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Black Wines Matter!

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  Malbec used to be one of Europe’s most famous wines, albeit in the middle ages, when it made ‘The Black Wines of Cahors’. Later, rather sneakily, Bordeaux cut off Cahors’ down river trading access to the Atlantic and the wine’s fame evaporated within the entrails of time. Until Argentina picked the ball up and made Malbec its home team. Like almost all French wines, grapes are rarely indicated on the bottle, selling instead as a region’s characteristic style. So Cahors hasn’t benefited from the fame Argentina brought to Malbec. Which is a shame because that’s where the grape was born and evolved to suit climate, landscape and culture. Malbec is usually dark, inky stuff. It can smell of violets and blue/black berries with plenty of juicy fruitiness to back all that up. Instead of Cabernet’s up front lip smacking tannins or Pinot Noir’s back of mouth finesse, Malbec has a signature middle of the mouth powdery feel and grip to it. Rarely refined or elegant or expensive, I often thin...
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Guerila Retro 2017, Vipava, Slovenia

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Slovenia is on the cusp of becoming ultra-trendy in the wine world and an emerging wine tourism hot spot. Wines there are already quite accomplished, interesting and, more often than not, over deliver on quality at relatively sharp prices.   Located where the Balkan region smashes up against the Alps. Over time the culture – ever straddling an important cross road – has knitted together bits and pieces of Slavic, Hungarian, Italian and Austrian influence into what is now a distinctively Slovenian national identity. So too with wine.   In terms of styles these are equally complex with bits of all the above influences playing out through a wide variety of warm and cold climates, all of which are crammed into a relatively compact space. Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Blaufrankisch are all rising stars, but under-known local varieties Zelen and Pinela are bound for glory .   Styles sometimes reminded me of lighter, crisper, more extroverted, lower alco...
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Stara Trta - World's oldest vine, Maribor, Slovenia

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  Few living things in the world can attest to having survived invasions by the Ottomans, Napoleon,  the Nazis, Allied bombings and bus loads of tourists. But a 400+ year old vine in Maribor, Slovenia has and still manages to produce around 25 litres of wine per year.  Considered to be the world’s oldest surviving vine, it can be seen on paintings from 1657, 1678 and 1681.  A tree ring plug taken by Ljubljana University in 1972 indicated it was at least 375 years old then and probably older, shoving its likely planting well back into the 1500s (see Jeff Licciardello’s VinePair link below). Although I’ve seen other ancient vines elsewhere in the world that probably are as old, if not older (more on that coming soon), so far, they lack definitive proof. Another contender, Hampton Court’s Great Vine, planted in 1768, is comparatively just getting out of puppyhood.  The grape is an old local Slovenian variety, Žametovka . Mostly used as the main component of C vič...
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Carstens Cinsault 2016, Coastal South Africa

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This wine ticks all my favorite boxes. The grapes are from 40yr old ‘bush’ vines, sustainably farmed without irrigation. Wine making is just as cool. 50% whole cluster fermented using indigenous yeast to 12.5% and aged 9m in big old ‘neutral’ 5000L French oak foudres. It speaks honestly of its grape and where it was grown. Most importantly, it was ethically farmed ‘Certified Fair Labor Practice’, which means black farm workers get their fair shake of wages, conditions and benefits.   Offering up juicy, punchy blackfruit characters (on the wilder, brambly side of mulberry & blueberry), but tempered by an intriguing savory depth to keep things interesting. Its grown close enough to the Atlantic Ocean to balance fruit sweetness with just enough natural acidity.  Pieter Carstens is the winemaker for Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards – established 1693!  ( http://www.leeuwenkuilfv.co.za/ ) – which is the source of his fruit and presumably where he makes his own brand. His ...
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Zorah Yeraz 2015, Armenia

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  I first tasted this wine at the winery, directly from Karas (Armenian for Amphora) halfway finished.  It was bursting with floral aromas, juicy-fruity-spicy cherryish characters and bold tannins, suggesting great potential in bottle. Five years on, freshness has matured into savory, dried red fruit notes, with a fuller bodied velvety texture. Balanced and persistent, it more than hints at what might have existed 6,000 years ago at the beginnings of wine culture.  Yeraz’s vines are tipped as ‘older than time’ but no one really knows exactly how old, only that they had been there before the parents and grandparents of the oldest people in the nearest village had been born. The ‘mile high’ vineyard grows at 1600 metres with an extreme 15º C temperature difference between night and day – markedly retarding growth. The vines, as old as they look, and lean and hardy as they are, are less obviously much older. All that alone makes the vineyard special enough, but only scratc...
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My favourite vineyard...

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 My favorite vineyard  sits high above Areni Cave within the foothills of an unnamed mountain in Armenia. The cave below opens up like a large vagina, having given birth to a wine culture more than 6,000 years ago. Named Yeraz , the vineyard – still wild and uncontained – has snaked its way into nooks and crannies over centuries seeking a best place to live. Through the course of capturing its own space, vines have split boulders in search of sun and sustenance. Uniquely, Yeraz shares its DNA with the grape seeds found buried inside Areni’s ancient pots below. For the whole story: https://www.winedisclosures.com/amphora-triptych/karas-amphora-in-armenia
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Époque ‘Tradition’ Sauvignon Gris 2016, Couleurs d'Aquitaine, Bergerac, France

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  Grown in Bergerac’s cooler conditions, under the influence of both the Atlantic and Pyrenees in SW France.  Sauvignon Gris is to Sauvignon Blanc, what Pinot Gris is to Pinot Blanc – fuller, richer, fruitier. This wine’s full bodied texture is its ace in the hole. Unctuous and oily, in a pleasing way, with a touch of acidity to keep it all coursing through a long finish. At peak drinking maturity now, it offers up an exotic mix of ripe mango/guava and fresh asparagus/pea sprout characters. I’ve judged ten Mondial Sauvignon Blanc wine competitions and this is the first time I’ve seen one of their medal winners off a shop shelf. I went back and bought 3 more, all great bottles. Awarded gold in 2017, it’s still singing a great song, although its voice has changed over time, a bit rounder, more restrained and thought provoking. Nicely shaped and shaded by the test of time. 18-18.5/20 tasted 3.21
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