But there’s always room for the classic wine varieties, whether it’s the chardonnay grape as grown in France represented by the superb Moillard-Thomas chablis premier cru or the equally welcome Giant Steps Yarra Valley chardonnay from Australia. With such a huge range of dry white wines on offer, it can be difficult to pick out the best. It’s already won a raft of awards and it’s hard not to see why. What you’re left with then is a golden-hued, multi-layered and full-bodied wine that has complex flavours of apricot and almonds with hints of pepper and honey and a long and luxurious finish. Finally, it matures for a huge 48 months in the bottle, which takes the overall ageing period to five years. The wine is then aged for one year in 8,000l concrete vats. After gentle pressing, the juice is fermented at a controlled temperature of 12-18C with indigenous yeasts. It’s where, in the Castelli di Jesi wine region, winemaker Gianluca Mirizzi selects, only in the best years, the small bunches of verdicchio grapes that go towards this spectacular wine. The verdicchio grape is grown mainly in Marche in Italy. There are times when a big occasion – a wedding anniversary, a christening, a special birthday – calls for a big wine. Best for something different – Schneider gutedel weiler schlipf, weingut am schlipf 2019: £14.95, .uk.Best for drinks with friends – Les Hauts De Morin-Langaran picpoul de pinet 2021: £12.99, .uk.Best for a curry night – Rippon gewurztraminer 2020: £25.95, .uk.Best for supporting a good cause – Babich organic marlborough sauvignon blanc 2021: £9.99,.Best for a sunny afternoon – Bottega Vinai pinot grigio 2021: £12.50, .uk.Best for a literary lunch – Tesco Finest sancerre 2021: £15,.Best with fish – Giant Steps Yarra Valley chardonnay 2021, 75cl: £23,.Best for a light lunch – Whitehaven sauvignon blanc marlborough 2019: £21,.Best for an alfresco meal – Old Vines chenin blanc 2019: £12.95,.Best as an aperitif – Domaine Weinbach sylvaner 2020: £13.67,.Best for a touch of class – Moillard-Thomas chablis premier cru 2020: £25.99, .uk.Best for a big occasion – Mirizzi ergo sum castelli di jesi verdicchio riserva classico 2016: £70.95, Independent.wine.Best for a party – Chin Chin vinho verde 2021: £12, .uk.Best overall – Yalumba organic viognier 2021: £7.49,.You can join the Raw Wine Club to taste Legeron’s future picks - she is France’s first Master of Wine, after all - or shop the Les Lunes 2020 Barra Vineyard Chardonnay on its own from retail sites like Vivino. The 2020 Les Lunes Barra Vineyard Chardonnay showcases an awesome Mendocino County vintage from this single family-owned vineyard - the wine is soft and fresh with notes of lemon curd, toasted brioche, and pineapple, perfect for a variety of seafood dishes or even just a casual glass before dinner. For me, this was the case with Raw Wine founder Isabelle Legeron’s most recent selection, which featured an intriguing 2020 chardonnay by Shaunt Oungoulian and Diego Roig, the organic farmer-vintner duo behind Les Lunes and Populis. You’ve got to hand it to wine clubs - thoughtfully curated bottle subscriptions like Raw Wine Club can be a really fun way to discover wines you might not otherwise have come across on your own. Les Lunes 2020 Barra Vineyard Chardonnay (Mendocino, California) If supporting small businesses is as important to you as buying delicious (and sustainably produced) wines full of personality, this is a fantastic place to start.ģ. The 2021 Bandol Blanc is a blend of clairette and ugni blanc from organically farmed older vines, and at less than $40, its delicate salinity and white flower–driven flavor profile make this complex yet easy-drinking wine an excellent value. Currently, France+Western is championing a variety of independent growers across France and Italy including Domaine Marie Bérénice in Bandol, where winemaker Damien Roux is producing some of the appellation’s most interesting red, white, and rosé. Earlier this year, I got wind of Railsback’s latest import endeavor, France+Western, a love letter to the “great unknown” of the world of fine wines. Some of the greatest voices in wine right now come as a package deal - for years, I’ve looked to "Wine Girl" author and entrepreneuse Victoria James and her husband Lyle Railsback for the scoop on what to drink at any given moment.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |