ZONIN1821 tasting

Geoffrey Dean picks the highlights from the ZONIN1821 London tasting

Italian wine group ZONIN1821 held a comprehensive tasting in London last month to show off the wines of its seven family-owned Italian estates and Spanish and South African cooperatives it imports into the UK. Geoffrey Dean met the winemakers, picks out and recommends some of the key wines and hears from the group’s vice president Michele Zonin about wine culture, technical innovation and sustainable development as it’s promoted by the group.

15th August 2024 by Geoffrey Dean

While ZONIN1821 is something of a behemoth in the wine industry, with an annual revenue of around €200 million, it still hopes to expand its distribution in the UK, which accounts for a quarter of its turnover. The importer, which also owns seven wine estates in Italy and one in the USA, exports to over 140 countries world-wide and put on an impressive annual portfolio tasting in London last month.

Good business practice

Founded in 1821 by the Zonin family in Veneto, the group has seventh generation descendant brothers who are its president and vice-president. Vice-president, Michele Zonin flew in from Italy, and talked about the company’s philosophy.

“We like to promote our three pillars” Zonin said. “These are ‘Made in Italy’, sustainability and Italian wine culture. Our Prosecco represents the essence of ‘La Dolce Vita’ on a global level. The group’s latest sustainability report - the first one- was published last year in accordance with the Equalitas* standard. We are super happy about that.”

(*The Equalitas certification covers environmental, social and economic sustainability).

“Now, more than ever, the world and consumers at large demand that companies take a stand on sustainability-related issues. For society as a whole the logic of unfettered profit without consequences, is no longer synonymous with good business practices."

"Companies are being tasked to demonstrate responsibility in their work and justify their choices: in the light of this, sustainability cannot be conceived as merely an ‘add-on’ in business but must be one of the foundations of a business model, its corporate culture and its strategic choices.”

Indeed, ZONIN1821 Group’s Tuscan estate, Castello di Albola, was one of the first in Italy to obtain this certification. Similarly, Rocca di Montemassi, also in Tuscany, is both organically and sustainably farmed with biological defence instead of pesticides; green manure; beehives; and 28 hectares maintained as forest to absorb CO2.

Biodiversity is also a priority at ZONIN1821 Group’s Friuli winery Ca’ Bolani, which recently adopted the ‘Carta del Mulino’ (Mill Charter) project, which promotes the spread of pollinating insects. And on the Sicilian estate, Principi di Butera, biodiversity comes from 50 hectares of arable land and 25 of olive trees. Masseria Altemura in Apulia likewise has 88 hectares of arable and 40 of olives.

Tasting the ZONIN1821 wines

“Our jewel in Chianti,” the charismatic winemaker Alessandro Gallo called Castello di Albola. One of the highest estates in Tuscany, with 125 hectares of vine planted up to 700 metres, it boasts a magisterial ‘Super Tuscan’ label, Acciaiolo, made from an old single vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Its Chardonnay Le Fagge 2022, another Toscana IGT label, showed particularly well as did its four different Chianti Classicos. Gallo also makes the wines at Rocca di Montemassi, whose Maremma Toscana DOC Sassabruna 2021, a blend of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Petit Verdot 30% Syrah and 10% Merlot was outstanding.

Another winemaker with overall responsibility for more than one ZONIN1821 Group’s estate was present in Paolo Tealdi. Based in Asti, his Piedmont brief is Poggio Le Coste, but he also crafts the wines at Lombardy producer Oltrenero and Principi di Butera in Sicily. All of Oltrenero's three super-premium wines were made from 100% Pinot Noir. “The area is beautiful for Pinot Noir on mostly clay soils with some sand at 200-300m,” Tealdi said, adding that a new product aged 96 months on the lees would be released (the current trio seeing 36-48 months).

Tealdi also produces two sparkling versions of Nero D’Avola at Principi di Butera - one by tank method and the other by traditional method. The latter, a Pas Dose (zero dosage) 2018, spent 36 months on the lees and was excellent, pairing very well with tiger prawns, avocado, fennel and dill at the food and wine masterclass. Matching well with curry was the same winery’s Insolia Sicilia DOC Carizza 2022, with its sapidity, fresh acidity and minerality.

Masseria Altemura’s Falanghina Salento IGT 2022 was a fine example of the varietal, and, as a specialist producer of Primitivo, it was no surprise their Salento IGT Sasseo 2021 showed impressive richness, structure and generosity of fruit. Aged in 25% new oak, its overt tannins need time to soften, and Antonio Cavallo, the estate's director and viticulturist, suggested it will be at its best at eight years of age.

