Wine Chords -

Character from Castillon

Published 20. June 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This is a wine from the hills of Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux. Château Joanin Bécot is led by Juliette Bécot, daughter of Gérard Bécot of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot in Saint-Émilion. In 2001 Juliette acquired this 14-hectare estate in Castillon. Her vision was clear: to produce wines that marry the elegance of Saint-Émilion with the unique attributes of Castillon’s terroir.

The vineyards, averaging 40 years in age, are planted predominantly with merlot, complemented by cabernet franc. The 2021 vintage, comprising 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc, benefited from meticulous vineyard management and a commitment to sustainable practices. The wine underwent fermentation in temperature-controlled vats, followed by ageing in French oak barrels, balancing new and seasoned wood to enhance complexity without overshadowing the fruit.

Château Joanin Bécot 2021 (Juliette Bécot)

Deep ruby hue. Expressive nose of ripe cherries, blackberries, and hints of tobacco. Medium-bodied with good fruit and acidity. Flavours of plum, coffee, and light tobacco emerge, and fine, polished tannins that lead to a savoury finish. A lot of charm and character.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Im Pitterberg

Published 13. June 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This wine from the Nahe was a best buy in the tasting of riesling GG in my local wine club.

Weingut Kruger-Rumpf is a family estate that marries generations of tradition with a contemporary focus. Georg Rumpf, now at the helm, continues the family legacy with a deep respect for organic principles. The estate is particularly known for its holdings in some of the Nahe’s finest vineyards, including the revered Münsterer Im Pitterberg.

The Pitterberg vineyard is a steep, south-facing site composed of Devonian slate and thin topsoil. The vines, many of them 50–70 years old, are tightly planted and deeply rooted, producing low yields of concentrated fruit. Grapes for the Grosses Gewächs bottling are hand-harvested and vinified in large, neutral Stück (2,000-litre oak casks), where they undergo spontaneous fermentation and extended lees ageing. The result is a dry Riesling of structure, texture, and crystalline precision.

Im Pitterberg 2023 (Kruger-Rumpf)

Pale straw colour. Aromas of white peach, lemon zest and crushed stone. On the palate, it is taut and vibrant, driven by racy acidity and a strong mineral core. There is nothing showy, but a wine that reveals its depth with time in the glass. While already compelling, it has the structure and balance to evolve over the next decade or more.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

A GG for contemplation

Published 6. June 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

The Kirchspiel Grosses Gewächs 2012 from Wittmann was served in a bring-a-bottle edition of our wine club.

Weingut Wittmann, based in the village of Westhofen in southern Rheinhessen, has been in the same family since the 17th century. Since taking the reins in the early 1990s, Philipp Wittmann has steered the estate towards organic and later biodynamic viticulture, focusing on low yields, spontaneous fermentations, and wines that speak of their origin. Wittmann joined the VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) in 2004, and today the weingut is recognised as one of the leading estate in Germany.

Kirchspiel is one of Westhofen’s grand cru vineyards, and some say its most elegant. Facing southeast, it forms a natural amphitheatre that captures the morning sun while remaining exposed to the cooling influence of the Rhine Valley. The soils are rich in limestone with patches of clay, giving rise to wines of finesse, minerality, and finely etched acidity.

Where neighbouring Morstein tends to produce broader, more powerful wines, Kirchspiel is about focus, energy and detail – often the best balanced wine in warmer vintages.

Kirchspiel GG 2012 (Weing. Wittmann)

Still pale with a green-tinged hue. Subtle but layered on the nose: white flowers, lemon zest, yellow plum, beeswax and crushed stone. Taut and linear on the palate, with citrus, orchard fruit, wild herbs and minerals. Textured, chalky. The acidity is bright and persistent, giving the wine a long finish. Still remarkably youthful. Some wines invite celebration; this one invites contemplation.

Price: High

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Wake-up call from Marcillac

Published 30. May 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

In the Aveyron region, nestled within the rolling hills of Marcillac, lies Domaine Matha—a family-run estate that has been producing expressive wines since the early 1980s.

Situated in the village of Bruéjouls, the domaine is helmed by Jean-Luc Matha, who inherited his passion for viticulture from his father, Alban. The estate spans 15 hectares of terraced vineyards, locally known as “banquettes,” which Jean-Luc has meticulously restored to combat erosion and facilitate safer cultivation. Committed to organic farming, the estate has eschewed chemical treatments for over a decade, relying instead on natural remedies like copper, sulfur, and herbal infusions.

