Wines for a summer of cricket

The wine you should be drinking at the cricket this summer

Our wine expert pairs Laithwaites’ firm favourites with a glorious summer of Tests, T20s and one-day cricket matches

Geoffrey Dean 17 July 2024 • 2:50pm

A wonderful season of international cricket in England and Wales is upon us, with three different formats to enjoy from 10 July to 29 September. 

For the men, six Test matches come first, with three against West Indies in July followed by three against Sri Lanka over the last 10 days of August and the beginning of September; then three T20s against Australia between 11-15 September; and five one-day internationals against the Aussies between 19-29 September. The women’s side have already completed a T20 series victory over New Zealand and have a one-day international series against Ireland in September.

And a wonderful summer of international cricket requires a wonderful summer of wine. And what better way to combine the two than to delve into Laithwaites’ extensive wine cellar to select the perfect trio of bottles for each form of cricket? The year’s cornucopia of cricketing action gives wine drinkers lots of opportunities to act as their own summer sommelier by matching different labels to each format. Here are some of our perfect pairings:

Wine pairings for Test cricket

The oldest international form of the game has been played for 147 years, and is in itself so complex, with all its subtle twists and turns, that it demands wines of similar depth and intrigue.

So we suggest the refined Domaine Dampt Petit Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2022 (£19.99) produced from old vines by a leading vintner in the region. The high-quality Chardonnay fruit comes from the Petit Chablis appellation, which was introduced in 1943 and consists of vineyards just outside the main Chablis appellation. This wine is such good value for money, being elegant and refined, with hints of minerality to accompany vibrantly fresh citrus notes. It is a delicious bottle to drink either as an aperitif or with lunch.

If it’s a glass of red wine you would like, a refined, classy label is the Clarendelle Bordeaux Inspired by Haut-Brion 2016 (£19.99). This is a wine for the traditionalist – a classic Bordeaux blend, being predominantly Merlot (84 per cent), with 10 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and six per cent Cabernet Franc. 2016 was one of the best recent vintages in Bordeaux, and the wine is already drinking well, its tannins velvety and the fruit generous, with blueberry and blackberry notes. Suave and polished like many top-order Test match batsmen.

If it’s Cabernet Sauvignon you prefer, a high-class red from Spain, which is predominantly made from that varietal (with a dash of old-vine Graciano thrown in), is the Señorio de Sarria Vendimia Seleccionada 2017 (£28). From Navarra, next door to Rioja in the north-east of Spain, this has been aged in barrel and bottle for six years before being released. What is a harmonious yet complex wine, with enticing red fruit and serious concentration and length, is very approachable now thanks to its fine, soft tannins.

Wine pairings for the one-day internationals (ODIs)

If Test cricket is better suited to wines for sipping over a four or five-day stretch, ODIs demand wines for the here and now.  One great offering is the Bees Knees Chenin Blanc Viognier 2024 (£10.99) from South Africa, which produces some of the best-value mid-market wines in the world. This one, with its zesty freshness and peach and lemon notes, is made by the Journey’s End winery near Somerset West, just east of Cape Town. Its British owners, the Gabb family, derive all their energy needs from solar panels and do a lot for the local disadvantaged, providing 30,000 meals a week to them. A swarm of bees on the label makes the bottle easy to pick out.

Another easy-drinker while enjoying the fours and sixes of a one-day match is the Mirlo Merlot 2023 (£11.99) from the Cariñena denomination to the south-east of Rioja. Ripe red cherry and summer berry fruit on the palate, along with beautifully integrated tannins, make this a delight to quaff, and a perfect ODI accompaniment on its own or with nearly any type of food. It doesn’t try to be complex but is suitably fun.

At 100 overs, if the match goes the distance, ODIs still require a bit of viewing stamina, so a quality white wine is called for. Limoux’s high, hilly vineyards in Roussillon are an area renowned for superb chardonnay, and La Voûte 2023 (£17.99) is one such. Intensely flavoured citrus and grapefruit notes are apparent, along with notable concentration and length, making the wine an apt choice for ODI fans with an appreciative palate.

Wine pairings for the Twenty20s

The target audience for T20s has long been younger people, parents and kids – along with escapees from the office keen to get some fresh air and fast excitement at the end of the day. 

Those in the audience of drinking age might like to kick off with some Britpop Brut NV (£25), an impressive English sparkling wine. Who should be behind it but the bass guitarist in one of Britain’s most successful pop groups – Alex James from Blur. Made by the traditional method – as is employed for Champagne production – this is a really good-quality bubbly with its biscuity notes as well as vibrancy and freshness. Perfect for the often explosive start to T20 matches.

As the match unfurls, and things quieten down a little after the big-hitting powerplay overs, a thirst-quenching New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is ideal for mid-match consumption. The Dry Lake Cricket Club Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (£16.99) takes its name, so the story goes, from a group of growers in the Awatere Valley at the northern end of the South Island who like a game of friendly, impromptu cricket, but rely on a dried-up riverbed for a pitch. There is lively gooseberry fruit and refreshing acidity in this pleasurable Sauvignon Blanc.

Finally, when later during a T20 match you need a full-bodied red to accompany some food, there is an Aussie blend with another cricketing name that fits the bill beautifully. The Black Stump Durif Shiraz (£12.99) is a deeply coloured red with velvety tannins and some gorgeous fruit from the Riverina region in south-east Australia. Durif, also known as Petite Sirah, notably in California where it is widely grown, is renowned for masses of intense dark fruit with flavour and concentration. Marrying well with the spice and pepper of Shiraz, it is a very appealing blend, and ideal for the razzmatazz of T20s.

Brugal's Maestro Ronero

How short maturation time is key to Brugal’s new Maestro Reserva rum

One year in Speyside equates to six in the Dominican Republic which is why Dominican Republic rum producer Brugal has concentrated on perfecting its double maturation process rather than ageing. With the launch of its hotly anticipated new super-premium Maestro Reserva rum, the team talks to Geoffrey Dean to explain how Brugal’s maestro ronero, Jasill Villanueva Quintana, has perfected the world’s first dark, aromatic cask toasting process to make the new rum one of a kind.

30th June 2024by Geoffrey Dean

posted in Tasting: Spirits,

Brugal, the leading Dominican Republic rum producer, has launched a new ultra premium brand named, Maestro Reserva, that is retailing at a princely £150. The company has released it in stages over the last six months in different markets, beginning with the Caribbean territory itself in November. Miami was next in February, followed by its second biggest overseas market, France, in February, now the UK. Italy will be next, later in June.

Brugal’s 1888 brand, named after the year it was founded, has been the principal one produced by the distiller since it made the decision to discontinue lower price SKUs. Retailing at around £40, it offers good value for what is a super premium product, but the Maestro Reserva lifts the bar to giddy heights aimed as it is at both on and off-trade.

The sweet and elegant aroma of Brugal rums therefore comes 85% from its maturation in exceptional barrels, in a warm tropical climate.

New toasting technique

Its maturation revolves around what Jamie Campbell, Brugal’s global brand education manager, hails as a new toasting technique that has been perfected by the company’s master distiller, or maestro ronero, Jasill Villanueva Quintana.

“Her understanding of cask maturation, and how she manipulates casks is the key,” Campbell said of Quintana, the great great grand-daughter of the founder and the youngest ever maestro ronero. She was just 24 when given the job in 2008.

“It’s truly unique what she’s developed - the world’s first dark, aromatic cask toasting process,” Campbell continued. “What that means is we end up with the ‘caramel pearl’, which is the third element of the trifecta of this process. What we have is classic molasses-based distillate, created from a double column distillation process. We distil off the second rectification column to 94.6% abv. As a result, we have a light, very elegant distillate which means we can draw the majority of our flavour, complexity and aroma from the casks we age in. We say about 85% of our flavour comes from the casks, some of the best in the world.”

The utilisation of casks and their toasting is all-important. First, the liquid is aged in used Bourbon casks before being transferred to former Sherry butts, also made from American oak. After a period in the latter, the rum is run off to a neutral vessel while the Sherry butts go through dark, aromatic toasting, during which time the temperature inside them is increased from 120°C to 360°C over 45 minutes. This is when the so-called caramel pearls are created.

“We must stop the process at exactly the right moment - precisely when caramel pearls form but no longer after that as they become bitter and astringent,” Campbell declared.

“The skill and technique of the maestro ronero is to recognise when that moment is. Then to re-integrate the rum into the American oak sherry barrel to absorb the sweetness and mouthfeel of the caramel pearls. Later, the rum is moved to a third toasted finished cask. Eventually, the rum is bottled at 41.2% abv specifically – the perfect amount to allow the liquid to sing through.Where Maestro Reserva is different from other rums of similar quality is the shorter maturation time in barrel. Traditionally, premium Caribbean and central American rums are aged for anything from 10 to 23 years or more in cask before bottling, but Brugal’s new brand spends under four years in oak before bottling.

“The total maturation across the three elements is three to three and a half years,” Campbell said. “One year in Speyside equates to six in the Dominican Republic. While 2% per year is the maximum they want to lose from their whisky to evaporation, it’s 8-12% from rum in the Caribbean. We could age for longer, but it doesn't mean it’s necessarily better. Putting an age on the bottle devalues the product as we focus on double maturation, which we have truly perfected.”

So how does Maestro Reserva taste?

And what a rum Brugal has created with its Maestro Reserva. Darkish honey in colour, the immediate aroma on the nose is vanilla, before honeysuckle and caramel assault the senses. On the palate, notes of orange peel and lemon zest transform into dates, raisins and creme brûlée with a hint of smoke. Seductively oily viscosity gives mouthfeel and texture, and on a second sip, tropical fruit notes of pineapple, mango and papaya are apparent. These special latter flavour profiles would appear to come from the dark, aromatic toasting process, and Brugal’s long history of cask mastery.

Perhaps the last word should go to Jassil Villanueva Quintana herself. “For me,” she says, “rum - Brugal specifically - is about fun.” She has certainly achieved that with Maestro Reserva.

Neil Ellis Jonkershoek Cabernet

Location, location – Neil Ellis and the importance of site in Stellenbosch

The wines of Neil Ellis are highly regarded by his peers and those buyers in the know. Jonkershoek Valley Cabernet is considered to be one of South Africa’s finest examples and the Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon and Whitehall Chardonnay continue to wow sommeliers and key wine buyers whenever they are shown the wines, writes Geoffrey Dean. Neil Ellis’ son Warren was in London to launch the new vintages and explained to Dean how the quality is driven almost entirely about where in Stellenbosch the vines sit.

26th June 2024 by Geoffrey Dean

Ask South African winemakers which wineries they think make the country’s best Cabernet Sauvignons, and one name keeps cropping up: Neil Ellis Wines. It is no surprise, for the Stellenbosch producer’s Jonkershoek Valley Cabernet is a South African classic - consistently excellent, if not outstanding. Neil Ellis, who turns 71 this year, set the standard some years ago, but his son Warren, who has taken over the winemaking reins, is maintaining the bar at a neck-craning height.

The latest release to the British market - through the winery’s UK importers González Byass - is the 2018 vintage and another superb wine. So too is the second label Neil Ellis Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, while the Neil Ellis Whitehall Chardonnay 2021, whose fruit comes from the cooler Elgin district, is a fine example of how good South African versions of the varietal can be.

