This wine was served blind as a bonus wine in a Bordeaux tasting.
It comes from the limestone and clay-limestone slopes of the eastern Loire. Sancerre’s cool climate and mineral soils give pinot a brightness and tension that feel distinctly Loire.
Produced by the historic family estate Domaine Paul Prieur et Fils, now run by Luc Prieur, this wine comes from the lower part of the lieu-dit Les Pichons, planted on clay-limestone soils. The Prieur family has been making wine in Sancerre for eleven generations and remains one of the classic names of Verdigny.
The wine is made with around 20–40% whole clusters, fermented with indigenous yeasts and without sulphur before fermentation. The wine is aged for 15 months, mostly in older 228-litre barrels with a portion matured in amphora, and bottled unfiltered. The result is a pinot noir with both purity and texture rather than overt oak influence.
Grains de Pinot 2023(Dom. Paul Prieur)
Pale ruby colour. Aroma of red cherry, raspberry and cranberry, alongside floral notes, gentle spice and a faint earthy smokiness. On the palate, it is light to medium-bodied, fresh and finely structured, with silky tannins, lively acidity and a mineral edge carrying the finish. Elegant, savoury and quite persistent.
Constantino Ramos works mainly in Minho, producing super-fresh, often saline wines, both white and red. This time I was particularly impressed by Juca 2024, where chestnut flowers are used instead of sulphur. Dark in colour with a faint bluish tone, the wine shows aromas of both red and darker berries. On the palate it is juicy and lively, with fresh acidity, a lightly saline touch and an extra layer of complexity. The finish is long and energetic.
At Materramenta – where Constantino also consults, working with Luís Vasco – the focus was on wines from three different Azores islands. I chose Materramenta D.O. Biscoitos 2024 a verdelho and arinto dos açores blend from Terceira, where the project has its headquarters. Pale straw in colour, it offers aromas of ripe apple and citrus. The palate is bright and lively, with good acidity and a clear saline note that reflects the Atlantic surroundings.
From Lisboa wine region, Quinta da Serradinha – located near Leiria in the northern part of the region, in the limestone hills of Encostas d’Aire – and António Marques da Cruz showed a range of stylish wines in different colours. Serradinha Branco 2024, made from encruzado and arinto, had 18 hours of skin contact, was fermented in barrels and aged ten months on the lees. The result is golden in colour, with aromas of yellow apple and herbs. The palate is mouthfilling and textured, combining weight with freshness. A second version with a higher proportion of arinto (around 65%) showed a little more acidity and tension.
From the Douro, Grau Baumé – represented here by Hugo Mateus and based around Peso da Régua – presented Undo Alvarinto 2021, a blend of alvarinho and arinto. The wine is light and aromatic, with citrus and floral notes on the nose. On the palate it shows moderate weight, lively acidity and a clean, refreshing finish.
Tiago Sampaio, also from the Douro (and not far away, from around Alijó), poured Uivo Chronológico Ancestral 2018, a pét-nat made from pinot noir. Many people claim that pét-nat cannot age, but Tiago is keen to demonstrate the opposite. The wine is light golden in colour, with subtle brioche notes and fine, well-integrated bubbles. The palate is dry, complex and gastronomic – the kind of sparkling wine that works beautifully at the table.
Finally, from Vidigueira in Alentejo, Natus and Hamilton Reis presented Natus 2023. Vidigueira is known as a white-wine enclave in a region dominated by reds. This roupeiro-antão vaz-gouveio blend shows a light golden colour, with a deep and layered aroma profile. On the palate it is broad and complex, combining ripeness with freshness and a long, balanced finish.
This wine became my first sparkler, as the fireworks lit the sky and the year changed beneath them.
1701 represents a conscious revival of an estate with more than 300 years of documented history in Franciacorta (hence the name). The project was initiated by siblings Federico and Silvia Stefini, whose shared commitment to wine, nature and their home territory has shaped the estate from the outset.
