Innovative and always experimenting, the guys at Cantina Indigeno are obsessed with making primal/wild wines.

Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts without temperature control. Skin contact for 8 days in open vats, followed by ageing on the lees for 8 months in fiberglass tanks.

Foggy orange-gold in colour, very aromatic with grapefruit, lemon zest, sea spray, musk, baked pear, clover honey, wildflowers.

Lightening tanginess and racy acidity fuse with apple, lemon, grapefruit and nectarine.

Nuttiness accents the saline mineral finish.

Cantina Indigeno ‘Bianco’ Vino Bianco 2020

 Innovative and always experimenting, the guys at Cantina

𝑫𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊 𝑻𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒊, 2018

📍Castiglione Falletto, Barolo, Piemonte, Italy🇮🇹

First time tasting a Derthona. Lovely wine offering aromas of kiwi, quince, melon rind, raw white mushrooms, marzipan, chamomile  and mild petrol, resin and beeswax. There’s a mild scent of white flowers and a nice mineral touch of wet sea stones.

The wine is dry, medium-bodied and has a refreshing acidity on the palate. It brings notes of fresh pear, green gooseberry, kiwi, tangerine, ginger, stones from peach and cherry and green bitter salad.

* Grapes are harvested from vineyards located around the town of Monleale in Colli Tortonesi DOC.

* Fermentation takes place in steel tanks, ceramic containers and wooden casks.

* Aged 10 months in steel tanks, ceramic containers and wooden barrels on the lees - frequent batonnage.

The area of Colli Tortonesi DOC (eastern Piemonte) is most famous for wines based on Barbera, but the ancient, and almost extinct, variety of Timorasso is gaining a lot of attention these years. A real cult variety for those who know it.

Wines labeled as "Derthona", which is the traditional name (in the local dialect) for the town of Tortona, after which the Colli Tortonesi DOC is named, are always made by 95-100% Timorasso.

Walter Massa might be the main figure when it comes to the rise of Timorasso, but for sure giants from Barolo (like Vietti, La Spinetta and Borgogno) are helping to spread the “news” with their recently achieved vines.

 ⭐️90/100⭐️ 𝑫𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊 𝑻𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒊, 2018 📍Castiglione

𝑬𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒃 “𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆” 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒏, 2018

📍Traben-Trarbach, Mosel, Germany🇩🇪

The wine was decanted a few hours before first test.

Very dark and golden color - probably from the late harvested grapes and the tiny maceration.

The aromas are powerful and delicate, offering ripe pear, lemon peel, beeswax, baked lemon, mild petrol, old eraser, dark honey, lemon wine gum, wet and smoky stones and lees.

On the palate, the wine is rich and creamy (not heavy) with a sick acidity to balance the body. Ripe pomelo, nectarine, lemon peel, a mild green bitterness, lemon verbena, honey (without being sweet) and white wine gum. Very fine minerality, lots of salt and a hint of salmiak in the finish.

• Hand-harvested from the famous and steep Enkircher Ellergrub vineyard

• Naturally fermented in 8-year-old barrique

This is the first Ellergrub “Reserve” wine from Weiser-Künstler, and probably the last for a long time, since it was kind of a (happy) accident. In the very hot vintage of 2018, Konstantin Weiser and Alexandra Künstler were waiting and waiting for the humidity causing the botrytis - but it never came. The vines were actually ment to be used for an Ellergrub Auslese, but instead, the overripe and very sweet grapes (still in perfect condition) resulted in a dry Riesling Reserve with high alcohol for its kind.

Konstantin and Alexandra started the winery in 2005, and quickly they were on the lips of the biggest international wine personalities. They farm a little morethan 4 ha of Riesling, all biodynamic and with a low amount of sulfur.

 ⭐️91/100⭐️ 𝑬𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒃 “𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆” 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒏, 2018

𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒖𝒙 𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒔, 2016

To a start, the nose had some matchstick, yeasty and croissant-like notes backed by some yellow apple. It opened up and offered fresh citrus, lemon peel, apricot, wax, honey, dried ginger and roasted nuts. Some smokey, stony and oystershell notes.