Another southern Italian black grape renowned for its tannins, Magliocco, makes up 100% of Calabrian producer, Colacino Wines’ Savuto Rosso DOC Si. A mid-market wine with appealing cherry notes, this drew the following verdict from winemaker Mauro Colacino: “It is only grown in Calabria, where it originated. It is rustic but with softer tannins than the more mineral Aglianico.” The benefit of 500 metres of altitude was reflected in the wine’s freshness.

The similarly high vineyards (350-650m) of Tenuta del Meriggio, in Campania, tend to provide a very wide diurnal range of 15°C, allowing its impressive range of wines to show unusually high acidity levels, requiring 100% malolactic fermentation in the three whites - Greco di Tufo, Fiano and Falanghina. The owner’s son, Francesco Saverio, also the export manager, spoke eloquently of his family’s desire to increase on-trade sales to the UK, its third biggest export market after the US and Japan.

“The competitive window is shrinking and prices getting lower, with styles moving towards easy-to-drink wines," Saverio said. “Our wines are food-pairing wines…to be enjoyed the fullest they need food. Our oldest vines are 80-year-old Aglianico on mixed soils of volcanic and clay plus sand and gravel. Ten years ago it was impossible to reach 30°C in summer - now it gets to 35°C. But we are lucky the grapes are suited to the environment. Our Taurasi DOCG Aglianico is the Barolo of southern Italy.”

Giulia Cossetti

Talking of Piemonte, Cossetti’s Barolo DOCG Cinquantacinque 2019, is still quite young but with tremendous potential. Drinkable now, though, is Cossetti’s Barbaresco Cinquantotto 2019, whose fruit is enchanting and tannins approachable. With an abv of 14%, the wine is in perfect balance. “2019 was a very, very good year, although 2018 was the best,” co-owner Giulia Cossetti said. “We try to balance the tannins.”

Sancho Garces - the single Spanish producer

Mariola Varona

The one Spanish producer’s wines that ZONIN1821 Group imports is the co-operative Sancho Garces. Two hundred families who own 400 hectares in Rioja Alta send their grapes for vinification. These include not just Tempranillo and Viura but also Tempranillo Blanco.

“Adding 15% Tempranillo Blanco to the Viura is the best thing that ever happened to Rioja white wine,” Mariola Varona, the co-op’s export director, said. “It gives brightness, friskiness, acidity, fruit character and minerality, and combines so well with the backbone and structure of Viura. It's nicely balanced and very easy drinking.”

It was hard to disagree with Varona, who revealed the enticing Rioja DOC Crianza is ‘one of our best sellers’ (and value at £14.79 RRP).

From the Western Cape – Du Toitskloof

Also good value in the everyday drinking class was the range of another co-operative, Du Toitskloof. Founded in 1962 by six farmers in the Breedekloof district of the western Cape, it has expanded to 12 growers, who own 985 hectares of vines, including Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ed Beukus

“We are a bulk producer, working with supermarkets, but also sell our branded wines through Zonin," export manager Ed Beukus said. “We are Fair Trade accredited, and are selling well here to pubs, bars and restaurants as we have very good quality at a very good price. You have to in a saturated market. Chenin and Shiraz are best sellers, and because the brand has grown so well in South Africa, we have had to start buying in grapes, with a lot of red from Swartland.”

Finally, from across the Atlantic, ZONIN1821 Group is bringing in some high quality red and white wines from its US winery, Barboursville Vineyards. Viognier is a grape that has long flourished in this state, and its Viognier Virginia Appellation 2017, which spent 11 months on the lees, showed very well. So too did its Nebbiolo Reserve Virginia Appellation 2015, with its approachable tannins, and Cabernet Franc Reserve Virginia Appellation 2017.

Domaine Chanson

Vincent Avenel on how Domaine Chanson is thinking outside the box

It’s a year since Bollinger-owned Domaine Chanson acquired a 45-hectare estate in Côte Chalonnaise, allowing this 275 year-old Burgundy négociant to future-proof its business. Geoffrey Dean visited the estate and talks in-depth with managing director Vincent Avenel about how key this acquisition has been in terms of his plans to balance the business model, replant rootstock, receive organic certification and completely rethinking Chanson’s business strategy. Avenel is justified in his belief, writes Geoffrey Dean, as they have the fruit, they have a team that is as harmonious as their wines and they have a dynamic, experienced managing director who thinks outside the box.