Their ambition was clear: to work according to organic and biodynamic principles, placing nature at the centre of every decision. Today, the family owns ten hectares of vineyards, eight planted with chardonnay and two with pinot noir. In 2016 1701 became the first biodynamically certified winery in Franciacorta, and remains the only one to this day.
For Federico and Silvia, biodynamics is not merely a farming method but a holistic philosophy of life. The aim is always to create the conditions in which the grapes can realise their full potential while expressing their origin with clarity and precision. They describe their wines as natural, made without chemical inputs, additives or synthetic treatments in either vineyard or cellar.
Grapes are hand-harvested and rigorously selected, followed by fermentation in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts. The wines are made according to the traditional method, with a minimum of 30 months ageing on the lees. Remuage is carried out by hand, disgorgement dates are clearly stated on the bottle, and there is no dosage. Annual production is approximately 40,000 bottles.
Franciacorta Brut Nature n/v(Soc. Agr. 1701)
Pale straw with a subtle golden hue; fine, persistent mousse. Aroma of lemon zest, green apple and white flowers, underpinned by crushed stone and a touch of toasted almond. Bone-dry in the mouth, tightly structured, driven by bright acidity and chalky minerality. Subtle autolytic notes add depth, leading to a long, saline and precise finish.
Pommard is traditionally known for its powerful, structured wines grown on heavy clay soils, often dark-fruited and firmly built. Les Bertins, however, lies in the southern part of the appellation, close to Volnay, where the soils become lighter and more limestone-rich. This shift in geology brings a different expression of Pommard, one that favours lift, elegance and aromatic nuance.
The wine is made by Huber-Verdereau, a family estate based in Meursault and led today by Thiébault Huber. Since taking over, he has steered the domaine firmly towards organic and biodynamic farming, with careful work in the vineyards and a restrained, non-interventionist approach in the cellar. Fermentations are gentle, extraction is measured, and élevage is carried out with a judicious use of oak to support, not shape, the wine.
Pommard Premier Cru Les Bertins 2020(Huber-Verdereau)
Deep ruby colour with a bright rim, signalling both concentration and freshness. Aroma of ripe red cherry, wild strawberry and raspberry, notes of dried herbs, crushed stone and a subtle hint of spice and undergrowth. On the palate it is poised and finely structured, with a core of juicy red fruit framed by chalky, well-integrated tannins. The finish is persistent. It’s a wine with both tension and clarity, combining Pommard’s natural authority with a Volnay-like elegance.
I am not among the ranks of those who follow Bourgogne closely. One reason is that I do my best to keep up with what happens other places, such as the Iberian Peninsula. I could also mention the prices. But then, Bourgogne Côte-d’Or has emerged as an exciting category for wine lovers seeking high-quality wines at more accessible prices than the prestigious appellations. What is more, the director of my local wine shop is a highly regarded expert on Bourgogne. So at a major release of Burgundies, from DRC and downwards, he said that this was a must try.
I have learned that Bouzereau is based in Meursault, where he makes elegant white wines from that appellation. The estate is now run by Michel’s son, Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau. He follows organic practices in the vineyard and employs a gentle winemaking approach to preserve the finesse of the fruit. Bouzereau employs a restrained use of new oak to preserve the wine’s elegance.
The grapes for this wine come from selected plots in the Côte de Beaune. The 2022 vintage was warm, yet retained enough freshness to ensure balance in the wines. The grapes are hand-harvested, partly destemmed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in open-top vats. This cuvée saw one year in barrel, 15% new.
Bright ruby with hints of violet. Aroma of red berries (cherry, raspberry), floral notes and subtle spice. Fresh and delicate in the mouth, with vibrant red fruit, balanced acidity, fine-grained tannins, with a gentle earthiness. A refined, terroir-driven pinot noir with purity of fruit and silky tannins. Beautiful already, but will evolve over the next few years.
