“I want to struggle,” says Cristiana Tiberio, earnestly, as we talk in London. This Abruzzo winemaker has rapidly become one of Italy’s most fashionable names. Thanks to her hands-off approach in the winery, she’s a darling of the natural wine scene, but is also earning top scores and rave reviews from the likes of Eric Asimov (The New York Times), Antonio Galloni (Vinous) and Ian d’Agata. But, as I found talking to her, she’s far from complacent.  Cristiana fell in love with wine as a teenager. Her father, Riccardo, was friends with Bruno Giacosa and the legendary Piedmontese producer’s wines were her favourites. She noticed early on that wines made with the same grape from different sites tasted totally unlike each other. “Wine was an infinity world,” she tells me, still with a touch of whimsy – and it was a world that she set her heart on exploring. When the time came, she set off to study chemistry at university – looking to the science behind wine rather than more practical oenology. Before she knew it, however, she’d been diverted, ending up with a PhD in photochemistry, far from “the infinity world” she’d committed to. So she quit. Instead, she travelled the world, working with various top producers, including Jacques Selosse, Nicolas Joly, Egon Müller and leading names in Chablis, before returning to Abruzzo in 2004.  In the meantime, her father Riccardo had found a special parcel of land in the mountains near the town of Cugnoli, with an abandoned plot of Trebbiano Abruzzese – the indigenous grape that had largely disappeared from the region. With its large, juicy berries and thin skins, this variety is more susceptible to fungal disease, can be challenging to ripen and lose its bright acidity if not picked at the perfect moment. Trebbiano Toscano (ubiquitous across much of Italy, and in France under the guise of Ugni Blanc) had replaced many plantings – favoured for its small berries, ability to accrue sugar easily and retain its moderate acidity.  This abandoned vineyard had survived largely because of its unique site – with canyons to the south and west, meaning a wind blows through the vines constantly, clearing the humidity and reducing disease risk. It was also planted in the traditional Abruzzese pergola system, with two vines planted at each post, wider (four-by-three-metre) spacing, providing competition but also forcing the branches to grow longer, meaning a larger canopy, aiding photosynthesis and therefore ripening. Now 95 years old, these ungrafted vines had also endured thanks to their fortuitously sandy soils (a neighbouring plot, on marly clay, had to be replanted on rootstock, and is now around 80 years old).  While the Trebbiano Abruzzese was the lure of this site, much of the property Riccardo purchased was unplanted. Today, Tiberio has 30 hectares of vines, all in one contiguous parcel – with additional woodland, as well as alfafa and wheat fields, all part of the family’s championing of biodiversity. And, as much of the area hadn’t been planted, the property hadn’t suffered from industrial farming – meaning the soils were already healthy, however preserving it is at the forefront of what Tiberio does.  The vineyards are divided between Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino and Montepulciano – a fraction of the various grapes permitted in Abruzzo, but – importantly for Cristiana – the ones that were historically native to their mountainous terrain. They only planted with massal selections – something Cristiana feels is key. She argues that clones sourced from vine nurseries are designed to be planted anywhere, sacrificing anything “native” in the name of disease resistance and/or yield. “For me, historical heritage is everything in the wines,” she explains. On a more practical front, she finds that massal selections cope better in difficult vintage conditions, adapting more easily. As evidence, she points to a plot of ungrafted vines that she planted in February of this year (2024), explaining how despite the extremely dry conditions, the vines survived – entirely unirrigated.  While Cristiana clearly values the traditional pergola training, she has chosen to use guyot training for most of their vines. The old vines – largely used for Fonte Canale and Archivio – are under pergola, however she doesn’t feel it’s right for everything. When it comes to Pecorino, she explains how the variety naturally grows vertically, meaning pergola-training would force the vine into an unnatural shape, impact sap flow, and therefore quality. As for Montepulciano, while they have 2.5 hectares (used for Archivio) under pergola, she feels that the pergola system can push the grape’s rustic character – the thin skins with less phenolic ripeness (due to shading) at risk of producing more easily extractable, less refined tannins. For her, guyot elevates the flavour profile of the grape and helps balance the potentially aggressive tannin, avoiding it being too “loud”.   Cristiana’s brother Antonio is in charge in the vineyards, where they work organically. They briefly trialled biodynamics, however have veered away from using the preparations, along with any fertiliser or seeded cover crops – keen to avoid adding any outside inputs that aren’t “respectful of their terroir”, as Cristiana puts it. The winemaking continues this philosophy, with indigenous yeast, almost no new oak across the range (just 30% for the Archivio bottling), the wines unfined and unfiltered, largely avoiding temperature control where possible, and SO2 only added at bottling.  Although organic, they aren’t certified – something she feels strongly about. She explains how both dedicated, small growers and “big, industrial” producers can bear the same certification, while one’s farming is considered and artisanal, yet the other is borderline conventional. It “certifies our attitude and we stay lazy”, she tells me. “We stop struggling with our mind to find what is better for our terroir,” she says – something that she is anxious to avoid, keen to continue striving, pushing and working to do better, rather than tick a box and move on.  And that work is not merely intellectual. Having just finished harvest in Abruzzo before touching down in London, she was soon flying off to Oregon – squeezing in a second northern-hemisphere vintage at a property there. It’s a chance to learn, and few 50-year-olds seem to be quite as restless as this one. While Tiberio is a family venture, it’s not one that was passed through the generations – something for which Cristiana is grateful; she has been able to choose her site, choose the wines she’s making and define her own philosophy – one that is now resonating loud and clear around the world.  The Tiberio range  The regional wines  Trebbiano d’Abruzzo: Tiberio’s entry-level Trebbiano Abruzzese comes from three hectares of 75-year-old pergola-trained vines, those that were grafted 14 years after their oldest (dedicated to Fonte Canale). Only made with free-run juice, it’s fermented and aged in stainless steel.  Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: The vine material for their Pecorino was selected from a few old vines on the site, but comes from a 3.8-hectare plot planted in 2001 and guyot-trained. Only made with free-run juice, it’s fermented and aged in stainless steel. These are some of the oldest Pecorino vines in the region and the wine is unlike the modest Pecorino you may have previously tasted – ageing impressively.  Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: This rosato is very special. It comes from nine hectares of Montepulciano, planted in 2001 and Guyot-trained. Made with free-run juice (with no maceration whatsoever) and only seeing stainless steel, it’s a perfumed and bright style of rosé that can and should age.  Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: This is the largest production cuvée, coming from 15 hectares of Montepulciano – both older pergola-trained vines (62-year-old) and younger Guyot (planted in 2001). As with the other entry-level wines, it only sees stainless steel, spending 15 days on skins.  Single-vineyard bottlings  Fonte Canale: Arguably Tiberio’s most sought-after wine, Fonte Canale is pure Trebbiano Abruzzese from 736 ungrafted, 95-year-old vines, spread across around two hectares of sandy soils. (They currently aren’t replanting the individual vines when they die, as don’t want to plant grafted stock, but are cautious of fragile young ungrafted vines attracting phylloxera.) It was first made in 2012, with these ungrafted vines needing time to recover from their previous neglect. The combination of site and variety produces wines with modest alcohols (often 12-12.5%) and naturally low pH (the 2018 is a mere 2.7pH!), giving a backbone of taut acidity (as Tiberio says – “not raw, but flavourful acid”). The site’s indigenous yeast produces a cool ferment (reaching maximum 23̊C) and a wine that doesn’t need racking post ferment, with little reduction. The malolactic is naturally blocked by the low pH and the wine only sees stainless steel – “to allow this wine to express its meaning”, Cristiana says. This stunning, vibrant white is a pure expression of a special site – one that ages beautifully, with its old vines almost overpowering vintage. If any further praise were needed for this wine, it has featured on the list at Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana since its first release.  