There is a tendency in wine to stick with what we know. The majority of the wine world is dominated by a small number of well known and loved grapes. But there is so much more to the world of wine, with fantastic and lesser known grape varietals making some of the most amzaing tasting and exciting wines in the world today.
This collection will introduce or perhaps further your knowledge of some lesser known varietals.
Contains 1 bottle each of:
Domaine Leon Boesch, 'La Cabane', Pinot Blanc, Alsace, France, 2023
A wine that is initially quite shy on the nose, a little time releases aromas white flowers and grapefruit citrus. Full bodied on the palate, this is a beautiful, refreshing and quaffable wine. Made from Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc.
Bodegas Cinco Leguas 'La Maldicion' Malvar de la Olla, Madrid, Spain 2021
'La Maldicion' Malvar, is a skin contact, orange wine, made with grapes from 50-100 year old vine. Fermentation continues for about 50 days on the skin and stalks, followed by aging in used french oak barrels. Quite restrained on the nose there are however some lovely citrus notes, with a hint of dry grass. On the palate it is fresh and juicy with citrus and yellow fruits, a lovely texture and a dry long finish.
Helene et Christophe Comte, Les Vigneaux, 'Rivales', Viognier, Ardeche, VDF, 2023
Heady with unripe strawberry, peach, gooseberry, pomelo, honeysuckle, & vanilla. There are hints of sherry like nuttiness. Oily and fleshy on the palate, with a salty, slatey mineral finish. The aromas really develop the more you sit with it. Floral and rich don't seem like they make sense, but here it does.
i Clivi, Friulano 'San Pietro', Friuli, Italy, 2024
Made from the Friulano grape and coming from 70 year old vines of the San Pietro vineyards in the Gramogliano hills just near the border of Slovenia. Aromatic with floral and fresh herbs on the palate. Finishes with an almond and mineral finish.
Dourakis, 'Lihnos', Vidiano, Crete, Greece, 2022
Lihnos Vidiano is a dry white wine with aromas of peach, pear and vanilla. Vidiano is a local grape variety common on the western side of Crete. It was aged briefly in oak barrel, on the lees, for 6 months before bottling. Lihnos is named after the old oil lamps used in the cellar.
Oltre Torrente, Bianco Colli Tortonesi, Piedmonte, Italy 2023
Fruit sourced from several parcels over 3 hectares are harvested for this wine. The vines were planted between 1959 and 1999. The blend is essentially an equal blend of of Cortese, Timorasso and Favorita but with a tiny amount of Moscato Bianco and Giallo, which are co-planted throughout the Vineyards. Made with whole bunches of grapes, after fermentation the wine is aged in stainless steel for 6 months. The result is a an incredibly aromatic wine, dry and complex with ripe yellow and white fruits, minerality and wonderful savoury notes.
