Fifth generation winemakers in Cramant, brothers Clément and Antoine make stunning low-intervention sparkling wines from vines planted by their grandfather in 1955. This wine spends just under 10 years ageing on the estate mostly in bottle. The wine is both broad and lush on the palate, while also having an exciting bright acidity that runs through it. Tasting notes include lemon curd, yellow apple, dry hay, brioche, vanilla, and almonds.
Monique and Tessa Laroche are first and second generation winemakers in the prestigious sub-appellation of Savennières in the Loire Valley. The wines are aged in a combination of tank and oak for around 16 months then bottled. They produce less than 2500 cases of wine annually. These wines are lively, textural, rich, and layered. You’ll find notes of pear, yellow apple, honey, ginger, and saffron.
Iconic and outstanding producer from Niagara, Blackball is a wine that showcases the terroir and exceptional winemaking that drive these wines. Winemaker François Morissette uses a delicate touch and long élevage to allow the grapes and place to shine for themselves. This back vintage is dry, rich, and complex with notes of honey crisp apple, toasted sesame seeds, and honeysuckle.
Andrew and Emma Nielsen took over a cellar previously owned by Philippe Pacalet in 2011 in Savigny-les-Beaune. They are a very small producer focusing on overlooked sites in Burgundy. For this wine, only five producers have the privilege to work with this rare plot of 50 year old vines of Chardonnay in Beaune. Aged on its lees for 10 months in old barrels, this wine is weighty but very fresh, with aromas of peach, green apple, and generous on the palate with depth and minerality.
Leaving her career in finance in Paris 15 years ago, Athénaïs de Béru moved back to her home in Chablis to run her family’s winery that has been owned by them for 400 years. Incredibly clean, precise, balance, and textural every time. This is the tête de cuvée from the most prized single plot on the estate. Aged in old oak barrels for two and a half years on its lees and another 6 months in bottle before release, this wine is driven by a salty minerality with notes of tart apple, lemon peel, fresh sourdough, and oyster shell.
Making the most sought-after wines in Abruzzo, and throughout Italy, the wines of Emidio Pepe are incredibly unique, bold, and complex. This Trebbiano is crushed by foot in large wooden tubs to provide texture through some extended skin contact that contributes to its rich, textural, deep, and concentrated flavours and aromas. Expect white peach, Korean pear, honeysuckle, orange peel, and a flinty minerality on this wine.
Giovanna Tiezzi and her husband Stefano Borsa manage this pillar in Italian natural wine. With over 60ha, but only 10ha under vine, this dynamic estate is an amazing example of biodiversity and care for the land. This traditional blend of indigenous grapes from Tuscany is aged for around 18 months in old oak barrels and a further 6 months in bottle without any sulphur additions. This is a wild wine that is full of life and rustic charm. You’ll find notes of black cherry, red plum, orange peel, freshly turned soil, black truffle, fennel seed, and barnyard.
Third generation winemaker for his family’s Domaine Arlaud, Cyrpien converted the vineyards to organic and biodynamic. This wine is from two special plots close to Vosne, Petite Charmotte and Les Argillats. Hand harvested, the grapes are destemmed, slow pressed, and aged for 16 months in barrels. Classic, elegant red Burgundy: Black and red cherry, ripe strawberry, mushroom, black tea, and a hint of vanilla.
Pierre-Jean Monnoyer has been producing wines in Tuscany since 2006. He is dedicated to biodynamic viticulture and minimal intervention in the cellar, one of only 10 producers to have these practices in Montalcino. After the grapes are hand harvested and slow pressed, the wine is aged in large old oak vessels for 4 years before bottling unfined and unfiltered. This is a beautiful expression of an elegant Brunello with notes of maraschino cherries, allspice, black truffle, earth, leather, and black olive.
Niece and protégé of Elio Altare who brought a modern approach to Barolo, Nadia Curto has carved her own path in the region for producing wines that strike a balance between rustic tradition and modern approachability. This Barolo is from a single plot and spends three years in barrel, three years in stainless steel, and 6 months in bottle. Nadia only produces the ‘Riserva’ in the best vintages and only two thousand bottles are made. For this elegant Barolo, expect maraschino cherries, red plum, star anise, dried roses, turned soil, and black truffle.
Paolo Bea is a renowned winemaker from Montefalco in Umbria, whose minimal intervention wines have attracted international acclaim. Bea does not use chemicals in the vineyard or additives in the cellar, making his bold and complex wines incredibly singular, expressive, and full of energy. This is one of his 100% Sagrantino-based wines, a grape that is very high in polyphenols (or antioxidants) and tannin. Bea’s four year élevage, the 1300-1500ft elevation, as well as age, brings beauty and finesse out of what can be an austere and challenging grape. Black cherries, black plum, cinnamon, star anise, earth, forest floor, and a rustic barnyard note can be found in this wine.
Paolo Bea is a renowned winemaker from Umbria, whose minimal intervention wines have attracted international acclaim. Bea does not use chemicals in the vineyard or additives in the cellar, making his bold and complex wines incredibly singular, expressive, and full of energy. This wine is from 150 year old vines that actually wrap around the trunks of trees. The grapes are macerated with their skins for three weeks and the wine is bottled without sulphur. This rich orange wine is very aromatic and expressive with notes of apricot, honey, saffron, and chamomile.
Former architect Gabrio Bini lives on a small island about halfway between Sicily and Tunisia called Pantelleria. Now known as a natural winemaker of cult status, Bini makes some of the more recognizable and desired orange wines in the world. The ‘Heritage’ is composed of the grape Zibbibo (the Sicilian name for Muscat of Alexandria). For this wine, however, the grapes are Bini’s oldest ungrafted vines (around 120 years old). The wine is aged in clay amphorae that are in the ground. Only about 600 bottles of this wine are made every year. This wine is full of apricots, chamomile tea, white pepper, rosewater, and dried orange peel, and wet hay on the nose and an incredibly dense weight on the palate. A wild and exhilarating wine.
Giovanna Tiezzi and her husband Stefano Borsa manage this pillar in Italian natural wine. With over 60ha, but only 10ha under vine, this dynamic estate is an amazing example of biodiversity and care for the land. This 100% Sangiovese is great example of a serious and structured rosé: Deep in colour, with present but less intense tannins, and a richness on the palate that is great with food. Expect some bright red cherries, under ripe strawberries, barnyard, and fresh oregano.
Also known as PYCM, the project of Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is producing some of the most exciting wines from Burgundy. Pierre-Yves Colin is the eldest son of Marc Colin. After working as the winemaker at his father’s domaine from 1994 to 2005, he established his own domaine alongside his wife Caroline Morey from vineyards they inherited from their historic families. This rosé made from 100% Pinot Noir exhibits the qualities that make PYCM’s white and red wines so famous: textural, flinty, mineral-driven, and precise. Delicate floral aromas with crunchy and wild strawberries, cherries, and grapefruit pith, this wine is a spectacular demonstration of what a premium burgundian rosé can be.