December Subscription Wines
BOTTLES TO ACCOMPANY THE FESTIVE SEASON
Cantina Giardino • Na • 2021 • Campania, Italy • Falanghina, Coda di Volpe, Greco • Orange
Campania is a region that seems destined to foster great skin-contact wines. Here, Falanghina, Coda di Volpe and Greco are blended after spending four days on the skins, followed by 6 months in concrete. Saline, mineral, with balanced tannins and luscious stone fruit flavour, this is a real stunner from an iconic producer.
Organic, no sulphur
Food: Anchovies, Mussels, Seafood Pasta
Preparation: Serve chilled
Domaine Durrmann • Zegwur • 2022 • Alsace, France • Gewürztraminer • Orange
Expect floral and exotic freshness, with a savoury finish, and a stunning orange hue. The only wine made from a particularly steep plot of Gewürztraminer, from granitic soils. This years vintage has had 25% destemmed and macerated for 3 weeks, 75% direct press.
No Sulphites.
Food: Ricotta & Honey Tartlettes, Roast Pork
Preparation: Serve chilled
Le Raisin a Plume • PGM • 2022 • Muscadet, France • Pinot Gris • Orange
Former sommelier Jacques Février turned to winemaking, with the advantage of knowing exactly what customers desire. The enticing colour and flavour of Pinot Gris macerations invariably have people coming back for more, and this one had 10 days on the skins before ageing in fibreglass. Bright and vibrant, with that trademark PG maceration combo of citrus and red fruit.
Food: Tomato-based Pasta, Burrata
Preparation: Serve chilled
Marie et Vincent Tricot • MC • 2021 • Auvergne, France • Pinot Noir • Red
Refreshing and intoxicatingly perfumed Pinot Noir grown on ancient volcanic basalt and limestone soils in Orcet, Auvergne. Here, stalwart vigneron couple Vincent & Marie Tricot have been crafting vibrant and terroir-driven wines without addition of sulphur for over a decade. MC is their pale ruby, carbonic macerated Pinot Noir with bright aromas of sour red berry fruits, carrying over to the palate with brisk acidity alongside touches of clove spice and volcanic mineral rocks.
Food: Best served a tad chilled alongside thin-sliced charcuteries.
Preparation: 15 minutes from the fridge
Les Cigales dans la Fourmilière • Queue de Comète • 2021 • Languedoc, France • Grenache, Mourvèdre • Red
A blend of Grenache and Mouvèdre with a lighter touch than is typical of the grapes. Fermented and aged in neutral oak, and bottled without filtration or fining, there is enough spice and dark fruits to handle an Adana kebab or a cassoulet of the same Languedoc origin.
Organic, no added so2
Food: Kebab, Cassoulet, Butter Chicken
Preparation: Serve at room temperature
Daniel Bouland Morgon • Les Delys, Vignes des 1926 • 2021 • Beaujolais, France • Gamay • Red
Produced from 96 year-old Gamay vines which make a young wine feel mature. Aged for 11 months in old foudre, the wine is unfiltered and unfined, allowing all that old-vine concentration to shine, while retaining the silky smooth tannins you expect from Morgon. Bags of berries and pepper meld in the lingering finish.
Food: Grilled Pork, Confit Duck, Tagine
Preparation: Serve at room temperature
Agricola Foradori • Foradori • 2021 • Trentino, Italy • Teroldego • Red
A unique red wine made from Teroldego, an indigenous grape in Trentino. The wine is aged in cement tanks and old barrels, producing an elegant yet crunchy texture full of sappy fruit and hints of appealing spice. The skill on show is a tribute to the value of biodynamic farming, with Foradari the first to revive the ancient flavour of this grape.
Biodynamic, organic
Food: Stewed Lamb, Speck, Grilled Mushrooms
Preparation: Serve at room temperature
Dva Duby • Impera • 2019 • Moravia, Czech Republic • St Laurent, Frankovka • Red
There is incredible value to be had in the Czech Republic, as this delightful bottle shows. Produced from a mix of St Laurent and Frankovka grown on volcanic rocks, the wine is skin-macerated for 4-5 weeks in open wooden vats before ageing for a year in used oak and acacia barrels. Light, juicy and crunchy yet with savoury complexity and volcanic intensity, perfect for a lighter option with winter-y flare.