Neil Ellis in Stellenbosch

First though, the Cabernet from the Jonkershoek Valley, which is one of eight wards, or sub-appellations, within the Stellenbosch district. As such, it is prime Cabernet territory, producing much sought-after fruit. And Neil Ellis has some of the very best sites.

“We have just over three hectares planted to Cabernet there,” Warren Ellis said, “although our shareholders also have another seven of Cab on their property. But we’re pulling all theirs up and replanting to get the row direction right.”

Warren Ellis in London

What makes the Jonkershoek so special?

“It’s difficult to explain as I’m thinking Afrikaans and I need to translate,” Ellis continued. “It’s a vineyard on a southern slope but it’s got a bit of a hill which also has a western aspect. We get very late morning sun, and actually that is the warmest. At the beginning of the day, the grapes get direct contact, and you get a lot of heat onto the berries, and as the day heats up, the temperature actually stays,” Ellis says.

“If you have the direct sunlight contact early in day, the berries will heat up to say 35 even 40° Celsius and then, as the sun moves over, that temperature stays at 35, but in a valley like Jonkershoek with the sun coming over the mountains quite late, you don't have that direct sunlight. So what we really have is that diffused sunlight. Then it goes over into the afternoon sun, and even then we have some other hills that also protect it from direct sunlight – the opposing Stellenbosch Mountain.”

Apart from protection from the hottest rays of the sun, the Jonkershoek also benefits from favourable winds and soil composition as well as the River Eerste, which has a positive impact. “We have the south-easter howling through the valley, which naturally contains the vigour,” Ellis said. “When it stops blowing, and the westerly winds come in, the vines are cooled. Also with the south-easter, especially during flowering, our advantage is that we get really nice loose, smaller berries. If you go down to the soil, we have a lot of Table Mountain sandstone and granite. With the granite, we have very good drainage and with that also comes the smaller berries and more intense flavours. It’s good for the tannin development too. And also what helps in that valley if the south-easter isn’t blowing is the Eerste River, which flows through there with a cooling effect coming up from the water into the vineyards.”

The majority of the fruit for the Neil Ellis Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 comes from another Stellenbosch ward - Bottelary (and its decomposed granite soils), and the balance from the Jonkershoek Valley sites. “2019 was a difficult vintage as we had rain towards the end of the season,” Ellis recalled. “We waited two weeks till after the rain before picking to get rid of that dilution. There were warm days but cool evenings….so good acid retention.” However tricky a vintage it was, Ellis has crafted a really expressive Cabernet, given colour and freshness by 12% Petit Verdot. After 80% new oak in the 2018, there is 25% in the 2019 - part of a deliberate ploy to cut back on it.

The Neil Ellis Whitehall Chardonnay 2021 is another impressive wine that, for me, sits comfortably in the premier league of South African labels for that varietal. “We’re aiming it at the on-trade generally as well as a few indies,” Melissa Draycott, managing director of Gonzalez Byass, said. “We work with a few 5-star hotels and will be showing this wine and other Neil Ellis labels such as Sauvignon, Syrah and Cab-Merlot to them. It’s still early days with them but we’re looking to increase volume. These are all premium level, and it’s a question of getting them in front of sommeliers. Once they see them, they're wowed by them. We’re still educating consumers what South Africa is capable of.”

Currently, the UK is not among Neil Ellis’ top five overseas markets, sitting behind the likes of the US, Germany, Belgium and Denmark. Draycott is keen to change that, however, for the volume is available with only around 50% of the winery’s production being exported. Warren Ellis confirmed there is also the potential for growth in output for one of South Africa’s most venerable producers. Though meant to have retired, Neil Ellis is still working, and ‘too hard’, according to Warren. “He’s still on it,” Draycott mused. Just like the wines.

How the wines tasted

Neil Ellis Jonkershoek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, 14.5% abv

Jonkershoek fruit is renowned for both power and elegance, and this has both. Cedary and herbal aromas, also typical of the valley, with cassis, blueberry and blackberry notes on the palate. Dense but fine-boned tannins with impressive structure from 100% new oak, which is effortlessly absorbed. Fresh acidity ensures harmonious balance. Tremendous fruit concentration with notable length. Clear cellaring potential, if you can resist it now.

Neil Ellis Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, 14% abv

86% Cabernet, 12% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec. 18 months in 25% new oak, with the balance second, third and fourth fill. Firm but well-integrated, approachable tannins provide structure. Bright acidity and very generous red and black fruit, with cedar and liquorice notes. Another wine that will age well, but a delight now.

Neil Ellis Whitehall Chardonnay 2021, 12.7% abv

Nectarine, pear and lime notes in this vibrantly fresh Chardonnay (pH3.28, TA6.8g/l) with some flinty minerality. 20-year old vines, partial malolactic fermentation (20%). Judicious oak use - fermentation in barrel, nine months in Burgundian 228-litre pièces (30% new, the rest second and third fill). Lovely concentration, yet graceful and refined with perfect balance and a long finish.

Neil Ellis wines are imported and sold in the UK by González Byass.

Wines from Spain tasting 2024

How Wines From Spain tastings helped broaden the horizons

Spain has been on a roll for some years now and that transformation is not just down to old vine Garnacha. Wines From Spain’s annual tasting in London showed a plethora of wine styles ranging from classics of the country’s oldest winery to the funkiest style of Pet Nat. Geoffrey Dean was our man with the tasting glass who picked the wines best suited for the on-trade and talked to producers about how they are pushing their very own boundaries.

30th May 2024 by Geoffrey Dean

Spain’s remarkable breadth and diversity of wines of all colours made the annual Wines From Spain London tasting in May a joyful affair for those who ventured to Canary Wharf for it, or caught up with it in Edinburgh six days later. Forty nine importers and exporters showed a wine range of new wines and there were masterclasses on Cava, lesser known wine styles and DOs and a focus by Rose Murray Brown MW on alternative varietals.

In the walkaround tasting new releases of all hues were on display, including some classic old vintages such as 2004 in Rioja. For wines made from old, often ancient vines, there were examples aplenty. Also in evidence were funky new labels that, not so long ago, would not have been risked by conservatively-minded producers. Spain, though, is on the march, with orange wines jumping on to the quality bandwagon, determined not to be left behind by the growing acclaim for their white counterparts.

Simone Williams - on-trade focus

Where better to start than Alliance Wine’s formidable stable of Spanish wines. Given the Numero Uno stall for alphabetical reasons, they showed title-chasing form with as many as 60 different labels.

Simone Williams is Spanish wines’ great cheerleader, having done a vintage in 2020 at the highly-regarded Capçanes co-operative in Monsant, and she was quick to unfurl a beguiling orange wine of theirs named Cap Sentit, made from white Garnacha (RRP £16).

“Capçanes take in grapes from 400 families and are a really important co-op in the area, having been going since Franco,” she said. “They’re a young, creative team and are doing some experimental stuff, pushing boundaries on the types of wines. Very old Garnacha vineyards go all the way up the side of the beautiful mountains that surround the winery. The label for the Cap Sentit depicts ancient cave drawings in the mountains which I’ve seen myself.”

One of Alliance’s most important family estates in its portfolio, according to Williams, is Bodegues Sumarroca, which has over 300 hectares just west of Barcelona. Its Cava Brut Reserva 2021 (RRP £16), comprising the three traditional Cava grapes, showed well as did the Gran Reserva Letargía Cava 2012 (£35).

“Alliance has worked with Sumarroca for 15 years, and we have a very good distribution of their wines in the on-trade, specifically in Edinburgh and London. They’ve been very important for the on-trade, and have single vineyard labels as well. It shows the prestige that can be achieved in this part of Spain.”

Another Penedès producer, Bodega Alemany i Corrio, makes a super-premium single varietal still Xarel-lo named Principia Mathematica 2022 (RRP £55, but worthy of the price tag). Blessed with thrilling freshness, its citrus and pear aromas were seductive along with its complex herbal notes.

Other Alliance whites that impressed were the Albariño from Pazo Señorans in Galicia and the Malvasía from Rioja Alavesa. “Pazo Señorans were instrumental in founding the Rías Baixas DO,” Williams declared. “They’ve been going since the 1970s and buy from a lot of growers. It’s a very matriarchal society, with most winemakers and owners being women. It’s a lovely unique point of difference. What Señorans do better than anybody is demonstrate the ageability of Albariño as a grape variety, in the same way we know Riesling ages in such a great way. Their range of wines, which focuses only on Albariño, does exactly that.”

While the newest release, the 2023 which was on the lees for six months and showed beautifully, the special Selección de Añada 2014 spent five years on the lees, and then time in bottle, before release.

Equally appealing was the Malvasía Bodegas Amaren 2019 (DOCa Rioja, RRP £35). A sister winery of Luis Cañas, Amaren has some of the highest vineyard sites in Rioja Alavesa. “When the vines were planted with the Malvasia Riojal clone, many people thought grapes would never ripen at this altitude, but today look who’s laughing,” Williams mused. “This is an absolutely fantastic on-trade focussed wine - a serious wine. We’re delighted to be working with Amaren.”

Two very summery wines with big on-trade appeal, and wacky labels to boot, were unfurled by a producer named Bodegas Altolandon in the Manchuela DO, one of the highest in Spain at around 1200m (near Albacete, inland from Alicante). The first - En Blanco - is another orange wine, which spent 24 hours on Garnacha Blanca skins.

“It’s a great wine for the on-trade again,” Williams declared. “Very accessible price-wise at £21. Organic, vegan, wild yeasts and made in amphorae by winemaker Rosalia Molina, who is quite experimental and very hands-off. All her wines are as natural as can be. Her Pet Nat, called Conaltura is very drinkable -12.5% and off-dry with 10-15g/l of residual sugar.”

Increasing sales by 30% by changing the bottle: Carlos Roig

Oddest bottle shape of the tasting went to the oldest winery in Rioja - Bodegas Manzanos (founded in 1890) and its Voché Graciano 2017 (RRP £26). The vines for it were planted as far back as 1940 - to commemorate the end of the Spanish Civil War a year earlier, according to Bodegas Manzanos’ sales director, Carlos Roig.

“We used to have a Burgundy-shaped bottle for this wine but since we changed to this shape, we increase sales in Spain 30%,” he said. “It is based on the shape of an old Roman bottle found in the vineyard. We use 100% new oak of which 20% is Romanian, which our winemaker thinks adds more complexity. It is a special wine.” On tasting, it was impossible to argue otherwise.

Rocio Munoz: single varietal Verdejo selling well

Lovers of Verdejo were wooed by Bodegas Portía’s excellent 2023 rendition of the variety, which was showed off by Rocío Muñoz, export director for the winery’s owners, Familia Martínez Zabala.

“Verdejo was only previously allowed in Rueda as part of a blend, but now it is permitted as a single variety,” she said. “It spent four months on the lees with batonnage, and has fresh acidity with tropical notes. It has only just started selling, but we have high hopes for it. Verdejo is becoming more popular for adventurous people looking for new varieties. This wine is serious enough to go with food or be an aperitif.” At £15 RRP, it offers value.