13th August 2024 by Geoffrey Dean

“Incroyable….utopie,” beamed Vincent Avenel. The charismatic managing director of Domaine Chanson Père et Fils might have been revelling in the runaway success of the Olympics, when thousands of hitherto absent Parisians returned early to the city mid-Games, fearful of missing the biggest party there since France won the World Cup at the Stade de France in 1998.

But Avenel was in fact looking back on a major transformation in the fortunes of one of the most venerable Burgundy négociant houses, whose founding predates the French Revolution. “Thinking of buying 40 hectares in Burgundy is like a dream - utopia,” he reflected. “We told our shareholders it would take 15 years to build this up, but we had the opportunity in one go. Incredible.”

Thinking outside the box: Vincent Avenel, Domaine Chanson, July 2024

Some background is useful here. Notwithstanding the prestige of its imminent 275th anniversary - in 2025 - Chanson Père et Fils was worried about the future. A strategic rethink, ordered during Covid by Etienne Bizot, president of owners, Bollinger, led consultants to conclude that its négociant business was at risk.

“The competition of small growers has become very strong as they don’t really need to sell their fruit,” Avenel explained. “They can vinify, bottle and sell themselves. And demand is so strong that customers are going direct to them. The business model of négociants was we buy fruit or must from growers, and then we vinify, age and sell. But now the raw material is missing because the small growers keep it for themselves. So business is dangerous, and we thought it best to have a larger estate where we know what we are going to get off Mother Nature.”

The issue, though, was how to increase holdings of 43 hectares in a region where sales are either rare and/or expensive. In the summer of 2022, however, word reached Domaine Chanson that the owners of a 45-hectare estate in Côte Chalonnaise named Château D’Etroyes were open to selling. Negotiations began in secret in July of that year, with other rival négociants kept in the dark, and carried on for another eight months before a deal was signed in March 2023.

“A group of eight gentlemen who had been very successful in finance and banking in France, India and Singapore had bought the estate in 2018,” Avenel revealed. “They were seduced by the idea of being owners of land in Burgundy but were very unlucky with the weather and small vintages apart from 2019. The estate needed some investment, and they saw it was going to cost them too much and it was better to sell. But when I visited the wines were at a good level.”

Chanson's cellars at Beaune - the estate's founding predates the French Revolution

Avenel would not reveal the purchase price, only that Chanson Père et Fils was happy with it. “It is always over-priced in Burgundy but in Côte Chalonnaise it remains at a more reasonable level,” he declared. “Prior to this acquisition, our model was 25% of the business based on domaine wines and 75% on negociant wines. Now, with this acquisition, we should be at 50:50. We should now be in a model to help us go through any kind of situation.”

The plan is to renew the vineyards at Château D’Etroyes, mainly in Rully and Mercurey, over the next 15 years.“That will have a cost but we know that, and are ok with that,” Avenel continued. “Long-term is the right way, and we are going to change a few things. The main efforts we have to make are in the vineyards; so we are reinforcing the team looking after them from seven people to 15, and have cut the administrative staff. To reduce the average vine age from 50 years to a more desirable one of 35, they will replant two hectares per annum there for the first 5 years, and then one hectare each year.”

All vinification is being carried out in Beaune, where it is easier to control quality. “The winery in Mercurey was a bit dated, and we have better facilities,” Avenel explained. “It’s too complicated to have two different wineries. For the whites, we press in Mercurey and send the must to Beaune for fermentation.”

There, the vinification facility, which was updated in 2010, is on the edge of town towards Savigny, with the company headquarters and maturation cellars located in town at Bastion de l’Oratoire, a late medieval stone tower that was one of Beaune’s principal fortifications.

Organics and the 2024 season

Biodiversity drive: bee hives at Clos des Mouches

Farming organically is now one of Chanson Père et Fils’ most closely embraced tenets. It will receive organic certification for the entire Beaune harvest this year, and has just begun the process of organic certification at Château D’Etroyes.

“There’s no price premium in Burgundy for organic wines, but some people won’t consider buying if they are not,” Avenel said. “We haven’t done it because it’s a trend, or for marketing, but to take care of the vines with more respect for the environment. It’s better for our employees too but it doesn't make life easy. You have to spray the organic products more often.”

Overseeing a major replanting programme: Justine Savoye, vineyard manager

This vintage has proved particularly testing, with both types of mildew - downy and powdery - a major problem. Persistent rain in the first half this growing season has encouraged the deadly duo. According to Chanson’s vineyard manager, Justine Savoye, as much as 100mm of rain fell in Beaune in June (ten times the normal amount) and 200mm in the Côte de Nuits.

