Milan Nestarec Forks and Knives Red 2018
The 2018 Forks and Knives Red is a blend of Pinot Noir + some Blaufrankisch, Cab Sauv & Cab Franc. Its a wine that falls under ‘Essential Nutrition’ according to Milan. Quite carbonic, immensely drinkable. Low viscosity, absent minerality, zero bullshit. Organically farmed grapes, indigenous yeasts fermentation, no filtering and no sulfites added. Medium-bodied, herbal and stemmy this is a complex red with a bit of the natty funk.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL / NO SO2 ADDED
Milan Nestarec Forks and Knives White 2018
This uncharacteristically dark coloured white cuvee, brings low-medium acidity to this peach and melon infusion. A blend of Neuburg, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer, Pálava & Riesling with just a short time on the skins, this cloudy genius has the qualities of a poolside cocktail, so juicy and delicious it captures you from the first sip.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL / NO SO2 ADDED
Milan Nestarec TRBLMKR 2017
Milan Nestarec has quickly become the star winemaker of the Czech republic during the time we’ve been working with him. His wines display so much life, vitality, and originality, that they have become very sought after all over the world in a very short time. TRBLMKR is a skin contact white wine, or orange wine, of the Neuburger variety. Like all Nestarec’s wine the grapes are farmed organically or biodynamically. No additives are in this cuvee, the grapes left to naturally ferment for 1 month and bottled without fining or filtering. This wine drinks rather tannic and pours a noticeably amber colored hue, as it ought to.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL / NO SO2 ADDED
Monastero Trappiste Vitorchiano Coenobium 2018
Farmed organically on five hectares in the town Vitorchiano, in the region of Lazio (about an hour north of Rome). The sisters of Monastero Suore Cistercensi have gained a cult following among wine aficionados. This wine is a blend of Trebbiano, Verdicchio, and Malvasia which is harvested together and allowed to spontaneously ferment using indigenous yeasts. Aromas in the spectrum of fennel and chamomile there is a distinct autumnal character to this wine that transcends description. Bright acidity rings out and gives life to some delicate spices. Bella!
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL
Monastero Trappiste Vitorchiano Coenobium Ruscum 2018
The Cistercian order of nuns at Monastero Suore Cistercensi, near Vitorchiano in Lazio planted their vineyard in 1963, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that their wines began to attract more attention, largely due to their employment of the noted winemaking consultant, Giampiero Bea. Made from a blend of Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Verdicchio, Coenobium Ruscum is an “orange” wine, with the pressed juice given extended skin contact, in this case 15 days or more. Fairly light in body given the long skin contact, the wine is scented with mint and herbs; on the palate it has a mouth-filling texture with flavors of baked apple and caramel.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL
Mont’Albano Pinot Grigio 20
This well-balanced wine from the Friuli region to the north of Venice has plenty of character, with a delicate rose petal aroma and a tinge of pears and apricots on the palate.
ORGANIC
Monte delle Vigne Lambrusco
This fabulously inviting, sparkling red bursts all the myths about Lambrusco by being dry and joyously drinkable. Grown organically on clay and limestone soils the results are fantastic. Fresh bright black cherry, blackberry fruit, some attractive fermentary notes, mouthfeel is ripe and fresh, nice depth of dark cherry and plum, blackberry fruit, decent grip and fresh acidity. 100% Lambrusco Maestri.
Orsi San Vito Posca Bianca NV
The ‘NV’ in the description stands for ‘non-vintage’, meaning that the wine is made from the product of more than one single year. Federico has made what he calls his ‘perpetual cuvée’ – a wine that slowly changes and evolves over time. The idea is a little like a simplified version of the Solera system used in Spanish sherry-making. Each year wine is added to a tank that already contains wine from up to ten previous vintages; wine is then bottled from that tank roughly every six weeks throughout the year with wine taken from all the available vessels in the cellar to top it up again. Next vintage more new wine is added to the tank, and so the process continues. This results in fresh, zesty notes from the young Pignoletto, and savoury, nutty notes from the Pignoletto that has had more time to mature in the tank. The wine will also display subtle differences depending on which bottling it comes from – check the back of the label to see when yours is dated. Always different, always the same, a bit like the Fall.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL / NO SO2 ADDED
ORSI Vigneto San Vito Sui Lieviti
Skin fermented bubbles!
It is fermented in clay amphora on skins, with a little of the must from the same harvest added to the bottle for the second fermentation. It is aged on its lees and never disgorged. A simple, yet extremely refreshing wine with texture and citrus in spades.