One of the great vintages this millennium in Rioja was represented by the Gran Faustino I Gran Reserva 2004 (Bodegas Faustino being also owned by Familia Martínez Zabala). Released last September, it will shortly become available through importers Amber Beverage UK.

“It was a mythical vintage,’ Muñoz purred. “The Gran Faustino is only produced in very special years from a very specific plot, and 2004 was the last time it was made. Recommended retail will probably be £80. We have 600 bottles allocated for the UK.”

From the oldest winery in Rioja to the oldest in Priorat: Scala Dei. Imported by Berkmann Wine Cellars, its wines were an absolute delight, notably the two most iconic labels in St Antoni de Scala Dei 2019 and Masdeu de Scala Dei 2017. Each are made from Garnacha vines planted in 1945 at 600-800 metres on slate, clay and limestone (both £64 RRP).

“When you can’t afford Grand Cru Burgundy, and who can these days, these are the wines you want for special occasions,” said Gerard Barnes, buyer for Berkmann. “Because we’re on-trade, the wines must be drinkable, elegant, balanced and must work with food. With too much Priorat, I can’t even imagine the size of beef you’d need, but we’re looking for that elegance Garnacha can provide.”

Maria Garcia De Lara - Airén with a difference

The ancient vine theme was maintained by Bodegas García de Lara, situated 68km east of Toledo. Its Airén bush vines, planted in 1935, have real rarity value for they are on own roots, and not grafted onto American rootstock. As such, the wines can be billed on labels as ‘Pie Franco’ (literally ‘free-footed’).

This really is Airén with a difference - not the anodyne entry-level quaffer but a fresh, flavoursome revelation with complexity and structure in the barrel-fermented version (Finca Villalobilis Airén 2021, VdT Castilla, RRP £19).

Export director, Maria García de Lara, whose brother Miguel makes the wines, professed “we are pretty aware we are in an area that is not so well-known for quality, but we are producing premium wines from super low-yielding sites (1500 kilos of fruit per hectare) that are great value.” J&O Boutique Wines import them.

Melissa Draycott - best selling over £8 in the UK

On the subject of value, González Byass managing director, Melissa Draycott, was on hand to reveal that Nielsen data has one of her main listings, Beronia Rioja Reserva 2019, as the best-selling Spanish wine over £8 retail in the UK. “It’s premium level, and most retailers have it around £15-16,” she said. “It’s a big seller to both off and on-trade. It’s got generous fruit and approachable tannins.”

Draycott was also full of enthusiasm for the just-released Tío Pepe en Rama 2024, which was bottled on 9 April (£21 RRP). “These authentic Sherry styles’ sales are holding up and in growth, whereas the bigger pale cream and rich cream styles are declining. We launched the Tío Pepe en Rama category in 2010 with the Wine Society. They put an email out to their database and sold it all in half an hour, so we thought we were on to something. They’re still selling it, and the Spanish restaurants here have gone for it.”

Laura Santos - emphasising Cava's value

Another celebrated Spanish brand that continues to perform very well in the UK is Raventós Codorníu, whose still wine sales match those of their many Cavas. A non-vintage Chardonnay from organically-farmed vines in the Costers del Segre DO showed well (RRP £12), while two de-alcoholised sparkling wines (a white and a Rosé) were new SKUs (RRP £6).

Laura Santos, its UK sales executive, feels that the top Cava, made by the traditional method, and named Ars Collecta Blanc de Blancs Reserva 2021 (80% Chardonnay, RRP £21) “demonstrates that Cavas really do have some fantastic quality bubbles, and are far cheaper than English sparkling wines or Champagnes of the same quality.”

Was there a wine of the tasting?

Javier Rodríguez - best ever vintage

While always loath to single wine out, it is hard to argue that anything was better than Contino’s Viña del Olivo 2021 (RRP £88; imported by Hatch Mansfield). Javier Rodríguez, senior export area manager for the winery’s owners C.U.N.E, hailed it as one of the best ever vintages from the 60-year old vineyard that is situated next to a majestic antique olive tree.

Made up of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo, it was aged in new French (85%) and American (15%) oak. A cornucopia of aromas bombard the senses, with aromas of blackcurrant, coffee, spice and garrigue-like herbs giving way to complex, concentrated notes of red plum, cedar, blueberry and blackberry. All bound together by firm but super-fine tannins and fresh acidity. A great wine to cap a great tasting.

Bibendum spring tasting

Bibendum expands Burgundy portfolio at Spring Cellar Tasting

Vintage variation and discovering how wines age are two of the many ‘take-outs’ of a Bibendum Cellar Tasting event. The latest in its series of Fine Wine list tastings gave buyers the opportunity to sample the seven Burgundy estates that are part of Bibendum’s expanded Burgundy collection, some outstanding bubbles from Britain and Champagne, plus many more discoveries from New and Old World winemakers. Geoffrey Dean reports

14th May 2024by Geoffrey Dean

The expansion of Bibendum’s Burgundy range was a notable feature of the Primrose Hill wholesaler and importer’s spring Cellar Tasting in central London. Bibendum’s head of fine wine, Valeria Rodriguez, declared that it is a region they are focussing on, with the aim to build a Burgundy Collection to match their Bordeaux counterpart. None of the latter was on show - as that is scheduled for October- but the seven Burgundy producers that were exhibiting unfurled vintages between 2016 and 2022.

Caroline Lestime - new to Bibendum's fine wine list

“Freshening up the Burgundy range” has been the mantra according to Louise Wood, one of Bibendum's agency marketing team. That has certainly been effected by three new ‘signings’: Maison Champy, reputedly the oldest negociant house in Burgundy (having been founded in 1720 in Beaune); Edouard Delaunay, another highly regarded negociant established in 1893; and Caroline Lestime who has been with Bibendum for some time, although is new to the fine wine list.

“Caroline is an absolute legend in Burgundy despite the male-oriented world there,” Rodriguez said.

Laurent Delaunay

Laurent Delaunay, great grandson of the House’s founder and now its owner, expressed his delight at the switch to Bibendum.

“We were with Matthew Clark before, but for our sophisticated style of wines, Bibendum seems to be more accurate. We don't think so much about market share but more the introduction to the top restaurants and department stores. That’s really what we are looking for in terms of exposure.”

Edouard Delaunay makes around 300,000 bottles per annum, about a third of which are Grand or Premier Cru. They don't own vineyards but buy in fruit that they pick themselves at their time of choosing. They produce small quantities (‘one to five barrels’) of Echézeaux, Corton, Corton-Charlemagne, Charmes Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot and Chambertin. Premier Cru labels from Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poulettes 2020 (trade price: £54.25) and from Pommard Les Frémiers 2016 (£54.45) showed beautifully, as did their Village Vieilles Vignes 2019 (£51.05).

“We export about 15% of our production to the UK, an important market for us,” Delaunay continued. “Despite Brexit, Covid and inflation, UK is going very steady, although everyone was saying it was going to drop a lot but that is not the case at all. The British still love and consume Burgundy wines.”

After a succession of low-yielding years, notably 2021, Burgundy lovers will be heartened by a much better yield in the superb 2022 vintage and a bumper crop in 2023, the biggest vintage ever in the region according to Domaine Roux. Its yields came in at between 50-55 hl/ha, compared to a norm of 45.

“There is a conversation about reducing Burgundy prices at the top end, which would represent a nice breather for the on-trade,” Rodriguez said. “We would love to offer to sommeliers the drinking vintages that are ready such as 2020 and 2018. It is a fantastic time to be looking in the market with the dip in China’s demand.”

Best of British and Champagne

Champagne and English sparkling wines featured strongly at the tasting, with Weyborne Estate a promising new acquisition for Bibendum. Its excellent Family Reserve 2018 (61% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 4% Pinot Meunier, trade price: £43.30) is a product of 25 acres of south-facing vines planted 20 years ago at the highest point of the South Downs in West Sussex.

“Weyborne is quite a reductive style with very low dosage, mineral notes and an emphasis on mouthfeel,” said Andy Craig, Bibendum’s buyer for Champagne and England. “We have a very good UK portfolio so we wanted to bring in something different. They have a great organisation around them - a vineyard manager from the Rhône and a commercial manager in Will Sharpley, who's ex Moet Hennessy and very well-known in the industry. So they're building something exciting.”

Henry Boyes, MDCV UK sales director with the KYNG '18.jpg

One of England’s more expensive sparkling wines was also on show: the Silverhand Estate KYNG 2018 (100% Pinot Noir, 5 years on lees, 9g/l dosage, trade price: £93.07; RRP £249). Part of the MDCV UK group, Silverhand is situated near Rochester in what will soon be the biggest certified organic winery in England (boasting 1.5 million vines).

“The wines are brilliant,” Craig enthused. “They have an Irish-French winemaker Theo Cullen, who’s able to call on the group’s chief winemaker in Provence, Alexis Cornu, who flies in and consults.”

Two Champagnes also caught the eye: Palmer & Co from Reims, and Lacourte-Godbillon from Ecueil. Bibendum receives tiny allocations of older vintages from the former that Craig says no one else offers. Those on show included the Palmer & Co Collection 1996 (100% Pinot Noir, £124.65).

“We are trying to bring in small parcels of wines you won’t find elsewhere,” Craig added. “Lacourte-Godbillon use local oak - I can’t think of any other Champagne producers who do. People tend to use second or third fill Burgundian or Loire oak.” Lacourte-Godbillon, which was certified organic in 2020, are in the second year of converting to biodynamic farming.

Spain and the Americas

Laura Catena masterclass

A compelling new acquisition in Spain for Bibendum is Remírez de Ganuza. The revered Rioja Alavesa producer was one of the first to employ French oak ahead of American, and likes to hold back its wines for release only when considered ready. Accordingly, their Reserva 2014 (£41.27) and Gran Reserva 2014 (£65.32) were on show (both 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano), as was their white Gran Reserva 2014 (£51.05).

Fruit comes from as many as 240 different plots between 500 to 650 metres. Jesus Mendoza, son-in-law of the winery’s late founder Fernando Remírez de Ganuza, who died of cancer in March aged 73, continues to craft superb wines thirty years after becoming winemaker. Sales have boomed since Covid with owner José Ramón Urtasun reporting 32% growth in 2023. In 2022 the winery sold 50,000 bottles for over €50, a feat only previously managed in Spain by Vega Sicilia.

As far as Bibendum’s Americas portfolio is concerned, it is hard to argue with Rodriguez’s contention that it is ‘the strongest’ of any importer. The Ste. Michelle Estates range from Washington State has been added to a USA stable that also features celebrated Californian producers, Robert Mondavi and Patz & Hall. Catena heads a formidable South American list, with its Adrianna Vineyard White Stones 2021 (£49.59) the best Chardonnay I’ve tasted from Argentina.

Caroline Park, marketing manager for Santa Rita with their Pewen & Triple C labels

Santa Rita, Valdavieso and VIK represent a top-notch Chilean triumvirate. The former’s Pewen, Apalta 2021 (£37.45), a 100% Carménère, showed particularly well as did its Triple C, Maipo 2015 (£30.78), a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Carménère. VIK’s Millahue 2015 (100% Cab Sauvignon, £80.61) was one of the best New World reds tasted, while another southern hemisphere wine of the same variety, Larry Cherubino’s Margaret River 2019 (£27.88) represented good value. The Western Australia producer is a new addition for Bibendum, which will sell its labels to the on-trade (with Hatch Mansfield selling them to the off-trade).