“Many people have lost their entire crop, depending on the plot and the strategy of the domaine,” she said, as we walked through her vines. “This year in Clos des Mouches we sprayed 10 copper and sulphur treatments by early July, more than other years.”Domaine

Chanson’s embrace of experimental viticultural practices include the trial use of a new biofungicide treatment named 'Taegro' that is permitted in organic systems to counter both downy and powdery mildew. Half a dozen new rootstocks are also being trialled by Chanson with a view to replacing 161/49C, which is not resistant to drought. Many vines planted on it since the 1990s are suffering badly.

In addition, a biodiversity drive by Chanson has seen the repair and maintenance of its three kilometres of drystone walls, important habitat for multiple species of insects, snails, slugs, small birds and small mammals. And fittingly, given that the Clos des Mouches vineyard was named after bees (‘mouche à miel’ being the French for honey-bee), bee hives at the top of Chanson’s parcel have been re-established. Meanwhile, several Chanson rows of around 500 vines on a steep incline in the Premier Cru Les Bressandes vineyard are being grubbed up to be replanted with fruit trees.

What though of the wines’ direction?

Lucy Auger, cellar master, presenting the latest vintages

Avenel is clear about making wine as authentic and as pure as possible.

“We are a young team,” he said. “Lucy [Auger], the cellar master, started in 2020, Justine in 2019, and I in 2017. It was time to shake off the dust and ask what are the fundamentals and where we can be good. We’re not wanting to replace Bouchard with four million bottles or Jadot with 12 million. It’s not our goal at all - we are between 600,000 and one million bottles per year depending on the vintage. If we can do more, we will do but the first goal is to produce the best wine in that category. We might be the second or third best, but if we are in the top three we are super happy. And we don’t want to invent a style. We want to produce wine that is authentic and pure as can be.”

A key technical change was made when Auger took over with the abandonment of 100% Pinot Noir whole-bunch fermentation, an unusual practice among Burgundy’s larger-scale producers. This has been reduced to between 25-50%.

“We don’t do things with a systematic approach - we try to adapt to each vintage, each plot,” Avenel continued. “We might be wrong sometimes but we learn and hopefully we improve. It’s something I’ve learnt working for different companies - there is not one magic recipe. I want to emphasise that it’s not a one-man decision at Chanson. Lucy, Justine and I taste wines together and other wines from the competition - blind - and ask ‘are we far from the best, what are the best?’ and try to be inspired by that. We try to build a shared view of where we should go.”

Above all, Avenel knows that shedding the sometimes negatively in-built view of négociants will require patience and time. “When you take decisions you know it’s going to take five, six perhaps ten years,” he sighed. “In terms of image, it takes a lot of time. People have very strong preconceptions. When you start with a négociant image, you really start with a handicap because people tend to think negociants are big and have average wines and are not consistent, which is totally wrong but that’s the preconception because it was based on something that happened 30 or 40 years ago. But nowadays the borders are not very clear because you have growers that become négociants, and négociants that become landowners.

“Our goal is to be among the best in the category and appellation where we are. That’s going to happen when the markets and opinion leaders say it’s happened. We want to show what we’ve been doing in the last six or seven years. We want to renew or change the mindset of people so it’s not a preconception but something based on fact and the things that are really happening. And hopefully, this will grow slowly but surely, and people will think Chanson is not at all what they thought initially. When I joined Faiveley in 2007, their image was terrible, with an undrinkable style of wines, but now if you read the magazines and journalists, Faiveley is quite high now, and it has been a huge change.”

Avenel modestly credits Bernard Hervet not himself for masterminding the turnaround at Faiveley, who doubled their turnover of €nine million between 2007 and 2016. Avenel thinks Chanson’s medium size is a big plus in its quest for greater recognition.

“We’re not small, not big - we have the best of both worlds,” he concluded. “Our focus is not on volume, it’s on quality, and we have a strength compared to smaller growers in that we have a team of specialists. We are right in between which gives us a great advantage.” He is justified in his belief - they have the fruit, they have a team that is harmonious as their wines and they have a dynamic, experienced managing director who thinks outside the box.

Four Chanson wines that caught the eye

Domaine Chanson Corton-Vergennes Grand Cru, 2022

From a 0.65 hectare plot adjacent to Corton-Charlemagne, this was the pick of the whites tasted. Smoky, spicy nose with aromas of white flowers; citrus lime, white peach, apple and earthy wet stone notes on the palate; powerfully structured, yet charming with elegant backbone and taut acidity. Tightly focused and very mineral, complex, long finish.

