“𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒏” 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒊 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒐, 2015

🍇 70% Granaccia / 20% Syrah / 10% Barbera

Nice dark and muddy look - beautiful color. The bouquet is very dark and spicy, offering blackberry, blackcurrant leaves, black olive, sweet liquorice, tar, smoky game meat, black pepper and wood. Some Mediterranean herbs and a funny hint of tonka bean.

The palate is rich and full with medium acidity and easy going tannins, offering blackcurrant, baked plums, charcoal, vanilla, black pepper and dill in the finish.

The alcohol is definitely present on the palate, but it’s well integrated.

• Fermented in steel tanks (10 days maceration and three daily pump-over)

• Aged 13 months in 2nd and 3rd use barrique followed by 11 months in the bottle

• The variety of Granaccia is a local variant of Alicante, that’s very close to Grenache (Alicante is an old cross between Grenache and Petit Bouschet)

• In local dialect, "Pulin" means "last born," as this wine is aged longer than any other Bruna wine

Bruna, established in the 1960s, is located in the village of Ranzo Borgo (not far from Imperia and Savona) in the beautiful mountains of western Liguria with the famous terraced vineyards.

They work organically in their 7,5 ha vineyards and use only a tiny amount of sulfites when needed.

Colline Savonesi wines, like this Pulin, tend to lie at altitudes between 400 and 700 meters. All local varieties are allowed in the blend in any proportion - most often with Granaccia as the lead singer.

 ⭐️88/100⭐️ “𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒏” 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒊 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒐, 2015 📍Ranzo Borgo

ℹ️ The wine is 60% Obaideh and 40% Merwah, both indigenous grapes from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The vineyards are ingrafted and planted on the sea-facing slopes of Mount Lebanon at 1,200 meters above sea level. The vines are 50 to 90 years old. Fermented and aged in a combination of new French oak barrels and stainless steel vats for 9 months. The wine is then aged in bottle for 6 years before being released.

👁 Medium lemon color with a slight golden hue.

👃 Medium+ intensity on the nose. Aromas of honeycomb, candle wax, lemon verbena, orange blossom, oak, clove, peach skin, and hay.

👄 The palate is dry, medium+ acidity, medium alcohol (12.5%), and medium body. A good pithy texture on the palate. A medium- length finish of candle wax, hay, and orange peel.

🔔 Typically, I prefer Chateau Musar White wines with more age on them. These are not fruit-driven wines. Although there was a touch of fruit on the nose, the palate was all bottle-aged development. While interesting to check in now, I think this wine still has a metamorphosis to undergo in the cellar before it is ready. It is a bit like an adolescent that is slightly awkward after a growth spurt with a high-pitched voice.

 2012 Chateau Musar - White (90 pts) @chateaumusar ℹ️ The

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

My first foray into the world of natural wine and it has to be said, I quite enjoyed it. Nova Vita’s Project K Rose (a blend of Gris, Traminer, and Riesling) is so easy to drink, it’s borderline ridiculous. The colour, orange, is striking and the flavours range from strawberries and cream to lychees and ripe apples. Sweet, but paired with a ruby murray it was bloody awesome.

 My first foray into the world of natural wine and it has to

Loving kicking-off Xmas Day with this Nova Vita Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. A super cracking example from one of my favourite regions. If you stumble across it, give it a try. The producers in the Hills need a little support after the recent fires. Enjoy! Merry Xmas! 🍷🙏🙌

 Loving kicking-off Xmas Day with this Nova Vita Adelaide

Nova Vita’s Project K, Shiraz Pinot Noir (SPN), is a seriously smashable little number... and all natural. All red berry fruit, cherries, raspberries, pomegranate, and fresh black plums. All fruit on the palate, soft acidity, soft tannins and unbelievably morish. Chill it down, open, and enjoy. It’s summer in a bottle! -

 Nova Vita’s Project K, Shiraz Pinot Noir (SPN), is a

Are you a Natural wine fan? I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot about them lately so I’m trying these from Nova Vita to see what all the fuss is about. I’ll keep you posted on my thoughts! -

 Are you a Natural wine fan? I’ve been seeing and hearing a

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

ℹ️ This wine is a blend of 50% Fiano, 20% Zibibbo, 15% Arneis, and 15% Nero d'Avola from the Riverland region in South Australia. This wine is a Pét-Nat, a lightly fizzy wine made by bottling the wine before the fermentation finishes. The fermentation finishes in the bottle and is not typically disgorged. Essentially nothing is added. The Zibibbo receives skin contact for 24 hours.

