NEW ZEALAND x JURA

Hey,

It’s me (Fionn) again! Spent the last week on a lil’ French getaway. Very much pleasure rather than business, but as ever, wine was the main motivator. It was a dreamy week through Lyon, Beaune and then Paris, sandwiched around my yearly pilgrimage to Hautes Les Mains (Vin Noé’s exceptional Salon). This means lots of new discoveries and I can’t wait to share them all with you in the coming weeks!

Anyway, before I set off, we saw the arrival of some gorgeous new bits that I didn’t have time to write about. When I first joined the team, I bought a bottle from Ashleigh Barrowman of Siren Wine that seriously blew my mind, like I can still vividly remember it now. There was a little hiatus in their importation to our island but thankfully, they’re now back and I’m happy to report they’re tasting better than ever.

The CV reads like a dream: Patrick Sullivan, Hans Herzog, Vino di Anna, Domaine Labet, Jean-Jacques Morel, and Les Bottes Rouges. While it’s easy to list off the big names, something I can be a bit guilty of, I do think these prior experiences are important and apparent in shaping the wines. It gives some context that I think makes them easier to understand. That said, they do feel distinctly their own: a wonderful merge between the old world and new world. Her Chenin seems to marry the fruit weight of Sullivan’s single-site bottlings yet with the tension of Labet. The Chardonnay, too, hums with a raw energy that feels very much ‘old world’ whilst having the precision from a new world cellar.

Its the same story with the reds. This is a modern ‘chilled red’  that does so much more than the name suggests. Bordering on rosato in hue, it’s all wild berries and a bit of cream. The Pinot again is in a Jurassien mould: lithe and ethereal, with a bit more spice woven through. I never thought I’d fall so hard for wines from New Zealand, let alone Marlborough, but here we are. I genuinely think they’re some of the best liquid we’ve got on the shelves atm. Check ‘em out.

While tasting through the above, the importer, who either knows the way to my heart or just my borderline obsession with UK wines, popped a bottle of something so pure it gave me goosebumps. I like to think I’m fairly clued up on what’s happening in the winemaking scene here, but this was a surprise to me. A surprise that now seems to be pouring at pretty much all my favourite restaurants in the borough of Hackney lol. Can only be a good thing though!

Ben Adams of Enmill Field is putting out wines from Winchester. Tucked next to Domaine Hugo and Daniel & Nicola Ham, this first release has shot straight to the top. Firstly, they’re stupidly well priced. Secondly, they’re a perfect expression of what this island can do when the farming is exceptional and the cellar work is non-interventionist but painstakingly detailed. The energy of young vine fruit is so apparent in the truly ethereal blend of Pinots; meanwhile, the col fondo has a ripeness of fruit and salinity that feels like it’s from across the pond. In wine, we tend to fetishise the complexity of old vines but there’s something to be said for the raw energy of a first crop.

On the topic of the UK, I just refreshed the homepage and saw the boss has brought in something from Walgate. This must be a ripper if it’s passed the esteemed Aussie palate. A nod to 910 from Guillot, and seriously tasty!

That’s all I can muster for today! Speak soon.

xoxo