May is known as a month of transition.
If you live in the northern hemisphere, the fresh cold winds are gone. By the time May comes around, the spring flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and life is starting to seem a little more joyful day by day! If you live in the southern hemisphere, the sun is arguing with the clouds and disturbing your yearly summer for a bit. The rainy season is around the corner, but life is still joyful!
This month let’s go green. My first wine will be related to the fact that I finally had the occasion to try some white Asparagus from Europe and actually wanted to pair it with aromatic grapes. For that, I decided to go with a wine not too pretentious but always bringing the best of it, the beautiful Riesling Grüner Veltliner 2019 from Burn Cottage Vineyard.
My second wine is a bit atypical and definitely not a classic Sauvignon blanc from Loire as it’s an Orange Wine from the Domaine du Bouchot in Pouilly-Fume.
I am also really happy to share this article with my good friend Sabino!
An exceptional Sommelier that I am now happy to have met a few years ago. He will give you a lot of his personal experience related to 3 beautiful labels!
100% Riesling Grüner Veltliner
It’s now 20 years since the Sauvage family purchased and took care of those 24 hectares hectare estate in the foothills of the Pisa range in Central Otago, New Zealand.
Probably in the coolest area of New Zealand the climate of Central Otago can be described as ‘continental’ with warm summers and cold winters. Burn Cottage vineyards are located from Queensbury to Bannockburn, an insanely beautiful area and perfect for wine growing.
I’ve always loved New Zealand wines and it’s always a pleasure to keep seeking the best ones.
Family owned, biodynamic focussed winery, that came about from a passion and love for Pinot Noir and in many ways a bit of fortuitous timing and a gut feeling about the land in Central Otago.
This blend of two aromatic grapes brings a perfect balance, plenty of length, texture and finesse.
A distinctive bouquet with some peaches, pineapple and limes.
The palate is silky with a nice acidity, there is a lovely concentration and depth of flavour, supple texture, and a long, elegant finish. I had it for lunch with a white asparagus carpaccio.
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Let’s go back to Europe and especially to Loire, France.
Antoine Gouffier took over the Domaine du Bouchot at the end of 2019, after two seasons spent there. The Domaine du Bouchot was the first of the AOP Pouilly-Fume to convert to certified organic farming in 2009 and they also have been practising biodynamic farming since 2015.
The vineyard extends over 10 hectares in production and nearly one hectare of plantations spread over Portlandian limestone & Kimmeridgian limestone. The vinification does not include any input and Antoine respects the terroir and the environment in order to provide us with “healthy” wines.
Earlier this year, he was also awarded the title of “The Rising Star of 2022” by La Revue du Vin de France.
Antoine Gouffier freed himself from the codes of the appellation to create this atypical white wine, vinified like a red.
This Sauvignon Blanc comes from Limestone with thin caillottes. A production of 0.13Ha and an average age of the vines of 35 to 40 yo.
There is an intense nose with spicy-bread and toasted bread notes. Intense palate with exotic notes, long finish with refreshing acidity. This wine will pair perfectly with charcuterie and cheese selections as well as patisserie.
Sabino was born in Puglia and he has been working in the industry since a young age. After 4 years in London, his adventure in Bangkok started at Mezzaluna as a Sommelier. He is now the Head Sommelier of Lebua and especially focusing on the two Michelin starred, Chef’s Table.
Blanc de Noirs: 100% Pinot Noir
Bottled on 9 July 2014.
Disgorged in February 2021.
Dosage 0.75 g/l
I have always been in love with Champagne from a young age (that is when I started to enjoy nice bottles of wine). But I just opened last week, this wonderful champagne, and straight away fell in love with this bottle. Within days it was already in my new wine pairing at Chef’s Table.
I have known this producer quite well for some time and been fortunate to try many of their Cuvee. I must say they are all amazing. As you may know, this producer is concentrated more in quality than quantity. I love the concept of their selection of cuvee 700, so each year they tried to make it better and better, keeping of course the style of the champagne house.
In other words, Jacquesson chose expression over consistency. And so, with the 2000 vintage, Jacquesson created a stir when they announced that its 150-year-old non-vintage Perfection Brut label would be retired and replaced with a numbered, vintage-based cuvée (the first being ‘728’). Each year, a new-subsequently numbered-cuvée is released, with Cuvée No. 734 based on the 2006 vintage, Cuvée No. 733 on the 2005 vintage, etc.
Offering up notes of crisp yellow orchard fruit, nougat, hints of honeycomb and white flowers, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless, with an elegantly vinous profile, effortless balance and a pretty pinpoint mousse.
Classy and understated, this has turned out beautifully.
Made from 100% Pinot Noir, it has an exceptional ageing potential.
Very aromatic with a great minerality and a beautiful fruitiness, red fruits and yellow fruits in good acidity, great freshness of the vintage and perfect balance.
100% Primitivo
This bottle of wine is what I consider ‘Home’ because Puglia is where I was born and grew up. It is also the first bottle of wine I received from my parents as a gift during Christmas when I was 18 and started my studies as a sommelier.
I would love people to know more and more about wines coming from Puglia, as it is still good value for money, and you can have a surprising bottle of wine, without spending a fortune. Gianfranco Fino, describes himself as a farmer. As an expert in olive oil, he discovered in the typical red and calcareous soil of the Manduria in southern Puglia, not far from the coast, a tiny parcel of only 1.2 hectares with old vine of Primitivo in Alberobello education and decided to try it also once with viticulture.
Gradually, the winegrower, who worked with great passion, and his wife Simona saved twelve small vineyards between Manduria and Sava from being cleared. More than half are over 50 years old and planted Primitivo vines.
In the Salento region, Gianfranco Fino has a small vineyard with equally old Negroamaro vines cultivated in the Alberello system.
Crop yields are deliberately kept very low for quality reasons. Gianfranco Fino, called his Primitivo ‘ES’. According to Sigmund Freud, wine stands for the basic instinct, the instinctive ‘joie de vivre’ and uninhibited enjoyment.
A wonderful impression of what Puglia can be. Bright, rich ruby red. Elegant, concentrated bouquet with spicy notes of blackcurrants, chocolate and tobacco. The palate is compact, excellently structured and very well balanced with noticeable acid and pleasant tannins. Long and very fruity. A seducer with a lot of elegance and terrific finish.
100% Nebbiolo
Barolo has always been my all time favourite red wine. A mix of power and elegance at the same time, it is a pure joy when I drink a glass of Barolo, and every time reminds me of my childhood. My Mother is originally from Turin, and each year we used to go to see her family in Piedmont, and for every occasion a bottle of Barolo would be found somewhere in my mother’s family house.
Conterno-Fantino, are superb producers. When they founded their own winery together in 1982, they were considered “the young savages” who wanted to bring a new wind to the stagnating Piedmontese wine scene.
They were one of the few winegrowers who, from the very beginning, were able to develop their wines according to individual vineyards. In addition, Guido and Claudio introduced pioneering innovations and methods early on, such as short macerations and low yields, which still define the finesse and elegance of this “modern” Barolo today. The wines are rich in tannins, long-lasting and, due to the distinctive fruit, can be enjoyed young.
The 2017 Barolo Castelletto Vigna Pressenda is a gorgeous, exotic wine. Rose petal, orange peel, cinnamon, cedar and red berry fruit all open in a beautifully layered, super-expressive Barolo from Conterno-Fantino. Beams of Castelletto tannin extend the finish while lending a real feeling of vibrancy throughout. The balance of purity and structure is compelling.
The sandy soils north of Monforte d’Alba give this Barolo its immense power and structure. A fabulous wine from a very good vintage, classic and exotic at the same time.
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