The palate is medium-bodied, tight and with a crispy and sharp acidity, that rounded over some time making it perfectly balanced. Ripe red apple, dried pear, lemon and red grapefruit, pickled ginger, fennel and walnut. Long finish, quite salt and super mineral.

• Hand-harvested from the famous Grass terroir

• 24 months in French oak barrels (small and big)

Kenjiro Kagami is very highly spoken and pretty much on every Jura-lovers’ lips. Everything about this domaine is small, except for prices and the international demand.

The name ‘Miroirs’ itself is both a play on his name in Japanese and he believes in an expression of the “Mirror” between himself, the wines and the terroir.

 ⭐️93+/100⭐️ 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒖𝒙 𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒔, 2016 📍Côtes du Jura, Jura

𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒎, 2018

Umbria might not be the biggest and most famous appellation in Italy, but with many upcoming names focusing on biodynamics and low intervention wines, the future seems bright.

Fongoli, run by Letizia and Angelo, has worked organically since the beginning of the winery’s history in 1927. Their portfolio of wines range from the more classic to the more juicy and “fun” wines - all made with care and nature in mind.

• The local Trebbiano Spoletino, used here, is distinct from Trebbiano Toscano by, most often, producing wine with a richer texture and more overt and deep fruit and having a less bright acidity.

• Spontaneous fermentation in open vats

• Aged in steel tanks for a few months on the lees

The aromas are very expressive. Heavy and fresh at the same time, offering notes of warm apple juice, tangerine peel, canned peaches, dried apricot, mango puré, honey and chamomile with hints of spray painting, sweet liquorice and asphalt.

The palate in rich with fine grained tannins and a medium acidity and a prickling minerality. Nice crunchy mouth feeling.

Semidried apricot, bitter orange jam, grilled pineapple, pepper and herbs on the tongue. Walnut and salt on the finish.

Nice, but gets a bit mousy pretty quick, though.

 ⭐️88+/100⭐️ 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒎, 2018 📍Montefalco, Umbria, Italy🇮🇹 🍇

𝑮𝒆𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒎 𝑶𝒑𝒐𝒌, 2018

In the village of Leutschach in southern Steiermark (Styria), Maria and Sepp own 10 hectares of vineyards - all farmed biodynamically and organically (Demeter certified since 2003).

Sepp took over the vineyards from his father in 2000, but the estate’s history dates back to 1727, which is one of the main reasons for the many old vines.

Their vineyards are located on steep hills (400 meters altitude) mainly on soil locally known as “Opok”. It looks like slate but is in fact a rare mix of clay, limestone and silt. Opok is one of the key elements for the characteristics of Muster’s wines, according to Sepp.

* Spontaneous fermentation in 2400 liter oval wooden barrels with indigenous yeast

* Bottled without fining or filtration, no sulfur added.

After a bit of air, light aromas of green apple, lime and lemon peel, fennel, applecider vinegar and a touch of green olives came out the glass.

On the tongue, the wine has got a medium body with high acidity.

Green gooseberry (sour and sweet), lemon juice, green apple and pickled ginger and fresh green bell pepper. It’s very mineral in the finish - salt(!) and beach stones.

 ⭐️89/100⭐️ 𝑮𝒆𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒎 𝑶𝒑𝒐𝒌, 2018 📍Steiermark

🙋🏻‍♂️ Have you tried Falanghina before?

ℹ️ This wine is 💯 Falanghina from the Campi Flegrei area located on the coast of Campania, Italy. The grapes are from a vineyard situated on a peninsula that juts into the sea. The soils are volcanic and sandy with a Southwest exposition. The grapes are organically farmed. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats. The wine aged on the lees for six months then was bottled and aged an additional year before release.

👃 Medium+ intensity on the nose. Aromas of ripe tangerine, kumquat, green papaya, orange blossom, steeliness (almost petrol), and sea breeze.

👄 The wine is dry, medium+ acidity, medium alcohol (13%), and medium body. A medium length finish of saltiness and citrus zest.

🔔Southern Italian white wines can be exciting, and this is a great example. Falanghina's expression can vary greatly depending on where in Campania, it is grown. There is a lip-smacking nature to this wine that comes from this salty, almost briny note on the palate. Think of a salted orange gummy bear. Good acidity, moderate alcohol, and a wonderfully unique fruit profile. 2015 is not the current release, but it is fun to try this wine with a few years of age.