Colle Vota: First bottled separately in 2014, this vineyard is always the last to be picked. Planted in 2000 with massal selections from their old Montepulciano and guyot-trained, Tiberio finds the berries have thicker skins but release less during maceration (around 20 days). She also finds the tannins in the stems different here so is using a small portion of whole-bunch fermentation in the blend. Again with only free-run juice, the wine doesn’t see any oak whatsoever. Coming in a Burgundy-shaped bottle, this is the lighter of Tiberio’s two Montepulciano bottlings, but still with a firm tannic backbone, but with more delicate perfume.  Archivio: Launched in 2017, Archivio comes from the property’s 60-year-old pergola-trained Montepulciano on clay-rich soils, where the wind helps thicken the skins. Tiberio finds that the fruit has thinner skins from the middle of the pergola system, so these bunches are harvested separately. With thinner skins, the ferment has more lees and more reduction, needing oxygenation, so this is the 30% that goes into new oak to give it the necessary air. The bolder and firmer of the two Montepulciano bottlings, it is bottled in a Bordeaux-style bottle to indicate its ageing capacity – a wine that Tiberio confesses can be “monolithic” in youth, but offers great potential.  And coming soon… Quarmarì: A new single-vineyard Pecorino from 2023, this wine takes its name from the family dog, who passed away a few years ago. The wine has – so far – only been tasted by Ian d’Agata, who wrote that it is “a wine so amazingly good and unique that it will shatter all you thought you knew about the grape and what it can deliver”. Given how good even the entry-level Pecorino is, we can’t wait to try this.  The vertical tasting Pecorino  2006 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: It’s hard to believe this is close to two decades old – the wine vibrant, lively and juicy with lean lemon freshness to the palate. There’s a suppleness to the body, yet it’s taut and mineral, and more honeyed and herbal notes emerging with air.  2009 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: The 2009 Pecorino is instantly open, giving sage, thyme and honey on the nose, alongside fresh white peach. On the palate, however, it shows its restraint – still fulsome but with a mineral backbone that makes it feel youthful.  2013 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: Leesy and mineral, this is almost reminiscent of mature Chablis or Blanc de Blancs Champagne – with a honeyed, chamomile edge. The palate is waxy and long, with a herbal lift to the finish.  2015 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: There remains a creaminess to the nose here – the wine tighter than the 2013, with a limey, lean purity and plenty of energy.  2019 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: This is strikingly different after the 2015 – much riper and more exotic, with apricot, peach, mango and orange peel. Combined with the wine’s viscosity, there’s something Viognier-like, however there’s still brilliant, mineral energy here, with tight, citrus-edged acidity.  Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo  2022 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: It will be amazing to see this wine develop. The nose is restrained – you can feel the potential behind. Gradually wild strawberry and bright raspberry emerge, alongside delicate rose petal florals. It’s tightly wound with immense energy to the flinty palate, a minerality driving through its core into the long, mouthwatering blood-orange finish.  2020 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: Deeper-coloured than the 2018, the 2020 has a brighter nose – with raspberry sherbet, strawberry laces and a creamy richness. The acidity again is in the driving seat, the palate chalky and mineral with lemon freshness and a slight phenolic grip that frames the crunchy red fruit.  2018 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: A surprisingly deep pink (especially given this is made only with free-run juice), with a copper hue. This was a real highlight of the tasting. The nose combines a flinty minerality with a funky, savoury, almost cheesy note, alongside dried cherry and rose florals. The palate has a line of bright acidity and a mouthwatering lemon finish. Very serious rosé that deserves bottle age.  Fonte Canale  2021 Fonte Canale: From a very dry growing season, this is such a baby. The nose is mineral with notes of pear skin, white florals, lime pith and cordial, with riper apricot emerging. It’s vibrant and full of tight, lemony acid, driving on to the chalky finish. Precise and pointed, there’s crisp apple and herbal freshness, with a saline edge.  2020 Fonte Canale: At first with a touch of gunflint reduction, the smokiness gradually lifts to reveal a tight and lean expression of Trebbiano d’Abruzzese – all citrus and mineral, needing time and air to reveal itself fully.  2019 Fonte Canale: The nose here combines vibrant green apple, greengage and lemon with a sea-spray freshness. It’s still limey and tight on the palate, but with a soft, full weight too – with generous yet tangy, white-pear fruit on the mid-palate, before tightening up on the saline, mineral finish.  2018 Fonte Canale: Dried herbs mingle on the nose with more hedonistic fruit – peach and green mango,, with real weight to the fruit here. There’s still the bite of piercing lemon acidity, surrounded by fleshier peach fruit.  2017 Fonte Canale: This feels much more closed in comparison to the 2018, with pure citrus energy, tangy, pure and limey, but with a slight creaminess mingling with the tart fruit. It’s concentrated and full of promise, but not giving much away now.  2016 Fonte Canale: Waxy and bright, the 2016 is full of energy. Pure flint, Meyer lemon and grapefruit pith, with more delicate white florals all vie for attention, while the palate is all about pure crunchy apple, minerals and its vibrant acidity.   2015 Fonte Canale: The nose here is complex – with notes of honey, chamomile, tarragon, bruised apple and a praline richness. The palate, meanwhile, feels brilliantly youthful, with lime sherbet and chalky minerality driving long into the mouthwatering finish.  2014 Fonte Canale: This was closed at first, with subtle floral tones of apple blossom and honeysuckle dancing on a background of lemon and pear flesh. The palate has that familiar drive of acidity leading into the impressively long, saline finish.  2013 Fonte Canale: Fresh cashew mingles with lemon sherbet on the subtle nose of the 2013, a wine with lift and energy. The palate is lively and long, with the finish offering honey, herbal notes and sweet hay.  2012 Fonte Canale: The first ever vintage of Fonte Canale, it was a real treat to try this special wine. The nose combines rosemary and thyme with candied lemon peel, as well as more honeyed notes. The palate is lithe and vibrant still, with a stony purity and saline finish.   Colle Vota  2020 Colle Vota: This combines juicy dark fruit, sweet spice, baked plum and violet florals. Rich black and red cherry fills the palate, with an edge of dried herbs and the scent of nutmeg. The tannins are savoury and firm, with a chalky freshness and zesty edge to the acidity.  2019 Colle Vota: The 2019 offers floral lift, with brighter cherry and raspberry fruit. Less savoury than the 2020, the palate is tight and mineral, yet with a softness to the mouth-filling fruit, all cut by juicy acidity.  2018 Colle Vota: This is drastically different to the 2019, offering an aromatic profile of baked strawberry and tea leaf – almost lapsang souchong. The chalky minerality stands out here, with high, piercing acidity giving the wine backbone.  2014 Colle Vota: There’s a significant colour change moving from the 2018 to the 2014 Colle Vota, while the nose reinforces this shift with leather and damp undergrowth sitting alongside dried red fruit. The tannins have softened and are supple, while the acidity still refreshes and cuts through the fruit.  Archivio  2020 Archivio: Savoury and rich, this is a powerful, dark, compact Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that needs time. It is intense and structured, full of tight bramble fruit and drying tannins, but with an impressive line of acidity at its core.  2019 Archivio: This is much more open than the 2020, with a sweeter, more red-fruited profile, and more overt sweet spice. Dried herbs and incense complement the bramble fruit. There’s a firm chalky grip to the tannins, tightening up as the structure announces itself on the palate, yet with mouthwatering acid keeping things balanced.  2018 Archivio: The sweet, baked red fruit of the vintage seems to carry through both of the reds in 2018. There’s a softness to the fruit, yet still power behind. It’s full-bodied and firm, yet the most approachable of the trio of 2018, 2019 and 2020, with fresh, juicy acidity.  2017 Archivio: There’s a touch of maturity just starting to show here, with the first hint of sousbois and leathery richness, an almost tarry character, sitting alongside the sweet plum, baked blackberry and smoke. The tannic framework stands strong, even seven years on, needing additional bottle age to round out.  Explore all current Tiberio listings or read more about Italy 

