The Loire Valley’s Chenin Bargains, Australia’s Detailed Shiraz and Unleashing Alto Adige: Weekly Tasting Report (Oct 23-29)

The Loire Valley is a complex region for a number of reasons, not least the fact that it doesn’t have one signature white grape and one signature red grape. Even when you focus on the chenin blanc grape in the Anjou section of the valley, there is no single direction. Rather, the wines range from bone dry to honey sweet, plus sparkling.

Consumer uncertainty about which wines are dry and which are sweet still hampers the recognition of the Loire’s chenin blancs, but this situation creates a slew of bargains for the well-informed. And the designations Sec (dry), Demi-Sec (off-dry) and Moelleux (sweet) on the label often help solve this problem.

Unsurprisingly, one of the two top Loire chenin blancs that Senior Editor Stuart Pigott tasted over the past week was dry, while the other was a dessert wine. The Domaine FL Savennières Roche aux Moins 2022, demonstrates what magnificent dry whites the chenin blanc grape can give in the Savennieres appellation. It is brimming with citrus blossom and floral honey aromas, and has a spectacular mineral intensity and a vitality that literally takes your breath away. Roche aux Moines, the sub-appellation of Savenniere,  is just 20 hectares of vineyards growing on stony schist soils.

Domaine FL specializes in dry whites while the famous Domaine Huet in nearby Vouvray produces a whole spectrum of styles. Stuart loved the dry Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Mont Sec 2023, which is rich and concentrated but also graceful and delicate. It has a very refined, long finish. Comparable quality white wines from Burgundy would cost many times the price!

As Stunning as that wine is, Stuart was even more impressed by the lusciously sweet and incredibly concentrated Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance 2018.

The aromas of toasted almonds, caramelized oranges, melted butter and floral honey are enveloping, but this is so fresh and silky at the finish.

Also published below are Stuart’s last notes from his Austria trip, plus some stragglers he tasted at home after his return. The reds from winemaker Christoph Wachter-Wiesler in the Eisenberg region on the border with Hungary confirmed what a great vintage 2021 is for the red wines of the blaufrankisch grape in Austria. It’s also Wachter-Wiesler’s best vintage so far!

The most extraordinary of these is the Wachter-Wiesler Blaufränkisch Eisenberg Ried Saybritz Reserve 2021. It has the same combination of concentration, perfectly integrated structure and enormous finesse that makes top red Burgundies so sought-after. However, because it’s the blaufrankisch grape, you experience a wealth of spices right through the extremely long finish. As with many of the other top Austrian blaufrankisch, no new oak was used in the aging of this wine.

Stuart was also stunned by two white wines from the Sudsteiermark region (sometimes called South Styria). The Wohlmuth Sauvignon Blanc Südsteiermark  Ried Edelschuh GSTK 2022 smells like walking into a flower shop and has a note of sushi ginger, making it a unique expression of this grape. Considering how loud sauvignon blanc wines can, be it’s amazing how this dances its way over your palate to a very delicate and subtle finish. By the way, both this wine and that from Wachter-Wiesler originate from the same green slate rock, and both the Ried Saybritz and Ried Edelschuh vineyard sites are really steep.

In the hills of the Sudsteiermarkt, limestone-derived soils are much more common, and this is one of the secrets – along with brilliant winemaking – of the Erwin Sabathi Chardonnay Südsteiermark Ried Pössnitzberg Alte Reben GSTK 2022. The aromas of this remarkable Austrian chardonnay range from toasted to mini bananas, the delicate and tantalizing oak spot on. The interplay of creaminess and chalky minerality followed by a wave of melted butter and candied citrus at the finish seal the deal.

HEATHCOTE'S DETAILED SHIRAZ

The Australian shiraz story typically leads straight to the famed shiraz regions of South Australia, but there is also a rich history in central Victoria, particularly in Heathcote and the wines of Jasper Hill Vineyard, which has drawn so much attention for its high-quality offerings that the renowned Rhone Valley vintner Michel Chapoutier followed suit by starting a project in the area.

