Organic Wine

For complexity, depth of flavour, and interest, it’s hard to beat this ancestral method sparkling wine from Vincent Carême. SO vinous and lively, it’s delicious in youth, and fascinating with some age. It’s made by transferring the still sweet and fermenting grape juice into bottle, and then trapping the subsequent carbon dioxide as it continues to ferment to dryness in the bottle. No dosage is added, though the spent yeast cells are expelled, leaving a brilliant, crystalline sparkling wine behind. It has such a wonderful depth and complexity on the nose, with a vinous structure on the palate, and a salty zing. The creamy mousse wraps around crunchy apple fruit. Experience from tasting back vintages of this cuvée shows me this wine ages brilliantly, and will develop complex depth, and savoury precision with a few years in bottle.

Thibaud Chevré is a seriously exciting young talent in the Loire. His father spent a magnificent career working with Thierry Germain, and this wonderful vineyard - Clos de l'Ecotard - was the first parcel the father-and-son team bought. It's found right on the edge of the Saumur’s border with Anjou, and its highly active limestone and clay soil produces taut and nervous wines that reverberate with tension and energy, even in warmer years. They only use horses to plough it, but the extra hard work is worth it. The 2021 sees them realising the toil of the past decade, bringing to fruition a truly magnificent Chenin Blanc. It is so expressive, bursting with chalky, saline drive, and a flash of green pineapple freshness. A brilliant Chenin Blanc from a formidably good year for Loire whites. Exclusive to Lay & Wheeler in the UK.

This sparkling wine is made by transferring the still sweet and fermenting grape juice into bottle, and then trapping the subsequent carbon dioxide as it continues to ferment to dryness in the bottle. No dosage is added, though the spent yeast cells are expelled, leaving a brilliant, crystalline sparkling wine behind. It has such a wonderful depth and complexity on the nose, with a vinous structure on the palate, and a salty zing. The creamy mousse wraps around crunchy apple fruit. Experience from tasting back vintages of this cuvée shows me this wine ages brilliantly, and will develop complex depth, and savoury precision with a few years in bottle. It’s one of the most exciting wines on the list this year.

85% Garganega and 15% Trebbiano di Soave, this white is full of citrus and white stone fruit aromas, combined with a subtle herbal nose. The palate displays attractive white floral elements as well as lemon verbena and a saline quality that is supported by the wine’s zesty acidity. This wine is beautiful in its youth but is also well worth ageing where it will develop more savoury elements.

The Pieropan family were the first to bottle and release a single vineyard wine in the region, this was the Calvarino vineyard that is planted to 60 year old vines on very steep slopes. The basalt soils help to produce a wine that has great finesse and a saline core. Expect florals, red apple, ginger and honey notes as well as a zesty acidity with herbal hints and an attractive phenolic grip.

Marcel believes this is his best vineyard. It is a blend of older and younger vines on limestone marl soils and makes a wine with silky ripeness and plenty of freshness. It could easily come from its grander and more expensive neighbour, Pouilly-Fuissé. In 2021 it has an intensely concentrated and juicy stone fruit core which gives the wine delicious grip and bite and a long, lingering finish.

A single vineyard Sangiovese, from the area of Rufina, the 2019 Vigneto Bucerchiale is intense and pure with incredible concentration and freshness. Old vines dating back to 1968 allow the wine to have a concentration and complexity that's rarely seen in the region. This is a remarkable wine that stands up to many of the top wines of Tuscany’s greatest estates.

Stéphane Riffault grows in stature with every vintage, and is now unquestionably one of the most exciting producers in the appellation. His 2021s are thrilling wines. Chailloux is the local Sancerrois name for flint (more commonly known as silex), and this parcel is tucked up in the north-east of the appellation where this soil type predominates. It has a northwest aspect and is shaded by a large forest. Flinty sites are often a little warmer, but this one keeps cool, and produces profound acidity. The 2021 is extremely powerful, with exceptional acidity and length. Chapeau.

This is such a juicy, inviting delight. It has wonderfully primary floral notes, and Cabernet Franc’s structured freshness. Zappy and delicious, and brilliant if served a little chilled.

Casimir is a blend of fruit from the younger vines of the domaine grown across a few parcels. Like the Chaillot it is made with 100% whole bunch fruit, and aged in old oak barrels, using minimal sulphur dioxide additions. There is plenty to get excited about here, particularly if you like the wilder side of Cornas, as this cuvée plays with volatility in a beautiful way.

This is the pinnacle of the Balthazar cellar - a Cornas that defines Franck’s style for making complex and ethereal Cornas from old vine fruit. The 2021 shows impressive tension, with a superbly long, silky finish. This is Cornas at its very best.

This village wine is 100% destemmed and has a sapid, redcurrant, spiced pomegranate character, with long, lightly structured tannins holding it together. This is a great entry point for one of Pommard’s most promising new voices.

Over the past few years, Valdaya’s Mirum has skyrocketed to the very top echelon of Spanish wine. The grapes for Mirum are from to highly-prized parcels of old bush vines planted at 850 metres. In 2021, this showcases the very best of Ribera del Duero with a richness of purple fruit and sweet spice, with layers of rosemary, and garrigue. The chalky tannins frame the fruit beautifully, and the wine’s acidity is juicy and energetic.

Telmo Rodriquez is one of Spain's most celebrated winemakers, and he trained with some of the best in the world, including in Bordeaux, before settling back in Rioja and pioneering the modern exploration of terroir in the region. Yjar is his top wine, and comes from around 3.8 hectares of his family estate Remelluri. It's elegant in style, with fine-grained tannins and fresh bramble fruit.

This impressive white comes from 50-year-old+ Marsanne vines, is whole-bunch pressed and is fermented half in 600l oak foudres, half in vats. The vineyards are south facing, and are always the first to be harvested. This is full-bodied, concentrated, powerful and intense on the palate with notes of fresh pear, honey and hazelnuts. Yet a lean, freshness prevails. Incredibly impressive.

Ermitage De l'Orée comes from 60-70 year-old Marsanne vines from lieu-dit “Les Murets” at the top of the hill. Perfumed with white flowers, stone fruit and quince, the palate is wonderfully textured, with zippy acidity and a chalky, mineral finish. Expertly-judged.

Franck Balthazar is making some of the most exciting and sought-after wines in the Northern Rhône, gaining an army of fans for his low-intervention, whole-bunch, cool and balanced Cornas Syrahs. Franck buys organically grown fruit for this Côtes du Rhône from the southern Rhône village of Séguret. It’s a classic blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah. It shows incredible intensity for a wine of this level, and as a result is mind-bogglingly good value.

This classic, old-school Châteauneuf from Jean-Paul Versino is one of the bargains of the list. It comes from a blend of 27 plots, making for a balanced, complete, and inviting Grenache-based Châteauneuf. It is dry and savoury, with the gorgeous combination of red berry fruit, dried herbs, spice and just a hint of licorice. It will drink well from early on, and evolve into an earthy, complex wine in the cellar.

This parcel sits at the bottom of the Hermitage hill on alluvial soils. In 2022 it is fleshy and full, with notes of fragrant red and black fruit, game and cracked black pepper. It is detailed, pure, elegant and complex. Utterly charming.