Translation missing: en.Thibaud Boudignon + Laurent Tribut + Riley Harrison + BK Wines Tasting Saturday 18th 3pm - 6pm: Thibaud Boudignon + Laurent Tribut + Riley Harrison + BK Wines Tasting Saturday 18th 3pm - 6pm
Thibaud Boudignon
Thibaud Boudignon is one of the most exciting winemakers from the Loire Valley appellation of Savennières. This estate is new and fresh with Thibaud having only started this venture in 2009 and still working for Domaine de la Soucheraie until 2015. Since then, he has gradually picked out new plots to work with which are considered some of the absolute best in the region and is making wines that are some of the very best expressions of Chenin in all the Loire Valley.
Thibaud works with all these top vineyards biodynamically, although he is not certified as he would rather invest the money spent on a piece of certification paper into his work in the vineyard or into some nice barrels. During the peak growing season Thibaud employs one person per hectare to manage the vines. This enables greater attention to detail in the vineyard and shows that eschewing the certification for greater commitment to the work itself is not all talk.
In the winery, the grapes are whole bunch pressed without settling and the juice kept cold before starting a long, slow fermentation. Thibaud vinifies with natural yeasts and ages the wines on their lees with minimal sulphur in a mixture of barrels ranging from 300-600 litres. New oak influence is eschewed to keep the wines pure, deep, intense and true to their terroir.
We have a great range of Thibaud's wines, many from those top sites that we're excited to share with you. We also have some wine from Thibaud's work in the nearby Anjou appellation: the '23 'Grey Label Anjou Blanc' from 40 year-old vines, planted at 8000 vines/ha on shallow soils of grey schist and rhyolite. Moving into the top vineyard's, we have the '22 'Clos de Fremine' which slopes towards the Loire with a fine cover of sand blown over the underlying schist over many millenia producing a silky, yet distinctive wine that can be enjoyed in its youth (but can still age for over a decade). The 'Clos de la Hutte' is one of Savennières' best vineyards and we've been able to secure some of the 2020 and 2021 as well as magnum bottles from the '20 and '21 vintages, too. These are seriously well-made wines from some of the best vineyards in the appellation. Don't miss out on these profound wines from one of France's best winemakers!
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Laurent Tribut
When Laurent Tribut married Marie-Clotilde Dauvissat he joined one of Chablis’ most famous winemaking families. René Dauvissat, Marie-Clothilde’s father, gave the couple parcels of excellently situated Chablis AC & Premier Cru sites to establish Domaine Tribut. The small Domaine now has 7 hectares of vineyards predominantly situated on Kimmeridgian soils adjacent to the best Dauvissat vineyards.
Laurent, a humble and well-natured vigneron, preferred the vineyards to be farmed as naturally as possible with minimal treatments and an organic philosophy which remains the domaine philosophy today. Harvesting is always done by hand. In the early days Laurent made his wines at his in-laws alongside the great René, so naturally there is a strong influence from these mythical wines. The wines are fermented exclusively in tank and racked into barrel for ageing. Laurent typically only bought new oak if he needed to replace old barrels, some of which are 50 years old. Having officially retired in 2019, the domaine is now in the capable and gifted hands of his three children: Solange, Adeline and Gabriel, who each specialise in different aspects of the business.
The Tribut Chablis share many stylistic similarities with their famous relatives i.e. concentrated citrus and stone fruits, spice and an ever-present minerality with great texture, but perhaps with a little extra generosity. In a lot of ways they share more in common with the classic white Burgundy appellations of the Côte de Beaune than Chablis. We've received Tribut wines from the excellent 2023 vintage. The '23 'Chablis' has fruit from parcels at Courgis and Poinchy and a bit from the Beauroy and Forêts premiers crus. Fermentation in tank is followed by six months in cask before bottling. This easily outperforms the average Premier Cru. The '23 'Chablis Beauroy 1er' comes from several different parcels of varying soils in one of the regions best-known Premier Cru sites and comes packed with power. This is also available in magnum! Finally, the '23 'Chablis Côte de Léchet 1er' is one of the finest Premier Crus in the region and produces a wine with extraordinary energy and minerality. These wines sell for a fraction of the Dauvissat wines so don't hesitate!
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Riley Harrison
Riley Harrison established his eponymous label as a means of escaping the 9 to 5 rat race in 2015 when he was able to get his hands on a tonne of Grenache. Today, Riley sources fruit from great sites in South Australia's most iconic regions: Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley to produce wines that are full of perfume and texture. Riley also has a degree in Viticulture and Winemaking from the University of Adelaide, as numerous vintages under his belt in America, Germany and Portugal as well as winemaking experience from larger estates in South Australia where he honed his craft and eyed-out some sites.
With Riley's primary focus being to produce wines with good quality grapes that express their varietal character, his winemaking approach walks on a tightrope between conventional and minimal-intervention.
"Strangely, doing less requires far greater attention to detail in the winery. It's the complex interaction of science, creativity and environment in a bid to generate flavour that I find intoxicating"
These wines have a foot in both camp of being dangerously drinkable and have enough intrigue to keep you going back. We've just stocked up on a range of Riley's wines for you all. The '23 'Blanca I Tinta Grenache Blend' is made from predominantly Garnacha Tinta from Dylan Grigg’s Vinya Vella vineyard in Vine Vale, co-fermented with Garnacha Blanca, Cinsaut and Picpoul. This is one of those delicious "is it orange, is it a rose, is it a chilled red?" type of wines. The '24 'Fleur de la Lune Grenache' comes from 2 parcels of old vines, using 60% whole bunches to produce a perfumey and savoury Grenche. The '23 'Vento do Mar Cabernet Franc' comes from 50 year old vines in Blewitt Springs, fermented with 100% whole bunches to show the savoury and silky side of this grape that everyone seems to be drinking these days. The '22 'Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz' - 70% Cabernet Sauvignon from Hickinbotham Vineyard in Clarendon and 30% Shiraz from Murdoch Hill Vineyard in Oakbank. This wine has some stronger bones than the others but is still comfortably medium-bodied, it can just hold up to some red meat a bit better than the others. Finally, the '23 'Black Hound Syrah' comes from the cooler Adelaide Hills, fermented with 30% whole bunches and aged in seasoned French oak for 9 months. This is definitely a Syrah for Pinot drinkers. These wines are a great example of being able to be fun and interesting at the same time and they don't break the bank. Get your hands on Riley's wines!
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BK Wines Tasting
Saturday 18th
3pm - 6pm
Join us this Saturday as we taste through the fantastic BK Wines from Adelaide Hills!
BK Wines was established in 2007 by Brendon and Kirstyn Keys with the goal of creating fabulous art. After learning from some great winemakers across NZ, Argentina and California, the couple started working with their site in the Adelaide Hills, tucked away surrounded by native bush land, koalas and an abundant birdlife. When it comes to the process of winemaking, Brendon’s goal, first and foremost, is to source exceptional small sustainable vineyards producing grapes that reflect the individuality of a particular site. As a
winemaker he uses a minimalist approach to gently guide well-chosen fruit to a beautiful final result in the bottle. This combination of an artistic soul and unyielding quality standards makes Brendon a recognised master of his craft. These are the wines that we'll be pouring on the day:
BK Skin n Bones Savagnin 2025
BK Ego Is The Enemy Pinot Gris 2025
BK Saignee Pinot Noir 2025
BK Carbonic Pinot 2025
BK Skin n Bones Pinot Noir 2025
Come down to the store this Saturday and try these thoughtful wines for yourself!