Emily McNally, who took over the helm of Jasper Hill from her parents, Ron and Elva Laughton, has continued the family tradition of producing world-class shiraz on the 650-million-year-old Cambrian-era basalt soils found in their vineyards. McNally’s attention to detail is evident in the Jasper Hill Shiraz Heathcote Georgia's Paddock 2022, which displays deep and brooding aromas of blood plums, lead pencil, cocoa, tobacco leaves, cedar and ferric earth, with a well-integrated and structured palate that makes the wine drinkable now, although it will be best from about 2030.

Although Heathcote is a shiraz-focused region, a new wave of producers makes wines from less traditional varieties that thrive in the harsh environments of central Victoria. One, Vinea Marson, makes Italian-styled wines as a nod to the family-run winery’s Italian heritage. Founded by Mario Marson, the estate is now a father-daughter team with Marson’s daughter, Madeleine, working by his side. Vinea Marson produces savory, rich and structured red wines, as exemplified in their Vinea Marson Sangiovese Heathcote 2019, a savory yet perfumed wine with aromas of red cherry, wild blackberry, dried rose petal and pickled orange rind.

The Marsons are also pushing the boundaries of white wines with their Victorian Alps offerings. Their Vinea Marson Alpine Valleys Grazia 2021, a complex blend of 40 percent pinot bianco, 28 percent friulano, 26 percent malvasia and 6 percent picolit, gives floral notes of confit grapefruit, lemon grass and river stones. The palate is medium-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and focused acidity giving generous notes of lemon peel, rose petal and orange. It’s a real tribute to their Italian heritage.

Moving closer to the ocean and the southern coast of Melbourne, the cool-climate Mornington Peninsula region has been trying to establish itself as a premium maker of pinot noir and chardonnay, and they’re making strides in the right direction through the masterful winemaking of Tom Carson at Yabby Lake vineyards and the McIntyre family of Moorooduc Estate, which is headed by Kate McIntyre MW. Both Carson and McIntyre produce exceptionally balanced and precise interpretations of pinot noir and chardonnay.

Moorooduc Estate, which was first planted in 1983, has been making stylish and vineyard-driven wines under McIntyre’s guidance. The Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay Mornington Peninsula The Moorooduc McIntyre 2022 is seductive and inviting, giving notes of flint, grapefruit-rind confit and lemon curd, as well as showing wonderfully intertwined and complex elements of shortbread, orange blossoms and baking spice on the palate.

At Yabby Lake, Carson, with the helpful hand of his long-time assistant, Luke Lomax, also makes vineyard-driven wines but with a European edge. The Yabby Lake Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula Block 2 2022 has deeply perfumed notes of dark cherries, tobacco leaves, lead pencil, cedar and blackberries, with the palate showing firmly integrated tannins and bright acidity leading to a wonderfully harmonious wine.

UNLEASHING ALTO ADIGE

The Italian government has just approved a grouping of “Additional Geographic Units,” in Alto Adige (South Tyrol), marking a significant turning point for a region previously classified under the broader Alto Adige DOC designation. Last week, Senior Aldo Fiordelli visited some of the most renowned of the 86 villages that comprise the UGAs (their Italian acronym).

Sirmian is celebrated as the premier village for pinot blanc. It’s on a steep hill of limestone soil that rises to 700 meters in altitude. Here, Nals Margreid produces the Pinot Bianco Alto Adige Sirmian 2022, which combines the delicate characteristics of the grape with the mineral tension of the soil and the freshness of this high-altitude area.

On the opposite side of the Adige Valley lies Mazon, which is considered Alto Adige’s grand cru for pinot noir. This hill is shared by about a dozen producers, with Martin Foradori of Hofstatter being the largest.

Foradori’s three crus are sourced from distinct areas: a high, forest-adjacent zone with lighter soil; a lower, clay-rich area; and a calcareous section for Barthenau, named after the summer estate that overlooks the hill. This yields one of the region’s most profound and elegant pinot noirs, known for its concentration, power and grace.

Further south is the Alois Lageder winery, one of South Tyrol’s pioneering biodynamic producers. Today, the winery is led by Alois Lageder’s son, Clemens, with whom we sampled both new vintages and an innovative chardonnay, the Inedito II. A  blend of various vintages released after long aging, it features rare complexity, pleasantly oxidative notes and pronounced minerality, almost reminiscent of a vin jaune.

