Translation missing: en.Michael Hall + Domaine A Clape + Domaine Moreau-Naudet + Domaine Jean-Marie Berrux Tasting Sat 3pm-6pm + Gullyview Estate Tasting Wed 24th 5:30pm-7:30pm: Michael Hall + Domaine A Clape + Domaine Moreau-Naudet + Domaine Jean-Marie Berrux Tasting Sat 3pm-6pm + Gullyview Estate Tasting Wed 24th 5:30pm-7:30pm
Michael Hall
Michael Hall grew up in the 80's in London during their vibrant wine bar scene and worked for 2 decades in the jewellery trade with Sotherby's in Switzerland but spent most of his free time discovering the world's wines. Burgundy and Rhone were nearby and calling out to him and he eventually adhered to their call applying for an Australian Student Visa and enrolling for a degree in Wine Science at Charles Sturt University for which he graduated with Dux in 2005. Michael then sought to take advantage of the inverse seasons in the hemispheres and worked stints in Australia with Cullen, Giaconda, Henschke, Shaw + Smith, Coldstream Hills and Veritas; in France with Domaine Leflaive, Meo-Camuzet, Vieux Telegraphe and Trevallon. Now Michael Hall is one of Australia's greatest winemakers.
Michael Hall strives to produce “thoughtfully-produced wines, which provoke thought". This is done by crafting a wine with as few inputs as possible rather than by moulding the fruit to a particular style. Hand picking, maceration, wild yeasts, lees contact, barrel maturation and no filtration allows the season and sites to express themselves as much as possible. Michael calls this 'slow wine.'
Michael belongs to the growing movement in Australia, although a traditional model in France, of small batch vinters collaborating with talented grape growers and sourcing the finest parcels available for each variety. In short, Michael is a 'micro-negociant' who has sought out a handful of single vineyard sites in Barossa Valley, higher up in the Eden Valley and in the Adelaide Hills that draw on his experiences in Australia, Rhone and Burgundy. The Michael Hall label is his flagship label which focusses on single-vineyard expressions while the 'Sang de Pigeon' is his second label that functions as an introduction to region-specific styles.
We always love to stock and support Michael Hall and his wines and we have plenty of these to share with you. We have both of the Chardonnay and Pinot from his 'Sang de Pigeon' label which serves an excellent introduction to Michael's wines. We also stock the flagship '22 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay and Pinot from his main label which are always great and benchmarks for the region. We also have 2 single vineyard Syrah bottlings from 2021: one is sourced from Flaxman Valley within Eden Valley and the other from Mount Torrens in Adelaide Hills. Michael Hall's wines are exceptional and well-priced and should be drunk by anyone that simply loves great, well-made Australian wine.Domaine A Clape
Domaine A Clape have cemented themselves as one of the greatest producers of Syrah in the world whose wines rarely even get the chance to be exported because they always sell out so quickly in France. Historically, all of the growers in Cornas sold their grapes to buyers; it wasn't until the early '50s when the first estate-bottled vintage was produced by Auguste Clape that the road to producing higher quality wines in Cornas had been paved.
Cornas is a tiny appellation at the bottom part of the Northern Rhone with steep slopes just like its famous neighbour - Hermitage. Domaine A Clape have now come to be the quintessential Cornas producer, just like Jean-Louis Chave in Hermitage or Guigal/Jamet in Côte-Rôtie. The primary difference in the wines of Cornas from their more famous northerly counterparts is that they are darkest and burliest, the gutsiest and the meatiest as a result of being closer to the equator and being able to achieve a slightly higher degree of ripeness without losing the detailed minerality that the best wines of the Northern Rhone are known for. The soil of Cornas is solid Massif Central granite as opposed to the schist-filled soils of Côte-Rôtie or the granite with alpine influence from the east in Hermitage. Unfortunately the late great Auguste Clape passed away in 2018 but the estate is still being carried on by his son Pierre and grandson Olivier who continue to carry the torch of tradition and produce the best wines in Cornas and the Northern Rhone.
For a wine that is so rare, we have quite a few different wines across a 3 different vintages for you. We have the '22 'Le Vin des Amis' which comes from younger vines grown just outside of the village of Cornas. Despite this being the cheapest, this is still a serious wine and would be a great wine for anyone hesitant on pulling the trigger for the more expensive wines from this Domaine. We have both the '20 and '21 vintages of the 'Renaissance' which comes from the "younger" vines of the estate with roughly 30 years of age and made with the same care as the top wine. Finally, we also have both the '20 and '21 vintages of the top 'Cornas' wine. This is one of the best wines not just in Cornas, nor even the Northern Rhone, but one of the best in the world. This is a structured wine built to improve over decades in the cellar. This is an extremely exciting and hard-to-find producer and anyone interested in Syrah or ageable red wines generally should seek these out.Domaine Moreau-Naudet
Domaine Moreau-Naudet are one of the few exciting producers that aren't following the old Chablis formula of making tight, austere citrus-dominated wines. Stephane Moreau was a disciple of Chablis legend Vincent Dauvissat, the eccentric Didier Dagueneau of Pouilly-Fume (who played a part in the labels) and of Nadi Foucault of Loire's Clos Rougeard. Stephane unfortunately passed away in September of 2016 but his wife Virginie and Assistant Winemaker have taken over the reigns to continue making some exceptional distinctive wines from Chablis.
The Domaine achieves this point of difference from the bulk of wines from Chablis with low yields and riper fruit to create more concentrated and fleshy wines as opposed to the steely, acid-driven wines that come from the bulk of Chablis. In fact, these wines look a bit more like the wines of the Côte de Beaune than of Chablis which stems from winemaking techniques that are typical of the best wines from Chassagne or Puligny-Montrachet. Ploughing, organic viticulture, hand-harvesting, whole berry pressing, natural yeast fermentation, natural settling, long slow elevage in large oak as well as minimal sulphur use are all equally necessary components to producing these wines with distinctive personality and poise.
We've just received a good supply of both the Petit Chablis and Chablis from the 2022 vintage from this producer which represent excellent value for those wanting to try some "atypical" Chablis without having to pay for Dauvissat or Raveneau. The Petit Chablis is so far above most other Petit Chablis that it almost doesn't seem right to call it such. The source of these grapes comes from a single 2.5 hectare site with SW aspect on Kimmeridgian soils and vines ageing 25-50 years. The Chablis proper comes from a blend of 30 different parcels, fermented with natural yeasts and spends 20 months on its lees which is rarely seen in Chablis. The resulting wine displays nice orchard and stone fruits, salinity, minerality and great texture on the palate. These wines are definitely worth checking out for both those that love typical Chablis but want to see what else is possible in the region and for those that generally prefer the whites of the Côte de Beaune.Domaine Jean-Marie Berrux Tasting
Saturday 6th July
3pm-6pm
We'll be having an in-store tasting of some specially selected wines from the great Domaine Jean-Marie Berrux this Saturday. For those that missed the Tuesday email, Jean-Marie grew up in Savoie in France and eventually left his career in advertising in Paris to study oenology at a university in Beaune. Jean-Marie is now one of the most respected low-intervention winemakers in Burgundy. These are the wines that we'll be pouring for you on Saturday:
Le Petit Tetu (Chardonnay) Bourgogne 21'
JM Berrux B & B (Gringet) Savoie 21'
Nondegu (Pinot Noir) Bourgogne 21'
Plus we are adding on the Domaine Dandelion
Hautes Côtes Nature Rouge 2018 to taste too! Domaine Dandelion make gorgeous small batch wines and are based in the village of Mavily-Mandelot in Burgundy. Run by Burgundy native Morgane
Seuillot and Australian born Christian Knott who until recently was overseeing things at Domaine Chandon de Briailles. These are very special wines and as the new release is about to land we figured why not show off a bottle!
Domaine Dandelion Hautes Côtes Nature Rouge 18'
If you love Burgundy and minimal-intervention wines, then this is the tasting for you. See you here on Saturday!Gullyview Estate Tasting Wednesday 24th 5:30-7:30
We are being a bit cheeky and will also have a nice little mid-week tasting with Jono Koerner of Koerner wines with his solo label - Gullyview Estate. We will provide more information on this next week so stay tuned, but for now, these are the wines that we'll be pouring in store:
24 Brothers Riesling
23 Alberts Vermentino
24 Brothers Light Red
23 The Fruitful Grenache
23 Countryside Cabernet Sauvignon
Keep an eye out for the emails next week for more information but I'll leave you with this little teaser for now.
Wishing you all a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.