Chenin Blanc Aloe Tree, Western Cape, South Africa
The fruit for Aloe Tree hails from the increasingly fashionable west coast of the Cape.
Cool nights and sea breezes combine to extend the growing season, resulting in perfectly balanced, ripe grapes. The iconic Aloe Tree image is sure to be familiar to anyone who has travelled widely through the Cape and is an important part of the biodiversity which South Africa is famous for. The characteristic silhouette provides a backdrop to one of the most spectacular wine regions in the world where wines grow in harmony with the thousands of plant species that make up the Cape Floral Kingdom.
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico, Zaccagnini, Marche, Italy
On the opposite coast to Tuscany lies the less well known, but no less beautiful, region of Marche. This is where you will find the family run Zaccagnini winery, established by two brothers.
Playing to their strengths, they have focused on the local grape Verdicchio, and the results are spectacular. Their range of three Verdicchios are as distinctive and individual as you could wish for, with each wine having its own personality and textural signature. All are benchmark examples of this lesser known region on the East coast. Whilst they have been working organically for a few years, from the 2020 vintage, the wines are being certified as organic.
Trebbiano Altopiano, Feudo Antico, Abruzzo, Italy
Feudo Antico was created on a small plot of land in the heart of Abruzzo. It is in Italy’s smallest DOP and the first designation of its kind in Abruzzo.
Starting from the 2013 vintage, all wines are Magis certified, the most advanced project for the sustainability of wine production in Italy. Currently their 15 hectares are cultivated using native varieties producing limited yields to ensure quality is retained. Clearly they highly value the land they work and this attitude is continued in the winery where the fruit and wine come into contact with no wood whatsoever, only concrete and glass. This guarantees the purity of the fruit, and its flavours, are conveyed from the vineyard direct to the glass.
Chardonnay Umbrele, Vilie Timisului, Romania
The Cramele Recas Estate, owned by Englishman, Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira, have put in a huge amount of work into transforming their slice of grape growing history into a contemporary winemaking haven.
The immaculate vineyards are a combination of evolved plantings from 1447 and much more recent plantings too. With recent investments into modernising and improving their winery, they regularly host world class flying winemakers, vintage to vintage, to work with their team. This enables them to create top quality wines and constantly challenge themselves push innovations and approach winemaking with an open mind.
Verdejo, Silga, Alvarez y Diez, Do Rueda
Alvarez y Diez is one of the most important producers of the D.O. Rueda. They have made major investments to ensure that the winery is at the vanguard of changing wine styles in the region. Concentrating on the indigenous Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc, they were one of the first to produce the crisp, herbaceous style that is associated with Rueda today and also the first to introduce screw caps to the region.
‘Aus’ Pet-Nat, Celler de les Aus, Allela, Spain
Located on the same site as Alta Alella is Celler de les Aus, headed by Mireia Pujol-Busquets – the daughter of Josep Maria. Mireia has already established a reputation as one of the most exciting young winemakers in Europe and, as well as assuming many of the roles from her father in the Alta Alella operation, she has established her own micro-project, producing natural wines without the addition of any sulphites. The small yet striking winery is filled to the brim with vessels of all shapes and sizes as Mireia continually experiments in an effort to produce wines that are as pure a representation of the Alella terroirs as possible. hak
Godello, Lagar do Xestosa, Galicia, Spain
In 2002 Adegas Pazo do Mar was created. It was born of a 30-year family vocation, which respects and admires the age-old Ribeiro wine- making traditions, but has a fresh spirit and vision for the future.
Adegas Pazo do Mar is dedicated to the production of native varietals, including Godello. They are in pursuit of the perfect balance between traditional and modern methods to achieve characterful wines with distinctive freshness. Their commitment to quality led to Pazo do Mar recently investing in the very best of oenological technology.
Traditionally each generation of our family had used this historic site as their initial launching pad as each embarked on its particular quality crusade; but when it was our turn, in the early 2000s, we decided on a totally fresh start not just philosophically (our tenets to respect nature and go back to the old ways) but in a location of our own – with Alejandra running exports and communications, Marco the viticulturist, and Richard the oenologist.
Riesling Riserva Pacifico Sur, Valle de Casablanca, Chile
Tutunjian Estate have vineyards across the Central Valley region, with their oldest vineyards located in the prestigious Apalta region of the Colchagua Valley. Well known for their expertise with Malbec and Carmenere, they also work with many other traditional grapes, always choosing the best terroir for each.
Chardonnay One Chain, The Googly, Eastern Australia
One Chain Vineyards, like Thistledown is overseen by Peter Leske, Giles Cooke MW and Fergal Tynan MW. One Chain works with growers to source fruit from some of the most established regions of South Eastern Australia. The Character Series has a range of beautifully produced and packaged wines, benefitting from the same ultra premium quality fruit sourced for Thistledown. Each wine has great varietal definition coupled with our signature vibrancy and freshness. These are wines that are immediately pleasing, yet authentic expression of the variety and place. The wines are inspired by a love for the Australian national sport. Indeed, the name One Chain is the imperial measurement for 22 yards, or the length of a cricket pitch. However, you really dont need to be a connoisseur of the game to be bowled over by the restrained, elegant style of the Chardonnay and the bright red fruit and subtle oak of the Shiraz Cabernet.
Quintas do Homem, Vinho Verde, Portugal
Quintas do Homem is one of those estates that immediately captivates you with its charm, its passion and dynamism.
Nuno and his father, Antonio, work the vines of their two vineyards, Quinta do Veiga and Quinta do Paço, where they grow predominately Loureiro and Arinto. Ana, their long term winemaker, is a fierce taskmaster, demanding quality fruit that enables her to deliver the pure, fine and elegant Vinho Verdes that Nuno expects. It’s very much a family exercise with Nuno and his father working the vineyards, Nuno’s mother preparing delicious, traditional Portuguese dishes for visitors and Ana, an adopted family member, making sure the wines are always perfect.
Torrontes, Manos Negras, Salta, Argentina
Alejandro Sejanovich is arguably Argentina’s most knowledgeable viticulturist, working as vineyard director for Bodega Catena Zapata for 16 years, he pioneered high altitude vineyard planting and conducted ground breaking research on Mendoza Malbec clones.
Manos Negras focuses on latitude winemaking, planting Torrontes in the northern stretches of Cadayate in Salta, Pinot Noir in the southern-most region of Neuquen in Patagonia and cultivates 50 year old Malbec vines in the prized Altamira appellation in the Uco Valley.
Bonfire Hill Extreme Vinyards, Western Cape, South Africa
Winemaker Trizanne Barnard has years of international winemaking experience. Her passion lies in the Western Cape, making wines sourced from the most extreme vineyards and blending them to perfection.
Trizanne seeks out grapes from wind-ravaged vineyards in Elim, the old expanses of the Overberg Highlands, from dryland bush vines in the warm Swartland and from the high slopes of the Piekernierskloof. They then all come together under Trizanne’s watchful eye to create wines full of flavour, tannin and texture.