 2015 Poggio La Noce - Bàja Falanghina

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐚 (𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐨 & 𝐆𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐢) 𝒁𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒐 𝑩𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐, 2014

📍Pantalleria, Terre Siciliane, Italy🇮🇹

🍇 100% Zibibbo (Muscat d’Alexandria)

In a former life Gabrio Bini was an eccentric architect in Milan. Now, he’s a an eccentric winemaker in a very eccentric place: the tiny volcanic island of Pantelleria, located just south—west of Sicily.

Since the foundation of Serragghia in 2000, Gabrio has become a legend - a cult figure when it comes to natural wine - because of his skills in the toughest natural environment, and because of his personality. Today, Gabrio and his son Giotto run the winery together.

+60 years old bush vines located on some of the highest vineyards on the island - extreme sun exposure balanced with the cool breeze from the ocean and the altitude. The vineyards have never seen any chemicals, are biodynamically farmed and tended by hand and horse

• Aged 7 months on the skin in Spanish amphoras, that are buried in the vineyards, and a few months in the bottle.

• Unfined, unfiltered and no added sulphur.

Wow!!! Extremely expressive on the nose and very tropical, offering notes of grilled mango and pineapple, orange oil, dried papaya, canned peach, dried apricot, rosemary and some undefinable herbs and a smoked/burnt scent.

The palate is almost vulgarly rich and “warm” with silky soft tannins and medium(+) acidity. On the tongue; sweet/sour unfiltered apple juice, kumquats in syrup, mango, passion fruit, candied citrus, almonds and yeast. The finish is long with lots of minerality - mainly salt.

 ⭐️92+/100⭐️ 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐚 (𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐨 & 𝐆𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐢) 𝒁𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒐 𝑩𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐

𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐮 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔, 2012

Dom. Francois Raveneau, arguably the most celebrated estate of Chablis, was establish in 1948. After WWII, the economy in Chablis was in bad condition and the region was hit by phylloxera, so many wineries sold off parcels. Francois saw the potential and secured himself af few parcels here and the on some of the best 1er and Grand Crus in Chablis (approx. 9he in total)

The exceptional Raveneaus are a combination of the greatest holdings, low yield and quality consistency.

Francois passed away in 1995, and today, François’ sons, Bernard and Jean-Marie, direct the domaine with their father’s philosophy in both the vineyards and the cellar.

* The pressed juice is left to settle, and then racked off its lees into cuve to ferment.

* Elevation: 18 months in older oak barrel and feuillette (a local barrel size holding 114-132 liters)

Extremely clean expression of Chardonnay!

Expressive aromas of ripe pear, yellow apple, dandelion, mild soured cream, lemon curd, freshly cut Meyer lemon, white flowers, flint, seashell and a slightly waxy touch.

The palate is medium-bodied with great acidity. Crispy and milky at the same time. Peach, baked apple, lemon zest and juice, almond and “unsalted parmesan”. Long finish with huge minerality - salt and chalky.

 ⭐️92/100⭐️ 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐮 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔, 2012 📍Chablis

Emiliano Giorgio and Arcangelo Galuppi passionately save old, abandon vineyards with native grapes in the Amaseno River valley of Lazio, in between Rome and Naples.

40 year old vines are in clay/limestone soils. Spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts, about 5 days skin maceration, aged in stainless steel on the fine lees for 10 months. Unfined, unfiltered, no added SO2

Mango, peach, apricot, rose petal, lemongrass, green apple, drizzle of caramel flanked by green tea tannins and citrus acidity.

Ginger, pink grapefruit, nectarine and almond linger between each sunny sip. Vivid and zippy.

 Emiliano Giorgio and Arcangelo Galuppi passionately save

Riesling Spätlese “Herxheimer Himmelreich”, 2011

12th generation of Petri winemakers are running this old winery located in the village of Herxheim am Berg in one of the 13 Anbaugebiete (wine growing regions) of Germany called Pfalz (the Palatine region), where they cultivate 21 hectares of vines. The business is dating back to 1655, when the Petris arrived from Tyrol working as barrel makers before starting the winemaking.

