When I see a 14.5 percenter from Southern Spain, majoring on Monastrell, I’m already scared. Am I ready for the tar, the big, burly tannins, the overbearing, dark, savouriness of it all? That’s what I was thinking when I uncorked Read more
I love the fact that Matic doesn’t disgorge his Pet nat – so here it is, cloudy, with an invitingly yeasty bouquet (reminding of wonderfully toasty Champagne more than anything else) and loaded with fruit too. With 100% Sipon (aka Read more
Amazingly different to the 2016 Pureza, this is a white-peach scented fruit bomb, with a nice lively mineral note and slightly fresher acids than the 2017. Production method was the same – fermented with skins and stems in Juan Padilla’s Read more
This is the kind of wine, housed in a litre bottle, that instantly makes me salivate. It’s Blaufränkisch under its Slovenian name Frankovka Modra, made as a super-light glou glou style. But… the grape variety’s character comes across loud and Read more
Both harvesting and bottling for this amphora-fermented Riesling took place to coincide with the new moon. I have no idea whether that altered the wine, I’m just giving you the info! The skin contact in amphora was a lengthy 214 Read more
This is one of Matic Zerjav’s black label wines, all made from older vineyards (30 years or more). Here, the Lazki Rizling (AKA Welschrielsing) has a two day col soak before fermentation with some whole berries in the tank. There’s Read more
This is classic Rhine Riesling, with two days of maceration before fermentation with some whole berries in the mix. It’s surprisingly ripe, and filled with green plum, kumquat and passionfruit. Full bodied with a honeyed tinge, the acidity is pretty Read more
This is Furmint by its Slovene name, and it has the thrilling acidity I’d expect from the variety. The fruit is fairly lean, but there’s a slight yoghurty character (which may recede given some more time in bottle). There are Read more
Moscatel de Alejandría fermented with both its skins and stems in Spanish amphorae (tinajas) made by none other than Juan Padilla. After fermentation, its pressed and then further aged in amphora before bottling with a micro-dose of sulphites (2mg/L) The Read more
This white blend was fermented in tinajas (amphorae), I’m currently lacking information about whether the skins were included or not – but I’m guessing they were, possibly with some stems too. It’s tight and pleasantly reductive on the nose, with Read more
