Red Wine Famille Perrin Chateauneuf du Pape Les Sinards 2019. Famille Perrin is a leading wine producer and the largest owner of organic vineyards South of the Rhone Valley. The family has been producing wine since the early 1900s, when Pierre Perrin inherited the prestigious Chateau de Beaucastel estate. Perrin’s grandsons, François and Jean-Pierre, founded the Famille Perrin winery in 1997, before handing over the reins, two years later, to the fifth generation of the family’s winemakers. The Perrin family is a pioneer of sustainable agriculture, having converted to organic viticulture as early as 1950 and to biodynamic practices since 1974. The cuvée Les Sinards is a wine made from Grenache and Syrah, from the young vines of Chateau de Beaucastel. Each grape variety is harvested separately and sorted at the winery: part of the Syrah is vinified in whole bunches, while the rest of it, together with the Grenache, is destemmed. After vinification, the resulting wines are tasted to define the blend, and then aged in oak foudres for 2 years.
2019
Red Wine Famille Perrin Chateauneuf du Pape Les Sinards 2019
Red Wine Fedellos do Couto Bastarda 2019. Fedellos do Couto is a dynamic young winery founded by maverick Portuguese winemakers Curro Barreno, Jesus Olivares, and Luis Taboada whose family have owned the 12th century Couto mansion for generations. The name roughly translates to Brats of Couto”, a reference to their irreverent and unconventional approach to winemaking which favours fermentation with wild yeasts and minimal human intervention. Rather than buy their own vineyards, the trio rent several vineyards on steep terraces on the slopes of the rivers Sil and Bibei in Ribeira Sacra. The vineyards are so inaccessible that they must be worked entirely by hand, and the three winemakers insist on organic farming practices to produce the purest fruit possible. This unusual wine is made from 100% Merenzao, or Bastardo as it’s also known in Portugal, grown on granite, schist and sandy soils at an altitude of 550-750 metres. The tough conditions here help to produce a vibrant and energetic wine with fermentation in stainless steel tanks and ageing in old oak casks. The fragrant nose is bursting with cracked black pepper, sour cherry, pomegranate and hints of wild herbs, joined by hints of raspberries and sweet spice on the long finish.
2019
Red Wine Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2019. No need to decant. Felton Road is one of New Zealand’s most prestigious and respected producers, located in Bannockburn, a sub-region of Central Otago on the Southern Island. The estate comprises four vineyards on the warm north-facing slopes of Bannockburn: the original Elms vineyard, the Macmuir, Calvert, and Cornish Point. They are all managed by oenologist Gareth King and his team of dedicated collaborators, and since 2002 the vines have been grown organically and biodynamically. The company carries on a philosophy of minimal intervention in the cellar, thanks to the use of gravity systems, indigenous yeasts, and without carrying out clarification or filtration processes. The Pinot Noir grapes are hand-harvested from the Cornish Point vineyard near a lake that creates a unique mesoclimate. Fermentation is traditional, with a medium-long maceration on the skins to extract color, aromas, and sustained tannins. The wine is then aged for 13 months in Burgundy oak barrels. The color is surprisingly intense for a Pinot Noir. On the nose, there are many red fruits, black cherry, blackberry, and plums, with hints of violet and dried herbs, and spicy notes. In the mouth, it is medium to full bodied, with a firm tannic backbone. It is ready to drink now but can benefit from a little more time in the cellar. Try it with beef tenderloin.
2019