👃 Medium+ intensity on the nose. Aromas of orange sherbet, watermelon rind, grapefruit zest, melon sorbet, and elderflower.

👄 The wine is dry, medium acidity, subtle medium-sized bubbles, medium- alcohol (12%), and medium+ body. The palate has a creamy texture to it.  A short length finish of orange sherbet and blood orange peel.

🔔 Great packaging 🚀🐰. An interesting mix of Italian grapes in the blend, but I love the Ozzies for mixing it up. Astro Bunny is an extremely clean natural wine that is very expressive on the nose and palate. 💯 Glou Glou wine! Don't overthink it ⛔️🤯.

 2020 Wildman - Astro Bunny Pét-Nat @timwildman ℹ️ This wine

Pierre-Marie Chermette - Beaujolais Tasting and Interview with Jean Étienne Chermette·

🎙 Join my Instagram Live interview with Jean Étienne Chermette

_chermette , ‪on Thursday, June 4th, at 9:00 am PST. We will be discussing natural winemaking from sustainable farming to minimal intervention in the cellar. We will also discuss long fermentation with whole clusters resulting in semi-carbonic maceration·

🍷 We will be tasting three wines from the 2018 vintage - Beaujolais Griottes,  Fleurie Poncié, and Moulin à Vent Les Trois Roches. Please join our Instagram Live and participate in the conversation. Don't forget to click the reminder in the stories·

 Pierre-Marie Chermette - Beaujolais Tasting and Interview

ℹ️ This wine is a blend of 70% Cabernet Franc and 30% Grolleau. The vines are in Anjou, Loire Valley, France. This Pétillant Naturel Rosé is bottled as a Vin de France. No Sulphur added.

👃 Medium- intensity on the nose. Aromas of strawberry, pink grapefruit, yuzu, orange blossom, yeasty, and black pepper.

👄 The wine is off-dry, medium acidity, faint coarse bubbles, medium alcohol (13%), and medium body. The palate shows a lot of black pepper spice and grapefruit pith. A short length finish of strawberry and pink grapefruit.

🔔 I enjoy Natty Glou Glou wines from time to time, but this wasn't exactly my cup of tea or wine, for that matter. The aromatics were clean and appealing, especially the black pepper combined with strawberry and citrus. The off-dry palate was a tad jarring, combined with a relatively minimal level of bubbles. The range of bubbles in Pet Nats can vary widely. While I'm happy half of the bottle didn't erupt like a volcano, but I still wanted a bit more sparkle. Not something I will necessarily be seeking out again.

 2019 Benoit Courault - Eglantine ℹ️ This wine is a blend of

 as she walks me through the critical differences in the terroir of Côte de Brouilly and Brouilly. As a wine geek, I am super excited to learn the nuances between these two Crus·

🍷 We will be tasting the 2018 vintage of both wines over Instagram Live on Friday, May 8th, at 9 am PST. ⌛️ Please find the countdown timer in the stories so you can set a reminder. Looking forward to having you join and ask questions·

 Do you love Cru Beaujolais❓· Join Sonja Geoffray from

ℹ️ This wine is 💯 Grolleau and is labeled as a Vin de France. The grapes come from the Saumur region of the Loire Valley. This wine is a Pétillant Naturel (aka Pet Nat), meaning that it was bottled under a crown cap before the fermentation was completed. The fermentation continues to completion inside the bottle, creating bubbles as a byproduct. The grapes are organically farmed, fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts, and no SO2 is added.

👃 Medium intensity on the nose. Aromas of bruised red apple, cranberry, sour cherry, barely ripe strawberry, blood orange, gravel, and saison beer (yeasty).

👄 The wine is dry, medium+ acidity, coarse quickly dissipating bubbles, low alcohol (11%), and medium body. A medium length finish of tart red fruit, citrus bitters, and yeast.

🔔 This is my first experience with the wines from François Saint-Lô. This Producer is quite popular with the hardcore "Natty" wine crowd, so I was worried that it would be a bit too funky. However, on the contrary, it was an enjoyable, clean, and chuggable Pet Nat. Nothing wrong with some farmer fizz.

