Badiola Tempranillo de Laderas Rioja 2018
Badiola is a winery based in the heart of Rioja Alavesa. Badiola offers a new perspective on Rioja wines. The vineyards are located on the slopes of the Sierra Cantabria, mainly surrounding the villages of Villabuena, Leza, Samaniego, Laguardia, Navaridas and Baños del Ebro, each terroir producing wines with distinctive character. The vines are extremely old; many were planted in the 1920s. 1930s and 1940s and they deliver concentrated juices with a clear identity. The philosophy of winemaking is to obtain very pure, fresh and well-textured wines that reflect their origin.
Vandal Gonzo Militia Blend 2021
Vandal Wines was set up by three unnamed, masked Marlborough winemakers as an escape from the restrictions of their day jobs. The Gonzo Militia is a field blend, picked together on the same day and vinified together. The blend is unusual to say the least 20% Viognier, 20% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Gris, 15% Riesling, 15% Syrah, 5% Chardonnay, 2.5% Tempranillo and 2.5% Muscat, sourced from a single site in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys region. After pressing 50% is macerated on its skins for 24 hours, the whole is fermented in neutral French oak barrels using the natural yeasts and undergoes malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends 6 months on its lees with battonage, lees stirring, before bottling un-fined and un-filtered. The wine has delicate pink hue to its golden colour with a slight haze due to the lack of fining and filtration. The flavour is wild with a creamy mouth full of peach, plums with lemony, green apple acidity and nutty notes from the casks. A complex and fascinating break from the norm.