Few names in Abruzzo have become as sought-after as Tiberio, best known for her single-vineyard Fonte Canale, Colle Vota and Archivio bottlings. We sat down with Cristiana Tiberio herself to talk about the project – and taste through a vertical of these extraordinary, category-defying wines

Sitting down with Cristiana Tiberio, cult Abruzzo winemaker, and tasting a vertical of Fonte Canale, Colle Vota, Archivio wines

Cristiana Tiberio – advancing Abruzzo

Advancing Abruzzo: Tiberio

It’s a damp and foggy morning when I arrive once again in the very quiet streets of Auxey-Duresses for my annual pilgrimage to taste the new Maison Leroy Collection. Last year Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy was in Monaco, so I’m looking forward to seeing and tasting with her again – on what happens to be her daughter’s birthday. Two dogs rush out to greet me eagerly – the 13-year-old black poodle Nine and five-year-old Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen Olga, both quickly quietening down once appeased with some gentle pats. Madame, meanwhile, stands behind them, as elegant and unassuming as ever.   Talking briefly about the state of the market, she repeats how the most important thing is the happiness of our clients. It was at the forefront of her mind when she decided on the wines in this year’s collection, which is dominated by the 2017 and 2018 vintages, with the oldest wine from 2011. It’s good to mix things up, she tells me. After last year’s extensive library release with a flurry of back-vintages, this year she wanted to give the youngsters a chance to shine.  She describes 2018 as a more complete vintage, there is more wine, more matière than 2017; nonetheless 2017 is more refined and delicate, somehow more approachable. We talk about what makes a “grand vin” and she says: “La qualité, c’est les rendements.” (“Quality, it’s the yield.”) Taking Aligoté as an example, she explains that she’ll rarely make as much as 20hl/ha for the Domaine Leroy and Domaine d’Auvenay Aligoté – and for her that’s the limit for producing a high-quality wine. It is impossible to make a good Aligoté at 40hl/ha, she argues – and as she knows from tasting those watery, dilute wines. “I’d actually rather drink water,” she confesses. It’s no secret that her Aligoté is special: and Gilles Desprez (Bize-Leroy’s right-hand man) notes how he was once blown away by a bottle of 1999 D’Auvenay Aligoté served to him blind – a wine that those around the table all thought was a Grand Cru white.  There’s no better judge of a wine than blind tasting – as Bize-Leroy knows. To this day, she blind-tastes everything that makes its way into bottle under the Maison Leroy label. She was recently tasting some 2024s for the range and notes how it’s easy to find a great Nuits-Saint-Georges or Gevrey-Chambertin, but is too often disappointed with Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny – struggling to uncover wines in these villages that are worthy of the Leroy seal of approval.  Our tasting begins with the reds this year, starting with an array of 2018s, sampled from south to north, “dans le sens de la Côte” (along the Côte), before moving through the 2017s to a 2016, 2015, 2012 and, finally, the oldest wine in this year’s collection, a 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges.  The whites include an appellation that she rarely tastes and one that almost never makes it into the range: Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc. The 2018 in this year’s collection, however, is special – a wine that you wouldn’t be a fool to call Corton-Charlemagne blind, she tells me. And (of course) Bize-Leroy is right: it is sumptuous, with a level of richness and density that far surpasses that of a mere “village”.  With air, it develops further, offering impressive complexity. Madame looks at Gilles: “It’s unfortunate we don’t have any Corton here to compare,” she says. Gilles confirms there isn’t any to hand while she considers the wine in front of her, before insisting – “Are you sure we don’t have any here?” The message is understood: Gilles says there may be some in another building and sets off to find it.   We keep chatting, tasting the 2018 Auxey-Duresses, a little shy after the 2018 Bourgogne Blanc (in her words: “the best Bourgogne Blanc we ever had”) and the superb Savigny. I ask if there are any wines she buys every year – an idea she’s fast to reject: she doesn’t have any contracts, each wine is selected purely on its quality in that specific vintage. I clarify that I meant if there were specific vineyards that she particularly likes, and finds herself buying year in, year out – and says that both Meursault Gouttes d’Or and Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot are certainly favourites, although it all comes down to how they taste.   Gilles comes back with an unmarked bottle, immediately recognisable by its shape as Domaine Leroy. He is out of breath (earning some teasing, but also having run up and down 200 stairs to retrieve the bottle in question). The wine – a 2018 Corton-Charlemagne from the property – is quickly opened and served. It is typical Leroy: the nose is slightly muted, with some reduction and the popcorn-like notes that you often find in Bize-Leroy’s whites. On the palate, this is what you call packed: I have rarely found such concentration in a Corton-Charlemagne, even in ripe vintages chez Leroy. Madame states that she thinks many would call this a red if served totally blind, given its “matière”. “This is a grand vin,” she says. She explains how special the plot is, at the top of the hill, above her Corton Renardes: “C’est un terroir à rouge.” (“It’s a red terroir.”)   Going back to the Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc seems like a pointless exercise after the Corton-Charlemagne – but is far from it. The Savigny has benefited from warming up and being open for an hour. In fact, it is far from ridiculous to compare it to its grander sibling. Indeed, Madame Bize-Leroy pauses over it, saying she finds the Savigny more balanced – the wine feeling beautifully layered, yet not heavy or dense. It is by far the best Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc I have had the chance to try and – as proven by this comparison – would rival most Corton-Charlemagne. Of course, the 2018 Domaine Leroy Corton-Charlemagne is a baby – a wine built to age that will need years before being approachable and Bize-Leroy herself confirms that it won’t be released anytime soon. It has everything to be an exceptional wine in the future, but the Savigny is the one to drink now.  This is my 10th year at FINE+RARE and it’s relationships like this one that define our business: having the chance to share a moment with one of Burgundy’s legendary winemakers, talking openly and honestly about two of her wines, is truly special. Some are fast to dismiss Maison Leroy as “just” Bize-Leroy’s négociant label, perhaps out of ignorance or lack of exposure to the range. I can’t pretend these wines are cheap, but I also can’t pretend that Madame Leroy is like other winemakers. Her nose is remarkable, her access far-reaching, and the resulting wines one-of-a-kind. I can only admire this 93-year-old woman, the way she describes her wines, her humbleness, not to mention the wines that carry her name.  Tasting the 2025 Maison Leroy Collection 2018 Bourgogne Blanc: Maison Leroy’s 2018 Bourgogne Blanc is extremely expressive. Almost exuberant on the nose, it shows concentration, toasted almonds, juicy blood orange and verbena. The palate is equally impressive – and I would be easy to mistake this for a very good Meursault blind. Similarly to its red counterpart, the wine has gained in depth on the palate since we last tasted it. It is lively and expressive, yet with a signature fatness that’s so enjoyable. Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy tells me she has rarely, if ever, had a Bourgogne Blanc of this calibre – and we can only agree at this stage! Drink 2025-2031. 2018 Meursault: The 2018 Meursault from Maison Leroy is less immediately expressive than the Bourgogne Blanc, tasted just before – but don’t let that deceive you. You can feel the tension and seriousness of this wine, with hints of flinty minerality on the nose. The palate is concentrated and refined, nicely balanced and nuanced, with a creamy complexity. Compared to its Bourgogne sibling, this is clearly of a different calibre – a more aristocratic wine with greater density. Although approachable now, it will benefit from another three to five years in the cellar to express its full potential. Drink 2027-2035. 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc: Maison Leroy’s 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc is packed on the nose. Lovely brioche notes are underwritten by bruised apple and brighter citrus fruit, with delicate touches of lemon blossom. As the wine aerates, it keeps building in density, with layer upon layer – making for a wine that is beautifully fleshy and inviting. On the palate, the wine is so immediately rich and profound – it would be impossible to call this a village wine blind. It has the signature richness of a Corton-Charlemagne, perfectly balanced between power and tension. This is by far the best Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc I have ever tasted and would be head and shoulders above most Corton-Charlemagne you can find on the market. This is drinking beautifully now but has everything to age effortlessly. Drink 2025-2040. 2018 Auxey-Duresses: Coming from a terroir that can sometime be a bit too flamboyant or invasive, Maison Leroy’s 2018 Auxey-Duresses feels very discreet after the Savigny-lès-Beaune. With notes of fresh almonds and a hint of reduction on the nose, this feels a bit muted. On the palate, the wine clearly has the concentration of the vintage, yet is quite elegant and restrained with a hint of white pepper. This is lovely but will need a few more years to be approachable. Drink 2028-2035. 2018 Bourgogne Rouge: Last tasted in February 2022, Leroy’s 2018 Bourgogne Rouge still displays a very charming, delicately perfumed nose that oscillates between dried rose petals and little red berries, but it seems to have gained in weight and density. It retains beautiful acidity balancing the concentration of the vintage, the finish is clean and vibrant. This is one of our favourite renditions of the cuvée in recent years, youthful and drinking beautifully now, this should keep evolving positively for another seven to 10 years. Drink 2025-2035. 2018 Monthélie: On the nose Maison Leroy’s 2018 Monthélie has beautiful notes of violets wrapped up in a mix of red and black berries, especially blackcurrant. Those very pure and delicate floral aromas carry through to the palate, accompanied by tannins that are very subtle, almost with a hint of sucrosity that makes one salivate. This is a very complete wine that outperforms in this warmer vintage: a wonderful expression of this terroir that, for me, displays the elegance of Volnay with a weightless mouth-feel. Drink 2027-2037. 2018 Volnay: Served just after the 2018 Monthélie, Maison Leroy’s 2018 Volnay has a slightly more discreet nose. It’s perfumed and all about finesse yet a bit shy at this stage. On the palate, there is good concentration and precision, but it does not provide the crunch and freshness that you’d expect at this stage. This is surely elegant and refined, but lacks that little twist that will surely come with a few more years in the cellar. Drink 2028-2040. 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune: As with its white sibling, Maison Leroy’s 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune could be mistaken for a Corton blind. It has such a concentrated, solar nose with a darker fruit profile. There’s density on the palate too, the wine fleshy and rich, but not heavy. It’s nicely balanced, with delicate tannin structure and a precise finish. It’s as juicy as it is approachable. Drink 2027-2037. 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin: This was one of the highlights of the 2022 Maison Leroy Collection when it was first released. The wine has retained all its depth, complexity and power, but has shut down a little bit. It is packed with dense dark cherries, hints of sweet spice and forest floor. On the palate the wine offers an enjoyable, mouth-coating, generous and balanced structure, yet the wine feels a bit muted compared to where it was three years ago. This is nonetheless offering a very long finish with fresher note lingering. This is surely a grand village Gevrey that will simply need to be forgotten in the cellar for a few years! Drink 2030-2040. 2017 Pommard: Maison Leroy’s 2017 Pommard speaks of its terroir, combining rich, brooding, ripe blackberry, with hints of blackcurrant and a touch of rusticity, lifted by the freshness and precision of the vintage. On the palate, it has a firm but delicate structure with chewy tannins that are both muscular and velvety. Tasted right after a flight of 2018s, this seems much more approachable (as is often the case with 2017s). The refreshing backbone of acidity drives through the core of the wine, lending a beautiful sappiness to the long finish. Drink 2025-2035. 2016 Santenay, Premier Cru, La Comme: Immediately expressive, Maison Leroy’s 2016 Santenay Premier Cru La Comme comes from this underrated terroir, on the southern border of Chassagne-Montrachet. The charming, multifaceted nose oscillates between raspberry and juicy cherry with a hint of liquorice. The wine is mouth-coating; you can feel the substance here, with a lovely texture that remains delicate and refined. This clearly shows the concentration of the vintage and its tiny yields, but it is all wrapped in a very elegant mouth-feel – creating a wine of great balance. It’s in such a lovely spot now that this is hard to spit out! Drink 2025-2035. 2015 Chorey-lès-Beaune: Packed on the nose, Maison Leroy’s 2015 Chorey-lès-Beaune is quite shy at first, but with a bit of swirling you start to notice how dense and saturated this wine is, with aromas of ripe blueberries, blackberries and a hint of spice (cinnamon maybe?). On the palate, it is concentrated with mouth-coating tannins and layers of berry fruit – raspberry, strawberry and blueberry. This has a lot to say and offer, with an impressively persistent finish, but will benefit from a few more years’ cellaring to reveal its full potential. Drink 2028-2040. 2012 Côte de Nuits Villages: Made with fruit from around Nuits-Saint-Georges and Corgoloin, Leroy’s 2012 Côte de Nuits Villages is always a bit backward on the nose and slightly austere. But it’s also elegant and delicate, the floral notes combining with tertiary notes. On the palate, this feels like it is in a slightly awkward phase, very dense with soft, integrated tannins yet somehow disjointed between the rich dark fruit and a tertiary character. I would leave this for a few more years before revisiting. Drink 2030-2040. 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges: Finely perfumed, Leroy’s 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges offers a delicate nose of mixed red berries supported by more earthy notes, some pot-pourri and a hint of spice. On the palate, it’s concentrated and charming, but with air opens further and shows its density, still youthful for a 14-year-old village wine. There’s a hint of rusticity towards the finish that makes one salivate. This is far from the austere expectation one may have for this combination of vintage and appellation. It’s not reached its drinking plateau but is perfectly approachable now. Drink 2025-2040. The new Maison Leroy collection will be released soon: you can see all the wines in the 2025 collection here. Please contact your Account Manager to register interest. 

Each year, our Buying + Partner Director Corentin Margier visits Maison Leroy in Auxey-Duresses to sample the new releases. Here, he reports on his tasting with “Lalou”, the legendary matriarch of the Leroy empire  

Ahead of the release of the 2025 Maison Leroy Collection, we visit Lalou Bize-Leroy to taste with the legendary matriarch and winemaker 