Price: Medium
Food: Light meat (veal), roasted duck breast, or a classic wild mushroom risotto
I have participated in a tasting with some of Vinmonopolet’s suppliers, organized by the Norwegian state monopoly. The relatively new importer Swirl has a portfolio that focuses on Portugal. Øystein Solvang presented a veritable wave of individual vignerons from various corners of the country, all of whom demonstrated high quality and a large degree of sustainable production. Here I can only name a few. Among those I already have a close relationship with, and which you can read more about on the blog, were Aphros (Minho), Espera and Marinho (both Lisboa), Vitor Claro (Lisboa and Alentejo), Cebolal (Setúbal/Alentejo) and Muxagat (Douro).
Øystein Solvang, Swirl Wines
Among those who were new to me are Taboadella and Hugo Pinheiro, both from Penalva do Castelo in Dão, who represented two different approaches. Where Taboadella had a more classic cut, Pinheiro offered a distinctly fruit-driven, unfiltered style.
A strong impression was made by tasting wines from João Tavares de Pina, also from Penalva in Dão, with the following background. Tavares recently lost his house and 85% of his vineyards in the fire that has ravaged the interior of Portugal. He is a sociable and generous guy with many friends, and there is currently a large-scale campaign underway in Portugal and partly abroad for him to be able to replant the vineyards. João says that the best you and I can do to help is to buy his wines. I have myself bought a couple of cases recently.
Here I tasted a wonderfully developed wine, Terras de Tavares 2002, with a brick-red color, aromas of dried fruit, well-hung meat, prunes and a hint of smoke. This evoked memories of an evening at the home of João and his wife Luisa, with a fire on the fireplace in the cold winter, when we enjoyed delicious food prepared by João himself and also had a similar wine (Terras de Tavares 1997, read about it here).
I said hello to 2 x Ole Martin. It was the first time I had met Ole Martin Alfsen, who is known in several disciplines of gastronomy and wine. -Now it’s mostly wine, he says. He has developed his own portfolio of wine made in collaboration with producers in several countries, often abbreviated to his initials OMA. He always hits the mark with quality at reasonable prices. The wine name XinOma probably says it all; it is made by him on the grape xinomavro. Ole Martin also tells how he works in collaboration with producer Oenops. This grape often produces light coloured wines. The wine is light, but also has a nice concentration, with good primary fruit and an aroma of flowers and herbs.
Ole Martin Alfsen
We also tasted a rosé version of the same wine, a pét-nat and a blaufränkisch made in collaboration with Heinrich in Gols, Austria. Ole Martin also talked about his collaboration with Loimer in Austria, Quintas de Melgaço in Portugal, Giovanni Rosso in Italy and Au Bon Climat in the USA. Finally, we tasted a pinot noir, in which Ole Martin had collaborated with Broc Cellars in Santa Bárbara, California. It’s a fruity, mellow wine. It has a touch of oak, but Ole Martin Alfsen knows better than anyone that such wines also have a place on the table.
Ole Martin Brodvall, Vinarius
At importer Vinarius, Ole Martin Brodvall served wines from the prominent Fitapreta, where António Maçanita is the winemaker. First we tasted a phenomenal white wine from typical Alentejo and Portuguese grapes, mostly arinto. Palpite 2022 had a clean and beautiful fruit with hints of apricot and orange peel and good body, together with a significant acidity. Fitapreta Tinto 2022 was a relatively light and luscious wine with aromas of red berries with balsamic hints, from a typical Alentejo blend. Tinta Carvalha 2022 was also light in colour. Red berries, cherries and a hint of anise and other spices, good length. A good ambassador for the region..
I also met Henriette Batt, who has worked for importer Engelstad for many years. One of the producers she presented was Herdade do Rocim, which is known as one of the leading producers of vinho de talha, clay-aged wine, in Alentejo, Portugal. They also host a festival for clay-based wines. Fresh from Amphora 2023, which came in a 1L bottle, was a textured white. Discreet aroma, but with a mineral and spicy character, with a great and fruity middle part and a salty finish. The red in the 22 vintage has 40% moreto and has a fine touch of cherry and stone fruit, clean and lovely.