Paltrinieri Radice Lambrusco di Sorbara 2019
“Made by carrying out the second fermentation in the bottle, this radiant, lightly sparkling wine opens with heady aromas of citrus, violet and a yeasty whiff of bread dough. Bone-dry and delicious, the energized palate delivers tart sour cherry, juicy pomegranate, pink grapefruit and white pepper alongside crisp acidity and a savory hint of saline. One bottle probably won’t be enough.” Wine Enthusiast
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL
Paolo Bea ARBOREUS 2012
This enchanting wine’s nose bursts with sappy orchard and stone fruits, orange zest, white wildflowers, warm baking spices, honey, bitter almonds, and whiffs of green tea, oxidation, and earth. The surprisingly muscular palate is saturated with dry extract, but lively acidity, silky-fine tannins, and a core of savory minerals keep it supple into its resonant, complex finish. A fantastic complement to a wide range of foods from white meats to hearty seafood to pungent cheeses, Bea’s Arboreus Bianco gets its name from pre-phylloxera old-vine Trebbiano Spoletino rootstock whose vines are trained into tree-like shapes. The wine’s intense flavor comes from its grapes’ fermenting on the skins for 23 days and the wine aging in stainless steel, sitting on its lees, for more than two years before bottling.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL
Pauillac de Chateau Latour 2016
‘Lots of mineral, crushed stone, iodine and graphite with blackcurrants and blackberries that follow through to a medium body with ultra fine tannins that are ever so polished and give length and energy to the wine. Drinkable now, but even better in 2023’ James Suckling
‘2016 Pauillac is the vintage to own. More than just quality, what makes these wines so memorable is their character. To start with, all the wines show a beautiful, almost, inky, dark color. They have complex aromatics, even at this young stage. 2016 Pauillac wines are intense, concentrated, powerful, tannic and fresh. There is a beautiful purity of fruit here. The wines coat your palate with hedonistic pleasure. Clearly, there is a lot of tannin in the wines, but the tannins are so velvety, these wines feel like pure silk.’ The Wine Cellar Insider
ORGANIC
Pluma Vinho Verde 2018
Perfect combination of the aromas of the four best-known varieties of the region. The result is a fresh wine, fruity and with a refreshing acidity.
Ponsot Rully en Bas de Vauvry Blanc 2020
Jean-Baptiste farms 8.5 hectares all located in the AOP Rully and sustainably farmed with organic practices: no insecticide, no weed-killer, no anti-rot and no chemicals at all. Jean-Baptiste doesn’t care to be certified but is as respectful of his land as many certified organic producers.
This wine was able to adopt its lieu-dit when fruit from a second plot was discarded and everything came from this excellent site that sits just below the 1er Crus. Aged in a both stainless steel and oak, though very little new, this is full of lively, floral fruit with some spice and good drive.
Punset Barbera d’Alba 2019
An intense and complex nose, with fruity notes of cherry and blueberries. The wine is round, pleasant, with well-balanced acidity and a clean finish. Aged in cement tanks.
ORGANIC
Quinta das Amoras Branco 2018
Portugal flies under the radar when it comes to dry white wines but this wine over delivers with its fresh succulent flavours and complex notes from the five different grape varieties used in the blend. These grapes are all indigenous to Portugal; Arinto, Fernao Pires, Vital, Rabo de Ovelha and Moscatel. Together, they provide fresh acidity with beautiful aromatic notes from the Moscatel. It’s a characterful white with freshness, a tangy finish and a medium body.
Ramon Jané “Tinc Set”
Tinc Set is Ramon’s pet nat made from a blend of Xarelo and Parellada. It’s zippy and lively with green apple and pear aromas backed up by grapefruit acidity and toasty notes from the second fermentation in bottle.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL / NO SO2 ADDED
Ramon Jane “Cap de Pardals”
A slightly off dry sparkling rose with super fluffy little bubbles that carry beautiful notes of lavender, watermelon and cola cubes. About as natural as they come and one of those sparkling wines that sip tooooo easy!
Ramon Jane Ovella Negra 2019
From biodynamic estate vineyards of calcareous clay soils. Hand-harvested in small lug bins, sorting in the vineyard, grapes are chilled and pressed. Single fermentation in the bottle with indigenous yeasts and no additions. No SO2 added.
Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia de Sitges. An unusual blend makes this wine stand out, there’s very little of either grape in Penedès. Two weeks of skin contact maceration give an orange appearance, lots of fruit and texture.
ORGANIC / BIODYNAMIC / NATURAL / NO SO2 ADDED
Raúl Pérez Ultreia St-Jacques 2018
“80% whole cluster fermentation in large oak vats. Macerations of between two and five months. Aging in various vessels: 225L, 500L, foudre and cement. Bottled without fining or filtration. Mostly Mencía with Bastardo (Trousseau), Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet). The wine is clean, precise and fresh, and the oak is oh so subtle, practically unnoticeable. Floral, spicy aromas with hints of underbrush. Juicy, well-structured red fruit with great vibrancy and length on the palate. A long finish is marked by hints of herbs, coffee bean and tomato leaf”
San Lorenzo Verdicchio Classico Di Gino 2018
Extraordinary depth and layers of exotic stone fruit, melon, citrus, ground nuts, spice with more-ish texture balanced by refreshing line of acidity. If you are knew to Verdicchio it reminds me of a fine Pinot Grigio meets a Chardonnay with an exotic twist.
Secco-Bertani Vintage Edition 2015
Lovely red and dark fruits, including raspberry, cherry, and blueberry, are framed by a vanilla overlay and accented by hints of tobacco and cedar. The wine’s lively acidity persists on the long finish.
Tenuta Di Riseccoli Saeculum Super Tuscan 2017
The wine is a “Super-Tuscan” in every sense of the term, being a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It’s produced from our best fruit and only in the best vintages. Fermentation of the Sangiovese takes place in temperature-controlled cement vats with specially selected yeasts. After malolactic fermentation, the Sangiovese is ready for aging. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. The wine spends 12 months in French barriques of first and second remplissage, after which the wine from the best barriques are blended, lightly fined and bottled.
Tschida Kapitel I 2019
Nothing added and nothing taken away, a unique example of Cabernet Franc and Zweigelt planted on the gravelly schist soils in a special pocket of Austria, the banks of Lake Neusiedlersee. It’s a long and intimate process. 10 weeks on the skins, fermented in open wooden vats, a minimum of 18 months in large oak barrels. Experiential drinking from the smoky notes to the stony minerality.