That’s not all…

The breadth, age and quality of wines from every mainstream wine-producing country in the world in Bibendum’s Cellar Tasting is a credit to the company. Any number deserve commendation but mentions in despatches should go to Graham Beck’s Cuvee Clive 2017 (£47.55) from Robertson, South Africa, and Giulio Ferrari’s Riserva del Fondatore 2009 (£83.66) from Trentino-Alto Adige (both top-class sparkling wines); Caroline Lestime’s Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint Jean 2017 (£43.15); Giovanni Rosso’s Barolo Serra 2014 (POA); Robert Weil’s Kiedrich Turmberg Riesling Trocken 2020 (£33.14) from Rheingau; Neudorf Vineyards’ Moutere Home Block Organic Chardonnay 2019 (£40.80) from Nelson, New Zealand; and Quinta de la Rosa’s 20-year old Tawny Port (£28.93).

Marginal Viticulture in South Africa

Wineries making wine 'on the edge'

Charla Bosman of Sijnn in Malgas

Saltburn, bushfires, 200mm rainfall, yields of one ton per hectare… these are just some of the issues facing South African winemakers producing wine ‘on the edge’ of what’s feasible. That is not forgetting flocks of starlings that take 10% of the crop, mealybugs that have to be destroyed by imported Danish wasps and near constant wind that stunts vine growth. Geoffrey Dean visits seven pioneering winemakers at Benguela Cove, Black Oystercatcher, Cederberg, Ghost Corner, Lismore Estate, Strandveld and Sijnn, finds out how they cope and gives seven examples of how marginal viticulture and top-class wines can still be potential bedfellows.

26th April 2024by Geoffrey Dean

Samantha O’Keefe, owner-winemaker of Lismore Estate Vineyards in the Overberg district of the western Cape, vividly remembers the excitement she felt when Wines Of South Africa called her ahead of a European trip to meet buyers.

“It was when WOSA was run by the Benelux girl, who rang and said she wanted me to do a tour called ‘South Africa on the Edge.’ I immediately thought that was so cool - to join those wineries who defy marginal or extreme viticulture to produce fine wines.”

Lismore is deservedly one of those, for it was only thanks to O’Keefe that the sub-appellation - or ward - of Greyton was founded in the early millennium.

It has required deep reserves of fortitude for her to succeed there, not least after the terrible bushfire that destroyed the winery and her house in 2020. Its remoteness gives it a feel of a frontier estate, and similar to it are other South African wineries ‘on the edge’ that I visited in February - Cederberg, Blue Oystercatcher, Strandveld, Sijnn and Benguela Cove. All have to overcome all manner of difficulties and obstacles that the vast majority of other wineries do not have to concern themselves with.

Hats off to all of their winemakers, but first to O’Keefe, the redoubtable Californian whose recognition by her South African peers culminated in her recent election to chair of the Cape Winemakers Guild.

Sam O'Keefe and assistant winemaker Adele Botha at Lismore

Lismore - the pioneer of Greyton

“I am a pioneer,” Keefe proclaims without any hint of immodesty. “The Greyton wine of origin exists because of me. It is certainly marginal - I don’t irrigate which makes it even more marginal.”

Three of her favoured varietals - Chardonnay, Roussanne and Syrah - are especially awkward customers.

“Cool climate Chardonnay, like here on shale over clay soils, gives a very low yield,” she sighs. “In good years, I might get four tons per hectare but most years it’s two, and in 2023 it was only just over one. But dry-grown fruit gives massive concentration, especially in my reserve Chardonnay.”

It is her Roussanne, though, that O’Keefe calls a thrilling example of a varietal on the edge.

“When you plant something you’re never sure if it will be unique or taste like everyone else’s, which is fine either way but this is unlike anything and that’s very exciting. It’s really an example of this place and this site, and of extreme Roussanne on the edge. It’s very phenolic on its own, so I add a little Viognier and Chardonnay to the blend. The intense tangerine and clove notes are all the terroir of Lismore. It’s planted on one of my coolest slopes, which yields 3.5 tons max. The acidity comes in high, with a pH of 3.3 and TA of 6.4g/l - that’s after 100% malolactic fermentation.”

There is one varietal that is still harder than Roussanne to grow on Lismore’s mountainous terrain, where she does not even entertain thoughts of planting Pinot Noir due to wind and poor soils.

“The estate reserve Syrah is the most extreme,” O’Keefe mused. “This is the most difficult to ripen. My expectations are so low with this that it doesn’t even break my heart. When it comes to marginal, this is the most marginal. There are years where we really struggle to ripen it - it just hangs and hangs and hangs. The phenolic ripeness is there but not the physiological ripeness. It’s super floral, and really a wine of place with such low yields.”

Cederberg – 1000 metres in the mountains

"Getting the right stuff in the right places": David Nieuwoudt & Tux

Even higher than Lismore are the 72 hectares of Cederberg vineyards, tucked away at over 1000 metres in the spectacularly rugged Cederberg mountain wilderness area near Clanwilliam, 250km north of Cape Town.

Owner-cellarmaster David Nieuwoudt’s great, great grandfather settled there in 1893, with his grandfather the first to plant vines in 1973, but viticulture remains an extreme challenge on rocky soils where frost is a perennial issue. Five frost fans, which cost R1.2m each (around £50,000), have been installed with more ordered.

One good thing about the frost is that it kills off grass but not the fynbos cover crop, leaving natural predators like the aphid-eating dragon flies a favoured habitat. Leafroll virus has been eradicated since its principal carriers, mealybugs, were killed off by Danish wasps, specially imported in batches of 500.

Of all the remote wineries in South Africa I’ve been fortunate to visit, Cederberg is perhaps the most striking. Its unique viticultural mesoclimate, its majestic hiking and mountaineering trails, the beauty of its floral kingdom and stunning nocturnal constellations in the absence of any light pollution have a magnetic pull.

Throw in some of the country’s best Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the secluded Sanddrif guest accommodation, and you have a gem of a destination.

Nieuwoudt, one of South Africa’s best producers, is adamant he can raise the quality bar much higher.

“We have the advantage of 18 days longer hanging time, so we must farm with late ripening varietals. With our replanting programme and amazing soil mapping, we will start to see the results in the next 5-7 years. This is an amazing Cabernet and Shiraz property. We will lift the quality of the reds by at least 20-25%. It’s just getting the right stuff in the right sites, with the right row directions, wind exposure, clones, rootstock and irrigation exactly when the plant needs it. We’ve gone over to drip irrigation which has made a massive difference.”

As adventurous as he is charismatic, Nieuwoudt also invested in a vineyard site that he describes as by far the coldest place in South Africa where Pinot Noir is grown - Elim, some 200km south-east of Cape Town.

He makes the ten-hour round trip there in a day from Cederberg once a week. His Ghost Corner range features not just outstanding Pinot but also Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc.

“The Pinot is doing very well in the UK,” Nieuwoudt revealed. “It’s Old World in style but modern: perfumed, earthy with beautiful forest floor and red cherry fruit, and a gentle tannin profile.”

Due South: Strandveld and Black Oystercatcher

Conrad Vlok of Strandveld

Also facing extreme viticultural challenges in Elim are Black Oystercatcher and Strandveld Vineyards, the two most southerly wineries in South Africa, and part of the Cape Agulhas Wine Triangle. Both, however, manage to make outstanding wines.

Strandveld’s vineyards, which lie just 5km from the Atlantic Ocean, get buffeted in equal measure by easterly and westerly winds. That helps keep diseases away but Strandveld’s winemaker, Conrad Vlok, says easterlies bring salt burn that corrodes vine leaves, turning them brown or yellow and leading to fruit loss.

His other big problem is the huge flocks of starlings that eat, or spoil through pecking, around 30 tons of grapes a year (about 10% of production). Netting outer rows of vineyards does help but is expensive and does not stop the Cape white-eyes, which get inside the nets.

Dirk Human of Black Oystercatcher

Dirk Human, the owner-winemaker of Black Oystercatcher, which is 8km from the Atlantic, has to make do with unusually short internodes (the part of the stem between nodes). Wind stress is the cause.

“Mine are never longer than two inches, compared to 4-6 inches elsewhere,” Human professed. “This affects shoot growth and yield.” Notwithstanding this issue, he makes some of the best Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon in South Africa. Wife Sandra is a brilliant and welcoming cook at their atmospheric restaurant, and their four charming cottages are a great place to stay.

Sijnn – the only winery in the ward

Another 100km or so east of Cape Agulhas lies Malgas, a ward so remote that it only has one winery. But it is a top-notch one by the name of Sijnn Wines (pronounced ‘Sane’ and meaning ‘river bank’ in Khoisan).

There is a good reason why no other wineries have been established there - viticulture is extreme. The soils are a challenge and so is the climate, which sees very low rainfall (generally 180-250mm per annum) and near-constant wind.

Well-known Stellenbosch vigneron David Trafford took a chance with the site - an old ostrich and wheat farm on a hill overlooking the Breede river close to the Potberg mountain range - and has been rewarded with exquisite wines that are crafted by one of South Africa’s best young winemakers, Charla Bosman.

“All the farmers around thought David was crazy to plant vineyards, but the land was much cheaper than Stellenbosch, and the investors he phoned all said yes,” she revealed.

“There’s no soil as such - just round riverstones with schist and shale below - which makes it super-difficult to grow vines in. There is some quartz, which is great for Chenin Blanc, and we add some sand, but the wear and tear on equipment is severe. But there’s lots of space in between the rocky soils, with pockets allowing some vines go two metres deep with root sidehairs able to grab onto minerals. That’s why our quality and intensity is so massive,

"The climate is also very difficult with the low rainfall and non-stop south-easterly winds from August till April. And when it does rain, the water just filters through. We can only use water from the river in winter months as it’s too saline for the rest of the year. We can only irrigate two or three times a year for about 4 hours. Everything is bush vine, and yields are only 3-5 tons per hectare.”

Benguela Cove -'where not to grow grapes'

Johann Fourie of Benguela Cove

Difficult sites, however, can prove hard to resist for the best winemakers, such as Johann Fourie. Recruited by Benguela Cove’s British owner Penny Streeter after being named Diners Club Winemaker of the Year in 2015, he has transformed its wines but admits that ocean-hugging Benguela Cove is “a good example, like Sijnn, of where not to grow grapes.”

And yet, the paradox is that the more marginal a site is, the more expressive it can be.

“Extreme altitude, volcanic soils or closeness to the ocean can bring out the personality of a wine, with the site expressing itself better,” Fourie added.

Benguela Cove’s location in the Bot River Lagoon just west of Hermanus is a particularly scenic one but, as Fourie confessed, is extremely dry, has poor soils and is windswept by both wind and salt.

“The salt burn heavily affects young vines, although older ones adapt,” he said. “Constant wind stresses the vine and leads to less efficient photosynthesis, with vines taking longer to establish themselves - four to five years. Even established vines have lower yields as the berries are smaller.” Thanks, however, to Fourie’s expert direction, Benguela Cove’s wines are much sought after, and another example of how marginal viticulture and top-class wines can still be potential bedfellows.

7 exceptional wines from marginal viticultural sites

Benguela Cove, Vinography Chardonnay 2022, Walker Bay, 13.5% abv

Two 300-litre barrels, one new, of this eye-catching Chardonnay from a single clone (CY 277) came from a 1.5 hectare single vineyard site on shale and clay. Vines, planted in 2006, face predominantly south. Thanks to waterbending of the staves, there is no smoke, tar or toastiness imparted by the oak. “This allows you to see the terroir and sense of place,” winemaker Johann Fourie says. Wild yeasts and no malolactic fermentation. Clementine, citrus and cinnamon notes. Pure, clean and long. Imported into the UK by Benguela Cove UK, Horsham.

Black Oystercatcher, White Pearl 2020, Elim, 12.5% abv

Pioneering Elim winemaker Dirk Human has crafted an exceptional blend of (old) wood-aged Semillon (two-thirds) and unoaked Sauvignon Blanc (one-third) from the quartzite, iron ferricrete and shale soils of his Moddervlei Farm. Lovely line of lime acidity from low pH of 3.2 provides freshness to counterbalance complex waxy palate. Impressive fruit purity with minerality and notes of lanolin, dried herbs and citrus blossom. Will age but drinking well now. No UK representation.

Cederberg, Five Generations Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Cederberg 13.8% abv

For many years now, one of South Africa’s top Cabernets with David Nieuwoudt producing another superb, ‘lekker’ (his word) vintage. Massive concentration and so multi-dimensional, effortlessly absorbing 100% new French oak (18 months). Possesses a plethora of notes - black cherry, blackcurrant, cassis, tobacco and dark chocolate with hints of truffle. Serene harmony with a beautifully polished tannin profile and an endlessly long finish. Benefits from long hang-time (picked 10 April). Imported into the UK by Orbit Wines.

Ghost Corner, Syrah 2021, Elim 13.5% abv

A cool climate classic from David Nieuwoudt that is delicate, elegant and very perfumed (no pepper but spicy with rosemary and sage). Only 7% new oak used with the rest second to fifth fill. Notes of parma ham, strawberry and black olive with white pepper spiciness. Fine soft tannins with impressive length. Small production of 5,200 bottles (low yield of 5 tons per hectare). Imported into the UK by Bibendum.

Lismore Estate Reserve Cuvee Blanc 2022, Greyton 12.5% abv

Intense tangerine notes from this predominantly Roussanne blend with touches of clove and spice. Wonderful intensity of flavour with marked concentration. Remaining 10% made up of Viognier and Chardonnay, added “to polish an otherwise grippy finish” in winemaker Sam O’Keefe’s words. Due to high acidity, she put it through 100% malolactic fermentation. Very low-yielding (3.5 tons per hectare). Imported into the UK by Hallgarten & Novum.

Strandveld, Pofadderbos Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Elim 12.5% abv

A benchmark cool climate example made by Conrad Vlok that is one of South Africa’s best Sauvignons. Notable for its stony intensity and minerality, with blackcurrant lemongrass purity. Delightful lightness of texture with salty freshness and lingering length. Imported into the UK by Ellis of Richmond.

Sijnn Red 2019, Malgas 14% abv

A flagship blend of five varietals, all vinified separately in 20% new and older oak: majority Syrah (31%), Mourvedre, Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon. Silky tannins with gloriously concentrated red and black fruit with forest floor overtones and hints of spice and dark chocolate. Rich with telling acidity and length. Winemaker Charla Bosman and consultant viticulturist Etienne Terblanche take a bow. Imported into the UK by Raeburn Fine Wines.

Grand Cercle de Bordeaux Primeurs 2023

Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux: Is Bordeaux 2023 a great vintage?

Bordeaux 2023 could be seeing a price decrease of 15% compared to 2022 en primeur, that’s if Alain Raynaud, founder and president of the Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux has anything to do with it. His sentiments are echoed by some of his 125 members who showed the latest wines at a London tasting – a first opportunity to taste the new vintage before Bordeaux chateaux open their doors to en primeur season proper. The Buyer’s Geoffrey Dean tasted the wines and talked to producers who either had a battle with downy mildew – one estate having to spray 27 times in the season – or else managed to dodge that bullet and reported exceptional Cabernet Franc and beautifully ripe Merlot. One general concensus across Right and Left Bank is that Bordeaux 2023 is an early drinking vintage with many Houses encouraging that with vinification techniques.

23rd April 2024 by Geoffrey Dean

Alain Raynaud, the longtime president of the Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux, is never less than forthright or honest when you ask him about a vintage. Take the 2023 one, when we sat down to talk during the primeurs tasting in central London in the second week of April.

“I can’t say I’m very happy with that vintage,” he sighed. “It was one of the most difficult vintages with a range of temperatures: cold, wet, hot, cold and wet.”

Long and sustained rain in the early days of September brought the scourge of downy mildew for many. It had also been a major issue earlier in the growing season. Yields suffered as a result, with some growers seeing their crop down by a third or more. Raynaud estimated that 10% of growers were not even able to harvest their fruit.

But, despite the drop in production, there were some terrific wines made on the evidence of the 30 or so brought to London. And the good news is that Raynaud recommends a reduction of around 15% from the prices for the 2022 primeurs. The 2023 vintage, therefore, represents a really good buying opportunity as well as being one for early drinking.

“Nearly everyone had a problem with downy mildew,” Raynaud revealed, confessing that many took steps too late to counter it. “Powdery mildew was easier to treat, but yields were 30-35 hl/ha on average, compared to 45-50 hl/ha in a good year. We had to be careful all the time - the weather changed a lot. Growers have been very clear, taking care of everything at the weekend and not going away."

He added: “Spring was medium temperature but very humid. We want humidity and high temperatures at the same time. After rain in late June, it was very sunny and very hot and dry. Now we knew we had to be very careful with alcohol: 14.5% is ok but 16 or 17 degrees too much. There was a lot of rain at the beginning of September - four days of rain for some and eight days for others. Everyone got it, and some people lost the entire harvest.”

An early drinking vintage

Anthony Crameri, export manager for the De Amour group of five châteaux, happily concurred with Raynaud that a 15% drop in prices is needed.

“I totally agree that a 15% reduction is needed,” he told The Buyer. “It’s not a question of vintage quality but of global demand. We must show the consumers we are friendly; we seriously need to do that. The policy of Bordeaux should be not to increase prices by so much, to try and keep them stable year after year. Go up just a little every year."

Crameri’s two Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé labels that were predominantly Merlot - Château La Croizille (90%) and Château Tour Baladoz (77%) - showed particularly well with lovely fruit intensity and supple tannins.

“It’s a very accessible vintage,” added Crameri. “Ready in five years but approachable in a couple. But it doesn't mean both are not wines you cannot keep if you want. The weather was strange - if you bicycled for a couple of minutes, you would go from tropical monsoon to completely dry.

"We had some big heat leading to dust on Merlot berries but we picked in October and had rain just before to wash off the dust. So there was no panic about picking late. The alcohol levels were quite reasonable and the pH levels were a little bit high but no acid was added. Tour Baladoz has location, location, localion - limestone, limestone, limestone and has seen 70% new oak. You can drink both wines early or later.”

Exceptional Cabernet Franc

Another Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé - Clos Dubreuil - was likewise a standout, having suffered very few downy mildew issues due to its windy location near Saint-Christophe des Bardes. A quarter of the cépage was Cabernet Franc, a substantial increase on previous years due to its exceptional quality.

Chief executive David Eads, whose American family bought the estate in 2006, feels that the extra Cabernet Franc has raised the quality level from "good to great". With both Michel Rolland and Alain Raynaud consulting, the estate is benefiting from expert guidance.

Unusually given the heat and ripeness, one Saint-Emilion Grand Cru estate even had to deacidify (by 0.5g/l).

“It was a very ripe vintage but we had 13.8% abv as well as very low pH and high acidity due to our big clay,” Château Blanche Hermine owner, Christophe Le Bail, said of his grand vin (95% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot). “My yields were down to 23 hl/ha from 45 or 50, but downy mildew was not the problem. This was because butterflies laid eggs in some of my Cabernet Franc.”

He sells none of his annual production of 12,000 bottles to La Place and wants “to get some UK distribution if I can find it". He still has 2,000 bottles of his excellent 2016 vintage, which showed very well.

The battle with downy mildew

It was likewise a vintage of great freshness for Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé winery, Château Sansonnet, whose yields of 33hl/ha were only slightly down. Nearby Château Soutard-Cadet also returned near-normal yields of 25 hl/ha from its 2.7 hectares of old vines, although staff had to battle particularly hard against downy mildew.

“We had a really reactive team who sprayed at the right time, and on Sundays if necessary,” said sales manager, Fanelie Thebault. The blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, with its velvety tannins, impressed along with the Sansonnet (a very similar cépage but with Cabernet Sauvignon instead of Petit Verdot). Another impressive Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé wine was Château Laroze, whose blend comprised all five Bordeaux varietals.

One of the biggest Right Bank producers, the biodynamically-certified Pomerol estate of Château Mazeyres, whose typical output is 100,000 bottles per annum, lost around 10% of production to downy mildew.

“We are happy it was not more than that,” said communications manager, Lisa Marois. “Yields were about 35 hl/ha. We used more Merlot in the blend [86% compared to 78% in 2022] due to the generosity of it from lots of sun. The big rains in early September were a challenge but we kept the concentration, and the wine is elegant and fresh. In 2016, we started using concrete eggs, in ’19 foudres, and in ’20 amphorae. We use all three to get more complexity and have 30% new oak maximum.”

Marois added that the UK is “a market we would like to develop a bit". The excellent 2020 vintage is still available.

Château Maillet is another Pomerol estate that is keen to find a UK importer. Joint owner, Gwen Moze-Berthon, was understandably "very happy" with the 2023 vintage from her 2.5 hectares of predominantly Merlot and Cabernet Franc 50-year old vines. “The rain in early September was not such a problem for us,” she said.

“Yields are a bit less but there is beautiful ripeness and tannins, and the wine handles 100% new oak very well.”

Fronsac suffered generally lower levels of downy mildew than elsewhere, with Château de La Dauphine even reporting higher than average yields.

“We had no problems with mildew, being close to the river and hills,” Benjamin Barreau, said its brand ambassador. “We’re quite happy with 2023, and our yields are even better than normal - over 40hl/ha when we usually get 35-40.”

Certified organic since 2015, and employing some biodynamic practices, La Dauphine has produced an enticing wine (13.5% abv) with some very generous fruit (Cabernet Franc in the blend being increased from 10 to 20%).

Encouraging earlier drinking

The approachability of the 2023s was underlined by Château La Vieille Cure’s grand vin (78% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon). Indeed, the tannins of its 2020 vintage were more overt than those of the 2023.

“We’re using amphorae which brings more silkiness and means you enjoy the wines a bit earlier,” Margaux Braastad Arbo, the winery’s sales manager, said.

“I think that’s the main challenge in Bordeaux. We don’t want to produce wines that you have to age 20 years. The idea is to have a wine that is ready to drink right now that you can really enjoy, but will also keep for 10 to 20 years if you wish. That is why 2023 is a great image of what we want to do - it’s the true reflection of our terroir. It will age very well as it has this nice acidity and concentration. We’re still using 40% new oak although we're going to reduce that.”

Two other Fronsac châteaux, Dalem and de La Huste, also produced some excellent 2023s. The latter, with its soft tannins and appealing red fruit, is a good mid-market wine for early drinking, while the much more complex Dalem’s freshness and firmer tannins gives it a longer drinking window.

Brigitte Roullier-Loussert, owner of both estates, produces around 60,000 bottles of each and has been working with leading consultant oenologist Eric Boissenot.

“Dalem is already sold to La Place but I would like to sell more La Huste here,” she said. Boissenot has hailed Dalem’s 15 different as "wonderful terroir" and warned against over-extraction (advice that has been followed). It contains 89% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc and 1% Malbec.

Difficulty converting to organic in 2023

In the Haut-Médoc, Pierre Delage, director-general of Château Lanessan, revealed that two of the other Domaine Bouteiller châteaux - Belle-Vue and Cambon La Pelouse - were obliged to stop their conversion to organic farming due to disease pressure.

“We had so many problems with downy mildew and had to spray against it as many as 22 times last year at both Lanessan and Belle-Vue,” he said. “Some other estates even sprayed 26 or 27 times.”

As a result, yields fell drastically - around 50% on Bouteiller estates - with some plots returning as little as 10hl/ha. The quality, though, was unaffected with Lanessan’s quite tight tannins marking it out as one to lay down while Belle-Vue’s softer tannins (despite as much as 20% Petit Verdot - ‘the DNA of the wine’ in Delage’s words) will allow it to be drunk earlier.

Belle-Vue borders Margaux, where Château Le Coteau also had a major fight on their hands against downy mildew. Owners Eric and Christel Léglise barely took a day off from caring for their 12.5 hectares of vines. “Just my husband, myself and a worker were working every day,” said Christel. “It was a lot of manual work, taking off the leaves with disease and on top especially. It was very rainy in springtime but July and after was very sunny, allowing us good maturity.”

With generous fruit and very well-integrated tannins, this is another wine for early drinking in four of five years time (57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 12% Cab Franc, 7% Petit Verdot).

In Cadillac, the organic producer Château de Haut Coulon has made a fine Merlot-dominant blend (with 18% Petit Verdot and 21% Cabernet Sauvignon). “We managed to control downy mildew, and 2023 was very good for us,” said export manager Anne-Laure Levraud. “We are using 80% concrete truncated tanks and 20% new oak. The circulation of the wine is good, although different to concrete eggs.”

She is another seeking UK distribution.

Summing up....

To conclude, 2023 was a particularly tricky vintage, with downy mildew posing a serious threat both early and late in the growing season. Thanks largely to it, the yield across Bordeaux was low (27 million litres less than 2022 at 37 hl/ha) but 7 million litres more than in 2021. It was a very warm summer, allowing all black grapes to attain both phenolic and physiological ripeness at very similar times. Some very good quality wines have been made with many suitable for early drinking within three to five years. Significantly, prices are likely to be much more competitive than those of 2022.

A visit to Gerard Bertrand

Gérard Bertrand, a winter pruning celebration and Vanina the mule

Pruning 4 million vines across 2,420 acres is the task set for the vignerons at Gérard Bertrand’s Languedoc empire. We travel to the city of Narbonne to see how they do it with the aid of seven mules, get the lowdown behind the world’s most expensive rosé and hear from the man himself, both his philosophy of winemaking and also why he had to tell rugby legend Tendai Mtawarira of South Africa, aka ‘The Beast’ to stop calling him on the phone.

By Geoffrey Dean February 2, 2024

“We stand on the threshold of a new era, which will demand courage, solidarity and a disruptive vision,” says Bertrand.

Gérard Bertrand, or Le Grand as he is known, played rugby for his home town of Narbonne for 14 years

During the Rugby World Cup in France in the autumn, Gérard Bertrand entertained a trio of famous ex-players at his L’Hospitalet winery and hotel near Narbonne. Bertrand was himself an accomplished flanker for the Stade Français club in Paris, whom he captained, so he felt in good company with fellow forwards Thierry Dusautoir of France, Richie McCaw of New Zealand and Tendai Mtawarira of South Africa, aka ‘The Beast.’

The latter, a self-confessed wine lover, even if he had to restrict his intake of it during his 117-cap international career, recently launched his own bespoke The Beast Wine Collection.

“I told the Beast to ring me if he needed any advice,” Bertrand chuckled. “But when he got home, he was calling me five to ten times a week, I had to say to him, ‘Beast, I’ve got a business to run with 450 employees, so you can’t keep calling me this like this.’”

Gérard Bertrand is a regular on the circuit speaking at Porto climate conferences and here at the launch of his book Nature at Heart

Bertrand the thinker

The story encapsulates Bertrand, a man of great charisma and generosity of spirit. His staff love him as he looks after them so well, but he is such a driven character that he will not allow too many distractions. It is one reason why his remarkable array of wine labels has been built up so successfully, now sold in 180 countries. It is an all-encompassing stable of Languedoc wines – red, white, rosé, orange and sparkling. The world’s most expensive rosé – Clos du Temple – is one of them, retailing as it does at €195.

Behind the bling and Bertrand’s extrovert showmanship, however,  lies a deep thinker who admits he is obsessed by spirituality and sense of place. He is proud of Narbonne, his home town for whom he also played rugby for 14 years, and he is passionate about biodynamics. Indeed, all of his 17 wine estates are either farmed biodynamically or in the process of conversion.

“The essence of an exceptional wine is a combination of time, space, energy, spirit and soul,” he wrote in his book Wine, Moon and Stars. “A great wine is connected to its terroir, its grape variety and the plot of its land of birth, but also to the universe that surrounds it.”

Vanina, one of seven mules helping at the winter pruning celebration

Ardent disciple of Steiner

We are down at Bertrand’s Languedoc base, L’Hospitalet, in the picturesque Massif de la Clape for a winter pruning celebration in early December in what is the first period of four months of pruning. A team of 40 are tasked with pruning the 4 million vines on Bertrand’s 2,420 acres of Languedoc vineyards, which are ploughed by seven mules to avoid soil compaction. One of them, named Vanina, is a magnificent beast, a 15-year old standing close to 17 hands.

“She is stronger than a horse, eats less and will live longer – to around 50,” purrs her devoted handler, whose commands we see her responding to. “She works five or six days a week for ten and a half months a year. She has a sixth sense about the state of the soil – occasionally she will refuse to plough, so we respect her intuition.”

Bertrand’s belief in the need for biodynamic farming is formidable.

“Taking care of the Earth has become a priority,” he said. “Not just the climate, the oceans and the forests but also the pollinators, soils and living species are all suffering from human activity. Biodiversity is in steep decline, and deregulation has become a threat to life on Earth, which is regarded with almost universal indifference. Respecting ecology is an act of civic duty that requires open mindedness at the service of the biosphere, because pollution and global warming know no frontiers.”

An ardent disciple of the founder of the biodynamic approach to agriculture, Rudolf Steiner, Bertrand is as philosophical as he is clear on what he thinks needs to be effected.

“Our commitment to organic and biodynamic farming has enabled us to conduct large-scale experiments on its relevance, especially in relation to wine-growing,” he continued. “A living soil strengthens the plants growing in it and helps them to capture the life forces emanating from the sun and the planets. We have to repair the damage inflicted on our Earth in the last fifty years, and return to a baseline of harmony and sustainability.”

“We are limited and incarnate, but our spirituality is limitless. Since Abraham, Jesus and Mohammad and, more recently, Goethe, Steiner, Mother Teresa and Mandela, prophets and exceptional people have each carried their epochs forward. We stand on the threshold of a new era, which will demand courage, solidarity and a disruptive vision.”

An honour to work here: Benjamin Gadois, winemaker for Clos du Temple

World’s most expensive Rosé

Meeting the challenges of global warming is one of Bertrand’s preoccupations, with the fruit for his Clos du Temple Rosé being picked earlier than ever this year. Benjamin Gadois, the winemaker and vineyard manager responsible for it, revealed that harvesting had started on 17 August.

“I’m really happy with this harvest as I was a bit worried by the high temperatures,” Gadois told me. “This year, we are looking to make 30,000 bottles of Clos du Temple, which is the highest number ever.”

Production has increased steadily from 7,000 bottles in the inaugural 2018 vintage, 12,000 in 2019, 20,000 in 2020 and 25,000 in both 2021 and 2022.

The varietals grown are Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, with a dash of Viognier being added to give te wine florality. Yields are a maximum of 30hl/ha from vines aged between 35 and 80 years. Planted on schist and limestone soils between 200-240m above sea level in the cradle of rosé in France – Cabrières near Montpellier – they benefit from a Mediterranean climate without any hydric stress. Between 500-600 millimetres of rain each year replenish a complex subterranean circulation network under the 12 hectares of vines, which enjoy south-west exposure.

Clos du Temple fermentation vessels

Each of the 11 plots are vinified separately in pyramid-shaped vessels, made of bauxite with stainless steel interiors, in the magnificent new hillside winery designed by renowned architect, François Fontès. Fermentation is completed in oak barrels of between 225 to 500 litres (50% new, 50% second fill, with really light toast), which are turned weekly to encourage lees contact. The juice spends no time on the skins, which explains its very pale colour – more yellow than pink.

The key to Clos du Temple’s freshness is its low pH – between 3.3 and 3.5 according to Gadois. This year it was higher than normal in the Cinsault, so he had to add some tartaric acid to that varietal’s juice (but not the others). “In the south of France, it’s difficult not to add some acid, but our low pH means I do not need to use much sulphur,” he said. Indeed, his levels are low, with total SO2 typically 40-45mg/l and free SO2 25-30 mg/l.

“It is an honour for me to open these gates every day,” Gadois confessed. He is returning that honour, though, by making some exquisite rosé. The 2019 vintage was judged best of its type in the world by the Global Rosé Masters 2020, and the 2022 is another classic, considered by Bertrand himself to be one of the three best produced in his 36 years as a vigneron.

“Rose petals on an ocean breeze with lemongrass behind white nectarine,” he purred. Throw in hints of almond and aromas of apricot and white peach, as well as tension, saline minerality, textural complexity and exceptional length. A gastronomic wine, or an aperitif, it has the potential to age – for ten to 20 years in Bertrand’s view.

Winemaker Arnaud Saulnier, with Villemajou soils

Villemajou – where it all began

Apart from his most celebrated red, Clos d’Ora, another super premium wine of Le Grand (‘the tall one’), as Bertrand is known, is La Forge 2021. Made up of two-thirds Carignan from 100-year old bush vines, and a third Syrah, it comes from Château de Villemajou in the Corbières-Boutenac appellation. It was here, in 1975, that Bertrand, aged 10, took part in his first grape harvest (two years after his late father Georges had bought the estate).

“The terroir of Villemajou cradles my childhood memories,” Bertrand said. “Here, I understood the strength of emotional attachment the vigneron can feel for his wines.”