Ever since, the focus has been on environment-friendly cultivation with no chemicals in the vineyards and only harvest by hand to secure the health and natural development of their agricultural areas.

The wine undergo slow fermentation on steel to preserve the Riesling’s precious characteristics before maturation in big 80 years old wooden barrels of 3000 liters to gain some more complexity and balance the structure.

This wine’s aromas are what Riesling dreams are made of.

It brings notes of ripe pear and candied ginger followed by white fresh mushrooms, nice hints of old eraser or tennis balls and melted plastic, acacia honey and lemon peel and some nice petrol starting to show muscles without taking over yet.

The palate is oily, off-dry and fresh offering lovely notes of peach, dried apricot, lemon peel and mild honey. The balance between the sweetness and the acidity is just lovely.

I’ve been working with these wines for some years having tried most of their portfolio from different vintages. They all show fine quality, but this exact one (with this age) is the best experience I’ve had from Petri. For the price, their wines are really nice, btw.

If you’re ever searching for these wines, the labels have changed quite a lot, but the (aged) content doesn’t disappoint.

 ⭐️87/100⭐️ Weingut Petri Riesling Spätlese “Herxheimer

𝑰𝒅𝒅𝒂 𝑩𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐, 2019

My first try from the new joint venture between world famous “Mr. Barbaresco”, Angelo Gaja, and Alberto Graci from Graci on Etna, who joined forces to produce wines on the south facing slopes of Mount Etna with their first vintage released in 2017 - Idda Etna Rosso. First release of the Bianco was 2018.

The name, Idda (meaning “she” in Sicilian), is also the name the locals have given to Mount Etna – the Sicilians attribute a female nature to the mountain: a strict yet generous mother.

The grapes are harvested from 4 ha. organically grown plots located in the altitude of 700-800 meters amsl.

Whole bunch pressed and fermented in a combination of 10 hl. oak barrels and steel tanks, followed by 12 months in same kind of containers.

I know nothing about the label design, but I think it might be Etna seen from above...(?).

The nose is very expressive and in great harmony offering fruity aromas of ripe peach, grape fruit, banana peel, honeydew and tropical wine gums followed by greener notes of cress, fennel, freshly mowed lawn and pressed white flowers. It’s all complimented by a sick volcanic minerality (slightly smoky) and chalky quarry. The oak brings a nice buttery and Pecorino-like element.

The palate is medium-bodied, dry, soft and round with a crispy “crescendo-acidity” (gradually increasing in the mouth) offering fresh peach, lemon juice, mild malo, cress, white pepper, grass with salt and a hint of salmiak in the, very long, finish.

Summarized, this wine shows great balance of fruit, malo and minerality with a nice perfumed touch. Delicious on its own, but would be sick with fresh seafood. Complex and harmonious.

 ⭐️91/100⭐️ 𝑰𝒅𝒅𝒂 𝑩𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐, 2019 📍Etna, Sicily, Italy 🇮🇹 🍇 100%

The Brutal wine cooperation (related to the cult Barcelona wine bar, Bar Brutal) is a loose cooperation of natural winemakers. To be “accepted” into the club, the winemaker has to make a “brutal” wine (in one way or another…) - super low intervention (natural) and only one barrel of it. It has to stand out as a funky or extreme wine - it can be some sort of experimental wine as well. In generel, the Brutal label looks the same, but in some cases, the winemaker is allowed to change the style a bit.

In this case, the rising start Johan Meyer’s “Mother Rock Brutal !” is vinified with 100% whole bunches of Chenin Blanc with 2 weeks of maceration in concrete egg.

The soils are granitic sands with Koffie Klip (iron-rich duricrust) over clay.

Compared with other Brutals I’ve had, this one’s less crazy but more approachable to most people (I guess). This is a juicy fruit bomb of a thirst-quencher. The nose is filled with heavy elderflower, pineapple, kiwi, apple, canned peach and a mild perfumed scent of sage and lychee. The palate is soft with medium+ acidity and a prickling minerality. Apple, canned pineapple, tangerine, white tea kombucha and white winegum on the tongue. Yes please - looking forward to next summer!