Lalou Bize-Leroy: a living legend – Burgundy’s matriarch 

Lalou Bize-Leroy: a living legend 

Wine journalists are jaded folk – spoilt by too many impressive tastings, lunches and dinners. But when Champagne Louis Roederer invites you to an event celebrating 50 years of Cristal Rosé, few refuse. Cristal Rosé is, as Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told us, still “a hidden gem” and the rarest cuvée Roederer produces. It’s not often shown, and even visitors to the estate don’t get to taste the wine.  While Cristal – Champagne’s first prestige cuvée – was created in 1876, its pink sibling was born almost a century later. It was Jean-Claude Rouzaud, current CEO Frédéric Rouzaud’s father, who created the wine, aged 32. He had been managing the company’s vineyards and took over the winemaking in 1974.  “His great vision was to put the vines back in the centre of the creative process,” explains seventh-generation Frédéric Rouzaud. For Roederer, site and farming have long been key to what they do (long operating both as a grower and négociant), but Jean-Claude’s move from vineyard to cellar pushed this further, allowing for – as Lécaillon put it – “a creative and constant dialogue between the vineyard and cellar”.  The same year that he started leading the cellar team, Jean-Claude decided to make a rosé version of Cristal. Almost all rosé Champagne was – and is – made by blending a still red wine in with the base white wines. Jean-Claude, however, wanted to use co-fermentation to keep the wine in the style of Cristal, a decision that Lécaillon says was key, making the wine more ethereal, precise and “Pinot-y”, with a juicier texture.  The wine was built around parcels of Pinot Noir in the Bonottes area of Aÿ, which Lécaillon describes as the “Musigny” of Champagne. In his mind, the Pinot Noir from these plots offers a “special tannic complexity” – tannins that are more saline, integrated and aromatic; the Pinot Noir here is, he says, “effortlessly perfect” and the heart of Cristal Rosé. These three vineyards (Bonotte Pierre Robert, Gargeotte and Côte du Moulin) had been used for Cristal since the 1870s, and more recently became the source for Pinot Noir material for their vine nursery – with 150 different massal selections taken from the plots – long recognised for their quality.  The three original Pinot Noir plots are now being replanted and – while the vines mature – another site in Aÿ, La Villers, a mid-slope parcel at higher altitude, is currently being used in the blend (from the 2018 vintage). It is set to form part of the wine long-term, its cooler position thought to be of particular benefit with climate change. Complementing the 55% Pinot Noir is Chardonnay from two sites – Pierre Vaudon in Avize (bringing more power and richness) and Montmartin in Le Mesnil (lending length, salinity and a chalky minerality).  The first two vintages (1974 and 1975) were more experimental, as Jean-Claude figured the wine and style out, but the third attempt in 1976 produced something special – with sufficient phenolic ripeness to produce a rosé truly worthy of the Cristal name. Even now, 48 years later, that wine is singing – combining savoury rye and brown miso notes with pear tarte tatin and an earthy power. While it had a flurry of three vintages at the start of its life, just 25 vintages of Cristal Rosé have been produced to date. The wine needs a year where not only the quality of fruit is outstanding, but the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ripen at the same time – allowing for their co-fermentation – something that is relatively rare.  Only made with vines that are minimum 20 years old, yields are low for Champagne (at 35-40hl/ha).  The Pinot Noir is destemmed, crushed and left to macerate. Earlier vintages saw this happen over two to four days and at warmer temperatures, but the winemaking has evolved over the years, with a pivotal shift from the 2008 vintage. From 2008. Lécaillon started chilling the Pinot Noir down to -4̊C overnight, prior to de-stemming and crushing the fruit – something which he believes avoids extracting any green character.   The must is then left to cold-soak for between seven and 10 days, with no punch-downs or pump-overs – a true “infusion” (to avoid any microbial spoilage, they cover it with dry ice for the first four days, then use nitrogen). The must isn’t chilled during this time, and the temperature gradually rises to a maximum 8-9̊C. Moving to a cold-soak was inspired by an accident. In the warm 1989 vintage, Lécaillon’s first year at Roederer, they didn’t have a cooling system in the cellar, and the Pinot Noir was left in a reefer – undergoing an inadvertent cold-soak. The resulting wine was so good that it inspired Lécaillon.  Just as the fermentation starts, the must is racked off and blended with the Chardonnay which has been whole-bunch pressed pneumatically (Lécaillon argues the grape’s reductive nature needs a little skin contact to avoid being overly thiol-driven and Sauvignon-esque). Around 20% of the base wine sees oak. After secondary fermentation (under crown cap, something with Lécaillon argues helps preserve precision and terroir versus cork), the wine spends eight years on its lees, developing immense complexity.  “Since 1974, it has been our laboratory of farming, of winemaking,” says Jean-Baptise Lécaillon of the wine. Cristal Rosé was in fact the House’s first cuvée to be farmed biodynamically, and the first biodynamic prestige cuvée in Champagne, from the 2007 vintage. He explains that he is looking for phenolic ripeness, integrated with the salinity of Champagne, seamlessly combining the tannins and acidity; a wine complemented – but not dominated – by bubbles of salt.  The wine is undeniably remarkable. Tasting through a range of vintages from 1976 to the present day, all in magnum (find full tasting notes below), the vibrancy, purity and moreish, saline, minerality of these wines left me speechless. Their ability to age is effortless, with the 1989, for example, still tasting incredibly youthful. Talking about Cristal Rosé’s evolution, Lécaillon explains that he finds the first decade is all about fruit, but then the wines return to their site and soil, becoming wines of place. Conversation strays into weather Champagne today, with global warming, can still make wines that will age as beautifully.  “Champagne is not just about acid; it’s about freshness,” says Lécaillon. He points to the 1976 and 1989 vintages – both incredibly hot years, with the fruit picked at almost 12% potential alcohol and modest acidity levels – and yet the wines are full of freshness. Back then, producers were on holiday throughout August, and the fruit was picked in September (1st for the 1976 and from 5th for the 1989), but with such conditions today they would have harvested in mid-August. It is perhaps, he suggests, a lesson that the region is overreacting to warm conditions – with too many producers chasing acidity, rather than phenolic ripeness. For the skins are, he argues, the key to this sense of freshness, the dry extract that allows the wine to age.   The House has introduced a Cristal Rosé Vinothèque, or late release. To date, there have only been a handful of vintages – the 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2002. The maturation for this wine isn’t set and varies according to the vintage, normally spending longer on its lees, both sur latte (lying down) and sur pointe (upside down), the idea being to build umami complexity in the wine. The sur pointe ageing is unusual, something Lécaillon favours for its more reductive nature, keeping the wine aromatically fresh (the wine is still riddled four times a year in the same position, to agitate the lees and absorb any oxygen). Generally these releases are offered around 15-17 years after the vintage. The dosage is often lower than the original bottling, with the longer lees ageing lending balance without a higher sugar addition. Tasting the 2002 Vinothèque (a wine that feels infantile), Lécaillon says: “Is it better? I don’t know, but it’s another expression.”  I’ve written before about Lécaillon’s tireless approach to wine-growing – constantly looking to learn and evolve, and the week after our dive into Cristal Rosé he was flying to Japan to visit the Fukuoka farm (founded by Masanobu Fukuoka, the author of The One-Straw Revolution and a pioneer of permaculture or “natural” farming). His fight against the “banalisation” of taste continues, as he looks for ever-more ways to enrich the world of Louis Roederer. If the next 50 years of Cristal Rosé is nearly as good as the first, we’ve all got a lot to look forward to.  Five decades of Cristal Rosé: the tasting  2013 Cristal Rosé: A beautiful, late-ripening growing season that provided the last October harvest to date. A wine Chef de Cave Jean-Baptise Lécaillon describes as having “eternal youth” – something that is hard to disagree with after tasting the wine. This is a baby, the nose enticing with delicate floral aromas and bright citrus, not giving too much away. The palate is long and saline, tightly wound, but bursting with bright fruit on the mouthwatering finish, combining lush redcurrant and lemon. Gorgeous. Dosage 7g/l, tasted from magnum.  2012 Cristal Rosé: Lécaillon notes how 2012 was seen as an “easy” vintage on release, riper and richer with a little more Pinot Noir in the blend, but is now entering its second life, with reductive, chalky notes that bring it back to its soils. The wine is beautifully earthy and drastically different to the 2013, with power and intensity. It’s very savoury, a wine that is all about breadth and structure, with wild strawberry and raspberry notes mingling alongside a sea-spray freshness, driving on to a long, mineral finish. Dosage 8g/l, tasted from magnum.  2008 Cristal Rosé: This was the first fully organic vintage for the entire Roederer estate, and marks the start of a new era for Cristal Rosé with its cool “infusion” technique for the Pinot Noir. Paired with the 1995 vintage, the two wines are windows into two completely different worlds of Cristal. With the copper tone of a sunset, it’s a wine of muscle. It’s almost haughty, with length, power and elegance – showing off its flawless structure, with a zesty citrus drive complementing its austerity. The finish is long and saline. It will be incredible to taste this in 20 years’ time. Dosage 8g/l, tasted from magnum.  1995 Cristal Rosé: This vintage was one of the last to see the Pinot Noir soaked at 20-24̊C. It is, in Lécaillon’s mind, the “same terroir, but a different story” versus more modern iterations of the wine. The wine glows golden in the glass – the colour of the sun just as it breaks the horizon. It’s incredibly open, the aromatics constantly shifting to reveal new layers. There’s a touch of mushroom or truffle, but with layers of rich, almost tropical, fruit behind – think peach, mango, peach tea and the bite of pomegranate, with caramel sweetness, but still a saline twist to the finish. A wine of weight and depth. Dosage 12g/l, tasted from magnum.  1989 Cristal Rosé: This was a very warm vintage, harvested from 5th September, and the wine technically doesn’t have high acidity – yet is a wine of impressive freshness. Grilled hazelnuts edge a nose of candied orange peel and pomegranate, and a coffee note that emerges with air. There’s a liveliness to the palate here, even over three decades on, with a gorgeous freshness and creaminess to the mousse. The fruit on the palate is lush, with generous mouth-watering peach and a taut, mineral backbone. It’s amazing how young this tastes still. Dosage 12g/l, tasted from magnum.  1976 Cristal Rosé: Despite coming from another warm vintage (with a very hot, dry August – and harvested from 1st September), Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon notes the freshness on the 1976 vintage, and how it seems to have never become too evolved. It’s much more savoury than the 1976, with rye bread and brown miso sitting alongside caramelised pears, tarte tatin and a hint of Oloroso Sherry. The palate is a rush of fine bubbles, fresh and with a citrus bite but a savoury framework behind. A remarkable wine. Dosage 10g/l, tasted from magnum.  2002 Cristal Rosé Vinothèque: This was disgorged in 2019, spending 11 years on lees sur latte, and then another five sur pointe, followed by an additional four years’ post-disgorgement ageing prior to release. This wine is so tightly coiled, a wine not yet revealing everything it has to offer – although you can see the incredible structure. It’s so vibrant, with energy and a lushness as it drives toward a seemingly never-ending finish. It’s gorgeous, layered with mandarin, grapefruit pith, chalky minerality and smoked salt, lingering on the soft, saline tail of the mouthwatering finish. Dosage 8g/l, tasted from magnum.    The releases of Cristal Rosé to date: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014  Browse all current listings from Champagne Louis Roederer or read more Editorial 

This year marks the 50th birthday of Cristal Rosé, Champagne Louis Roederer’s rarest wine. Sophie Thorpe caught up with CEO Frédéric Rouzaud and Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon about this very special prestige cuvée and tastes through five decades of the wine

As Champagne Louis Roederer celebrates the 50th birthday of Cristal Rose, we talk to Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon and Frederic Rouzaud 

Celebrating 50 years of Cristal Rose Champagne

Five decades of Cristal Rosé

We explore the terroir and characteristics of Markus Molitor's top Grand Cru cuvees throughout the Mosel region. Markus Molitor talks us through the terroir profile and characteristics of his top single vineyard cuvees, plotting the wines on the map as we taste the latest vintages from each site.

