Translation missing: en.Romain Le Bars + Garagiste + Casa Caterina: Romain Le Bars + Garagiste + Casa Caterina
Romain Le Bars
Romains le Bars had a keen interest and desire to learn as much as possible about wine in his early 20s. Naturally, he wanted to learn from the best and applied for a job in the Rhone with Eric Pfifferling of Domaine L’Anglore. He then worked for 7 years at this cult winery with evident influence in his wines under this label. He then managed to snag a little plot of 1.2 hectares in Tavel and vinified his first vintage with the help of Eric’s son Thibault in his garage, producing just 3000 bottles.
Romain managed to find an additional 3 hectares of vineyards to rent in Lirac and has found himself a vacant winery to rent on the outskirts of Tavel as well. Grenache and Syrah can be found in the Tavel plot, the soil being calcareous rocky scree. In Lirac and its surroundings the soil is sand and clay with limestone throughout, planted to Ugni Blanc, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan. In L’Anglore fashion, Romain direct presses the grapes for about 3 hours and employs carbonic maceration for roughly 5-9 days depending on the variety for the freshness and silkiness this brings to the wines. In the cellar, fermentation only occurs with natural yeasts and the wines are unfined and unfiltered. Some cuvees are sans soufre, while others receive only a splash at bottling.
We’ve already sold a few of these but have many more still to go around. Although Romain says that his wines are not red or white and shouldn’t be judged by their colour, I will start with his “whites” that we have. We have some of the ‘22 ‘Roussanne’ and ‘23 ‘Le Clau’ - the former coming from clay/limestone soils without sulphur and the latter is 60 year old Ugni Blanc from loamy clay soils that spends 8 months in barrel and receives only a touch of sulphur at bottling. We also have the ‘23 ‘Lirac Rose’ - 100% Mourvedre from clay/limestone soils, bottled without sulphur. Of Romain’s “reds”, we have: ‘22 ‘Les Vestides’, '23 'Nouveau Nez', ‘23’Pousse Cailloux’, ‘23 ‘Homme de la Roche’ and the ‘23 ‘Tavel’. ‘Les Vestides’ is 100% Cinsault that undergoes a 10 day maceration, spends 9 months in barrel and bottled without sulphur. 'Nouveau Nez' is a blend of Carignan, Cinsault, Mourvèdre` and Grenache aged in stainless steel and bottled without sulphur. ‘Pousse Cailloux’ is a Grenache/Syrah blend bottles without sulphur as well. ‘Homme de la Roche’ is 100% Carignan from clay/limestone bottled with only a touch of sulphur. Finally, the ‘Tavel’ is a Grenache/Syrah blend from clay/limestone soils and bottled without sulphur as well. These are some extraordinarily ethereal and distinct wines that are dangerously drinkable in the summer months and shouldn’t be looked past by any lovers of L’Anglore!Garagiste
Garagiste are one of the most exciting Pinot producers working in the Mornington Peninsula today, started in 2006 by Barnaby Flanders after splitting amicably from Allies co-founder David Chapman. Barnaby focuses on a range of small batch expressions ranging from sub-regional to single vineyard expressions throughout the Peninsula.
Barnaby works with well-farmed, high quality vineyards spanning from the north of the peninsula with the sandy sites in Tuerong and Mooroduc, to the brown loam/red volcanic soils of Merricks in the centre, down to the more elevated southern zones of Main Ridge and Red Hill and their vibrant red volcanic soils. Although Barnaby gets to work with many diverse sites across the peninsula, with Tuerong being the oldest and Balnarring arguably producing the best fruit, the Merricks vineyards have become the flagship and most representative of his work. Barnaby first started his winemaking career here in 2000 and has been in control of every aspect of the winegrowing and making process since day 1. The decision when to pick the grapes is paramount to maintaining the natural acidity and the grapes undergo natural fermentations with new oak not exceeding 20-35%. Maturation is in larger 300L-500L barrels and the wines are not filtered or fined.
We've just received a dozen of 3 of the Garagiste Pinots and still have some Chardonnay, too. The '24 'Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir' is his "entry-level" offering excellent value and consists of a blend of different sites: Merricks North 40%, Balnarring 44%, Red Hill 10% and the final 6% from Merricks Grove. We have both the '23 'Merricks Chardonnay' and 'Merricks Pinot Noir' - the Chardonnay coming from 27-year-old vines on soils of grey loams and red ferrosols on south/southeast-facing slopes, the Pinot coming from vines of the same age and soils but facing north, spending 9 months in wood of which 25% was new. Finally, the '23 'Terre de Feu Pinot Noir' comes from a tiny plot within the Merricks Grove vineyard that produces smaller bunches and more concentrated wines. This is the only wine to see 100% whole bunch vinification and spent 10 months in 25% new oak hogsheads. These are some superbly elegant and expressive wines that are very well-priced for high quality Pinot. Any fans of Victorian Pinot should seek these out!Casa Caterina
Casa Caterina is a family-run winery located in Monticelli Brusati, in the north-eastern part of Franciacorta. Founded in the 1980s by the Del Bono family, Casa Caterina is today led by the brothers Emilio and Aurelio Del Bono, sons of Francesco and Caterina, who represent a testimony to their commitment to quality and sustainability. Casa Caterina farm everything biodynamically with respect for the terroir and aim to produce exceptional wines that combine vibrant character, independent identity and sublime quality.
Casa Caterina own vineyards that extend over approximately 7 hectares between the areas of Gaina, Colombaia and Persaga, which are considered the best areas for viticulture in the Franciacorta area and stand out for their privileged position, exposure to the sun, rich soil and ideal slopes. These factors, together with the use of Gujot cultivation systems help to guarantee the highest quality of the grapes grown at a maximum of 80 cm from the ground. The vines benefit from the matrix of clay-limestone soils and the careful care of the family who work with dedication to produce wines that express the authenticity and purity of the territory. All of their wines spend a minimum of 36 months and up to 120 months on their own yeasts to develop complexity and character.
We recently poured 3 Casa Caterina wines at the Wine Fair last weekend and they were easily one of the highlights of the whole event, almost everyone we talked to pointed out these wines as some of their favourite. We still have some left over that we want to put out there as these would make the perfect Christmas wine as an alternative to Champagne as these easily outperform Champagne at a similar price point. We have the 'Cuvee 36 Brut Nature' made from 100% Chardonnay that spends 36 months on its lees and disgorged without dosage. We also have the '16 'Cuvee 60 Brut Nature' also made from 100% Chardonnay and spends 60 months on its lees before being disgorged without dosage. The resulting wine has slightly more brioche and nutty notes than the 'Cuvee 36' while still maintaining a beautiful freshness of fruit and liveliness. The '16 'Cuvee 60 Rose Brut Nature' is made the same way but from 100% Pinot Noir grapes and produces a wine with similar toasty brioche characters with well-integrated fruity notes or raspberry and strawberry. We also have a couple bottles of the 2009 'Vertical Blanc de Blancs' which spends a whopping 10 years on its lees before being disgorged without dosage as well. This is the pinnacle of their range and smokes most Champagne that goes for much more than this. This is an extremely unique and exciting Italian sparkling wine producer that I would recommend to any lover of Champagne and would make the perfect drink or gift for this Chistmas.