Marcillac is a small appellation in southwest France, characterized by its iron-rich red soils and steep slopes. The region’s unique terroir imparts a distinct minerality to its wines, predominantly made from the indigenous fer servadou grape, locally referred to as mansois.

Réveille-Moi is made from 100% fer servadou grapes, harvested from vines averaging 45 years in age. The wine undergoes traditional vinification, is bottled unfiltered, and sees minimal sulfur addition.

Réveille-Moi 2021 (Dom. Matha)

Deep red with bluish tints. Slightly developed and peppery aroma of cherries, redcurrants, and raspberries, complemented by hints of olives, flowers, and cool herbs. On the palate it’s firm, fruity, and spicy, showcasing flavors of dark berries, redcurrants, and green herbs, with subtle notes of olives, and balsamic.

Price: Low

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Unveiling the naked truth

Published 23. May 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Here is a skin contact white from the sun-drenched vineyards of Attica, Greece.

Established in 1917, Mylonas Winery is a third-generation family estate situated in the village of Keratea, approximately 30 miles southeast of Athens. With 12 hectares of vineyards scattered across the Attica peninsula, the winery is renowned for its commitment to indigenous Greek varieties, particularly savatiano. Their philosophy emphasizes minimal intervention, allowing the terroir—characterized by mineral-rich limestone soils and a Mediterranean climate—to shine through.

Attica’s vineyards benefit from diverse soils, including limestone, shale, and sandy clay, coupled with a coastal climate that provides cooling sea breezes. These conditions contribute to the development of grapes with concentrated flavours and balanced acidity. The region’s historical association with bulk retsina is being redefined by producers like Mylonas, who showcase the potential of savatiano as a varietal.

The wine is crafted from hand-harvested grapes sourced from the single vineyard Vouno in Keratea, situated at an altitude of 250 meters. The grapes undergo a cooling process at 8°C, followed by destemming and spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The wine experiences 20 days of skin contact at a controlled temperature of 18°C, enhancing its structure and complexity. After fermentation, it is aged on fine lees for six months with regular stirring, bottled unfined, and contains only a minimal addition of sulfites.

Naked Truth Savatiano 2023 (Mylonas)

Bright golden. Complex aroma of peach skin, honey, and floral notes. On the palate, it is full-bodied and balanced by lively acidity, reflecting the aromatic profile with an unexpectedly long aftertaste.

Price: Low

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

A cool cinsault

Published 16. May 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

In the rolling granite hills of the Paardeberg, Adi Badenhorst continues to create some of the most characterful wines the Swartland. His Ramnasgras Cinsault is a profound expression of this place – a wine that leans on history, trusts its fruit, and speaks in fine detail rather than in bold strokes.

The fruit for this wine comes from a dry-farmed bushvine vineyard planted in 1956, rooted in decomposed granite soils. The vineyard, named Ramnasgras, is tucked into the Swartland’s rugged terrain and is naturally low-yielding, producing small, concentrated berries. In keeping with Badenhorst’s minimal intervention philosophy, the 2022 vintage was hand-harvested and fermented with around 20% whole clusters, using only indigenous yeasts. The wine spent about a year ageing in large old foudres before being bottled with low sulphur and no fining or filtration.

Ramnasgras Cinsault 2022 (A.A. Badenhorst)

Pale ruby with a translucent core. The nose is fragrant and inviting, with scents of redcurrant, rosehip, pomegranate and sweet spice, underpinned by a gentle earthiness and a whiff of crushed herbs. On the palate, it is light in body but with a beautiful clarity of fruit and texture – bright, tangy red berries glide over fine, powdery tannins, while a savoury minerality brings balance and length. The alcohol is modest at around 11.5%, but the wine does not feel slight – rather, it is poised and precise, with energy.

Price: Low

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

From the 2023 GG release

Published 13. May 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

At a tasting in our wine club yesterday, we explored a line-up of Grosses Gewächs Rieslings from the newly released 2023 vintage. Among the highlights was Katharina Wechsler’s Morstein.

The 2023 vintage in Germany, and particularly in Rheinhessen, offered conditions that many growers described as “classic.” Early impressions suggest, in short, that this is a year of finesse rather than power.

Morstein is one of Rheinhessen’s great limestone vineyards, perched above the village of Westhofen. First mentioned in the 13th century, it is now firmly established as a Grosses Gewächs (GG) site, producing Rieslings of impressive longevity and mineral tension. The combination of deep clay and active limestone gives the wines both weight and energy.