 ⭐️86/100⭐️ Mother Rock Brutal !, 2019 📍Swartland, South

📍Côte de Beaune, Bourgogne, France🇫🇷

Domaine Bouchard, established in 1731, is one of the oldest wineries in Bourgogne and also the largest owner of Premier- and Grand Crus in Côte d’Or with around 12 hectares of Grand Crus  and 74 hectares of 1er Crus. Besides this, they also buy high quality grapes.

Like almost all great wineries, this one has also had its ups and downs through the years. But especially after Joseph Henriot bought the estate back in 1995, the quality has risen enormously - especially with the modernisation of the winery in 2005.

A funny story, true or not, is that the vines of Corton-Charlemagne (named after Charles the Great, ruling from 768-814) required a part of the hill of Corton planted with Chardonnay, because red wine discolored his beard…

Their own vines have been organically cultivated since 2000 without certificate (applied for in 2020).

The Corton-Charlemagne is rested 13 months in French oak of 15% new ones (varies a bit depending on the vintage).

Very heavy aromas from this one! You can almost feel the fatness inside you nose. Elements of pineapple, yellow plum and apple, lemon curd, aged hard cheese, butterscotch, honey, candied ginger, smoke (from the btw very well integrated oak), buttercup, fresh yellow hay, minerality and mild menthol.

The palate is full-bodied with only medium(-) acidity. It’s a Chardonnay concentrate, almost oily in texture. Warm yellow fruits mixed with brioche, lemongrass, unsalted peanuts, honey and s nice (baking)spicy finish. The minerality is very fine, and together with the use of oak, quite a nice structure balances the general weight.

Picture from Enomania in September. Can’t wait for restaurants/bars to reopen🥺

 ⭐️92+/100⭐️ Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils Corton-Charlemagne

Domaine Rolet, founded in 1942, is a flagship winery from Jura and one of the largest and best reputed estates in the area. Today, it’s owned by three families (the Devillard, Flambert and Dupuis families) who want to combine the traditional (oxidized voile-vinification) and the modern (more classic fully topped barrel/tank vinification) Jura philosophy. Their wines also differs in style in order of classic, organic production and natural production.

They cover a wide range of classic Jura grape varieties, producing red, white, sparkling wines and Vin Jaune, a regional specialty (see earlier post), from 160 acres of vines in Arbois and Côtes de Jura.

l’Etoile is a small commune in Jura, from where the grapes for this wine are organically harvested.

The Chardonnay is vinified without oxidation to save some freshness, while the Savagnin is aged under voile (flor) to bring a super oxidative style. It’s aged 12 and 16 months in small old barrels before blending.

Beautiful first impression with the clear, golden amber/oxidized color. It’s got super expressive aromas of oxidation like brown windfallen apples, roasted nuts, burnt caramel, wet wood, fresh light honey, and orange peel. There’s a nice freshness to balance the oxidized aromas - a little weissbier-like with fresh hay, orange juice and elderflower. Then followed by a slight scent of top soil and white smoke. The palate is super dry yet smooth with a bit of bitternes matched by a medium acidity. Once again, windfallen yellow fruits are the base of the wine (dry Sherry-like), complimented by lemon peel, walnuts, cigar, burnt caramel, gingerbread, cinnamon and digestive biscuit. The minerality is pure and mouthwatering bringing some extra freshness to the wine. The finish is long with a salted touch.

 ⭐️90/100⭐️ Domaine Rolet Expression l’Etoile, 2013 📍Arbois

𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 (𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒔), 2020

📍Oggau am Neusiedler See, Burgenland, Austria🇦🇹

🍇 Field blend (should contain a lot of: Grüner Veltliner, Weissburgunder & Welschriesling)

Gut Oggau is a biodynamic wine project located in the small village of Oggau in Burgenland. Eduard and Stephanie Tscheppe began the project back in 2007, when they bought and restored a 17th century winery, that had been abandoned for more than 20 years - vineyards included. The vines were standing untouched as long as the winery, which was perfect, as that allowed the Tscheppes to immediately begin working biodynamically with their viticulture. Today, they are fully Demeter-certified and one of the most well known austrian natural wineries.

One of the newer family members; first vintage in 2018 from newly purchased vineyards (not Demeter certified yet, hence the name “Maskerade”, but still biodynamically cultivated).

