Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2023 från VertdeVin Wine Magazine

Though Rueda has ten authorised grape varieties - both white and red - the region is all about one: Verdejo. 88% of the DO's vineyards plantings are Verdejo, a variety that has thrived here for ten centuries. Covering 20,724 hectares, Rueda's vineyards sit between 700 and 870 meters above sea level, planted on calcium and magnesium-rich, gravelly soils formed by the river Duero. The climate here is Continental, the long, cold winters followed by short springs that often bring late frosts. Summers are hot, with the blustery Atlantic winds bringing cool reprieve. Verdejo thrives here. The buds come late, helping to dodge the frosts and the grapes' natural acidity and natural sugar levels are well-suited to the climate. Note that harvesting – nearly all mechanical – takes place at night…

Glass bottles are the perfect packaging for wine: beautiful, functional, made of natural materials. Would you agree? if so, you belong to a majority of wine lovers according to polls. However, unfortunately, you are wrong. the truth is actually just vice versa. Glass bottles and their transport contribute the biggest share of CO2 emissions in the entire wine production chain. From early spring, when the winemaker rattles out to the vineyard on his tractor until the new wine has matured in heavy oak casks, nothing has a bigger environmental impact than the bottles and their journey out to your cellar. The last mile curse The raw materials used in glass production are indeed natural: sand, lime, and sodium carbonate. But the production, requiring temperatures of 1,500 degrees Celsius, is extraordinarily…

Madeira is a volcanic island located in the Atlantic Ocean, it is tropical with a wonderful landscape and you don't want to miss the UNESCO-protected Laurisilva forest! Madeira is a Portugese charming island well known for the delicious still wines but above all, for its fortified wines which are just marvelous with plenty of different pairings. While I was there last February for the Wine Travel Week, I discovered Chalet Vicente Restaurante in Funchal. It is a traditional restaurant which offers a wide variety of local grandma's dishes you can share such as grilled meat on fire (they have a very nice fireplace), piri-piri chicken, octopus, liver in Madeira sauce… and the unique Bolo do Caco (the garlic bread)! For the sweet tooth, some simple but fresh pineapple with lime…

Les Béotiens - 2022 AOP Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Beautiful vine peach colour, shiny and limpid. The nose is fresh and fruity, discreet. There are notes of crunchy red fruits like raspberry as well as racy minerality in the form of clay. The wine needs to aerate. The palate is fresh, mineral, with an acid frame. There are notes of crunchy red fruits such as redcurrant, small morello cherry and a fresh salivating finish that ends on crunchy fruit. It is a simple wine, easy to drink. Score: 14+/20 (87/100) Château de Pampelonne - Légende 2022 AOP Côtes de Provence Pale color with a light apricot tint, shiny and limpid. The nose is fresh and fruity. There are citrus notes such as lemon zest, grapefruit and mandarin leaf. We also perceive a nice freshness…

Cantine Cogo – Il Sorno 2019 Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo DOC The nose is aromatic and offers fruit, a fine power as well as a fine incisive side. It reveals notes of crushed strawberry, blackberry and small notes of pulpy cherry associated with touches of violet, roasted small fruits and fine hints of vanilla. The palate is fruity and offers juiciness, acidity, tension as well as minerality. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy/pulpy cherry, juicy/pulpy raspberry and small notes of wild black-berry associated with touches of local grove, salinity and a hint of pepper. Tannins are supple. Good length. Score: 15+/20 (89-90/100) La Capuccina – Opera 32, 2018 Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo DOC The nose is fruity and offers a small complexity as well as a fine richness. It reveals notes…

Schubert Winery is a high quality level winery in New Zealand, situated in the Wairarapa Valley. The domain was born out of Kai Schubert's passion for wine, erupted at a very young age. Drawn to good food from the age of 16, his first awesome pairing was with a pinot gris of Alsace. Then, Kai began taking classes, studying, and he realised, that wine could be his path instead of the photography - his other great passion which morph into a hobby. Thanks to Marian, his life partner, he tastes a lot of Pinot Noir in blind tastings in the early 1990s and noticed that those from New Zealand always come out with great personalities. Kai and Marian, both Geisenheim University Viticulture & Oenology graduates from Germany, established Schubert Wines…