Since taking over her family estate in 2009, Katharina Wechsler has become a leading figure in the new wave of German winegrowers. Her style is defined by organic farming, spontaneous fermentation and long lees ageing in large neutral oak, resulting in wines that are textural, articulate, and deeply rooted in place.

The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested in several passes to capture optimal ripeness. After gentle foot-trodding of the grapes, the must was fermented with wild yeasts in large oak casks and matured on its fine lees for several months. The approach is low-intervention but carefully guided, allowing the site’s signature to shine through.

Morstein 2023 (K. Wechsler)

Pale colour. Aromatic with lime, white peach, green herbs and wet stone. Expressive on the palate, with a saline drive and laser-cut acidity. Fine texture from lees ageing, and a long, stony finish that speaks of its limestone origin. Still youthful, probably with an excellent ageing potential, but already compelling in its linear, elegant style.

Price: High

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

A natural classic

Published 9. May 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

In the world of natural wines, La Sorga is a classic. Based in Montagnac, Languedoc, France, Anthony Tortul has been crafting expressive, zero-sulphite wines since 2008. His approach involves sourcing grapes from organic and biodynamic vineyards, focusing on the unique terroir of each site.

This wine was enjoyed at Tempo wine bar in Sandnes, Norway. I didn’t find the vintage on the label, bur the lot number suggests 2023, which seems probable. The Boyfriend is an orange wine that exemplifies Anthony’s commitment and style. This cuvée is a blend of grenache blanc, muscat of alexandria, and marsanne.

The grapes undergo skin maceration, resulting in a deep orange hue and a complex flavour profile.

The Boyfriend 2023 (La Sorga)

Deep orange. Intense aromas of clementine, tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, and a hint of grapefruit, complemented by floral notes and subtle spice. Juicy in the mouth, dry with soft tannins and a lingering mineral finish. Approachable and fun at 11°.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Clisson

Published 2. May 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

The Muscadet region has long been synonymous with light, seafood-friendly whites, but a quiet revolution has taken place over the past couple of decades. Producers are now drawing attention to the age-worthiness and complexity that melon de bourgogne can offer—especially when rooted in the right soils and afforded patient lees ageing.

Clisson is one of the cru villages of Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, its wines defined by the granite soils and long ageing on fine lees. For a cru Clisson, the regulations demand at least 24 months of lees contact. Ollivier-Cottencau take this one step further. This 2018 vintage spent no less than 42 months on the lees before bottling, allowing the wine to gain both depth and texture.

Ollivier-Cottencau is a collaboration between two families with deep roots in the region. The estate, situated in Maisdon-sur-Sèvre, is now in the hands of the younger generation, who have embraced organic farming and a low-intervention approach in the cellar. Their wines reflect a respect for both tradition and terroir, with a particular focus on long ageing.

Over time, the lees (yeast cells) break down and release compounds that contribute to the wine’s mouthfeel and aromatic complexity. The result is a wine that bears little resemblance to the brisk, saline Muscadet of old. Instead, Clisson 2018 presents a broader, more layered profile, while retaining the hallmark tension and freshness of the region.

Clisson 2018 (Ollivier-Cottencau)

Golden hue. Aroma of dried herbs, crushed stone, and ripe lemon peel, underscored by a light nuttiness from the lees. On the palate, the wine is taut yet textural, with a saline core wrapped in notes of orchard fruit and a gentle smokiness. Long finish, with a subtle grip that speaks of granite and time. A wine for the table—and for contemplation.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Burja’s beauty

Published 25. April 2025 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This beautiful Slovenian white was presented a few years ago. Read some background information here.

In short: Burja is located in the Vipava valley about 40 km east of the Italian border. Primož Lavrenčič has a holistic approach and farms organically and according to biodynamic principles.

The grape composition here is laški rizling (Italian riesling or Welschriesling) 30%, malvazija (d’Istria) 30%, rebula (ribolla gialla) 30%, others 10%. 7 days skin-maceration in steel, 10 months ageing in barrel.

Bela 2020 (Burja Estate)

Deep golden. Aroma of mature fruits, orange peel peach, herbs, white pepper. Full on the palate, a touch of nuts and a natural, integrated acidity, salty in the finish.

Price: Medium

Food: Light meat, pig, veal, grilled and white fish, tasty salads

Leave a Comment

Wine Chords Posts