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.

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.

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.

Baron Louis is Montfaucon's flagship red, and is a testament to Rodolphe’s efforts to preserve local traditions and old rare varieties. The base is a classic 50% Grenache. But the other half is made up of floral Cinsault, powerful Mourvèdre, fresh Counoise, and fruity Carignan. The fruit is rich and creamy, with black plum, cherry and bramble. There's a purity of fruit this year but some subtle woody herb hints on the palate. The good value for money here cannot be overemphasized.

Made from 18 grape varieties, white and red, all picked when ready and fermented in the same tank, meaning a long continuous ferment. This results in a very complex wine with layers of spice, truffle and earth. One year in barrique before resting in concrete and bottle.

Tasted April 2023. One of the hidden gems of the vintage. This is full bodied, layered, plush with black berry fruit and licorice. There's a great, lifted rose petal aroma too and minerally freshness. Balanced and well-proportioned, punching well above its modest price point.