 2018 François Saint-Lô - Saint Lô'Pet @francoissaintlo ℹ️

ℹ️ This wine is 💯Ribolla Gialla fruit from the Friuli region of northeast Italy. This a skin-contact or skin-fermented white wine. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed without the use of synthetic chemicals. The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, and native yeast fermentation. The juice is left to macerate on the grape skins for 3 months. The wines are aged in large Slavonian oak barrels for 3.5 years before being bottled. Bottling occurs without fining, filtering, or the addition of sulfur. The wines are aged an additional year in bottle before being released·

👁 Deep onion skin color, cloudy, and noticeable solids·

👃 Medium intensity on the nose. Aromas of dried apricots, persimmon, dried apple, bruised pear, bruised nectarine, black tea, lemon zest, cinnamon, and bread dough·

👄 The wine is dry, medium+ acidity, low gritty tannins, medium alcohol (13%), and medium body. A lot of texture to the wine largely due to the grape solids still present. A long length finish of dried apricot, lemonade, and concentrated black tea·

🔔 This wine is thought-provoking. Look past the color and all.of the solids floating in the wine, even after decanting, and you have something quite intriguing. The nose is inviting and beats to a different drum. The palate is textured and layered. So many flavors are jumping out as you drink this wine. I know this isn't doing the wine justice, but it conjured up a memory of an Arnold Palmer (sun tea combined with lemonade), but a fancy version with exotic dried fruits and spices. The finish is long and pervasive. The vast array of food that could be enjoyed with this wine is impressive·

 2008 Radikon -  Ribolla Gialla (92 pts) @sasaradikon

2019 Herdade do Rocim - Fresh from Amphora Nat'Cool Tinto

ℹ️ This wine is from the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is a blend of Moreto, Tinta Grossa, and Trincadeira. The grapes are organically farmed and planted on granite and schist soils. Grapes are hand-harvested and vinified in clay amphorae without temperature control. The fermentation is done only with indigenous yeasts with no additions or corrections of the must. Two months of skin contact inside the amphora before bottling.

👃 Medium intensity on the nose. Aromas of fresh ripe raspberry, sour cherry, red currant, wet rock, and some dried flowers·

👄 The wine is dry, high acidity, low soft tannins, medium- alcohol (12%), and medium- body. Good texture on the palate. A short length finish of ripe red fruit·

🔔 Fresh from Amphora is a straight forward and enjoyable natural wine. Don't overthink this wine, give it a slight chill and glug glug. Oh yeah, and this only comes in 1 Liter bottles 🤤 . People ask about ”summer” red wines, and here you go! This is a legit quaffable red wine with nothing added and made in amphora. I think of big red wines when Alentejo is mentioned, but I didn't realize that Portugal has a long tradition of making wine in amphora, called Tahla·

 2019 Herdade do Rocim - Fresh from Amphora Nat'Cool Tinto

🇲🇽 2013 Vino Fluxus - Fluxus Tinto (85% Garnacha and 15% Syrah)

🧠💭Let me know your thoughts or feedback on this

🗳 Add suggestions for future wine battles in the comments below👇

 🇲🇽 2015 Dos Búhos - 💯 Garnacha @bodegadosbuhos 🇲🇽 2013 Vino

2016 Anne et Jean-François Ganevat - Le P’tiot Roukin Vin de France Rouge (90 pts)

ℹ️ This wine is a Vin de France, and the Cuvée changes significantly based on the year. Some years it a multi-regional blend of grapes from Gamay, Syrah, or ancient indigenous varieties preserved by his father but banned in the appellation guidelines. 2016 is a blend of Pinot Noir, Poulsard, and Trousseau from a 70-year old vineyard planted on marl and limestone. Biodynamically, hand-harvested, and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Semi-carbonic maceration for 10 months in a conical wood tank. This wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without the addition of Sulfur.

👃 Medium+ intensity on the nose. Aromas of ripe red cherry, cranberry, red currant, bay leaf, and earthy.

👄 The wine is dry, medium+ acidity, low soft tannins, medium alcohol (12.5%), and medium- body. A medium+ length finish of crunchy red fruit and bay leaf that is surprisingly long.

🔔 This wine is an avant-garde example of what VdF and natural wine could and should taste like in the right hands. The color is hypnotizing. In the glass, this is not flashy, but pure crunchy red fruit that lingers on the palate with a slight herbal and earthiness for added complexity. There is a "low sulfur" aroma that comes across like beer foam on the nose but blows off with air. It definitely feels like a glou glou wine to me. A joy to drink, but don't overthink it.

 2016 Anne et Jean-François Ganevat - Le P’tiot Roukin Vin

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

𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒐 “𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒐”, 2017

📍La Morra, Barolo, Piemonte, Italy🇮🇹

Roberto established the winery in 1986, and today he rules over parcels on some of the best and most prestigious vineyards of La Morra.