The grapes are hand-harvested and destemmed.  Fermented with a few hours maceration in used 1000 and 1500-liter barrels (elevage in the same barrels for about 8 months with no batonnage).  Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with zero addition of sulfur.

The aromas are heavy and very expressive from the beginning with notes of mirabelle plum, apple juice, acacia honey, wet wood, elderflower juice, peach skin, dried apricot, yeast and sage.

The palate is rich and creamy with very low, but still slightly prickling, acidity offering nectarine, ripe pear, dried apricot, honey, tangerine and a hint of white pepper in the finish.

 ⭐️87/100⭐️ 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 (𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒔), 2020 📍Oggau am Neusiedler See

𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒚-𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒕 1𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒓𝒖 “𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔”, 1988

📍Puligny-Montrachet, Côte d’Or, Bourgogne, France🇫🇷

A tiny producer who’s only making a very small amount of white wine from very small holdings (e.g. 0,16 ha of Les Combettes). Only a Bourgogne Blanc, one Saint-Aubin, one Chassagne-Montrachet and four Puligny-Montrachet are produced.

I don’t know much about this winery. Not even, if it’s still in function.

“Les Combettes” is one of Puligny-Montrachet's most northerly Premier Cru climats. While not as steep as the vineyards higher on the hill, Les Combettes still benefits from a gentle slope, which gives it a good aspect to the morning sunlight, as well as good groundwater drainage.

Les Combettes are often considered as a kind of crossover between Puligny and Meursault, displaying features of both

Fermented in oak barrels and steel tanks, then matured in oak barrels (20-30% new) for 12-14 months.

This old fella is revealing some aged, plump and slightly oxidized aromas of brown windfallen apples (with a hint of fresh red apples too) caramel, dried apricot, red apple skin, dry hay, roasted nuts, honey, croissant and yeast. Smells like a flor-wine.

The palate is medium(+)-bodied with a smooth, vibrant acidity. It’s feels bone dry like a Fino Sherry in a bit odd way (probably because of the oxidation). Notes of vanilla poached pear, burnt caramel, orange peel, lemongrass, hay and wet stones.

Of course way past it’s peak and not very balanced, but still fun to taste. It reminds me of Fino Sherry and Vin Jaune. Drink these old whites with cheese.

 ⭐️87/100⭐️ 𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒚-𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒕 1𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒓𝒖 “𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔”, 1988

𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐬  𝑹𝒆́𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒖, 2014

📍Montigny-les-Arsures, Jura, France🇫🇷

After the Algerian war, Lucien Aviet established Caveau de Bacchus in 1960 located in Montigny-les-Arsures (just next to Arbois) in Jura. He went against the Chardonnay-trend and chose to focus mainly on Savagnin and Trousseau - today reputed as one of the best Trousseau-producers of the region.

Today, Lucien is retired and his son, Vincent, is running the business with same traditional philosophy and care for sustainable/organic viticulture.

Manually harvested from 50 years old vines located in Arbois and Montigny-Les-Arsures.

Natural fermentation with indigenous yeasts before spending 5 years in old 228 and 500 liter barrels with the traditional Jura oxidation method “sous voile” (like the Sherry-“flor wines”) with no racking and topping up during elevage. After around 3 years, a relatively big part of the wine has evaporated and a film of yeast is naturally layered on top of the wine.

The aromas of this beast are extremely expressive from the very beginning offering a mix of fresh yellow apple and brown oxidized windfallen apple, brown sugar, salt-baked lemon, candied ginger, old hayloft, walnut, honey, butterscotch, green stem, dried orange peel, a hint of curry and wet stones.

The palate is medium-bodied and slightly creamy with a surprisingly high acidic level and a sick minerality. It offers crispy ripe pear, green olives, lemon grass, golden raisin and ginger. The finish is very long and salt, leaving your mouth watering and with that special (and delicious) flavor of “flor”.

Quite like a Vin Jaune, but the acidity in this case outshines all the Vin Jaunes’ I’ve had.

 ⭐️93/100⭐️ 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐬  𝑹𝒆́𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒖, 2014

This blanc de noir (“vino bianco ottenuto da uva nera”) are harvested from a plot of Pinot Nero near the winery of the legendary Cavallotto estate.