Domaine Chanson Beaune Premier Cru Clos des Mouches, 2022

From a parcel on a vineyard renowned for producing some of Beaune’s finest white wines. Aromas of pear, vanilla, clove and nutmeg; tight citrus freshness at its core with peach and exotic mango notes; beautiful, tension-filled intensity with linear precision and saline-infused, persistent finish, enhanced by subtle minerality. Grand Cru quality in all but name.

Domaine Chanson Beaune Premier Cru Les Grèves, 2022

From a steep 2-hectare plot with gravelly soils. Strawberry on the nose with herbal, smoky aromas. Bold, dark berry fruit, notably black cherry, on the palate with hints of game. Sensuous, very well-handled tannins provide shape. Plenty of freshness to partner terrific complexity and concentration. Impressive, mineral-inflected length. 20% new oak.

Domaine Chanson Beaune Premier Cru Clos des Fèves, 2022

From a 3.8 ha monopole that has been registered since 1307. Fabulous nose with lifted and perfumed aromas with hints of roses, strawberries and spice. Gorgeous red fruit, with classy black cherry also evident. Olive, chocolate, tobacco and earthy notes add complexity. Structure from 20% new oak. Alluringly textured mouthfeel with super-fine, silky tannins and magnificent concentration and length. If there was a reclassification, this would be a shoe-in Grand Cru. The makings of a great Burgundy.

The wines of Domaine Chanson are imported and sold in the UK by Mentzendorff which is a commercial partner of The Buyer.

Australian wines paired with Aussie cricketers

Australian wine, like their cricketers, will bowl you over

With the Aussies arriving for a T20 series this September, here's a selection of Laithwaites wines that match the players perfectly

Geoffrey Dean 6 August 2024 • 2:00pm

Travis Head's a premium player deserving of a premium wine like Coco Rotie, and there's plenty more perfect pairings to be found this summer Credit: Getty

Classic shotmakers

D’Arenberg Thunderstep Shiraz 2021 (£23): from one of South Australia’s best-known producers, D’Arenberg, this premium-quality Shiraz from McLaren Vale is rich, opulent and complex. Seductive notes of blackberries, boysenberries and plums along with silkily smooth tannins. Notable concentration and length.

MOST LIKE: Josh Inglis. The 29-year old Leeds-born wicketkeeper-batsman, whose parents emigrated to Australia when he was a boy, is as classy as the wine, being blessed with a top-notch attacking game (his strike-rate is a fearsome 152 in his 21 T20 internationals).

RedHeads Coco Rotie 2021 (£16.99): the brainchild of Tony Laithwaite, RedHeads was founded in South Australia to allow winemakers to produce small-batch premium wines with individuality, personality and character. This Syrah, with a dash of Viognier added, has all three in spades. Made from old-vine Barossa Valley fruit, it is deep purple in colour, with lifted vanilla and smoky aromas, as well as alluring blackberry and dark chocolate notes alongside some floral hints from the Viognier.

MOST LIKE: Travis Head. So many layers to this exciting wine, just like the South Australian with his multitude of different attacking shots. A premium wine for a top batsman.

Tscharke Shiraz Shiraz Shiraz 2021 (£19.99): so good they named it thrice. A sumptuous blend from three vineyards on some of the oldest soils in the Barossa Valley. Enticing red and black fruit, with soft tannins, some spicy undertones and a fresh, savoury and persistent finish.

MOST LIKE: Cameron Green. Its three quality sources of fruit mirror the West Australian all-rounder’s ability as a batsman, bowler and gully fielder.

Shiraz Shiraz Shiraz is a wine made from three vineyards and matches all-rounder Cameron Green Credit: Getty

Big hitters

The Great Bonza Reserve 2021 (£14.99): a lip-smacking blend of 75 per cent Shiraz and 25 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, made by John Quarisa from several vineyards in South Eastern Australia. It’s full-bodied and full-flavoured, with red cherry, plum and blackcurrant notes.

MOST LIKE: Mitchell Marsh. As powerful and full-bodied as the strapping Australian T20 captain, who hits the ball a country mile.

The Black Stump Durif/Shiraz 2022 (£12.99): another irresistible South Eastern Australian blend, made by Aussie winemaking legend Alan Kennett. Durif, the majority grape, has long flourished in Victoria, and gives off spicy, dark berry aromas. Notes on the palate of blackberry, liquorice and dark chocolate as well as black pepper. A really voluptuous wine with velvety tannins.

MOST LIKE: Marcus Stoinis. A spicy wine with the same power and length as the muscular New South Welshman.

A powerful wine, Black Stump brings to mind the muscular prowess of Marcus Stoinis Credit: Alamy

RedHeads Night of the Living Red 2022 (£24): another beauty from RedHeads made up of Durif, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga from the Barossa Valley. A powerful and spicy blend with lovely fruit, ample freshness and firm but beautifully integrated tannins. And a label that takes your breath away.

