Domaine des Anges
Raspberry, raspberry leaf and a touch of cherry, some savoury elements among the fruit. Light- to medium-bodied, lively, with good acidity and brisk, snappy tannins. Not terribly long or complex, but it’s refreshing and drinkable. Balanced, dry finish – good mid-week drinking. They’ve been easy on the extraction, which was a wise move.
Daterra Viticultores
80-120 year-old-vines, hand harvested, no fining or filtration, minimum sulphur use. Field blend of Mouraton, Mencía, Garnacha Tintorera, Marenzao, Gran Negro, Dona Blanca, Colgadeira and Godello. Winemaker Laura Lorenzo was the winemaker and viticulturist at Dominio do Bibei for close to a decade. Searching blueberry and blackberry, the aromas are precise and vital. There’s a touch of reduction, but it’s a feature, not a fault. It’s perfumed. There are green fruits as well as red and black, like gooseberry. The aromas are like descending steps into a still, dark pool. But on the tongue, there’s energy, sap and salinity, sublime freshness, wonderful drinkability and a defined mineral edge. A quietly brilliant, entirely unshowy wine, relaxed in its own skin and not trying to be anything it’s not.
La Roche Buissière
Organic since 1980, 300 to 450m altitude. No sulphur except at bottling, and even then, very low. So unsurprisingly it’s lightly reductive, but not so much to detract from the wine. Juicy blackberry and loganberry, with juicy acidity and blackberry-hide tannins. A vibrant blast of juicy, authentic berry fruits, and plenty of structure. Not the most refined, but deliciously drinkable. Just super-fresh, lively and grippy berry fruits, really satisfying.
Mount Langi Ghiran
Very dense and closed at the time of tasting, but already starting to show some lifted floral notes among the ripe blueberry. Medium to full bodied, exceptionally smooth on the palate, with very ripe, smooth, velvet tannins. Long, but still closed on the palate. A wine of great purity, than reminds me somehow of a Syrah version of Secret de Sabon. Exceptionally pure and polished, but needs time to prove itself.