Since 1928, four generations of the Cavalotto family have run the estate of Tenuta Bricco Boschis, and they are the first cultivators of Castiglione Falletto to vinify all their own grapes by them self back in 1946 - releasing their first 100% estate-harvested Barolo in 1948.

Besides Pinot Nero, they rule over 25 hectares of vineyards planted with Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, Chardonnay and Grignolino. All hectares are cultivated with organic farming practices.

Low pressure direct press to avoid color extraction from the skin, fermented in steel tanks, and then aged 9 months (sur lie) in steel tanks with daily batonnage. Finally rested 6 months in the bottle before release.

Beautiful blanc color only broken by a tiny touch of rose water.

The aromas are quite expressive with notes of unripe tropical fruit, peach, pear, salak, fresh raspberry and green banana peel followed by yeast, biscuits, fresh cress, wet iron and a chalky finish.

The palate is light with a oily texture combined with a penetrating acidity. Peach, pear, passionfruit, lemon juice and small sour blueberry on the tongue. All with a great minerality, white pepper, a hint of raw liquorice finishing with raw white mushrooms.

First non-bubbly blanc d’noir I really like. You’re welcome to send me your recommendations for other good ones✌🏼

 ⭐️88/100⭐️ Cavallotto Pinner, 2019 📍Castiglione Falletto

Another one from Meerlust. This time something totally different from what I’d call a traditional Chardonnay.

Actually, I’m in doubt if the wine is a little bit off... in some weird (maybe not bad) way. No matter what, it was an exciting experience.

In the beginning, I couldn’t really place the spices of the nose. I clearly got some pineapple, kumquat, yellow apple and acacia, but there was a very special minerality and petrol-like scent. Also a bit of parmesan...

After a while in the glass it smoothed out a bit, and more classic notes showed up: Marzipan, lemon, toasted bread, buttercup and cloves.

But still with a little, weird camphor in the background.

The palate is round, medium+ bodied and has a lovely sharp acidity.

A mix of muskmelon, pomelo and lemon fromage is the main fundament of the wine, followed closely by browned butter, oak, hazelnuts, heather and clay pot. It’s also a bit petrol-like on the tongue.

I have to try it again, to see if it was off or not.

 Meerlust Estate Chardonnay, 2007 - Stellenbosch, South

“𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑭𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔” 𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒚, 2019

📍Beaune, Côte d’Or, Bourgogne, France🇫🇷

Together with Philippe Pacalet and Frederic Cossard (and others...), David Moret belongs to the new generation of Bourgogne winemakers, for whom the idea of being in possession of own vineyards is not the most important factor. Most important is the quality of grapes, from where they are harvested (villages, crus and parcels) and how they are cultivated - as naturally as possible.

Though David doesn’t own any vineyards, he is a key participant in the practical part of the viticulture.

He started his business, focusing on white wines, in 2000.

“Les Femelottes” is a small 3 hectare parcel on clay and sandy soils next to the village of Puligny-Montrachet (basically 10 meters from being able to be labelled as that great village).

Spontaneous fermentation, natural yeast and 10 months in oak barrels (around 20% new - his bigger wines get up to a maximum of 40% new oak).

From the first smell, it’s clearly a classic white Bourgone, but for being “just” a Bourgogne Blanc, it seems way above the average level.

The aromas are very elegant, expressive and balanced, offering yellow apple and overripe pear complimented by crème brûlée, butterscotch, oak, buttered warm brioche, vanilla, cloves, buttercup, yeast, chalk and wet stones.

The palate is medium-bodied, a bit oily and with a sick acidity and minerality (relating a bit to what you sometimes get in Puligny-Montrachet). Elements of pomelo, crispy pear, grilled banana, vanilla, lemon oil, mild smoky oak and a citrus-filled finish.

 ⭐️91/100⭐️ “𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑭𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔” 𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒚, 2019

𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒐 “𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈”, 2019

Testalonga was established in 2008 by Craig and Carla Hawkings. Located in the district of Swartland, Coastal Region north of Cape Town, Testalonga is a part of what’s called “the second revolution”. The first revolution was after the ending of the apartheid in the 90’s, which led to the end of KWV (“Cooperative Winemakers Union”) and it’s iron grip of the wine sector, that led to the birth of the modern South African wine industry. Since the last few years, a second revolution is now happening - less dramatic, but still very interesting.  In the relatively conservative wine country, new generations of winemakers are putting their mark on the industry experimenting with natural and biodynamic philosophies and low intervention.

