Translation missing: en.Les Bottes Rouges + Ca' del Baio + Hoddles Creek + MMAD Vineyard Tasting Saturday 25th 3pm-6pm + Domaine de L'Ausseil Roussillon Special!: Les Bottes Rouges + Ca' del Baio + Hoddles Creek + MMAD Vineyard Tasting Saturday 25th 3pm-6pm + Domaine de L'Ausseil Roussillon Special!
Les Bottes Rouges
The wines of Jura's Les Bottes Rouges have been doing the rounds amongst wine circles in recent times due to their remarkable individuality and ability to stack up to some of the greats of the region at a fraction of a price. Jean-Baptiste Menigoz began his career not as a winemaker, but as a teacher in Arbois working with special needs children. During this time he picked up a passion for the local natural wine of the region, working in the vines whenever he could. Eventually he picked up an apprenticeship with Stéphane Tissot and went on to make wine of his own after being joined by Florien Kleine Snuverink and purchasing some vines to start their own project.
The two began to acquire some plots of vines in Arbois and Abergement and now own a total of 7 plots for a total of 7 hectares. Soils in these parcels range from limestone in some, to various types of heavy clay and marl in others. They have adhered to strict organic principles from the beginning, and experiments with biodynamic treatments are ongoing based on the individual needs of each vineyard. Of course with such great plots and farming in the Mecca of natural wine, there is very little need for cellar input - fermentations are undertaken with native yeasts, no fining or filtration and little to no sulphur is used depending on the cuvee.
We've picked up 3 wines from this special producer to share with you. The '22 'Leon Chardonnay' is a slightly oxidative Chardonnay grown on heavy clay that ferments in 3,000L foudre before being racked to 440L neutral oak barrels. This is a stunning ageworthy Jura Chard. The '23 'Tot ou Tard Poulsard' comes from a lieu-dit within the Arbois appellation called La Mulatiere and undergoes a 3 week maceration before being moved in 600L barriques. This is bottled without sulphur and is delightfully soft and silky. Finally, the '23 'Boomerang Rouge' is a classic Jura red blend of Poulsard and Troussard and full of spice and character. These are some very unique wines from one of Jura's best up-and-coming names - don't sleep on these!
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Ca' del Baio
Ca’ del Baio (house of the dark horse), keeping in line with the traditions of Langhe, has been in the Grasso family for four generations, with a rich history that started in 1870 with the purchase of land in Treiso, Barbaresco. Today, Giulio and Luciana along with their three passionate daughters: Paola, Valentina, and Federica, handle all areas of the business from viticulture and winemaking to sales, marketing, and hospitality. It is truly a family affair.
The estate boasts 31 hectares of vineyards in the villages of Treiso, Barbaresco, and Trezzo Tinella. All grapes are sourced from estate vineyards with those from the prized sites of Asili and Pora (Barbaresco) and Vallegrande, Marcarini and Montersino (Treiso) are from vines that range in age from 25-60 years. Ca' del Baio adopt a sustainable approach to viticulture in which the use of chemical fertilisers and synthetic herbicides have not been used in a long time and biodiversity and soil health is encouraged. Fermentations are conducted with native yeasts and the resulting wines are stunningly pure expressions of Barbaresco.
We tasted some of these wines the other week and loved them but assumed that they would be too expensive to take on right now. After discovering the prices of these wines we quickly accepted the allocation as we believe these outperform a lot of wines in the region that sell for up to twice the price. The '22 'Barbaresco Autinbej' comes from younger vines on very high vineyards, macerates for 2 weeks then spends 2 years in Slovonian botti followed by another 5 months in bottle. This is an incredible bang-for-buck Barbaresco. The '22 'Barbaresco Valle Grande' comes from a predominantly west-facing cru at 400m above sea level surrounding the winery and receives the same oak treatment as the previous wine. The '22 'Barbaresco Asili' comes from one of, if not the most highly regarded cru in Barbaresco with a fermentation and maceration process that lasts 30 days, followed by aging in various sizes of oak barrels for 24 months. This is a big jump in quality for only a small step in price. Finally, we have a few bottles of the '19 'Vallegrande Viti Vecchie Riserva' which ferments and macerates for up to 60 days with regular punchdowns in the beginning, followed by 30 months in 2nd and 3rd passage large Slovenian Botti, then 12 months in the bottle before being released. Despite the big jump in price, this wine also represents relative value considering the pedigree of the site and the legendary 2019 vintage. Ca' del Baio are a breath of fresh air in a region in which producers are increasing their prices every year regardless of market trends. If you've been off the Piemonte bandwagon for a while now, this is the best chance to jump back on!
