It has been a gratifyingly wine-soaked week. Our Pol Roger-fuelled dinner celebrating the mighty Michael Heath’s 90th birthday was followed by a brace of Spectator Winemaker Lunches, one featuring Marimar Torres’s sublime Sonoma Pinots and Chardonnays, the other, at Boisdale, focusing on the glory that is Lebanon’s Ch. Ksara.
Fearing toxic shock if I stopped, I continued my vinous operations with an extensive tasting with Armit Wines for this offer. As always, it was tricky to narrow down the choices, hence eight rather than six wines.
I don’t think we’ve offered a Slovenian wine before but the 2021 Marinic Ribolla Gialla (1) certainly merits inclusion. From an organically farmed, all-but-biodynamic estate in the Brda Hills near the Italian border, it’s made from 100 per cent Ribolla Gialla (no, nor me, but it’s grown a lot in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia) and is fresh and citrusy with hints of pear and apple and a long, almost herbal, dry finish. £14.45 down from £18.06.
The 2024 Cantine Lunae Etichetta Grigia Vermentino (2) from the Colli di Luni – Mountains of the Moon – of Liguria is produced by the master winemaker Paolo Bosoni, on land where vines have grown since ad 65 and where his family has farmed for four generations. Made entirely from Vermentino, it’s lime-fresh, concentrated, with a keen acidity and long, fruity yet dry finish. £17.06 down from £21.32.
The 2022 Astrolabe Kekerengu Coast Sauvignon Blanc (3) from Marlborough, NZ, is the latest in a number of wines I’ve recommended from Simon and Jane Waghorn, gifted winemakers who source their fruit from ten local families. This one is quite a tease – one minute it shouts mango and passionfruit, the next it whispers herbs and citrus. Either way, I love its restraint, elegance and dry finish. I could drink a lot of this. Oops, I just did. £18.50 down from £23.12.
I love this wine’s restraint, elegance and dry finish. I could drink a
lot of this. Oops, I just did
The 2021 Ch. Maris ‘La Touge’ (4) from the visionary winemaker Robert Eden – host of a memorable Spectator Winemaker Lunch last year – has all that I enjoy about well-made Minervois. A handpicked blend of biodynamically farmed old vine Syrah and Grenache, it is fermented in both wooden and egg-shaped vats, with minimal intervention. The result is deliciously expressive, fruity, juicy and fresh (despite its punchy 15 per cent vol), with just a hint of spice and inky intensity. £15.19 down from £18.99.
The 2022 Tiberio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (5), from the Tiberio family’s impeccably tended 30-hectare vineyard near the town of Cugnoli, might not give much away on the nose but it’s more than generous in flavour. A bright garnet/ruby red, the old vine Montepulciano floods the mouth with rich blueberry/cherry fruit and soft, ripe tannins. The finish is long, fresh and almost savoury. £17.32 down from £21.65.
The 2021 Mendel Malbec (6) is classic Mendoza Malbec, made from 100-year-old ungrafted vines grown at almost 1,000 metres. Here the fruit is blessed with sunshine, cool temperatures, ideal soil and aspect. Add to this canny winemaking and beautifully judged oak-ageing, and you have a corker of a wine, full of rich dark fruit and spice. You’d be hard-pressed to find better. £23.08 down from £28.85.
For a touch of super-Tuscan stardust, make straight for the 2023 Guidalberto (7), the second wine of Tenuta San Guido’s fabled Sassicaia. Although still young, this Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend is already showing its pedigree and class and, thanks to increasingly mature vines, it’s closer than ever in style and oomph to Sassicaia itself. Drink it, keep it, whatever. Just darn well enjoy it. £48.04 down from £58.59.
Finally, with drinkable prosecco so wretchedly hard to find, consider the BRT Duca di Dolle Prosecco Superiore (8). From the hills of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, it’s a blend of Glera, Verdiso and Perera, vinified using the Charmat Method. I can’t remember when I last enjoyed prosecco so much, nor when I was so happy to drink it without an additional slug of peach juice and schnapps. It’s a great fizz at a great price and the bottle looks dead posh too. £15.41 down from £19.26.
All the wines are offered in unmixed sixes, with the mixed case (9) containing two bottles each of wines 1-6. Delivery is free for 12 bottles or more.
Order online today or download an order form.
To find out more about our Spectator Winemaker Lunches, Spectator Wine School Masterclasses and Spectator Wine Tours, visit www.spectator.co.uk/tastings.
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