At Villemajou, which has 200 hectares under vine, I met Arnaud Saulnier who is in charge of winemaking there.

“We employ carbonic maceration mainly for La Forge,” he revealed. “It gives a dark colour and soft tannins as well as ridding the Carignan of any rustiness.”

After a period in concrete eggs, the wine spent 12 months in 100% new oak, which it absorbed effortlessly. Intensity and concentration from old vines is extremely marked. These have flourished in soils composed of big, round pebbles and blocks of limestone on a subsoil of clay and sandstone.

The white Grand Vin 2022 from Château de Villemajou also sang, being composed of the best fruit from the village of Boutenac – a third each of Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. Generous, with a rich array of citrus aromas and hints of bitter orange blossom notes and brioche, it has refreshing acidity on a lengthy finish.

The last word must go to Bertrand. “Villemajou is the yardstick, the barometer of our wines. I have a deep love for them because they are gifts given to me by my father, a bond that links the past, present and future.”

Under him, the future could hardly look much brighter.

Sicily visit: Noto and Syracuse

Best of new Sicily: Montecarrubo, Planeta, Feudo Maccari & Giasira

Most wine buyers know that Sicily is one of the most exciting wine regions in Italy right now. If they don’t they should, argues Geoffrey Dean who visits Montecarrubo, Planeta, Feudo Maccari, Giasira and Zisola to discover a range of exciting wines, 10 of which he highlights for your list. Whilst in Sicily Dean meets up with wine aristocracy in the form of Peter Vinding-Diers and Alessio Planeta who was named winemaker of 2023 by Wine Enthusiast.

By Geoffrey Dean January 27, 2024

“Indeed for many, Sicily has become Italy’s most exciting wine region,” writes Dean.

The last great wine project: Peter and Susie Vinding-Diers in Montecarrubo, Sicily

Winemaking aristocracy moves to Sicily

It is telling that such a legendary figure of the global wine industry as Peter Vinding-Diers settled on Sicily for his final foray into winemaking with his boutique estate Vinding Montecarrubo. That was 20 years ago when the charismatic Dane, then 60, and his British wife Susie acquired some land in the south-east of the island. Since then, thanks to Vinding-Diers and other notables like Alessio Planeta, who was named winemaker of the year by the American publication Wine Enthusiast in October, Sicilian wines’ inexorable rise in reputation has continued unabated.

Despite having just become an octogenarian, Vinding-Diers has the drive and sparkle in his eyes of a much younger man. He spent nearly all of November on a sales and marketing trip in France, where he lived as a winemaker in Bordeaux for nearly a quarter of a century. There he won acclaim from none other than renowned research scientist, Denis Dubourdieu, for proving how native and ambient yeasts can dramatically influence a wine. Vinifying the same Semillon fruit from his own Rahoul estate in Graves in three different tanks with three yeast strains – one from Lynch-Bages, another from Angludet and the last from Rahoul – the three wines showed quite differently.

“Peter intuitively saw and understood what had taken me 20 years to prove scientifically,” Dubourdieu said. The year after, in 1986, Vinding-Diers was elected to the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux, which he regards as the greatest accolade of his career.

Not long after an 11-year sojourn in Hungary where he co-founded the Royal Tokaji Wine Company with Hugh Johnson, Vinding-Diers opted for Sicily ahead of somewhere like Tuscany as he found it more welcoming and open.

“I landed up at the property we called Montecarrubo because of the carob trees on the estate,” he said of his estate near Melilli, 25 km north of Syracuse. “We were planting on soils that had never seen vines, so we farmed organically from the start. The site is on the edge of an old volcano with strata of lava, loess and washed-out clay. This seduced me as there was nothing here. I love it here. The local people are curious and helpful, and I’ve been free to do exactly what I want.”

What he wanted to do, in particular, was plant Syrah. He tried Sicily’s indigenous varietal, Nero d’Avola, but found it never ripened fully as his vineyards were in a cooler micro-climate. His Syrah, though, is as good as it gets on the island, with his two single vineyard labels – Vignolo and Vigna Grande – being the best I tasted of a score or more of Sicilian Syrahs. The 2022 versions were both wonderfully clean and fresh, with both very low pH (3.2) and SO2 (15mg/l free and 35 total). No new oak was used, just second and third fill medium toast.

Vinding-Diers – selling Sicilian Syrah en primeur

Ever the innovator, Vinding Diers revealed how in 2022 he had decided to pick his Syrah grapes much earlier than usual to make wines that were 12% or under.

“In 2022, we picked early and made some very pleasurable wines which were light with a maximum of 12% alcohol, with lots of fruit and easy to drink,” he said. “It was an experiment, answering the call for low alcohol wines, but was it right? Susie and I still wonder. After all, it is totally out of place here in Sicily of all places to go out and pick early in order to try and make ‘Burgundy’ wines. It must be wrong! Pick early, yes, but respect where you live and give the plants a chance to produce what we should here, and not what we are told we should do. We have always picked with good acidity, and nice tannins, making elegant wines which would last for some years. The alcohol would be between 12.5 and 13.5% max, and I think that is where we should try and remain.”

Nevertheless when buyers became aware of the 2022s, they snapped them up, helped by Vinding-Diers’ idea to sell ‘en primeur.’

“There was a moment this summer when nothing moved,” he said. “The coffers were empty and the mood was in the basement. I remember sitting down in the library to read my old friend Jean Michel Cazes’ book, and he talked about how poor they were in the early ‘70s. Then he described how he got the splendid idea to sell en primeur, and the train began to move again. I jumped out of the sofa and immediately sat down to write an invitation to buy our Vignolo 2022 en primeur for €30 instead of €35 which I pointed out would be the price after September 1. Our order book was suddenly full and we sold a little more than 4,000 bottles in two weeks out of 5,000 – we are now selling at €35 and it still flies out. But now comes an extra flower. Everybody wants a pallet, so they have all filled up with the other wines. It is hard to describe my joy at this move.”

Planeta – 2023 winemaker of the year

“Deeply honoured.” Alessio Planeta

Meanwhile, Alessio Planeta, CEO and technical director of Planeta, described himself ‘deeply honoured’ by Wine Enthusiast’s best winemaker of 2023 award, the first Italian to receive it since 2007.

“It is a recognition that I am happy to share with our entire staff,” he added. “Next year, we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary, and receiving such a prestigious tribute at this time makes me proud of the solid reputation that the wines of Sicily have won across the globe.”

Planeta’s vineyard holdings, spread all over Sicily, total over 400 hectares, and remarkably, all have been certified organic since 2022. In addition, all have been certified sustainable since 2011 by Fondazione SOStain Siciliana. Alessio is based at the 41-hectare Buonivini estate near Noto in the south-east of the island, where we visited him.

“When we arrived in the late 1990s, Noto was a ghost village that was known for bulk wine,” he recalled. “Then came the earthquake, which led to restoration and a boom. There is huge potential for viticulture in Noto as it’s a denomination that is different from other parts of Sicily. For we have these white soils which are super calcareous, and the local varietals definitely prefer them. We get such a fine regional expression of Nero d’Avola.”

That was evident from a vertical tasting of Planeta’s top-of-the-range Nero d’Avola label, Santa Cecilia, from 2005 through to 2021. The tannins of all those vintages older than 2013 had softened noticeably. Patricia Toth, the company’s Hungarian-born winemaker who was recruited in 2005, declared that “you can only find unique soils and terroir like Noto in three or four other parts of Europe. They offer opportunities for very long bottle-ageing, with the calcareous soils giving great acidity in the red wines.”

To prove this point, a big hole dug into a section of vines revealed their roots went as deep as nine metres.

Feudo Maccari – indigenous varieties

Antonio and Alberto Moretti Cuseri of Feudo Maccari

With its low annual rainfall (300-350 mm) and windy conditions, Noto has become a haven for organic producers. One such, Feudo Maccari, which is only six kilometres as the crow flies from Buonivini, has 55 hectares of bush vines on similarly calcareous soils. Some of the Nero d’Avola vines are 70 years old. The estate was bought by luxury goods entrepreneur Antonio Moretti Cuseri, who also owns another producer in the Etna denomination of Sicily as well as three other Italian wineries. His son, Alberto, is the international export director for all five estates.

While Feudo Maccari’s ‘Saia’ 2020 underlined how good Sicilian Nero d’Avola can be – possessing elegance, freshness, concentration, soft tannins and considerable length – its single varietal Nerello Mascalese ‘Animardente’ label from its Etna DOC winery displayed attractive red fruit and supple tannins, with structure coming from 20% new oak. Around 30% of the grapes came from vines over 100 years old, while the remainder was from young five-year old vines.

Giasira and Zisola

Seeking distribution: Giovanni Boroli, owner of Giasira

Another organically-farmed estate in the Noto denomination is Giasira, which has 13 hectares under vine and ten different labels. All of its energy needs are served by its own photovoltaic solar power system. Bought nearly twenty years ago by Piedmontese publishing and printing magnate, Giovanni Boroli, this stunning 130-hectare farm also has 3,000 olive trees, 2,000 almond trees, hundreds of citrus trees and scores of centuries-old carobs not to mention a canyon and a river.

Giasira, which produces Nero D’Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Moscato, Grillo and Catarratto exports mainly to Holland and Belgium, but would like to find a UK distributor.

Already with sales channels in the UK – for example Davy’s Wine Merchants – is another Noto winery, Zisola. Apart from two good Petit Verdot and Syrah single varietal wines, we tasted two fine examples of Nero d’Avola, both Sicilia Noto Rosso DOCs.  The super-premium Doppiozeta 2019, whose fruit came from the best four of 29 parcels, was aged in 30% new oak while the mid-market generic label from 2021 saw only old oak.

Zisola was also bought early in the new millennium (in 2003) by the Fonterutoli-owning Mazzei family whose forebears started making wine in Chianti in 1435. The very fact that so many wealthy Italian mainlanders with a history of winemaking have invested in Sicilian estates cannot be insignificant. Although the amount of hectares under vine on the island has come down from a twentieth century high of 140,000 to to today’s 95,000, that is symptomatic of higher quality and less bulk wine production. Indeed for many, Sicily has become Italy’s most exciting wine region.

10 wines that caught the eye and palate

Vinding Montecarrubo Scherzo 2021 IGT Terre Siciliane, 14% abv

Two thirds Merlot, one third Cabernet Franc; named after one of pianist Igor Stravinsky’s earlier works; as Peter Vinding-Diers says: “wave after wave of happy music streams through it.” Need one say more?

Vinding Montecarrubo Syrah 2022 IGT Terre Siciliane, 12% abv

Violet, spice and earthy tobacco aromas with red fruit, black olive and lightly peppery notes on the palate. Mineral and balsamic hints on a long finish. Beautifully fresh, elegant and poised with very supple tannins.

Planeta Allemanda DOC Noto 2022, 12% abv

100% Moscato Bianco; named after a Baroque opening dance – “we imagine this as a perfect aperitif wine” says Alessio Planeta. Invigorating freshness (pH3.35) with fragrant jasmine and rose petal aromas and pink grapefruit notes.