Exploring the terroir and characteristics of Markus Molitor's top Grand Cru Riesling cuvees throughout the Mosel region in Germany.

Markus Molitor and mapping Mosel vineyards 

Markus Molitor: Mapping the Mosel

It’s only April and he’s already traversed the globe hosting tastings, completed a harvest in Australia and now Egon Müller IV is finally home. His 18-year-old daughter is also back home in Wiltingen, unexpectedly: her A-level exams have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic and she has returned from her studies in London. It's uncertain times but the proximity to the border with France and Luxembourg has been a source of uncertainty for centuries. In fact, if it were not for the French army invading the region soon after the Revolution and taking the Left Bank of the Rhine river, the family estate would not have existed.  His great-great-great grandfather, Jean-Jacques Koch was a monk at a local monastery before the French came through in 1794, seized the church's property and auctioned it off. As a result, Koch bought his piece of the Scharzhof estate, met a woman, had seven children, whom he had to divide his land between thanks to Napoleon's law of inheritance, and the scene was set.  Whether the Scharzhofberg (Scharzhof hill) was considered as special as it is now when Koch made the acquisition is pure speculation. It was –and remains –an unusual site, as it has long been dedicated to vines whereas similar-sized properties were home to other crops and woods. Long ago, it was clear that the wines from the steep slate-rich soils of this high spot in the Saar were out of the ordinary, winning acclaim at international fairs including the 1900 Paris Exhibition and as far afield as St. Louis, USA.  However, the 20th century brought its troubles to the Müller's tranquil spot a few miles from the confluence of the Saar and Mosel rivers. Müller's father, Egon III, was born in 1919 and drafted into the German army for the duration of World War II, fighting as close to home as France and as far afield as Russia. His wife and her sister did their best to take care of the vineyard while he was away but when he returned for the 1945 vintage, they were able to make only 1200 litres of wine. "The weather was fantastic but there had been years of neglect: there were no workers, you couldn't buy sprays nor fertiliser,” says Müller IV.  Despite the challenges they faced, the family business was already 150 years into its existence and while all businesses face global uncertainty today, Müller says, "In terms of family businesses that have been going for many generations, we have a better chance than if you look at what's in your bank account.  In agriculture, you have to think about the long term."It's just as well the family has been so stoic in the face of adversity or the world would not have the thrill of its sweet, pure Riesling, whose sweetest wines leave even the most exacting of wine critics weak at the knees.  Neal Martin of Vinous described an unexpected encounter with the 1975 Scharzhofberger TBA: “Though the bottle is still on the other side of the room on its way to the dining table, I instantly register that it is a) exceedingly rare and extraordinarily expensive and b) already open for serving. The thought that goes through my head is: “Is that really what I think it is?” I was. The result. “It might well be the greatest Riesling that I have ever consumed.” Focusing on making tiny yields of botrytised wine on a steep slope was far removed from the main route Germany took in the last decades of the 20th century. The 1971 wine law classified quality on the basis of the sugar content of grapes rather than origin–and quality. "That law was probably the origin of German wine's misery," says Müller.  "The idea of terroir was disregarded...but now people are trying to bring back the [concept of] terroir -that's what the VDP classification is all about." A new generation of drinkers with no knowledge of Germany's wine law cock ups nor the 1985 glycol scandal gives Müller hope for the country's future and his one and only grape: Riesling. "When I took over the winery nobody wanted to drink it. It's becoming much better. That said, I still think Riesling is not like Chardonnay-something that everybody wants to drink – I don't see people going to a restaurant and saying 'I want a bottle of Riesling.'" The world's wine drinkers are hardly clamouring to fill their cellars with sweet wines either but this is a niche that Müller has nailed."The style of wine we make here is really unique and it’s quite impossible to make it anywhere else. When you have something so unique, you have to stick with it." However, Müller's wine has something over and beyond his fellow sweet wine producers.  "There are differences –there is nobody who is running the yields as low as we do. It’s not only because of old vines...you have a lot of small things that add up. The proof is in the glass: from QbA and Kabinett all the way up the fruit-sweetness scale Trockenbeerenauslese, the slatey Scharzhofberg offers a fine framework to carry any sweetness while the heavier soils of the four-hectare Braune Kupp vineyard, just north of the village, of Wiltingen makes a weightier, succulent style of Rieslings. "Inevitably there are better vintages than others but what makes a perfect season for him? “I have two kinds of perfect years: one is a classic no botrytis year like 2015 when everything is ripe and that’s very classic. But I also have the years when there’s botrytis like 2005 and 2010 and I’d say that the greatest wines come from those years.  When I was young there was always discussions between the proponents of 1971 vs 1972: ‘71 is non-botrytis, straight vintage, ‘72 is full-on botrytis. Ultimately it’s a personal preference.”When it comes to the more recent 2017 and 2018 vintages they too have their distinct personalities with the frost-bitten 2017 firm and austere; the warmth of the 2018 season shows through in its charm. The burning questions is how to get your hands on these gold-dust-like sweet wines? It’s an unusual route to market: a wine auction takes place in the city of Trier on the third weekend of September and individuals must register with an approved broker to bid for an allocation from the offered cask.  There are tiny quantities of his TBA available, sometimes the production volume is double digits of litres. However, Müller notes that global warming is increasing the quantity of botrytised wine: “We have had more success with these wines so we are producing slightly larger quantities and we are increasingly able to sell through ‘regular’ channels. ”The rarity value and the deserved aura that surrounds his wines means there will always be strong demand in the secondary market, which inevitably leads to articles about Müller’s Scharzhofberg TBA being the world’s most expensive Riesling. Greatness has never come cheap." Browse more Editorial 

Hailed as one of the world's finest Riesling producers with prices to match, the Müller family has never been afraid of a challenge from their first days as a vineyard owner under French occupation, through two World Wars and a wine system that awarded quantity over quality.

Egon Müller IV discusses family, the state of German wine and Riesling.