Alain Brumont is the Director of Château Montus and Château Bouscassé, two legendary estates in the South-West, has been able to introduce the concept of terroir giving the Madiran appellation a renaissance 40 years ago. Today Antoine Veiry, Alain's son-in-law, took matters into their own hands to perfect their wines with a vision like Alain: 40 years into the future. Alain, 40 years of experience After the phylloxera crisis, the slopes of Madiran, at the origin of the fame of this great wine, were abandoned and winegrowers cultivated their vines on the plains - easier to work. When Alain Brumont took over Château Bouscassé, his family estate, and bought the ruined Château Montus, he set off in search of the abandoned slopes. Once he had rediscovered the best terroirs in…

This spring, the three Cities of Climats and wines of Burgundy (Cités des Climats et vins de Bourgogne) opened their doors, in Chablis, Mâcon and Beaune. during your visit, you can learn about the terroir of Burgundy, and in particular - about its Climats, which were registered in the UNESCO heritage list in 2015. After the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux in 2016 and Préssoria de Champagne in 2021, Burgundy has finally found a place to introduce its wines to amateurs. This place is represented by three complexes, ”Cités”, which are located at 3 points of the Burgundian vineyard: Mâcon, Chablis and Beaune. The Cités of Mâcon and Chablis are more focused on their territories, geography and tasting, and that of Beaune is more general. Here, we discover the terroir…

Luigi is one of the most talented Italian chefs, his new project takes part in the heart of Piacenza, in the courtyard of the deconsecrated church dedicated to St. Augustine, from a renovation of the carpentry shop attached to the Monastery, a meeting place for art, culture and social life. A full moon, wonderful, welcomes guests and accompanies them during the meal, creating a truly magical atmosphere. Design between the historic and the romantic seducing with teal and sea blue colours. A soft lighting embraced the soul. Taglienti is recognized as one of the best interpreters of Italian and French cuisine with an unparalleled ability to try his hand at sauces, and, just a year after the restaurant opened, which is now up and running, he has developed an entire…

Colli Tortonesi DOC, created in 1973, is located in the south-east of Piemont and borders the regions of Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia. Thanks to this particular situation, it benefits from different natural effects: mountains, plains, alluvial outcrops and other geological formations, which influence its microclimate. There are 1250ha of vines under production, which descend the valleys of Scrivia, Curone, Ossona, Grue and Borbera and Spinti, are located on compact clayey soils comprised of ancient marine sediments,, blue marl and white stony marl depending on a sub-zone. This particular terroir, different altitude and important temperature variations during the grape ripening period give wines with unique character and personality. Two dominating grape varieties in Colli Tortonesi are red Barbera and white Timorasso. There are also several varieties native to Piemonte, as well…

This year, due to the complexity of this vintage, I have chosen not to present it in a form of an article, but as ”key informations”….. because there are many of them. This year was a vintage of stress for winemakers/vignerons, of weather phenomena, a vintage of « winegrower »… an atypical vintage but so qualitative! Be careful, however, even if we find very great wines in this vintage, I would not go so far as to speak of homogeneity but of heterogeneity of quality according to the several terroirs… The terroir and the hand of man are our notion keys! What about the 2021-2022 winter? • Heavy rainfall in December. • February was cold and with average rainfall(example:35mm at Latour). • It was the coldest Winter since 10 years.…

QUINCY Domaine de Ballandors 2022 Quincy The wine has a pale lemon-yellow color. The nose is aromatic, herbaceous, tangy and expresses the typicality of Sauvignon Blanc. It offers notes of boxwood and cut grass (pronounced, but fresh and pleasant), gooseberry, passion fruit, green apple, lemon zest, lime, as well as subtle floral notes of honeysuckle and acacia. On the palate, the wine offers sapidity, freshness and a tangy fruitiness, combined with notes of fresh herbs. It expresses the flavors of gooseberries, passion fruit, pomelo, lemon, lime, tart apricot as well as cut grass, acacia and a saline mineral touch. The finish is quite persistent, with a slight bitterness of lime and a salivating acidity. A straightforward, fresh and fragrant wine. Score: 15+/20 (89-90/100) Domaine de l'Epine - Une promesse… 2022 Quincy The…