Planeta Santa Cecilia DOC Noto 2018, 13% abv

100% Nero d’Avola; a cool vintage, and an outstanding one; cherry, plum and blueberry notes with princely elegance, vivid freshness and extended length; firm but beautifully integrated tannins.

Feudo Maccari ‘Saia’ 2021 Terre Siciliane IGT, 14% abv

100% Nero d’Avola; black olive, cherry and earthy notes with soft tannins; structure from 30% new oak, which is well absorbed; lovely concentration and length.

Feudo Maccari ‘Family & Friends’ Grillo 2021 Terre Siciliane IGT, 14.5% abv

100% Grillo; crisp, dry stonefruit notes with a backbone of citrus from Sicily’s third-most planted grape after Catarratto and Nero D’Avola; some time spent in concrete eggs gives a touch of richness from lees circulation; bright acidity counterbalances 14.5% abv

Giasira ‘Morhum’ Terre Siciliane IGT 2020, 13.5% abv

100% Nerello Mascalese; named after the Latin for mulberry tree (Morum) of which a number are on the estate; very light in colour (Pinot-like); refined with red cherry fruit and silky tannins.

Giasira ‘Keration’ Terre Siciliane IGT 2020, 13% abv

Made from 100% Catarratto Bianco Lucido as opposed to Catarratto Bianco Comune (probably two clones of the same variety). The former is considered to produce the higher quality wine. Fermented in stainless steel at 16-18°C, this has some body, with fresh herbal citrus notes and minerality on a lengthy finish. Appealing as an aperitif or with food.

Zisola ‘Effe Emme’ Terre Siciliane IGT 2020, 14.5% abv

Made from 100% Petit Verdot 16-year old bush vines; ‘Effe Emme’ is the Italian for ‘FM’ as in owner Filippo Mazzei’s monogram; 16 months in French barriques (50% new); typically deeply coloured and powerful with zesty acidity and floral violet notes; firm, overt tannins need time but freshness and structure make this an ageworthy wine.

Donnafugata Ben Ryé  Passito di Pantelleria DOC 2021, 14% abv

One of Italy’s great sweet wines. Made from sun-dried Zibibbo grapes (Muscat of Alexandria) on Pantelleria, the volcanic island between Sicily and Africa. Low bush vines (‘alberello pantesco’) that are over 100-years old are buried in a hole, with dry lava stone walls offering protection from hot dry winds. Golden-coloured, luscious and rich with 130g/l residual sugar.  Giacomo Rallo founded Donnafugata in 1983 with wife, Gabriella, a pioneer of viticulture in Sicily.

Dijon: a must-visit

Why Burgundy’s Dijon is a must-visit for foodies & vinophiles

It’s that time of year when we plot our holidays and excursions for the coming 12 months. What better destination for wine lovers and gastronomes than Dijon, the capital of Burgundy? asks Geoffrey Dean. He was there to check out the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie & du Vin which is still less than two years old and offers a journey through Burgundy’s viticulture and history, amongst many other things.

By Geoffrey Dean January 7, 2024

“In 2013 the French government chose Dijon as one of four cities selected to showcase the country’s gastronomic heritage with Dijon’s focus being wine,” writes Dean.

Some of the 3,000 bottles for sale at the caveau in Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie & du Vin

Less than 15 months after the opening of Dijon’s Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie & du Vin in May 2022, the monumental €280 million cultural project welcomed its millionth visitor. The Cité (or ‘Estate’) is a fitting tribute to the ambition of the Burgundian capital to broaden its allure and become a must-visit city in the region. Not that it ever lacked appeal – this sleeping giant of a tourism magnet has always had all the ingredients – but it has finally awoken from its slumber to shout its claims from the rooftops.

And what claims it has.

The vineyards of the Côte de Nuits just to the south of it, most notably Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée; a beautiful old pedestrianised city centre of 97 hectares with its many half-timbered buildings that is a UNESCO world heritage site, and entered via its own triumphal arch (known as Porte Guillaume); the Saint-Bénigne Cathedral and the 13th century Eglise Notre-Dame; numerous museums (all free entry) including the second biggest in France after the Louvre – the Musée des Beaux-Arts; the Palais des Ducs and its neighbouring tower of Philippe Le Bon, with its 316 steps, from which you have stunning 360-degree views of the whole city (and the Alps on a clear day).

Throw in 45,000 students who come from all over France to attend the university and the legal, medical, business and oenology schools, and you have a cornucopia of cultural, historical, architectural and human vitality.

Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie & du Vin: already with a million visitors in less than two years

The new landmark destination, the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie & du Vin, is the icing on the cake, though. A short tram-ride from the city centre, it is an imposing complex of buildings, old and modern, on a 16-acre site that was the city hospital for 600 years. Taking ten years to complete, it includes immersive exhibitions, a branch of the prestigious Parisian culinary school, L’Ecole Ferrandi, and a gastronomic village with nine themed stores (showcasing cheese, charcuterie, meat, fish, seafood, vegetables/fruit, bread, chocolate and pastries).

There are also restaurants and numerous other shops, including one, fittingly in the global capital of mustard, that sells nothing but that condiment. Of the 95,000 tons of mustard produced in France every year, as much as 90,000 tons are made in Dijon.

Last, and certainly not least, is the Cité’s extraordinary wine ‘caveau’, which has over 3,000 wines for sale (80% being Burgundian but featuring many great labels from all over the Old and New World). These vary in price from €10 to several thousand Euros, with many very old vintages found. A bottle of Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 1961, for example, was selling for a cool €1,382. Over 250 wines are also available for tasting from enomatic vending machines that offer 3, 6 or 12 cl samples. So too are many of the world’s great whiskies, brandies and rums along with other spirits.

Journey through Burgundy’s history

Dijon street scene

The exhibition in the beautiful reconditioned great chapel of Dijon’s former general hospital represents a journey through Burgundy’s viticulture and history. An ode to Burgundy’s ‘climats’ is the first thing that greets you, with a proud historical reference to the year of 1584 when the word ‘climat’ appeared for the first time in a document about the Clos de Bèze in Gevrey-Chambertin when the canons of Saint-Mamet use it to describe the vines at ‘champ Berthin.’

 The term, used for a plot within a vineyard, spread more widely from the 17th century. “The local specificities in the geology and landscape of the climats produce very precisely defined parcels of land, sometimes down to a matter of feet,” it is pointed out, along with a reminder that Burgundy’s climats are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Although it is not clear precisely when, during the Roman occupation, vines were first planted in Burgundy, Jasper Morris MW, in his authoritative tome, Inside Burgundy, speculates that it may have been by a member of the Roman professional classes based in Dijon. A revealing find in 2008 of a small vineyard on the edge of Gevrey-Chambertin was dated to the first century AD.

“This invites the picture of a Roman amusing himself by planting a ‘lifestyle’ block of vines at his weekend villa in the same way doctors and lawyers have done in Australia, New Zealand and California in the Yarra, Gibbston and Napa Valleys,” Morris writes.

A centre of French gastronomy

Dijon’s reputation as a culinary centre likewise goes back a long way, with the city’s first gastronomic fair taking place in 1921. The Cité’s gastro exhibition, which has a poster extolling the seventh such fair in 1928, provides detailed background information on the region’s gastronomic history and ‘Le Repas Gastronomique des Français’, which was UNESCO-listed in 2010.

This refers to the history of celebrating good wine and food in France. “The repas is an essential element of France’s identity, which we have perhaps taken too much for granted in the past,” Jeremie Penquer, the director of the Cité project, said. “This is why it was so important when it was recognised by UNESCO.”

Remembered: the flamboyant late food critic Jean-Pierre Coffe

Within the gastro exhibition are portraits of ‘Les Pères Fondateurs’ (Founding Fathers) of the critical food-writing fraternity – de la Reynière, Brillat-Savarin, Curnonsky and Gault & Millau. The trip down memory lane continues with old posters of revered restaurant guides such as the Michelin of 1929 and Champerard of 1988. A beaming photo of the flamboyant late food critic Jean-Pierre Coffe adorns one wall with a reference to his love of ‘bonne bouffe’ (good nosh) and disdain of anything substandard (dismissed with his famous punchline of ‘C’est de la merde’).

There is, of course, good nosh aplenty in Dijon where, apart from its half dozen Michelin-starred restaurants, there are a plethora of Bib Gourmand ones (the label given to good value establishments with outstanding food). The excellent ‘La Table de Climats,’ situated within the Cité, describes itself as a ‘restaurant vinostronomique’ as it pairs wines with courses. Two other restaurants we ate at – a Georges Blanc brasserie, ‘Pré aux Clercs’ in the Place de la Libération, and the Grand Hôtel La Cloche – likewise served sumptuous cuisine.

And then there is the famous Mulot & Petitjean shop, where Catherine Petitjean, a tenth generation descendant of the founders in 1796, makes some of France’s best gingerbread with a secret recipe. Known as ‘pain d’épices’ (spice bread), it actually contains no ginger.

A new cooking school, given the English name of ‘Salt and Pepper’, taught us how to prepare local delicacies such as ‘Gougères’ (cheese and egg pastries). Talking of cheese (and the 46 French varieties of it accorded AOC or the EU’s PDO status as detailed in the Cité), a Dijon wine shop named ‘La Source des Vins’ conducts an apt pairing/tasting of five Burgundian labels and five cheeses. An Aligoté went especially well with an aged Comté cheese, with the former’s sharp acidity cutting through the latter’s richness.

It has, then, been a remarkable last decade of development and recognition for Dijon. It began in 2013 when, as part of a cultural initiative launched by the French government, Dijon was one of four cities selected to showcase the country’s gastronomic heritage. Dijon’s focus was wine and its UNESCO listings, while the other three cities were Lyon (nutrition and health), Tours (human science’s link with food) and Paris (food marketing). In summer 2023, the influential OIV, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, moved its headquarters from Paris to Dijon, further enhancing the latter’s prestige. In the meantime, the city of Dijon, at the mayor’s behest, has been buying up land on its outskirts with a view to planting vineyards. A Côtes de Dijon label would be a fitting new addition for the French city where it all seems to be happening.

Five wines that impressed

Du Grappin Bourgogne Aligoté 2021

From 80-year old vines on white limestone marl soils in Macon in La Roche-Vineuse; made by Andrew Nielsen, one of a number of Australians producing quality Burgundian wine, along with his English wife, Emma; fermented in large old oak vessels with wild yeasts

Domaine Alain Gautheron, Chablis Premier Cru, Les Fournaux 2021

Organic practices are followed on this 2.2 hectare plot but without certification; classic minerality with some saltiness on the finish; made by Cyril following father Alain’s retirement in 2019, using no oak; DIAM closure.

Domaine Jean-Pierre Maldant, Corton-Les Grandes Lolières Grand Cru 2021

 Intense fruit with silky tannins and notable concentration and length. Refined and very classy.

Domaine Agnes Paquet, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune 2021

From Pinot Noir vines in the village of Meloisey; lovely fruit with fine tannins and good length.

Domaine Gerard Quivy, Gevrey-Chambertin Les Journaux 2021

Single vineyard village wine from 75-year old vines on a lieu-dit just to the north of Gevrey-Chambertin; no herbicides or insecticides used; no filtration; alluring raspberry and cherry fruit with soft tannins and very fresh acidity.