Egon Muller on Riesling wines

Egon Muller: The travails of Riesling royalty

If you haven’t already heard about Baettig, we urge you to read some of our previous coverage of this rising-star producer. Conceived by Francisco Baettig (the winemaker behind Errázuriz, Seña and Chadwick) and Carlos de Carlos (previously Commercial Director at Errázuriz, he now works for Paul Hobbs) over dinner in London in 2010, Baettig is one of Chile’s most exciting projects – crafting site-driven wines from Malleco and the Maule.  The duo spent years seeking out the right site – realising that to find vineyards that met their standards, they’d have to plant them themselves. In 2013 they put their first vines in the ground, planting Burgundy clones of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Traiguén, in the Malleco province. Both Francisco and Carlos had family ties to the region – making it seem like fate.  The site, however, wasn’t chosen purely for their emotional connection to the area, but with an eye on sustainability and quality. This is one of Chile’s southernmost wine regions, with red clay, clay loam and volcanic soils, cool conditions, 25% less sunshine than the Central Valley and – most importantly – plentiful rainfall, allowing them to dry-farm the vines and produce restrained, Burgundy-inspired Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with moderate alcohol levels, bright acidity and vibrant fruit. Francisco is clear that the quality of their vine material has been key to their success – as it is only relatively recently that Chile had access to high-quality, clean Burgundy clones.  While Baettig started with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the producer has since added Cabernet Sauvignon from old vines in the Maule to the range, unsurprising given Francisco made his name making Chile’s icon wines.  Fourteen years after they first imagined their joint project, we welcomed Francisco to London to look back at the Baettig journey so far – tasting through a vertical and exploring how the project has developed and evolved.  About the Baettig range  There are currently two tiers to the Baettig range, with the idea that a top tier, single-vineyard offering that will be their “Grand Cru” of sorts, is likely to be added in the future. The current range comprises:  Vino de Viñedo: these wines are a vineyard selection designed for earlier drinking, effectively a “village” equivalent. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at this level go by the name of Los Parientes (“the relatives”, a reference to the closeness of the different parcels), while the Cabernet Sauvignon is called Los Compadres (“close friends” – a tribute to the growers with whom they’re working). Los Compadres is sourced from various dry-farmed, cool plots in the more coastal areas of the Maule, with the vines all over 30 years in age and some up to 150 years old, creating lively, juicy and intense expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon. The first vintage of the Los Parientes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay was 2019, while the first vintage of the Los Compadres was 2021. These may be the entry point to the Baettig range, and they are made to drink on release, but they also – like good village Burgundy – have capacity to evolve and will only benefit from an extra year or two in bottle.  Selección de Parcelas: their “Premier Cru” equivalent range, made in smaller volumes from specific parcels and built for longer ageing. These wines see a higher proportion of new oak and longer ageing prior to release. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are labelled under the Los Primos name (“the cousins”), while the Cabernet Sauvignon is named Los Padrinos (“the godparents”). The Pinot Noir comes from their El Primo, Chuir, and La Cuñada parcels, chosen for their elegance, structure and ageing potential; while the Chardonnay comes from the Triángulo and Llaima parcels, creating mineral, vertical wines that are all about tension. The first Los Primos Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were made in 2016, with the first wide release from 2017, and Los Padrinos was first made in 2022. Volumes of these wines are tiny, with just 300 to 350 cases made of each of the Selección de Parcelas.  About the winemaking The emphasis with Baettig is firmly on expressing site – and as such the winemaking is very “light touch”, allowing the sense of place to shine through in the wines. The style has evolved, with the use of oak reduced a little from the earliest vintages, generally shifting toward less time in barrel, larger casks and smaller portions of new wood. The fruit is all hand-picked and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The cooler sites, combined with the way Baettig farms and when they harvest, produces fruit with naturally low pH, allowing them to use minimal amounts of sulphur (although with sufficient doses to allow the wines to age and be shipped around the world).  For the Chardonnay, it is all whole-cluster pressed and cold-settled, prior to native ferment in old French barriques. Malolactic fermentation on the Chardonnay is left to happen or not, according to the vintage conditions (with often around a third going through). The élevage for all the wines varies according to the vintage, but the Los Parientes Chardonnay normally spends eight to 10 months in cask, with up to 15% new oak, while the Los Primos spends between 10-15 months in barrel with up to 35% new oak. The new oak for the Chardonnay is all larger 300- and 400-litre casks. A portion of the Pinot Noir is whole-bunch fermented (typically 10-20%), with the rest de-stemmed – with fermentation all in used oak. The Los Parientes stays in barrel for around eight to 10 months, with up to 15% new oak; for the Los Primos, it is 15-16 months, with up to 40% new wood – with the new oak all 300-litre barrels.  For the Cabernet Sauvignon, the fruit is all de-stemmed. Fermentation temperatures are low at around 24-28˚C, with maceration for a maximum 20 days, given the natural concentration and structure of the fruit. The Los Compadres is aged for 10 months in French oak (20% new), while the Los Padrinos spends 15 months in 65% new oak (including around a third in larger 300-litre barrels).  Tasting through the range, there is a clear stamp of style – a flinty restraint, with the emphasis on crunchy fruit and minerality, vibrant acidity, moderate alcohols. While some of the earlier vintages might have offered more overt oak in their youth, this has integrated with time in bottle – and the wines offer at most a subtle spicy complexity. They are beautifully judged, pure expressions of Traiguén.   About the vintages 2022: Generally speaking, 2022 was an outstanding vintage. In Malleco, the year was cooler than average. Winter was relatively dry, with little rain in spring and cool conditions including frost in September and October, leading to particularly low yields. Weather warmed up in February before cooling again in March and April, which also saw quite a lot of rain. This resulted in a late harvest of a small crop of fruit, with great intensity, concentration and excellent tension – with high acidity levels retained thanks to the cooler conditions. In the Maule, the season was moderately warm, producing a more generous yield than further south but similarly high quality. The weather here was warmer in December and temperatures close to average from January through to March. Moderate rainfall in March and April refreshed the season and eased the final stage of ripening, with the fruit offering good acidity, colour and aromatic intensity. The 2022s offer an up-front richness of fruit, with good backbone of acidity – in some ways a combination of 2020 and 2021.  2021: The 2021 vintage was a cooler year – producing wines where the emphasis was on elegance, finesse and tension, perfect for the Baettig style. The winter in Malleco was rainy, with 650mm of water over June and July, laying the groundwork for a good budbreak. Spring was dry and reasonably warm, although a late frost in September reduced yields. Summer was cool, with some rain over December and January (90 mm in total across the two months), allowing the fruit to ripen slowly ahead of a late harvest, developing great aromatic complexity and preserving the acidity levels. These should age particularly well.  2020: This was a warmer year versus 2021, producing richer-styled wines. There was plenty of rain in June and July, however this dried up in August, with little rain for the rest of the growing season. Temperatures rose and the hot, dry conditions allowed the grapes to ripen easily, although an early harvest was key to preserve freshness and tension to complement their natural intensity and generosity. Offering a little more flesh, particularly at this more youthful stage, versus the 2021s, the 2020s are juicy and open, yet with everything in balance. The one we’d pick for drinking now, although there is certainly no rush here.  2016: A rainy winter led on to a cool and rainy spring, with later-than-normal flowering and fruit set and a small crop. Summer was dry and largely warm, and the fruit was harvested early, producing wines that combine refreshing acidity and good density of fruit. The 2016 Los Primos Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were never released, the tiny volumes of Baettig’s first crop, so it was a real treat to taste these special bottles, offering a glimpse of the wines’ ageing potential – with both drinking beautifully.  The vertical: tasting Baettig Chardonnay 2022 Vino de Viñedo Los Parientes Chardonnay: This was really showing well, even though it has only just been released. It’s tight, full of energy, with a punch of minerality, bright taut citrus and crisp green apple. It’s lean and sleek, but with a fleshy, juiciness that makes it hard to resist now. A wine that’s singing. Aged for eight months in 15% new oak. Production: 7,254 bottles  2021 Vino de Viñedo Los Parientes Chardonnay: There’s a lick of lime curd on the nose here, with tightly wound greengage emerging with air. It’s pure and linear, driven with its intense, stony purity, but there’s a pleasing fatness to the fruit behind, with a mouth-wateringly juicy finish and long, saline tang to the finish. Aged for 10 months in only used oak. Production: 16,909 bottles  2020 Vino de Viñedo Los Parientes Chardonnay: The warmth of the 2020 vintage, combined with the cool climate of Traiguén and Baettig’s trademark flinty, lean style, has created a gorgeous Los Parientes in 2020. Now with a few years in bottle, it’s drinking beautifully. The wine remains taut – dominated by vibrant citrus that drives through its core, and the bright acidity brings incredible tension. Yet, there’s also a softness to the wine, with a suppleness to the palate and its ample riper stone fruit that flawlessly complements the mouthwatering zest of the long finish. Punches well above its weight. Aged for 10 months in 10% new oak. Production: 15,240 bottles  2021 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Chardonnay: The 2021 Los Primos is incredibly impressive – and the step up from Los Parientes clear. There’s a creamy, lactic note on the nose, working alongside lemon curd, honeysuckle and bright citrus and green fruit. There’s a lushness to the fruit, with gorgeous length and energy, outstanding tension and an everlasting finish, with stony, saline minerality that lingers long after the wine is gone. You can drink this now, but it will be even better if you can give it a couple of years in bottle. Aged for 15 months in 35% new oak. Production: 3,480 bottles  2020 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Chardonnay: Much more open now than the 2021, the 2020 Los Primos is rich and concentrated, with riper white peach fruit and honeyed complexity. There’s a softness to the wine, reminiscent of the suppleness of the 2020 Los Parientes, but additional depth here. It’s round and enticing, still with a backbone of taut acidity, and a long finish with just a touch of oak spice. Hard to resist now, drink this over the next five years. Aged for 15 months in 38% new oak. Production: 4,069 bottles  2016 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Chardonnay: The first vintage of Selección de Parcelas, with the very first fruit from the Baettig vines, and never released. The 2016 is showing some beautiful development, with honey, sweeter plump peach and nutty complexity. Cooked apple and dried mango sit alongside a zing of limey citrus, with a line of bright acidity that runs through the palate and brings lovely energy. Gorgeous. Aged for 16 months in only used oak. Production: 2,160 bottles  Pinot Noir  2022 Vino de Viñedo Los Parientes Pinot Noir: There is 10% whole-bunch in this vintage, and combined with the youth of the wine, it is shining on the nose – with overt pepper spice, floral perfume and stemmy complexity that makes it aromatically enticing. The palate is pure and bright, with juicy but concentrated mulberry and black cherry, with a saline edge and fresh, chalky purity. Incredibly moreish. Aged for eight months in 14% new oak. Production: 13,205 bottles 2021 Vino de Viñedo Los Parientes Pinot Noir: For this cooler vintage, Francisco opted to reduce the portion of whole-bunch fermentation a little. The wine is bright, crunchy and pure, with a lovely restraint from the extended growing season. Floral tones (rose, violet) sit alongside crunchy red fruit, leading to a palate of effortless purity and length. Vibrant, mouth-wateringly fresh with an earthy, saline finish and very fine tannins. Aged for 10 months in 10% new oak. Production: 13,400 bottles  2020 Vino de Viñedo Los Parientes Pinot Noir: This is in a lovely spot right now – sharing the supple texture of its Chardonnay sibling. It is beautifully elegant, with tealeaf aromatics, gentle spice and crunchy berry fruit. Structurally, it is fine-boned – the fine, chalky tannins adding a graceful outline to the mouth-watering fruit. Gloriously fresh, the finish is saline with the slightest hint of smoke. Dangerously drinkable and incredible value. Aged for 10 months in 10% new oak. Production: 15,180 bottles  2021 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Pinot Noir: This is such a baby at the moment – and clearly needs time to reveal its full potential. It’s much more savoury than the 2020. There’s some gunflint reduction, but beneath that smoky intensity and an earthiness, alongside the subtle florals, bright redcurrant and raspberry. There’s more grip to the tannin, a tightness to the fruit, but the structure and length offer great promise. A wine of tension. Made with 20% whole-bunch fermentation, aged for 16 months in 34% new oak. Production: 3,409 bottles 2020 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Pinot Noir: It’s immediately evident that this is Baettig’s Premier Cru – with notably more concentration and complexity. The warmer 2020 vintage produced a vibrant and intense wine, with vivid, juicy red cherry and raspberry fruit, complemented by more delicate floral notes. Alongside the impressive weight of fruit, there’s a pomegranate freshness and mineral line, with the slightest hint of smoke and spice, and a framework of superfine, supple tannins. Made with 20% whole-bunch fermentation, aged for 15 months in 38% new oak. Production: 4,102 bottles 2016 Selección de Parcelas Los Primos Pinot Noir: This was, for me, the star of the tasting. The nose was effortlessly complex, shifting between soft florals, spice, violets and crunchy red fruit, with a dried-earth note too. There was a glorious suppleness here, silken and flowing across the palate, with a fine, chalky texture to the tannin, juicy cherry and a subtle, savoury finish. Beautiful. Everything was destemmed in this vintage and the wine aged exclusively in used oak. Production: 1,440 bottles  Cabernet Sauvignon  2022 Vino de Viñedo Los Compadres Cabernet Sauvignon: This is a glorious expression of bright, modern Cabernet – pure and pristine with crunchy red and black fruit, vivid pencil shavings and an herbaceous green-pepper edge. There’s such intensity to the palate, with its tart red berry fruit, mouth-wateringly fresh and juicy. The abundant fruit is framed by graphite tannins, leading on to a spicy finish. Aged in 20% new French oak for 10 months. Production: 17,000 bottles  2022 Selección de Parcelas Los Padrinos Cabernet Sauvignon: The first vintage of Los Padrinos is only offering more since we first tasted it in February. It’s strikingly different to Los Compadres – a much darker, spicier and smokier expression. The two wines share their tension, with firm acidity that forms the backbone of this wine and drives the long finish, as well as gloriously crunchy and fresh fruit. The nose is savoury and brooding at first, but sweeter plum and cassis fruit lurks behind, while there’s a tart, bright bite to the palate. It still feels compact at this youthful stage, the power and gum-drying tannins needing time to unfurl. Aged for 15 months in 65% new French oak. Production: 1,800 bottles  Explore all current listings of Baettig or read more Editorial

Last month, we welcomed Francisco Baettig to London, guiding us through a vertical of his stunning Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and new Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile’s south. Here, we unpack the Baettig story, style and how each vintage of this exciting project is drinking right now

Tasting through a vertical of Baettig’s Chilean wines: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Traiguen, Malleco, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maule