MOST LIKE: Tim David. A powerful wine to match the dual Singaporean-Australian national’s full-throttled approach to batting.

No-nonsense all-rounders

Willy Willy Shiraz 2022: lots of structure in this medium to full-bodied single varietal, made by Bob Berton, with intensely flavoured red and black fruit. 

MOST LIKE: Aaron Hardie. Very approachable wine with great potential, just like the 25-year old all-rounder from Western Australia, who has played for Surrey and was a very popular figure at the Kia Oval. 

Gold Top Chardonnay Limestone Coast 2022 (13.99): from fruit grown near the idyllic coastal town of Robe, three hours’ drive south of Adelaide, this is a rich, buttery Chardonnay that went through partial malolactic fermentation, a process used to combine freshness with richness. Apricot notes, with hints of peaches and cream, are enhanced by fresh acidity.

MOST LIKE: Nathan Ellis. Lots of complex and subtle notes in this Chardonnay – not unlike the T20 specialist pace bowler with his skilful, well-concealed variations. Ellis, who celebrates his 30th birthday a week after the T20 series ends, also has a good economy rate of 7.77 per over in his 17 T20 international appearances from Ellis.

Trimboli Family Reserve Black Duck Durif 2023 (£15.49): an alluring wine from New South Wales, where Sam Trimboli made it from vines planted in the 1980s. A renowned fan of Durif, he describes it as “a stunning little powerhouse grape that develops astounding complexity.” Some time spent in American oak has given it hints of coconut and vanilla to complement its full body and layers of spicy fruit.

MOST LIKE: Ellyse Perry. A powerhouse of a wine to go with the superstar of the Australia women's team. And both come from the same state. The 33-year old all-rounder from Sydney, who has also represented her country at football 18 times, has so many dimensions to her game, just like the wine.

McPherson Full Fifteen Classic Red sparkling (£14.99): a left-field selection to finish with, in the form of Andrew ‘Big Mac’ McPherson’s sparkling Cabernet and Shiraz blend from Nagambie Lakes in Victoria. His still red wines have proved hugely popular over the years, and this lively carbonated bubbly, is clean and dry with ripe fruit flavours and hints of spice. It is 14% abv and goes well with charcuterie or gamey dishes.  

MOST LIKE: Alyssa Healy. A characterful bubbly to match the irrepressible wicketkeeper-batter, who is also current captain of the Australia women's team. Married to fast bowler Mitchell Starc, as well as being the niece of Test great Ian Healy, she has made 153 T20 international appearances.

Captain of the Australia women's team, Alyssa Healy is a character paired with Full Fifteen Credit: Getty

Wily bowlers

RedHeads Harmonie Rox Chardonnay 2022 (£15.99): RedHeads’ determination to search far and wide for quality fruit in South Australia took them to a Cabernet Sauvignon heartland, Coonawarra. Local grower, Jack Burston, showed how good Chardonnay can be in this region. Made from the Mendoza clone, it has delightful nectarine and lemon pith notes, with vibrant acidity and a subtle and well-judged oak influence.

MOST LIKE: Josh Hazlewood. A wine of quality that’s a match for the New South Wales fast bowler with his clever changes of pace. 

Josh Hazlewood's quality bowling is a match for the fruity notes found in Harmonie Rox Credit: Getty

V-on-Yay Viognier 2023 (£11.99): just like wrist-spinners, this is unconventional with its wacky brand name based on the French pronunciation of the Rhone grape, Viognier, that most Aussies struggle to get right. From fruit in the Riverina region of South Australia, this is a very drinkable example of this varietal, with bright tropical notes and hints of peach, apricot and spice. The grape can be high in alcohol and low in acidity, but this wine is well-balanced and a delight to drink.

MOST LIKE: Adam Zampa. As wacky and unconventional a wine as the cunning leggie, whose variation foxes so many batsmen.

Make your selection for the summer of cricket at laithwaites.co.uk

Borsa Vini Italiani tasting 2024

How diversity of Italian wine was championed at Borsa Vini Italiani

The breadth and depth of Italian wine was once again on show at the annual Borsa Vini Italiani event in London in early June. Aimed at allowing attendees a chance to gain further insights into Italy’s diverse wine production and terroir it had a particular focus, this year, on lesser known grape varieties with two of the three masterclasses centred around ‘obscure’ grapes – perfect for the sommelier or importer looking for niche wines. Geoffrey Dean reports.

