
Ruby red. Aroma of red berries (raspberry, plums), thyme and a touch of white pepper, juicy, luscious, supple in the mouth, with only a slight tannin and a pleasant natural acidity.
Price: Medium/low
Food: Light meat, try also lamb with provençal herbs, ratatouille, salads, grilled fish
We have been familiar with Vasco Croft’s Aphros Wine labels for a long time now. Lately he has also been presenting the Phaunus, that ranges from a pét nat to amphora aged still wines.
Vasco went biodynamic from the beginning, in his farm in Ponte de Lima, Minho (Portugal). Here he has 18 hectares, that are fertilized with own compost. Needless to say, all wines are made with natural yeast.
Vasco Croft at Simplesmente
At this year’s Simplesmente… Vinhos (see one of several posts from the fair here), Porto, we could taste all his wines, most of them in the 2016 vintage. They spanned from the light, citric, uplifting Aphros Loureiro via Daphne, a fuller wine from granite soil, 12 hours skin-contact, fermented in concrete eggs.
The old tradition of palhete involves fermenting white and red grapes together, and the result is a dark rosé or a light red coloured wine. Phaunus Palhete 2016 is a blend of 80% loureiro and 20% vinhão (red). The grapes were destemmed, pressed and fermented on skins in beeswax-lined amphorae, and aged on lees for three months.
Phaunus Palhete 2016 (Aphros Wine)
A pale red colour that hints of blood orange, somewhat cloudy. Aromas of stone fruits (cherries, litchis), herbs, and flowers. It comes with a slight tannin texture, a wonderful acidity, and a touch of saltiness.
Price:
Medium
Food:
White and grilled fish, shellfish, sushi, salads
The original battle of Bosworth was fought on Bosworth Fields, Leicestershire, England in 1485. Joch Bosworth explains that there is also a modern day version, namely his own battle for organic certification, which he acquired in 1995. The winery is found in South Australia’s McLaren Vale, only 7 km west of the sea and around 130 metres above sea level.
This particular wine was made from 100% shiraz, harvested by hand. It was fermented in open tanks, turned around three times a day during fermentation, then pressed and brought to steel tanks. It has seen no oak, and was bottled soon after malolactic fermentation, with no sulphur added.
Puritan Shiraz (no added preservatives) 2016(Battle of Bosworth)
Dark cherry with blue hue. Mature red and dark berries, plums, balsamic notes, meat. Young, fresh, with a slightly carbonic, yet juicy mouthfeel.
Price: Low
Food: Meat, like pepper steak or casseroles, salads…
Lately I have been traveling a lot in northern Spain, and many times I have been visiting, or simply crossing Ribera del Duero. I have also been passing the city and province of Soria, without stopping. Now this has come to an end: Just like I did some ten years ago it was time to explore this often-forgotten but interesting high-altitude part of the DO Ribera del Duero.
There is Bodegas Gormaz, the former cooperative of San Estéban de Gormaz, the area’s biggest village. They are the biggest company, owner of many old pre-phylloxera vines, controls over 1300 acres of vines and makes sound and solid wines. There is of course Bertrand Sourdais, formerly with Atauta, and his new project Antídote.
There is Tierras de Guijarral, a private project that makes ambitious wines under the Rudeles label in Peñalba de San Esteban, on the way to Soria capital. Sergio Rupérez, one of the four owners, is the Ru- of Rudeles. He is responsible winemaker. Today there is no fertilizing, and he also tells that he will convert to only organic cultivation and only autoctonous yeasts in a not too distant future.
And there are others too. Our third article in this series will highlight a very promising producer.
Jaime Suárez at Atauta
However, few will deny that Dominio de Atauta is the leading producer at the moment. I will dedicate the next article to them, so I will not give too much about the background here.
When I made a stop (parada in Spanish) to fill up the tank and found the Parada de Atauta in the shelves of the gas station, then I understood that there must be a certain culture here. This is the entry-level wine from the producer’s classical line.
It’s a serious wine from min. 80 year old tempranillo vines, from in and around the Atauta valley. We are almost a thousand meters above sea level, and the soil is sandy and stony, typical of the area. The wine stayed a year in French oak.
Parada de Atauta 2014 (Dominio de Atauta)
Dark purple colour. Smell of dark and red berries (blueberry, blackberry), violets, pepper and some coffee. The palate is also dominated by berries, with a cool freshness, velvety tannins, and a stony minerality.
Price: Low
Food: Red and light meat, rice dishes, pasta, roast vegetables…
Jean-Pierre and Chantal Frick cultivate 12 hectares of vineyards in and around Pfaffenheim, Alsace. Since 1970 the domaine has been organically cultivated, and certified biodynamic since 1981. In fact Jean-Pierre has since long been a guiding light for others who want a sustainable approach to vinegrowing.
Since the beginning of the 80’s they have abandoned the use of additions, clarification and filtration, except for a small amount of sulphur before bottling for wines with residual sugar.
The Steinert vineyard was planted in the 1970’s on limestone, fossil ground and gravel. The fermentation was spontaneous, and the maceration lasted for around one week. Then the wine was aged in big vats of French oak.
Steinert Grand Cru Gewürztraminer Macération 2016(Dom. Pierre Frick)
Light golden colour. Aromatic, hints of fennel, spices, roses and some tropics like mango and litchis. Quite fat in the mouth, intense, full-flavoured, bone dry, long, and just enough power and acidity to keep the 15% alcohol in check.
I am on my way to Croatia, to perform at a festival on the Dalmatian coast. I don’t know yet if there will be an opportunity to visit some of the country’s many good and promising wineries. Anyway, what could be better than warming up with one of the country’s many wonderful wines.
The Roxanich winery has been a favourite after several fairs for natural wine, most recently at London’s Rawfair. Roxanich is found in western Istria, Bačva area, where they have moved back to their original site in the historic town Motovun, in the crossroads between Venetian and Austrian-Hungarian culture.
They can be labelled low- (as close as possible to non-) intervention, low-sulphites, and they take their time.
Their vineyards are cultivated according to ancient methods and minimal use of technology. The maceration and alcoholic fermentation take place in vats of 55 to 70 hectolitres.
Motovun is famous for its white truffles and its grapes. But there is also a rumour that this is where the oldest amphora filled with wine was found, in the surrounding area of ceramics producing Brkač. Roxanich add on their website, -Motovun is also considered as the most powerful source of positive energy in Istria because it is located at the crossroads of three dragon furrows, which transmit the Earth’s energy and supply it to all living creatures.
As a consequence, they decided to return to that mystical place because they consider wine somewhat of a spiritual discipline.
This week’s pick is a stately, statuesque white from the grape variety mavasia, or malvazija istriana, as it’s called when grown in the peninsula’s red soil. The wine is labelled Antica, and the vintage on the market is 2010. It underwent a spontaneous fermentation, then followed 6 months of skin-contact, then pressed. It was then aged for 6 years in old barrels of big volume. Biodynamically treated, it’s bottled on a waning moon, and without clarification or filtration.
Mladen Rožanić in London, with the Antica to our left
Antica 2010(Roxanich)
Roxanich plays some power chords here. Amber or bronze colour with some orange hints. Rich aroma of flowers, butter, apricot, roasted almonds, dried fruits and some volatile acidity. It’s full-bodied, tastes wild and strong, it’s dry, but with some sweet hints like roasted apples, nuts and caramel, all tied together with just enough natural acidity and rounded tannins. The finish is rich, with a volatile hint, it plays with your restistance towards oxidation, and should not leave anyone un-touched.