Château Mauvesin Barton in Moulis-en-Médoc is an estate with more than six centuries of history, a vast property with 125 ha of forest and 60 ha of vines. The Barton family, who acquired it in 2011, is one of the rare families in Bordeaux, who owned their estates – Châteaux Léoville Barton and Langoa Barton in Saint-Julien – before the classification of 1855 and still own them. Mélanie Barton Sartorius represents its 10th generation and is the first oenologist and technician of the family. VertdeVin: Could you introduce yourself? Melanie Barton Sartorius: Melanie Sartorius, the daughter of Lilian Barton Sartorius. I joined the family business in 2012 and I work mainly in Mauvesin Barton, where I manage all the production from the vineyard to the cellar. Our family bought the…

If a young Silvia Imparato had been told she would grow up to be a winemaker, she would not have believed it. Her vocation was photography. When her father died, she was in front of a crossroads, eventually, she fell in love with wine All began in 1941 with the purchase of estate in Montevetrano, not too far from Salerno; Silvia lived here until the age of ten and a half. She attends boarding school, her parents suggest she studies foreign languages; Silvia ends her path in a French school; adolescence is a period in which a person tries to find a proper way, to figure out what will become. Silvia's transportation is all in favor for photography. It is her world, her life for twenty years; she lives in…

Rioja, a renowned wine region in Spain, has under-gone a transformation in recent years, with producers spearheading initiatives to bring back health to their vineyards and revive traditionally planted varietals. This movement, led by esteemed winemakers such as Juan Carlos sancha, Bodega Ruiz Jimenez, Valenciso, and Arizcuren, has resulted in the emergence of a new era for Rioja wines. Along-side this, the introduction of Viñedos Singulares labels and the embrace of the Joven label have brought new dimensions and freedom to winemaking in the region. Recognising the importance of preserving Rioja's viticultural heritage, several producers have embarked on a mission to bring back health and vitality to their vineyards. Through sustainable and organic practices, they are revitalizing the soil and cultivating grapes in harmony with nature. Juan Carlos Sancha, a…

Every Chinese drinks, on average, less than one bottle of wine per year. While this might seem a smidge, there are 1.4 billion Chinese; an average increase of just one more glass a year makes a 210 million litres more in annual consumption. Numbers of this magnitude capture the essence of the Chinese market and electrify European winemakers. Not surprisingly, major stakeholders like Rémy Martin and Pernod-Ricard penetrated this market early. 'Mostly to find out that things don't move as quickly or in the way we hoped,' says Miguel Torres, patriarch of Spanish wine. Brand-driven but not brand-loyal Today, though China joined the World Trade Organization, red tape is still a major obstacle for small producers, as is the mentality of most consumers. They are very brand-driven, but few know…

An authentic Eastern European variety, Graševina is spread all over the countries that once made part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The emperors are long gone, but the grape is still there and flourishing. The parents of the variety are unknown, but the latest genetic research shows that one of them may be Orsolina, a forgotten grape, also believed to be a parent of Barbera. Eighty different synonyms and a vast area of cultivation suggest the ancient origin of Graševina, somewhere in the eastern part of the Balkans. “Welsch” means “foreign” (also Italian or French) in German, similar to the Hungarian “Olasz” (Italian) and correlating to the common “Riesling Italico.” Confusingly, the grape has no relation to the Rhein Riesling, but in some countries like Romania, the vineyards of both are…

GIGONDAS, VINSOBRES, LIRAC Domaine Castel Oualou « Réserve fût de chêne » 2021 Lirac Light raspberry colour. Discreet nose of red plum, redcurrant and fresh raspberry. A hint of spice in the echo. Delicate attack on the palate. Fruit dominates. The mid-palate offers dense nuances of raspberries with a few spices in the background. As the wine progresses, notes of fresh coffee emerge, making the whole more complex. Sweet spices also emerge and the finish is lively, fresh and taut. A wine that is more nervous and complex than it first appeared. A nice surprise that should age well, as the coffee character suits it particularly well. Score: 15.25/20 (90/100) Domaine Castel Oualou « Cuvée Signature » 2020 Lirac Bright cherry colour. Discreet nose of cedar, coffee, liquorice and raspberries. A richness…