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Hoddles Creek
Hoddles Creek are one of the greatest estates from Victoria's Yarra Valley, producing incredible wines that always over deliver at their price. Hoddles Creek Estate was established in 1997 when the D'Anna family decided to establish a vineyard on the property that has been in the family since 1960. This vineyard sits astride Gembrook road and adjacent Hoddles Creek in the prime real estate of Upper Yarra Valley.
The Upper Yarra enjoys a higher, cooler and more marginal climate than the lower Yarra which requires more work in the vineyard, particularly canopy management, but produces much more distinct wines than the bulk of the lower Yarra. Hoddles Creek have been steadily reducing the use of chemicals in the vineyard over the past decade and are seeing the results with healthier soils and vines and ultimately, more balanced wines.
We've just received stock of the top wines from Hoddles Creek and have some stock of others too. The '24 'Pinot Gris' enjoys some skin contact to extract more flavour, tannin and texture and create a wine that is actually interesting unlike the bulk of what is produced with the grape. The '24 '1er Chardonnay' comes from the estate's "Top Paddock" vineyard which enjoys 50m higher altitude, poorer soils and an eastern exposure. It is aged in casks for 12 months with occasional battonage and bottled without fining or filtration. Finally, the '24 '1er Pinot Noir' comes from the same block as the Chardonnay with different exposures and is fermented with 25% whole bunches and spends 18 months in cask before being bottled without fining or filtration. We tasted the '21 of this wine blind a couple months ago next to a '22 Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis and it stood up comfortably to its culty Burg counterpart. These wines always outperform their price point - make sure to stock up on these while we have them!
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MMAD Vineyard Tasting
Saturday 25th
3pm-6pm
In early 2021, MMAD Vineyard was purchased by a quartet made up of winemakers Martin Shaw and Adam Wadewitz, and Masters of Wine Michael Hill Smith and David LeMire. MMAD takes its name from their first initials. The MMAD Vineyard wines aim to reflect the unique terroir of Blewitt Springs and the rare old vines that grow there. This is the team behind the success of the likes of Shaw + Smith and Tolpuddle and are bringing out the best of these old vines now in McLaren Vale. These are the wines we'll be pouring on the day:
These are some amazing wines made by some of the best winemakers in the country working with some very special old vines. Don't miss out on these!
Wishing you a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.
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WEEKLY SPECIAL!
Domaine de L'Ausseil
We have another incredible special lined up for this week with an aged Carignan from Roussillon's Domaine de L'Ausseill!
Domaine de lAusseil Vent dans les Plumes Carignan 2017 (Preservative Free) - Regularly $57 per bottle / NOW $35.00 per bottle*
This is a saving of almost 40%!
OFFER: BUY 6 BOTTLES OF DOMAINE DE L'AUSSEIL VENT DANS LES PLUMES CARIGAN AND RECEIVE $132 OFF!
Domaine de L'Ausseil was established in 2001 by two passionate people searching for a little pocket of land from which they could make wines that they love. They came across some land in the district of Latour de France that was home to centuries-old Carignan, old Grenache, and elegant Syrah on gneiss and schist hillsides. They took the name from the Occitan word for "bird" and now farm their 10 hectares organically and by hand. The wines are made with little cellar trickery - wild yeast fermentation, slow and steady extractions and minimal sulphur. The resulting wines are charming and speak to their time and place.
If you are wondering how we are able to sell these at such a discount, we manage to secure the last stock from an importer that is wrapping up business so we've passed the savings on to you. That being said, this is the last stock and we are unable to get more so don't hesitate to snap up this bargain!
*price per bottle when ordering 6 bottles of the Domaine de lAusseil Vent dans les Plumes Carignan in-store or online. Offer available while stocks last - finishing at 11:59pm on Sunday 26th October.
Get in quick!