The “Baby Bandito”-series is the lower priced/earlier accessible wines from Testalonga.

The grapes are harvested from an organic bushvines planted in 1972 on very rocky soil in 220 MAMSL with an extremely low yield.

Hand picked, natural whole-bunch fermentation in 2.000-litre steel tanks with a very short skin contact followed by a few months in 3.000-litre old barrels on the lees.

No additives apart from a tiny dash of sulphur before bottling.

The nose is fresh and generously offering notes of green apple, cider, lemon/lime juice and peel, unripe tropical fruits and a touch of the lees. It’s quite volatile (a bit apple vinegar-like in a nice way) and quite aromatic.

The palate is bone dry with a kicking acidity and a light body.

Crunchy apple, lemon peel, a green whole cluster touch, peach and salt. It’s super mineral with a long finish of green olives.

It’s juicy, a bit simple (still interesting) and with great nerve. Super vin de soif!

Innovative and always experimenting, the guys at Cantina

⭐️90/100⭐️ 𝑫𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊 𝑻𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒊, 2018 📍Castiglione

⭐️91/100⭐️ 𝑬𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒃 “𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆” 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒏, 2018

⭐️93+/100⭐️ 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒖𝒙 𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒔, 2016 📍Côtes du Jura, Jura

⭐️88+/100⭐️ 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒎, 2018 📍Montefalco, Umbria, Italy🇮🇹 🍇

⭐️89/100⭐️ 𝑮𝒆𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒎 𝑶𝒑𝒐𝒌, 2018 📍Steiermark

2015 Poggio La Noce - Bàja Falanghina

⭐️92+/100⭐️ 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐚 (𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐨 & 𝐆𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐢) 𝒁𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒐 𝑩𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐

⭐️92/100⭐️ 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐮 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔, 2012 📍Chablis

Emiliano Giorgio and Arcangelo Galuppi passionately save

⭐️87/100⭐️ Weingut Petri Riesling Spätlese “Herxheimer

⭐️91/100⭐️ 𝑰𝒅𝒅𝒂 𝑩𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒐, 2019 📍Etna, Sicily, Italy 🇮🇹 🍇 100%

⭐️86/100⭐️ Mother Rock Brutal !, 2019 📍Swartland, South

⭐️92+/100⭐️ Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils Corton-Charlemagne

⭐️90/100⭐️ Domaine Rolet Expression l’Etoile, 2013 📍Arbois

⭐️87/100⭐️ 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 (𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒔), 2020 📍Oggau am Neusiedler See

⭐️87/100⭐️ 𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒚-𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒕 1𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒓𝒖 “𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔”, 1988

⭐️93/100⭐️ 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐬  𝑹𝒆́𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒖, 2014

⭐️88/100⭐️ Cavallotto Pinner, 2019 📍Castiglione Falletto

Meerlust Estate Chardonnay, 2007 - Stellenbosch, South

⭐️91/100⭐️ “𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑭𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔” 𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒚, 2019

⭐️90/100⭐️ 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒐 “𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈”, 2019 📍Swartland

⭐️89/100⭐️ SAFaDO Vinhos Lot 119 “O Não É Garantido”, 2019

⭐️89/100⭐️ 𝑮𝒓𝒖̈𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓 “𝑲𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒈”, 2019

⭐️87+/100⭐️ Calalta Mentelibera, 2017 📍Mussolente, Veneto

⭐️87+/100⭐️ Martin Vajčner Wild Yeast, 2020 📍Znojmo, Czech

⭐️89/100⭐️ Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Réserve, NV

⭐️89/100⭐️ MicroBio Wines Brutal !!!, 2015 📍Nieva, Castilla y

⭐️90/100⭐️ Weingut Matthias Warnung “Feldstück” Chardonnay

⭐️86/100⭐️ Kloster Eberbach “Heppenheimer Centgericht”

⭐️88/100⭐️ Weingut Kurt Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen

⭐️89/100⭐️ Florent Rouve Vin Jaune, 2012 📍Jura, France🇫🇷 🍇