I’ve decided not to stop drinking. But hear me out, please. Come the first week of January, social media timelines (and specifically my twitter feed) fill up with discussions about the pros and cons of #dryjanuary. The world seems to be split between those who revel in its sanctimony, and those who deride the idea
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Škegro – Krš Crni Blatina 2016
A very lightly oaked, fresh style of Blatina, showing its pretty black cherry fruit and lip smacking acids. There are some subtle herbal, savoury aromas on the nose – a little bit of development, which adds some depth to what would otherwise be a fairly simple, youthful style. Nicely done and a great introduction to
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Škegro – Carsus Blatina 2015
Blatina is one of Herzegovina’s only indigenous red grape varieties. It’s a delicate and charming creature, and absolutely does not deserve to be smothered in oak as it is here. I can just about tell that there is some nice acidity, but the fruit character is totally hidden, which is a great shame. Škegro’s regular
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Jan Matthias Klein – Kiss Kiss Maddie’s Lips (Purple Rain Edition) 2018
A roughly disgorged ‘pet nat’ style (natural fermentation completed in the bottle) from 100% Regent. Very deep, and indeed purple colour, still with some fine lees and sediment. Very lively, fresh crunchy fruit with a subtle earthiness. Youthful and fun, nothing that needs serious thought but a great natural glugger with refreshingly modest alcohol. A
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Jan Matthias Klein – Sam Jan Guy 2018
Another collaboration from Jan Matthias, this time with visiting Aussie winemaker Sam Guy Renzaglia. Riesling with 72 hours of pre-fermentation cold soak, and then the lees and the juice were separated. The lees were fermented in demi-johns and then added back to the juice later. Herbal and a bit developed on the nose – ie:
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Jan Matthias Klein – Papa Panda’s Rising 2018
This is a new collaboration from Jan Matthias – The Mosel’s reigning natural wine king! Both he and Polish winemaker colleague (and neighbour – also in Mosel) Andrzej Greszta each fermented a foudre of Riesling, with no additions and allowing malolactic to take place. The end results were blended together and this is the wine.
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Škegro – Krš Orange Žilavka 2017
One of only two orange wines made in Bosnia-Herzegovina, at least as far as I know. Bariša Škegro’s 2015 orange (first vintage of this wine, reviewed here) was an enjoyable rustic style, but this 2017 really steps up a notch. Initially a bit tight and marmite-like on the nose, it needs a bit of oxygen
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Jan Matthias Klein – Orange Utan 2018
Jan’s first try at a “proper” orange wine (Little Bastard has always had a small percentage of skin fermented in the blend). It didn’t entirely convince me. The one third of Gelber Muskateller (AKA Yellow Muscat) doesn’t really make its presence known – that wonderful aromatic lift is missing. There are some subtle spicy aromas,
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Jan Matthias Klein – Little Red Riding Wolf 2018
This unfiltered, no added sulphites Pinot Noir is a fascinating comparison with Jan’s more “classic” Pinot (bottled under the Staffelter Hof label). Here the aromas are way more earthy and even a touch feral (I would hesitate to say bretty, I don’t think this is), but the palate is really clean and lively, with wild
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Jan Matthias Klein – Little Bastard 2018
Originally conceived as a cheaper, more easygoing companion to “Madcap Magnus”, Jan’s first foray into natural winemaking, this blend has taken off in its own right. Superbly lively and a little bit spritzy straight out of the bottle. You can feel the acid kick of the Riesling, but there is texture too – half the