Biodynamic
Food: Charcuterie, Pizza, Grilled Meats
Preparation: Serve at room temperature
Gazetta • Rosa Trilli • 2022 • Sicily, Italy • Sangiovese • Rose
Sangiovese makes great rosato, especially when given a few days on the skins to take in more character. After three days of maceration, to be precise, the wine is pressed until the following spring. Easygoing on the palate, with aromas of wild strawberry, blood orange and Mediterranean herbs.
Food: Tuna Tartare, Tomato-based Pasta
Preparation: Serve chilled
Henri Chauvet • Rose d’Automne • 2021 • Auvergne, France • Gamay • Rose
Bursting with wild berries this is a fresh yet characterful rose. Produced from Gamay planted on a terroir medley of volcanic, ash, marl and limestone soils, the wine is fermented with native yeasts, and aged for a year in neutral barrel. On the more sophisticated side of rose.
Organic
Food: Goat’s Cheese, Roast Chicken
Preparation: Serve chilled
Jurtschitsch • Brut Nature • 2017 • Kamptal, Austria • Grüner Veltliner • Sparkling White
Austria’s answer to Champagne, and with the same finesse and precision. Made from grapes from hand-picked 50-year-old Grüner Veltliner vines, the wine is spontaneously fermented, matured for several months in large wooden barrel, before secondary fermentation in barrel, and 30 months on the lees before disgorgement. Vivid, fresh, and elegant, with enticing aromas of blossom honey and white peach, fine bubbles, and a saline lemony finish.
Organic
Food: Oysters, Ceviche
Preparation: From ice
Domaine Durrmann • Noctambulle • 2022 • Alsace, France • Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir • Sparkling Rose
An explosion of berries grounded by gentle bubbles and subtle tannins. Co-fermented in stainless steel, part aged in old casks, and then fizzed up in bottle, petnat method. A Pinot party to remember.
Food: Canapes, Christmas Morning
Preparation: From ice
Domaine La Boheme • R • 2020 • Auvergne, France • Riesling • White
Patrick Bouju makes wines that are distinctly his own, always taking the raw material to its limits. Here, Riesling from Alsace is direct pressed into foudre for fermentation and one year’s maturation. Expect the waxy texture and refined citrus elements of Riesling, with intriguing mineral and bitter tones.
Organic
Food: Grilled Calamari, Greek Salad
Preparation: Serve chilled
Château Revelette • PUR Blanc • 2022 • Provence, France • Ugni Blanc, Carignan Blanc, Rolle • White
Textural, juicy, and mineral, this is a really versatile wine. Produced from 60 % Ugni Blanc / 25 % Carignan Blanc / 15% Rolle, with fermentation and ageing in concrete tanks. Expect aromas of ripe orchard fruit and fresh herbs, and a pleasing saline finish.
Organic
Food: Grilled Fish, Chicken Tagine
Preparation: Serve chilled
AMI • Bourgogne Aligoté • 2021 • Burgundy, France • Aligoté • Orange
45 year-old Aligoté vines are given an enticing twist in this wine. 2 weeks of maceration of 60% of the juice, with the rest directly pressed, with all of it coming together for ten months maturation in stainless steel. Skin contact at its finest, with freshness and crunch, matched by character in notes of apricot skin, white tea and chamomile.
Organic, no sulphur
Food: Katsu, Risotto alla Milanese, Boxing Day Curry
Preparation: Serve 10 minutes from the fridge
Offbeat • Field Notes 3 • 2021 • Wiltshire, UK • Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay • White
With stunningly vibrant acidity in a balanced mouthfeel, you might be surprised to hear it’s from Wiltshire. Made mostly from Pinot Blanc, with 8% Chardonnay, the wine was part direct-pressed, part whole-bunch macerated for 24 hours, and part destemmed, with a 10 day maceration, with
fermentation and ageing in steel, amphora and older oak. Aromatic, pithy, and a textural delight.
Food: Food: Roast Chicken, Grilled Seafood, Goat’s Cheese
Preparation: Serve chilled