23rd July 2024by Geoffrey Dean

As a well-established date in the trade’s tasting calendar, Borsa Vini Italiani (BVI) is invariably well-attended, and this year’s edition was no exception. Its organisers, the Italian Trade Agency, likes to rotate the venue to keep it fresh, and while this year’s choice was the solid but unspectacular Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster, you could hardly say that about the wines on show and the setup that ITA designed. Over 200 were on show from 41 producers (all but two seeking UK distribution) in 13 key regions - namely Abruzzo, Apulia, Calabria, Campania, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, Tuscany, Sardinia, Sicily, Umbria and Veneto.

The length and breadth of Italy, therefore, and a wonderfully diverse selection of labels to lure the many buyers, sommeliers, off-trade representatives et alia who pitched up. “New business partnerships”, as ITA London director Giovanni Sacchi puts it, is what BVI is all about, and while one can only speculate about the extent of those, those who attended were able to delve into many of the scores of indigenous grape varieties Italy has - the most of any country with 377 registered varieties to its name, a long way ahead of France in second place on 204.

Perhaps the more obscure varieties are the place to start, because two of the three masterclasses were ‘Family Estates: Unveiling lesser-known regions’ (by John Downes MW) and ‘Unknown Italy: white wines from the South’ (by Walter Speller, editor Italy for JancisRobinson.com). By way of contrast, the third was ‘International grapes in Italy’ (by Patrick Schmitt MW).

Lorenzo Pesolillo

Speller picked out a delightful Pecorino Superiore from the Pesolillo winery in Abruzzo DOC, whose joint owner Lorenzo Pesolillo I made a point of seeking out. This is precisely the sort of small family-owned set-up that BVI is designed to help when it comes to finding a UK importer. Three brothers are involved - Lorenzo (exports), Luca (winemaker) and Marco (admin) - with father Giuseppe the viticulturist (his father having founded the winery in 1961). Organically-farmed vines at 200 metres close to the Adriatic Sea have produced a fresh wine with aromas of white flowers and notes of peach and pear, with hints of salinity and minerality. Annual production of around 50,000 bottles (also featuring Montepulciano and Passerina) was taken up entirely by the Italian market until two years ago when the family ventured into export markets that now include Canada, Mexico, Switzerland and Germany. “Now we like to get into the UK,” Lorenzo told me.

Ciro Verde

Across the other side of Italy, just outside Naples, and only 12km from Mount Vesuvius, can be found another impressive family-owned winery - that of Il Quarto Miglio (or ‘Fourth Mile’ as per the Roman unit of measurement). Winemaker Ciro Verde has the pleasure of crafting his wines from vines on their own roots, on what is ‘super volcanic’ soil, as he describes it. His appetising Macchia Blanco Falanghina Riserva 2018, made from Campania’s signature white grape, saw six hours of skin contact to provide weight, and has aged beautifully, retaining its freshness and stone fruit notes. His single varietal Piedirosso 2022, the second most planted black grape in Campania after Aglianico, also showed well, with its medium body, red fruit and soft tannins. Delitalia import the wines.

Antonietta Luongo of Ocone

Fellow Campania producer, Ocone, unfurled a very drinkable 12% abv sparkling Aglianico, named Alalunga Vino Spumante di Qualita Sannio 2021. “We make 7,500 bottles of this by the Charmat method, but have a traditional method version with 36 months on the lees being released before Christmas,” export manager Antonietta Luongo said. “We export to North America, Asia, Europe and would like to add UK, where we were with Berkmann previously.” Just over a third of the company’s annual production, which is around 180,000 bottles, is exported, with its premium Vigna del Monaco 2021 label another fine Falanghina from the sought-after Taburno sub-region, where their vines are planted up to 600 metres.

Michele & Andrea Bruno of Boccafolle di Balbia

Another of Speller’s shrewd selections was Boccafolle di Balbia in the Calabria town of Mottafollone. This intriguing little winery with five hectares under vine only deals in ancient indigenous varietals such as Greco Nero & Bianco, the black grape Magliocco and, rarest of all, Vujno. The latter, used in their Donna Elena white blend, was ‘completely unknown’ until last year when it was finally permitted as a varietal, according to Michele Bruno, whose family owns the winery. Pear and quince are its principal descriptors, which complement the herb and lemon notes of the other grape in the blend, Pecorino.

Bruno and his first cousin, Andrea, who happens to be one of Real Madrid’s lawyers, were at BVI in the hope of establishing a market in the UK. How had they done, I asked at the end of the tasting? “We’ve made some good contacts with sommeliers, and some hotel chains and distributors are showing interest,” Michele declared. “We mostly export, with 80% going to the United States where I used to live.” The approachable Melara 2022 label (85% Magliocco from 65-year old vines) belied the varietal’s reputation for overt tannins, being only 12.5% abv.