Baettig vertical, tasting these top Chilean wines

The story so far: Baettig vertical

Marco Simonit has become something of a celebrity in the world of wine, but his specialisation – pruning – is not normally considered glamorous. Pruning is often low-paid work left to contract crews. But with his childhood friend Pierpaolo Sirch, he set up the Simonit&Sirch pruning consultancy that now has a team of 20 experts operating all over the wine world.  Partly this is because of the rise in grapevine trunk diseases, which are considered a major threat to viticulture. Simonit’s pruning methods are suddenly in high demand because they have the potential to vastly reduce the risk of trunk diseases. Now, in conjunction with FINE+RARE, he has made his first wines from old vines in Collio. The origins of Marco’s interest in the vine began with his background. "I lived with my grandparents because my father died and my mother worked," he says. "They had a small farm with cows, horses, sheep and goats, and also a small vineyard to make wine for the family’s consumption."  He says that it was a good environment to grow up in, surrounded by nature with a gentle pace of life. His real passion was animals, though – not vines – and he had set his heart on becoming a vet. But after studying agriculture at the local college in Cividale in Friuli, he had to take a job. He began working as the technical adviser for the Consorzio of the Collio DOC in 1988, a role he was to fulfill for a decade, offering guidance to growers on viticulture. "I loved the landscapes, and I loved to observe the trees, plants and hills," he recalls.  Then one day, he started drawing vines. "After work, I would go to the fields, and I drew the vines," says Simonit. "I drew the trunk and the arms and the canes and leaves, and I met the wounds. There were a lot of wounds. I started to think about what it must be like for the vine." Observing the pruning wounds and their effects on the old vines made a big impression on him. He asked a viticulturist if he could pull out an ailing old vine, and when he got permission, he approached one of his friends who was a carpenter. "I asked him if it would be possible to help me make a section through an old vine," Simonit recalls. "He said, this is a strange request. Why do you want to do this? I said I wanted to see inside."  So with the aid of the carpenter, Simonit cut the vine in half. "It wasn’t completely dead but it wasn’t in good health," he says. "It had an extraordinary impact on me: when I saw inside, a big part of the vine was destroyed. A small part of the wood was white (alive), but most of the inside of the trunk and the arm was brown and black, and with fungi. I was shocked." At that time no one in the schools and universities had sectioned vines to look at the consequences of pruning. "I called my professors and I spoke about this, and the professors said, Marco, since the beginning people have always approached pruning the vines in same way, so why are you going crazy taking the trunk and making sections to see what is happening inside? Just do a normal pruning like everyone has always done." None of the professors he spoke to were interested in his ideas. But he decided to carry on.  His growing obsession with old vines led him to start travelling, initially around Italy, and then further afield. He saw a similar pattern everywhere. "In these years the viticulture was changing," he says. "A lot of local training systems, such as pergola in Trentino, tendone in Abruzzo and albarello in Sicilia, were being transformed."  People were turning to more ‘modern’ ways of training vines, such as vertical shoot positioning (VSP), and then after 20 years these new vineyards were starting to lose vines to trunk disease. "The spacing for growing the vines wasn’t enough," he says. "In its natural state, the vine is a creeper, a liana. For sure, it is not easy for the vine to remain in the same position for a lot of time, with domesticated demands, without consequences for its health and longevity." He came back to Collio. "I asked some viticulturists if it would be possible for me to try to change the approach of the pruning in modern vineyards. I wanted to change the approach to pruning because the consequences were terrible. The response was they said they didn’t really understand what I wanted to do, but they let me try. In the beginning of 1990 I started to introduce a new technical approach to pruning and shoot thinning by myself in different places in Friuli." Simonit didn’t have a program, and at the time hadn’t heard of Guyot-Poussard pruning, which is an old system that’s somewhat similar to the technique he developed himself. Over a ten-year period he tried to find new solutions, observing old vines and applying different approaches. After this period of experimentation, he thought he had something worthwhile, and he began to approach professors and viticulturists, only to meet with disinterest. Attilio Scienza, professor of viticulture at Milan University, was the exception, though. "Scienza said to me, it is interesting what you do," he recalls.   "Scienza was impressed with my work and started to speak about it with important producers in Italy, such as Bellavista and Ferrari," says Simonit. "And in Schiopetto we built our campus, our laboratory. In Schiopetto today it is possible to see and touch the last 30 years of my work." This was the early 2000s, and although Simonit was starting to get his first consulting gigs, he wasn’t sure that pruning was going to be his professional future.  "But I thought: I believe in this. I had a passion for vines and wanted to help reduce the risks from bad pruning. And I thought, maybe the top wineries in Italy might be interested in my new approach for pruning and shoot thinning. I tried to call these guys and show them what I was doing in the campus of Schiopetto. One day I was in my car, and I looked up Angelo Gaja’s number. I thought this guy might be interested because the wines are expensive and high quality. Maybe he would be interested to keep his heritage vines." "I called and asked the secretary whether I could speak with Angelo." He was stunned to be put through to him. "I told him that I’d worked in a lot of vineyards over the last five years to find a new solution for pruning and shoot thinning, and I asked him if he was interested in coming to Friuli to see it in action.  He said yes, and two weeks later he came along with his entire team from Piemonte and Tuscany to Friuli. They were really impressed, and a few weeks later I had contracts with Angelo Gaja, Ferrari and Bellavista." This was in 2003, and Simonit finally began to see that this was going to be his future. He took his approach all over Italy, working with some of the top estates, including Frescobaldi, Planeta, Tasca d’Almerita, Feudo di San Gregorio and Ornellaia.  What is different about the Simonit approach?  There is no recipe because vineyards, regions and training systems are all different. But there are two main principles. The first is that the sap flow of the vine has to be respected, and pruning cuts are made with this in mind. The second is what Simonit describes as ‘ramification’. "One of the big principles for respecting vines is independent of the training system you use, or the variety," he says.  "It is ramification. You first build the trunk (the first structure), then the arms (the second structure). It is like a chronology. You need to build a chronology of wood." He points out that the vine is naturally a creeper, and that pruning should respect this as much as possible. "Our principle rule is ramification. Build a chronology of live wood: first floor, second floor, third floor and so on."  So, for example, with a double Guyot, the canes chosen on each side of the vine should be furthest from the head each time, with the replacement spur the outside cane, and the cuts should always be made on the upper branch. When a cut is made, it should be of young wood only – one or two years old. And the cut should not be made flush to the trunk, because there is always what is called a ‘cone of dessication’, roughly equal to one-and-a-half times the diameter of the cut, where the wood left dies back. This can interfere with the sap flow and make the vine susceptible to trunk disease.  But respecting the sap flow isn’t always key. "Not all the varieties suffer if you don’t respect the sap flow," says Simonit. "Some varieties are very sensitive, like Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. Others don’t suffer a lot. For example, Nebbiolo and Semillon. I work for Château d’Yquem. They called me because the Sauvignon Blanc is being destroyed by trunk disease after 20 years. The Semillon is not: it has super energy and lives a long time, because the genetics are different." "But always respect the ramification. If you think about the albarello in Primitivo in Puglia, they grow up vertically. The arms of the Primitivo grow up vertically. It isn’t possible to respect the sap flow. For other examples of alberello training with different varieties, such as Moscato d’Alexandria, to follow the sap flow is necessary. We need to find solutions for each variety in each terroir: it’s not always possible to take the same approach." Bordeaux came calling A big moment for Simonit was when he was contacted by the late Denis Dubourdieu in 2011. "Denis called me from Bordeaux, because with the Guyot Médocaine, after years and years, there wasn’t enough space for the canes. They wanted to know what to do." If canes are taken from the outside each time, after a while the vines grow out along the row, and when the planting is close, they run out of space.  In Bordeaux, their solution was to take a shoot from inside, close to the head, and then lay that down after cutting the old arm off. Often, this would result in fatal trunk disease. "They destroyed a lot of vines this way, trying to regain the space and reduce the risk of congestion of canes overlapping," says Simonit. "This was a disaster for the Médoc and all the double Guyots in the world, because the big wounds destroyed the vines." "We started with a new approach in the Médoc, introducing the spur in the sap flow, building the chronology, preparing new exits for two or three years in the way of the sap flow, and then cutting the big arm, far away from the position of the new spur. This is one of the smart solutions when you have lost a lot of spacing. But this problem is particularly present when the distance between the vines was not enough in the first place when they were planted." Simonit now has many prestigious clients in Bordeaux. The dangers of high-density planting High-density planting is very popular these days, but it is causing problems because the vines are planted too close to allow for sustainable pruning approaches. "The risk is that if you don’t have the idea of the vine architecture at the beginning for the next 50 or 60 years, it becomes a problem. I see this problem all over the world, not only in the double Guyot, but also in Bourgogne and Champagne and Provence: everywhere. The big problem is people and space: people are scared to leave space for vines. Then to create space they use pruning, and it is a disaster." "In the past in Bordeaux, particularly in the Médoc, the Cabernet Sauvignon was planted further apart. Now we find Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted 80cm apart. We need to think about this for the future sustainability of vines and vineyards. We need to speak about the space. If we build vineyards for the next generation we need to think about the spacing." One idea that Simonit has adopted from Dubourdieu was ‘curetage’. Dubourdieu gifted Simonit with a book: this was René Lafon’s 1921 title Modifications à apporter à la taille de la vigne des Charentes, taille Guyot-Poussart mixte et double: l'apoplexie, traitement préventif (méthode Poussard), traitement curative.  This book described the experiments on pruning carried out by Eugène Poussard, a viticulturist in the Charentes area. Poussard is responsible for the vine pruning system called ‘Guyot Poussard’, which is very similar to Simonit’s system. But he also treated affected vines using ‘curetage’, cutting away affected wood. "More than 150 years ago this man was trying to do some surgery on the vines with rudimentary tools," says Simonit. "Denis asked me to go to Sancerre, because he knew that a lot of older viticulturists had used small chainsaws to open the vines and clean the wood affected by fungi, and the vines survived." They headed to the Loire and visited different vineyards. Sancerre has been particularly badly hit because Sauvignon Blanc is very susceptible. "We shared experiences with François Dal [another pruning expert who works for Sicavac, the regional technical body], and he was also interested in working with chainsaws. We tried doing this surgery in the wineries of Denis Dubourdieu, like Château Reynon, Doisy-Daëne and Floridène. In 2014 we began teaching others how to do this." As soon as the first foliar symptoms are seen, then any soft wood that has been infected by the fungi is cut out of the trunk. The infected wood produces toxins, and once it is taken out, the vine usually recovers.   FINE+RARE x Simonit&Sirch Now, for the first time, Simonit has begun making wine from old vines, in conjunction with FINE+RARE. "On my trips and jobs around the world, I met a lot of old vines, and sometimes these vines are not vinified separately," he says. Making small parcels of wine appeals to him. "It is a ways of speaking to people about the importance of old vines for increasing the identity of wines, speaking about vineyard sustainability, and thinking about the relation between humans and vines." He adds, "I wanted to make wines that speak about this philosophy." "Patrick O’Connor [of FINE+RARE] and I share a mutual friend, and he knew about my idea," says Simonit. "One day Patrick called me to ask me if it’s possible to organise a meeting because he was interested in this old vines project. He was very excited about the idea, and he proposed starting this project in Friuli, where my heart is." "He asked me which varieties were most interesting for me. I chose Sauvignon because I love it, and it is very difficult to have old vine Sauvignon because of trunk disease. Many of the vineyards have vines of different ages, because after 25 years the original vines often begin dying, and people co-plant with new vines. Then they make wine with all the vines – young and old – together. Also, I chose Chardonnay: in Colli Orientali we have the oldest Chardonnay in Friuli, 80 years old. And after I chose Friulano, which is 50 years old." Winemaking is in the hands of Christian Patat, an old friend of Simonit’s. "Twenty years ago we started with a small project but it stopped because we were both so busy. So when FINE+RARE and I began working, I spoke to Christian seeing if he could make the wines. He married the owner of Ronco de Gnemiz, and he makes the wines there. This guy has an approach to wine that’s close to mine – we like the same sort of wines. Our goal was to make two or three barrels of each variety." This is Marco’s first wine project. "I have never thought about making wine before. Now I’d like to expand this project to other Italian regions, and also other countries, with a small production focusing only on old vines." "It is a unique approach because we try to vinify with just the oldest vines. In the Chardonnay project, for example, we don’t use all the vines. Part of the vineyard is 80 years old. We pick only the grapes from the original old vines to make this wine from. These wines speak about the relationship between humans and vines, sustainability, the importance of the age of the vine, the importance of terroir." Tasting notes The wines are called L’Età Più Bella (With Age Comes Beauty), and will be released as a mixed case of three separate cuvées – a Chardonnay, a Friuliano and a Sauvignon Blanc. L’Età Più Bella Sauvignon 2018 - Collio, Italy "13% alcohol. Lean, taut and chiselled, this is a bright lemony Sauvignon with good acidity and some fine herbal hints. It’s quite compact and mineral with precision and focus, finishing quite taut. Stylish stuff." L’Età Più Bella Friulano 2018 - Friuli Colli Orientali, Italy "14% alcohol. There’s good density here with taut pear, apple and lemon fruit, as well as a touch of richness on the mid-palate. This has a lovely focus, combining some richer notes with good acidity and a long, mineral, subtly nutty finish. Beguiling and elegant. " L’Età Più Bella Chardonnay 2018 - Friuli Colli Orientali, Italy "13% alcohol. Hazelnut, spice, honey and citrus on the nose. The palate has fresh fruit with an appealing cedary, woody, spicy undercurrent. Citrus, pear and white peach, with a warm spicy finish. Lovely intensity here, with good fruit purity." Explore more Editorial 

