A very lightly oaked, fresh style of Blatina, showing its pretty black cherry fruit and lip smacking acids. There are some subtle herbal, savoury aromas on the nose – a little bit of development, which adds some depth to what Read more
Blatina is one of Herzegovina’s only indigenous red grape varieties. It’s a delicate and charming creature, and absolutely does not deserve to be smothered in oak as it is here. I can just about tell that there is some nice Read more
A roughly disgorged ‘pet nat’ style (natural fermentation completed in the bottle) from 100% Regent. Very deep, and indeed purple colour, still with some fine lees and sediment. Very lively, fresh crunchy fruit with a subtle earthiness. Youthful and fun, Read more
Another collaboration from Jan Matthias, this time with visiting Aussie winemaker Sam Guy Renzaglia. Riesling with 72 hours of pre-fermentation cold soak, and then the lees and the juice were separated. The lees were fermented in demi-johns and then added Read more
This is a new collaboration from Jan Matthias – The Mosel’s reigning natural wine king! Both he and Polish winemaker colleague (and neighbour – also in Mosel) Andrzej Greszta each fermented a foudre of Riesling, with no additions and allowing Read more
One of only two orange wines made in Bosnia-Herzegovina, at least as far as I know. Bariša Škegro’s 2015 orange (first vintage of this wine, reviewed here) was an enjoyable rustic style, but this 2017 really steps up a notch. Read more
Jan’s first try at a “proper” orange wine (Little Bastard has always had a small percentage of skin fermented in the blend). It didn’t entirely convince me. The one third of Gelber Muskateller (AKA Yellow Muscat) doesn’t really make its Read more
This unfiltered, no added sulphites Pinot Noir is a fascinating comparison with Jan’s more “classic” Pinot (bottled under the Staffelter Hof label). Here the aromas are way more earthy and even a touch feral (I would hesitate to say bretty, Read more
Originally conceived as a cheaper, more easygoing companion to “Madcap Magnus”, Jan’s first foray into natural winemaking, this blend has taken off in its own right. Superbly lively and a little bit spritzy straight out of the bottle. You can Read more
The fresh acidity here speaks of Blaufränkisch, but overwise oak is covering the fruit character in an unwelcome way, Smoky, roasted notes dominate the nose and the palate. The sour cherry character is still nestled in there somewhere. Maybe this Read more