Talking of lower alcohol wines, the Nebbiolo producer, Bosio Family Estates, attracted praise from Beans Boughton MW, buyer for Alliance Wine. “These guys are into low alcohol,” Boughton mused, although none of their low abv labels were available for tasting. “I think their red wines are the best I’ve tasted at 11%, because they’re using innovative techniques to get there, using specific yeasts. From my perspective, their Barbaresco and Barolo are the sort of wines that could work for us, and maybe the Barbera, but we already have a lot of producers who do these, but not so many with such good value-to-price ratio as here.”

Angelica Zorzettig of Il Roncal

Also offering excellent value for money was Friuli winery, Il Roncal, which has 20 hectares of terraced vineyards on Colle Montebello, close to the UNESCO world heritage site town of Cividale del Friuli. Refreshing Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc labels were complemented by some enticing Schioppettino, the black grape indigenous to the region. Deeply-coloured yet medium-bodied, its violet-scented aromas gave way to black pepper and spicy notes on a long finish.

Barbara Ruppel of Castello del Trebbio

Another lesser-known red variety, Ciliejolo, whose spiritual home is Tuscany, made up a 50:50 split with Canaiolo in a very quaffable blend made by Chianti producer, Castello del Trebbio, which gained biodynamic certification last year. “It’s an easy-drinking, mid-market IGT Toscana wine with a very nice balance between acidity and fruit that you can try chilled,” export manager Barbara Ruppel said. “Ellis of Richmond imports our other two brands in Maremma and Sardinia, but we are looking for distribution here.” Ciliejolo means ‘cherry’ in Italian, notes of which were apparent.

Bernadetta Battistini of Empson

Reverting to mainstream varieties, Empson & Co, a leading exporter of fine Italian wines worldwide, is looking for UK distribution for two of their brands: Toscolo in Chianti and Jankara in Sardinia. The latter’s Vermentino di Gallura Superiore DOCG 2023 showed particularly well, with Empson’s export manager, Bernadetta Battistini, extolling its virtues.

“It is very good Vermentino,which retails in Italy for between €30-35,” she said. “It benefits from granitic soils and very fresh winds from the sea.” She revealed the muscular Jankara Cannonau di Sardegna DOC 2020, produced from vines at 700 metres and compared stylistically by Schmitt in his masterclass to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, had impressed Ed Fairfax of importer Waud Wines.

Barbara & Luca Cruciani of Casa Lucciola

Talking of Italian white varietals, one small winery that makes nothing but Verdicchio caught the eye - Casa Lucciola in the Marche region, longtime home of the grape. Owner-winemaker Luca Cruciani farms four hectares organically at 430m on clay and limestone soils in the Matelica Valley.

“He lost his mind 25 years ago and planted vines,” wife Barbara joked. The couple produce five Verdicchio labels with some very appealing fruit and notable freshness (RRP in Italy €13-21).” It is the grape of our territory and does very well in our terroir, with a continental climate.” Luca said. “We select the best grapes to produce approximately 12,000 bottles.”

By contrast, Muratori produces up to 500,000 bottles per annum of Franciacorta from 50 hectares, which is available through Boutique Brands. “It’s been selling well here, and is an emerging category, so very exciting,” Tommy Harrigan, one of the importer’s buyers, said. “Muratori has vines in each of the six areas of Franciacorta, so gets all different soil types. The Brut NV is the most popular style we have - very user-friendly.” Three other labels were on view, including an excellent zero dosage 100% Chardonnay.

Sebastian Vismara of Gloria

Finally, a quirky SKU to end with. A company named Gloria d’Italia, founded by Sebastian Vismara, is producing 25cl cans of carbonated spritzer made up of 55% Pinot Grigio (Trentino fruit), 35% water and 10% apple juice (5.5% abv). Vibrant acidity balances residual sugar of 12g/l.

“It’s been on the market for six months now - just in Australia where my co-founder Pierro lives and where it’s done well in bottle shops, pubs, hotels and cocktail bars,” Vismara said. “There is a huge trend for ready-to-drink products, and we’re looking for distribution in the US and UK. We’re aiming to sell 30,000 cans this year [RRP AU$8, or £4], and have done half that already, and can increase production to half a million a year . Sale price to distributors is £1.”

* (source: the ‘Wine Grapes’ bible by the prophets Harding, Robinson and Vouillamoz).

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.