Why you should choose organic, biodynamic and natural wines, as a response to the terrible events of 2020 and the pandemic. And just to inspire you, Simon selects five discoveries made in 2020 that put a big smile on his face and made him refill his glass.
Review: Richard Mayson – The Wines of Portugal
Simon reviews Richard Mayson’s new book The Wines of Portugal, published by Infinite Ideas (The Classic Wine Library) on November 12th 2020.
Georgia’s new age of amber
Simon takes a look at the extraordinary expansion in traditional qvevri winemaking in Georgia. What does it mean for quality, and how do you know what’s really in the bottle? With some notes about the OIV’s new skin macerated white wine category, which should help Georgia to classify its output more precisely.
Gratavinum – 2πr 2018
What’s spellbinding about this wine is the acidity and the freshness – and at 15% alcohol. Yes, it’s Priorat and it’s a big wine, but so nimble and full of tension. Packed with redcurrant and raspberry, hints of cacao and woodsmoke. Impressively fruit focused. 45% Garnatxa, 30% Carinyena, 9% Syrah, 6% Cabernet. This winery is
Dominio Romano – Dominio Romano 2015
Smoky and dark fruited on the nose, this has the same joyful red fruit as its little brother the Camino – but here there’s a lot more structure, more “seriousness”, plus wonderful acidity and mineral energy. That feeling of sappy and playful strawberry and raspberry fruit is still there, but here wrapped around a more
Gratavinum – Silvestris 2018
Super ripe, with some meaty, animal notes and a hint of iodine and iron. Big and concentrated, but with Carignan’s trademark sour twang and funkiness. A bit smoky and dusty as it opens up to the finish, but overall a great wine showing lots of regional and varietal typicity. 85% Carignan and 15% Syrah. Fermented
Fio Wine (Dirk & Daniel Niepoort, Philipp Kettern) – JoJo Orange Wine 2019
Lively, citrussy, with some passion fruit and white grapefruit. Fairly youthful, simple stuff, with some fermentation aromas and a slight grassiness. Lean and nervy, with a nice suggestion of structure – fine tannins on the finish. A bit short.
Douloufakis – Vidiano Amphora 2019
Noticeably oxidative on the nose, with caramel and nuts. Rather flat and featureless on the palate, with some cooked fruits. There’s some sweet apricot, apple tart and a slight saltiness on the finish. But overall this lacks excitement, and the alcohol sticks out on the finish. 3 months in amphora, no sulphites, no filtration.
Vignobles Pueyo – Hellébore 2017
Ripe and inviting on the nose, full of quince, ripe pear and a hint of red grapefuit. The tannins are soft and really nicely resolved (in comparison to the much more grippy 2018), and the fruit just lasts and lasts on the finish. Really nice mineral expression and a fine seam of salty acidity that
Dominio Romano – Camino Romano 2018
I started salivating already with the nose of this wine – it’s slightly bloody, with cranberry and a slight toastiness. Super juicy strawberry fruit, with a smoky, earthy hint, gorgeous acidity and bright red berry fruit, topped off with sappy, soft tannins. Effortlessly balanced and elegant. This is how wonderful Tempranillo – or Tinto Fino