He is an exceptional farmer and winemaker and his methods in the vines are extremely careful: He fertilize each plant (not the whole vineyard and no chemicals), and he thins out the vines at least twice before harvest - in July to make sure only 5 clusters are on each plant, and in August where he almost cuts away 30% of each cluster.

In the cellar, Roberto is considered somewhere between a modernist and a traditionalist due to his mix of small and big barrels (some new, some old), but still with a long maceration.

- Total production: Around 45.000 bottles

• Hand-harvested from the vineyards of Vigneti S. Francesco and Fontanazza in La Morra

• Spontaneous fermentation in steel tanks

• Aged 12 months in tonneaux and barrels of 25 hl each (30% new) followed by 8 months in steel tanks

Very expressive on the nose right from the start. For a Langhe, it’s very dark offering dark cherry, blackberry, strawberry wine gum, chocolate, Bassett’s brown liquorice, cloves, rose petals and violets, fresh asphalt and watermelon rind.

The palate is medium-bodied, a bit fat in structure, with fine small tannins and medium acidity. Elderberry, fresh dark cherry, sweet blueberry, black liquorice, coconut, black truffle, vanilla. Long finish with a graphite-like minerality.

Greater depth than most Langhe Nebbiolos!

 ⭐️92/100⭐️ 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒐 “𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒐”, 2017 📍La Morra

With a PhD in Philosophy, Marta Sierota is inspired to craft single varietal wines that express the distinctive land, soil and air from which they are grown.

Located in the hills outside of Pisa, she adheres to biodynamic principles following the lunar cycle.

Vines are in sandy-loamy soils. Hand-harvested, spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts in cement without temperature control, unfined, unfiltered.

Grippy tannins and tangy acidity flank black cherry, pomegranate, red apple, red currant, violet and grilled herbs. Hazelnut and cherry linger on the earthy finish.

Podere Anima Mundi ‘Gavagai’ Toscana Rosso IGT 2019

 With a PhD in Philosophy, Marta Sierota is inspired to

Located in the middle of the Tortona Hills, Enio Ferretti is dedicated to the native grapes of Piemonte.

Dark garnet in colour, with aromas of raspberry, strawberry, rose hip tea, roasted chestnut, licorice, trace of peppery spice.

Grippy tannins and tangy acidity flank black cherry, raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate.

Hazelnut, black pepper, red currant infuse the smoky earth mineral finish.

 Located in the middle of the Tortona Hills, Enio Ferretti

The Pira family has been tending to their 12 hectares of vineyards in Serralunga d’Alba, the eastern part of Barolo, since the 1950s

Vines are 30+ years in age, in a 2 hectare, organically farmed vineyard with northwestern exposure, limestone and clay soils, at 330 meters in elevation. Aged in stainless steel 8-9 months.

Plush layers of blackberry, red current, plum, rhubarb, herbs glide atop fine grain tannins.

Dark chocolate and pomegranate infuse the distinctive bitter finish.

Well balanced, well structured, always a fantastic value.

 The Pira family has been tending to their 12 hectares of

Iconic, low intervention winemaker Christian Binner [of the legendary Domaine Binner] established ‘Les Vins Pirouettes’ label as a resource for organic and biodynamic grape growers to bottle their own wines, rather than sell their grapes to cooperatives.

Hand-harvested grapes, spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts, 2 days skin maceration, aged on the lees in tanks, second fermentation in the bottle. No added sugar or SO2, unfiltered, not disgorged.

Grapefruit, peach, nectarine, lemon, wildflowers and citrus acidity shimmer over a crisp mineral core.

Zippy fizz, a squeeze of citrus zest on the mineral finish.

Les Vins Pirouettes ‘Le PetNat de David’ Alsace 2020

 Iconic, low intervention winemaker Christian Binner [of the

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

Wife and husband team Julie and Toby Bainbridge focus on crafting fresh, bright wines in Anjou.

Their 4 hectares of old vines are farmed organically, biodynamically and with minimal intervention.

Vines are 85 years in age in black schist soils. Spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts and carbonic maceration in stainless steel. Bottled with “a bit of leftover CO2 to further protect the wine”, unfined and unfiltered.

Transparent red-violet in colour, with aromas of black cherry, garrique, peppermint, summer woods.

Raspberry, black cherry, pomegranate, black pepper, grilled herbs, fresh acidity meld with black tea tannins.

Cranberry and strawberry infuse the spicy finish.

Julie et Toby Bainbridge ‘Cuvée 50:50’ Vin de France 2020

 Wife and husband team Julie and Toby Bainbridge focus on

The Valdisole project began in 2015 with Giuseppe Amato and Kyriaki Kalimeri behind it. Since Giuseppe doesn’t originate from a family of winemakers, he decided to buy a vineyard, and so, it happened that the first vineyard, half a hectare of abandoned Nebbiolo, was bought on a website specialized in used second-hand things (yes!).

Kyriaki, originally from Greece, is an electronic and computer engineer who entered the wine world simply out of curiosity. She met Giuseppe during sommelier classes, and shortly after, the Valdisole became reality.

“Amos” (“Άμμος”, in Greek) means sand, referring to the terroir of this vineyard, bringing elegance and finesse to the young vines (20 years old).

Hand-harvested, spontaneously fermented in steel tanks and oak tonneau, followed by two years in old barrique and 6 months in the bottle.

Only 20 mg/L sulphur are added during bottling.

An intense in-your-face-bouquet; slightly reductive to a start, followed by a heavy scent of sweet cherry wine gums, sweet Finnish liquorice, extremely floral/perfumed notes (violets , lavender and rose petals), tar, white mushrooms and a touch of fresh forest floor. After an hour, more oxidative notes came through like brown leaves, truffle and clay pot. Still very fruity.

Medium(+)-bodied with high acidity and soft tannins. It’s very direct and fruit driven - well balanced between freshness and fruit sweetness with notes of ripe strawberry, hard raspberry candy, raw liquorice root and herbs. A bit salty finish.

 ⭐️90/100⭐️ Valdisole Amos, 2017 📍Roero, Piemonte, Italy🇮🇹 🍇

Jake from Sholto wines contacted me recently and wondered if I wanted to try something different (hell yes 👍)

Jake started his own winery outside Canberra a few years ago and has been experimenting with wine making. He uses alternative methods or in simple terms making it up has he goes. No rules, no instructions. Letting the fruit decide how he makes that wine.

So with welcoming arms, I received a 2019 Riesling. I didn't know what to expect. With this said I opened the bottle, poured a glass and had a smell. At that point I knew this was different. I took a sip and I'm confused. My mind and palate was in overdrive working out what was going on. This is not a Riesling or is it??? If it was a blind test, I would instantly think it is was a Sav Blanc at the start but then it changes and it develops into a dry Riesling.

This is different but exciting. It’s good. It starts slightly tropical but then turns into a crisp 🍏 towards the end. It leaves a sharp dry feel, where you just want more. I love the difference. I'm getting the best of both worlds.

After 24 hours of sitting in the fridge I have one final glass, now it tastes more like a Riesling but this is Summer in a glass with a real sharp dry finish.

Whatever Jake, the winemaker is doing, keep it up, but write this one down. It is good and one of the most exciting white wines I've had in a while...simple...

 Sholto Canberra Riesling 2019 Rating: B+ Price:

📍Côtes Catalanes, Languedoc-Rousillon, France🇫🇷

The small winery of Domaine de Majas, owned by Agnès and Alain Carrere, is working closely together with the biodynamic/natural wine-pioneer Tom Lubbe (Domaine Matassa), trying every year to improve their wines and spread the word of natural/biodynamic wine.

Destemmed clusters, maturation in concrete tanks, nothing added and only a tiny filtration.

Baked red berries; strawberry and cherry (fresh ones, but also some very, very overripe berries - almost a little rottenness - in the weird, good natural wine way, you know..), lavender, turpentine, forrest floor and horse stable. All build up as quite a complex and interesting nose.

Cherry, dried strawberry, olives and bay leaves with a long, smooth finish.

The tannins are clear but very soft, and the acidity is almost a little prickling.

This wine is serious value for money! I was a little more into the 2017, though. But it still does it’s job👌🏼🍷

 ⭐️85/100⭐️ Domaine de Majas Rouge, 2018 📍Côtes Catalanes

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. .

Abrand new vintage, a brand new style. The earlier vintage tended to be more herbaceous and earthy. This one is pure, funky juice. A “vin de soif” with character. The aromas of this beautiful rosé is loaded with red berries, especially strawberry and cranberry, followed by watermelon, red apple, cucumber and some quite pleasant yeasty notes to finish it off. The palate is dry with a gentle tannic level and high acidity. Once again, red ripe berries steal the show. Apple cider, light herbs, green stems, lemon and white wine vinegar.

It’s a really solid rosé. One of the better ones I’ve tried in a long time. And it’s delivered in 1 liter bottles🤪😎

 ⭐️88/100⭐️ Gut Oggau Maskerade Rosé, 2019 Oggau, Burgenland

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.