DECEMBER 2021 FEATURED PREMIUM WINES
WINE ONE: GUT OGGAU THEODORA MAGNUM
About: 35-year-old Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling vines are planted on gravel and limestone. Two-thirds of the grapes are destemmed and crushed into used 500L, 1000L, and 1500L barrels to ferment and mature for nine months without batonnage. One-third of the grapes are fermented on skins for a short time. They capture a small amount of CO2 at bottling, which keeps the wine fresh. It is unfined, unfiltered, and has no added Sulphur.
Taste: This wine is pale gold in the glass. The nose is mischievous with aromas of struck flint, yellow apple skins, river rocks, dried lemon rinds, starfruit, Korean melon, and peony. On the palate, the wine is energetic and vivacious. The texture is silky but mildly phenolic, balanced by crisp acidity. You’ll find flavours of ylang-ylang, white currant, pistachio, and lovage on the finish.
Pairing: Ben over at Restaurant Yarrow makes this amazing endive dipped in a seaweed emulsion, topped with crispy bits of crystalized kelp, fried garlic, candied seeds, and hemp hearts. It is the perfect little umami salad that is both satiating and refreshing. I think Theodora would pair beautifully with this dish. I also remember going to a monastery in Japan to eat breakfast. They served us fish, dried on the roof in the sun, slightly smoked, with an array of fermented vegetables I had never seen. We also had a little rice porridge and some poetic matcha; Both the mood (revelatory, introspective, transcendent, methodical) and the flavours would get along sensationally with this wine. The joy I experienced while eating hand-pounded Mochi on the walk home is unparalleled.
WINE TWO: PARADISE GRAPEVINE VIN DE SOIF
About: This cuvée features Gamay Noir (92%) and Zweigelt (8%). The grapes were destemmed and fermented on skins between one and twelve days for various extraction levels. After an overwinter élevage in neutral barrel, the wine is bottled.
Taste: This wine is electric ruby in the glass, glistening like a jewel. The nose is rambunctious, in the mood to dance in tight red leather pants until the sun comes up. I can’t help but picture Andy Warhol crushing a glass of this with a burger on film - it brings me the same tender-hearted nostalgia Coca-Cola gave Andy. You’ll find friendly aromas of strawberry, raspberry, fennel seeds, blood orange, pomegranate, clove, and pink peppercorns. The palate is smooth and soft but with ample flavour concentration. The tannins are modest, balancing juicy fruits and prickly acid. The finish shows black cherries, cola nut, wild rose, and marshmallows. More, please.
Pairing: It’s hard to think of anything that wouldn’t go with this wine. Here’s a random list of options: a BLT, a hotdog, a burrito, a tiny calzone, spaghetti and meatballs, fried bologna sandwich, sloppy joes, canned chilli, a bag of Doritos.
WINE THREE: LAURENT CAZOTTES PRUNELART
About: With just over 30ha left, Prunelart is an incredibly rare grape. This father to Malbec produces deeply coloured wines with plenty of intensity. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically and features the regions typical limestone-clay soils. The grapes are destemmed into tank for a three-day maceration before being pressed off. The wine is bottled after a short élevage, traditionally without added sulphur.
Taste: This wine is deep purple with glass staining intensity. The nose is feral and beastly with aromas of iron-rich soil, black liquorice, mission figs, prune, graphite, bay leaf, lavender, and cassis. It is untamed, primal, an expression of earth and rock. On the palate, the wine is muscular with deep flavours, robust tannins, and an umami finish. Despite its girth, there’s plenty of freshness as well. Bombastic, boisterous. Rustic and refined. You’ll find further flavours of black trumpet mushroom, ripe plums, crushed granite, wild blueberry, fur, and violets.
Pairing: Le Frésinat is a local dish consisting of pork, duck fat, and potatoes. Its savoury richness makes it an ideal pairing for this wine - the tannins will cut comfortably through the fat and the umami in the wine pairs wonderfully with ample garlic. Alternatively, braised cuts work wonderfully with this wine, epically lamb shank. In the podcast, we mentioned goat as an ideal pairing as well - if anyone has a good supplier and recipe, I’d be forever in your debt.