Henriette Batt, Engelstad
I was running out of time, so I indulged myself with just a few highlights from several importers. John Sonnichsen (VinJohn) served wine from his colleague Autentico. I tried MA Doña Blanca 2022 from producer Mufatto, who is Argentinian but operates in Bierzo, Spain. There doña blanca finds itself in the shadow of godello. But it stands out: Light in colour, rich with almonds, a bit of spice, good lees character, well-integrated barrel. A great wine, good for medium-term storage.
John Sonnichsen
It is always a pleasure to try wines from the Spanish producer Envínate. Ove Kvalheim at Unico had brought the white Benje 2023 from Tenerife, that is made of palomino fino and has been under a thin layer of flor, but without skin contact: Light in colour, rich, ripe citrus, nuts, fine texture. Superb. Lousas Viñas de Aldea 2022: Bright red, great berry fruit, with some pepper, a cool touch, nice concentration. I also tasted António Madeira‘s red Vinhas Velhas 2021, an elegant wine from a relatively cool vintage and two wines from Areanna Occhipinti. The normal SP68 in the 23 vintage lived up to the usual standard. Siccagno Nero d’Avola 2021 had a wonderful fruit, with flowers and discreet spice, young tannin, great acidity, juicy and concentrated at the same time and good length.
Bravo is located in the increasingly popular eastern district of Stavanger. We have visited a couple of times in the past. Bravo can be characterized as a wine bar, or informal restaurant, with small but elaborate plates at very affordable prices. They offer around 15 wines by the glass, all good and inspiring, as well as a full list of wines by the bottle. The profile is natural, sustainably produced wines with a terroir character.
From the small dishes and snacks menu, this time we chose (European) hake, yellow beetroot, pork rillettes and braised sirloin, and also a bowl of green olives.
The first wine was a sort of entry-level wine from Alberto Nanclares and Silvia Prieto, one of the leading producers in Galicia’s Rías Baixas. I didn’t take many notes, so the following is mostly based on memory. Dandelión 2022, a varietal albariño, appeared as grape-fresh as usual. Light golden in colour, aroma of yellow apple, lime and stone minerals. It has the typical glyceric full-bodied albariño character, good fruit in the mouth, great acidity and finishes dry.
Hake with sea buckthorn, quinoa, cucumber and spring onion – accompanied by the albariño
We had a superb German wine, Karl May’s Osthofen Pinot Noir 2020, with yellow beetroot and even the pork rillettes. The winery has been in the family since 1815. Today it’s Peter and Fritz from the 7th generation who manage the family winery in Rheinhessen. Ruby red, and what a lovely red fruits nose, dominated by raspberry. Just behind there is cherry and a slightly earthy note. Juicy in the mouth with delicate tannin and an inspiring acidity.
Frances Grimalt of 4 Kilos is one of the leading wine personalities on Mallorca, and a torchbearer for the revolution of the variety callet, maybe the most emblematic grape on the island. Here it’s the mantonegro (also spelled manto negro), that’s playing the key role, with a small percentage syrah. Mantonegro typically gives a light colour and high alcohol to a blend. Gallinas y Focas, here in the 2019 vintage is made in collaboration with an organisation for mentally handicapped. It’s a wine with some volume and enough power to go with the braised meat. Cherry red, warm and developed aroma of red and dark fruits, with some spice.
Braised sirloin with Gallinas y Focas
To round off we had two wines, the Stolpman Vineyards‘ white Uni and Schödl‘s skin contact wine called Bloody Muscat.
Stolpman is found in Ballard Canyon, California. The wine Uni 2021 is made from roussanne 70%, and chardonnay 30%. It’s light yellow with green hints, smells of ripe pear, citrus and white flowers. It’s a wine with good volume and adequate acidity.
Schödl is located in Loidesthal, Weinviertel, just norti of Wien. Their Bloody Muscat 2023 wonderfully rounded off our meal. It’s a wine from roter muskateller grapes, that gives it a.special colour to the wine. The grapes macerated about two weeks on the skins. After fermentation the wine went into big oak casks. Bottled without filtration and fining. Deep golden with a reddish hint, slightly turbid. Aroma of orange peel, white flowers, herbs and ethereal oils. Smooth tannins and good acidity, rounded. It’s in a way serious, but it’s also fresh and fun.