Montevetrano is one of Campania’s most modern and refined wineries. Over the past two decades, it has gained distinction as a sort of “Super Tuscan” producer of Campania by blending native, rustic varieties like aglianico with international ones. Recently, however, its style has evolved, and their Montevetrano Colli di Salerno 2021 is crisp and balanced, with juiciness, warmth and texture, yet without sacrificing finesse.

READ MORE ETNA 2024 TASTING REPORT: EYEING THE SUMMIT OF QUALITY

SADIE FAMILY'S BEST

Associate editor Claire Nesbitt was in South Africa’s Western Cape this week, wrapping up tastings for our annual South Africa Tasting Report. Among the top wines she rated were the Sadie Family’s latest wines, mostly from the 2023 vintage but also the 2022 releases of Columella and Palladius, their iconic red and white blends, respectively.

Although all 11 of the Sadie Family wines are exceptionally complex and well-crafted, two stood out for Claire. The Columella 2022, which is a syrah-based blend of six varietals from 12 vineyards in the Swartland, is seamless and seductive, showing aromas ranging from peachy stone fruit to green tea and violets. It’s the 22nd iteration of winemaker Eben Sadie’s flagship red, which has over time increased its proportions of mourvedre, carignan, cinsault and tinta barocca to add depth, freshness and tannin structure. Just as impressive is a relatively new wine to the range, the Rotsbank 2023, only the second vintage of this pure chenin blanc planted in the granitic Paardeberg region of the Swartland. It’s tight, steely and full of energy, with a salty minerality.

Check out Sadie’s other wines from old bush vines in the Swartland, including the Palladius 2022 (a blend of 11 white varietals), as well as wines from vineyards at higher elevations in the Citrusdal Mountain further north, like the Soldaat 2023 (a delightfully fresh, red-fruited grenache); the Kokerboom 2023 (a waxy and lively semillon) and the Skurfberg (a dense and compact chenin blanc). The whites and reds alike are built for aging, if you can find them, as they are sold on allocation.

SETTING A HIGHER BAR IN HUAILAI

Senior Editor Zekun Shuai was in China’s Huailai region, just northwest of Beijing, where he tasted the newest releases from the leading producers there, including Domaine Franco-Chinois and Canaan Winery, both of which are owned by the Taiwanese entrepreneur Cher Wang.

Huailai is in a unique position within China’s wine landscape. While the region has the potential to produce wines that rival the best in the country, it also faces some challenges, the main one being that only a few wineries there have achieved commercial viability. Huailai’s winemaking scene, though promising, cannot yet compete on the same scale as more established wine areas in China like Ningxia.

The wines from Canaan Winery, known for its Chapter and Verse offerings, and Domaine Franco-Chinois set a high caliber locally and nationally. The newly released 2019 vintage, one of the warmest in the recent years, produced red wines of excellent quality and a style comparable to the celebrated 2014 and 2017 vintages, both of which benefited from healthy grapes that offered depth and concentration while retaining good acidity and pH levels.

Besides the consistent standouts from Canaan Winery, such as the ripe but fresh and deep Chapter and Verse Merlot Huailai Reserve 诗百篇珍藏美乐 2019, and the meatier Chapter and Verse Syrah Huailai Reserve 诗百篇珍藏西拉 2019, Canaan’s introduction of the Chapter and Verse Ehrenfelser Huailai 2022 is a remarkable feat for a Chinese winery and a refreshing, spicy alternative that challenges the notion of diversity in Chinese whites. Canaan's new pinot gris, riesling, and chardonnay releases also look promising.

Domaine Franco-Chinois’s 2019 offerings are equally noteworthy, with its Domaine Franco Chinois Huailai Reserve 中法庄园珍藏 2019 a restrained, polished and layered expression, while its signature wine, the Domaine Franco Chinois Marselan Huailai Reserve 中法庄园珍藏马瑟兰 2019, combines depth, richness and freshness.

A highlight of the tasting at Domaine Franco-Chinois was the small vertical of petit manseng, with the 2015 vintage re-emerging as Zekun’s favorite of the flight. It's probably the subtle botrytis that lifts its profile, giving this luscious petit manseng more complexity and arguably more of a Sauternes sensibility. The indulgent sweetness of dried apricot and honeyed fruit is also blended with bright acidity, but without petit manseng’s hay-like rusticity.

– Stuart Pigott, Ryan Montgomery, Aldo Fiordelli, Claire Nesbitt and Zekun Shuai contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

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