Self-confessed wine anorak Jamie Goode explores Marco Simonit’s rise to fame – from his formative years with his grandparents in Friuli, to the establishment of his successful pruning consultancy Simonit&Sirch – and the ideologies that have influenced his first wines made from old vines in Collio

Wine anorak Jamie Goode explores Marco Simonit’s rise to fame with his Friuli wine estate and tastes L’Età Più Bella Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Fruiliano  

'Wine Anorak' Jamie Goode speaks to Marco Simonit

'Wine Anorak' Jamie Goode meets Marco Simonit

The Grand Cru wines of Alsace and in particular the wines of Zind-Humbrecht are some of the most transparent and detailed aromatic whites out there. The wines from the single-vineyard sites in particular have all the breeding to be some the most complex white wines in the world. The wines are barrel-fermented in the old traditional oak foudres using only natural yeasts, typically taking a staggering 12 to 15 months to ferment.  As a comparison, most white wine takes just two to three weeks to ferment. The reason for the long ferments is to do with the high acidity levels in the wines, pushing them right through malolactic fermentation, and Olivier’s insistence on only using natural yeasts during fermentation. He wants to ferment his wines to dryness and with grapes such as Riesling and Pinot Gris from Alsace, this means a long wait. The wines are then aged on their lees and bottled, unfined and filtered, directly from the original cask 18 months after harvest.  Tasting the single-vineyard sites from Zind-Humbrecht provides a fascinating exploration of site, variety and vintage that is rarely laid so bare. The wines have as much intensity and intrigue as Grand Cru Burgundy, yet they are distinctly Alsatian in style, with their power, warmth and spicy mineral complexity defining its sense of place. Another distinct element to the Alsace region is that within the same vineyard each of the four permitted Grand Cru varieties - whether it be Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer or Muscat – are free to flaunt their individuality within the same site, providing different interpretations of the dominant terroir through the characteristics of each variety.   

Two of the most complementary and contrasting single-vineyard sites within Zind-Humbrecht’s portfolio are the limestone-rich Clos Windsbuhl vineyard in the Hunawihr region in Central Alsace and the volcanic Clos-Saint-Urbain vineyard located in the most southerly part of Alsace, within the Grand Cru of Rangen de Thann – the most iconic and historic vineyard of the region. 
Clos Windsbuhl: limestone 
Clos Windsbuhl overlooks the church of Sainte Hune. A monopole site (owned entirely by Zind-Humbrecht), it isn’t actually a Grand Cru, although many believe it should be. It sits directly above the Grand Cru of Rosacker – the source of Alsace’s most cult wine Clos Sainte Hune. It has a distinct soil type, rich in limestone with clay and chalk on the lower part. It is one of the last vineyards to ripen in Alsace due to its high altitude (350 metres above sea-level). It is this cooling influence and slow ripening that creates the aromatic complexity typical of this vineyard. Nestled close to the Vosges mountains, it is protected from the winds but as one of the coolest sites in Alsace, Clos Windsbuhl performs best in a warm vintage such as 2018.   Tasting the latest wines from 2018, the pulsing drive in all three wines – Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer – is obvious, no doubt the limestone soils providing this distinct tension and focus. Despite the pulsing drive, the wines remained controlled and very elegant. Olivier believes it is this finesse and elegance that is the defining characteristic of Clos Windsbuhl.  2018 Riesling Clos Windsbuhl The Riesling has a strong limestone presence, taut structure and pulse. It’s so linear, but with contained fruit – honeyed pink apple and white peach. In some ways it shares strong similarities with white Burgundy. 
2018 Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl The Pinot Gris has a slightly oilier texture, and an additional lushness. Despite this, the limestone still plays a very strong role in this wine – poised, taut acidity pulses through the wine. It does not have the aromatic camouflage of Riesling, the chalky minerality is even more. Very powerful and elegant – forward drive seems very characterful of Clos Windsbuhl. 
2018 Gewürztraminer Clos Windsbuhl 
The Gewürztraminer has a beautifully focused rather than flamboyant nose of lychee and white flowers. Noticeable residual sugar gives the wine a lovely creamy textural quality, yet the energy and poise so typical of the vineyard is still very present, giving the wine lovely balancing mineral freshness. Olivier states that this Gewürztraminer has the same tannin levels as a red Burgundy!  Clos-Saint-Urbain: volcanic sandstone Clos-Saint-Urbain sits within the Grand Cru of Rangen de Thann and is Alsace’s most southerly vineyard with a unique composition of highly mineralised volcanic soil (unlike any other site in Alsace). With its south-facing steep vineyards, the vines get incredible sun exposure, and the dark reddish-brown soil heats up like a furnace.  All these elements help the grapes reach high levels of phenolic ripeness, while the altitude of 350 to 450 metres means the vines are some of the most late-ripening, with the harvest often taking place two to three weeks after the start of the harvesting period in Alsace. The altitude and poor soils also protect the acidity in the wine, together producing some of the longest-lived white wines ever made. Decanter’s Andrew Jefford describes the Rangen vineyard as producing "the ultimate terroir wine", and it has even been nicknamed by many as "the Montrachet of Alsace".

Like Clos Windsbuhl, Clos-Saint-Urbain has similar intensity and strong mineral presence, though the mineral profile is really very different. It is much flintier and smokier, almost a touch of peat-smoke. All the three varieties are much more savoury on the palate. Whereas the fruit is more present and pristine in the Clos Windsbuhl, in the Clos-Saint-Urbain, the fruit is more caramelised and plays second fiddle to the volcanic minerality. 
 Riesling 2018 Clos-Saint-Urbain This is expressive on the nose, dominated by flint, chalk stone and caramelised lemon. The tension is remarkable. With the high mineral content comes real intensity and power too. Quince, lemon sherbet and a strong salinity creates an expansive mouth-watering finish. This is epic.  2018 Pinot Gris Clos-Saint-Urbain This rich, full-bodied, opulent Pinot Gris has heat-fuelled flint and smoke characters. The wine has a very creamy mid-palate, a silky and supple texture with gorgeous apricot and nectarine flavours interspersed with the saline-tinged smoky minerality. Tension builds on the back palate, this is bold, rich Pinot Gris, but with plenty of focus and a mouthwatering finish. 2018 Gewürztraminer Clos-Saint-Urbain The Gewürztraminer has a wonderful smoky, peat-like nose with plenty of ginger spice, classic lychee aromas and flinty minerality. Again, there is a silky texture to the wine and a light, herby, saline bitterness to the finish. It’s very long, with a fiery, spicy finish. Explore Alsace or read more Editorial 

As Domaine Zind Hubrecht’s 2018s are released, we explore Alsace’s terroir – comparing and contrasting two of its finest vineyards, Clos Windsbuhl and Clos-Saint-Urbain with Olivier Humbrecht MW

Tasting Domaine Zind Hubrecht’s 2018 wine releases and exploring Alsace’s terroir, Visiting Clos Windsbuhl and Clos-Saint-Urbain with Olivier Humbrecht MW

Exploring Alsace’s terroir

Exploring Alsace’s terroir: Clos Windsbuhl versus Clos-Saint-Urbain

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