This wine concluded a jazz club meeting with tasting at my local wine bar, called Tempo, after the famous bicycles that were once produced in the building.
Scar of the Sea is ru by Mikey and Gina Giugni in San Luis Obispo, California. They work with farmers who practise low-intervention in an attempt to make the viticulture as sustainable as possible. As they say, they want their wines “to tell a story of where they come from, the people who farm them, and reflect each vintage under the California sun.”
You have by now understood that they work organic, and ferment with native yeast. The wines see only a minimum of sulphur additions, and they are not fined or filtrated.
The Bassi Vineyard Pinot Noir is produced from around 25 year old vines on the hillsides of Avila Valley by the coast. It’s in transition to biodynamic certification. It was The fruit was fermented with 70% whole-cluster. The wine was pressed once dry in a wooden basket press then aged for 10 months in old French oak.
Bassi Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022(Scar of the Sea)
Ruby red. Fruity scent, aroma of raspberry and strawberry, white flowers and herbs. Fine tannins, good body and concentration, fresh acidity. A Californian with class.
I have been a couple of days in Grimstad, Norway, the beautiful seaside town of my childhood. The most inspiring restaurant these days is Smag & Behag. They have also opened another restaurant in neighbouring Kristiansand. But this is the original. The wine list is not very extensive, but they have a magnificent underground cellar, high ambitions – and the selection is well-crafted and consists of organic and natural wines of good quality.
Hans Petter Klemmetsen, founder and chef (Credit: Smag & Behag)
For a four course meal I selected four wines together with the waiters. The three first wines -young and beautiful- were Brocard‘s saline Chablis Sainte Marie 2022, Domaine de Nozay‘s flinty Sancerre 2022 and Olivier Merlin‘s raspberry-scented Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2021. Instead of going for a dessert with a sweet wine I chose a selection of cheeses and this week’s wine, a classic style Chianti
Castell’in Villa is located in the south of Chianti Classico, just outside the village of Castelnuovo Berardenga east of Siena in Tuscany. The farm is run by the Greek-born Princess Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa, who lives in a medieval tower on the property. Out of a total of 300 hectares, 54 ha are vineyards that are all grown organically.
The sangiovese grapes are grown in old river deposits with pebbles and sand, in a vineyard planted in the 1960’s. The grapes were picked by hand and spontaneously fermented, before 3 weeks’ skin maceration. The wine is aged in large oak barrels. Unclarified and unfiltered, and low sulfur (<40 mg/l).
Serving the Chianti
Chianti Classico 2018(Castell’in Villa)
Dark cherry red, with a beginning hint of brown. Aroma of red berries, herbs, leather, mushrooms. Firm and fine-grained tannins, good acidity, notes of tea and plums, with a decent concentration and length.
Clos des Vignes du Mayne in the Mâconnais (southern Bourgogne) has been owned by the Guillot family since 1952. The land has been used for farming for more thousand years, and no chemical products have ever been used. Now Julien Guillot makes the wines in the most natural way possible, and according to a biodynamic philosophy.
The Bourgogne Rouge Les Crays comes from a small plot of vines aged around 40 years old in calcareous soil. Certified by Demeter, Guillot uses natural treatments and preparations. The harvest is manual and the grapes are selected in the vineyard itself.
The pinot noir grapes are macerated in whole bunches for about 8 days. Following spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, the wine ages in wooden barrels for 12 months. It is finally bottled without being filtered, clarified or any sulphur added.
Bourgogne Rouge Les Crays 2020 (Julien Guillot/ Clos des Vignes du Maynes)
Cherry red. Dark and red fruits (dark cherry, raspberry), tart plum and tea against a mineral background, and a hint of acetone. Good volume, meaty, lovely texture and good length.
