Wednesday Wines – Episode 60 – Five great wines from Decorum Vintners
Episode 60 – 19th May 2021
Five amazing discoveries from Decorum Vintners
www.decvin.com
2019 Vaqueyras Blanc, Le Penchant, Domaine Font Sarade, Southern Rhône, France (£16.50, www.decvin.com).
I understand that there are only 120 bottles of this incredible wine in the UK. They have only just arrived from France and so you are first to hear of this glorious and unusual creation. White Vacqueyras is extraordinarily rare and Font Sarade is a top estate. In terms of value for money, this is an absolute steal! With sleek fruit, bold flavours and tremendous buoyancy underpinned by thrilling stone fruit and mineral tones, imagine an incredible, white-Burgundy-shaped frame, full to the brim with wildflowers and heavenly, peachy tones and you are only halfway there! This is an unmissable treat.
2018 Sancerre, Les Chasseignes, Claude Riffault, Loire, France (£27.50, www.decvin.com).
Winemaker Stéphane Riffault is brother of Benoît Riffault who is the winemaker at Domaine Sauzet in Puligny-Montrachet. This is another wine that has a white Burgundy echo about it in terms of texture and gravitas but, of course, it is made from Sauvignon Blanc. Organically and biodynamically-grown Sauvignon Blanc is early-harvested to focus its acidity and then fermentation is carried out in oak foudres and concrete tanks followed by a long and very gentle élevage. There is immediate grandeur and on the nose and, coupled with the phenomenal tension on the finish, this is a roller-coaster of sheer joy. The palate is tremendous bringing sublime minerality, epic citrus tones and uncommon depth of flavour to the fore. It is setting out on a long life, but I love this calibre of wine now – a strutting peacock of a Sauvignon with so much attitude and confidence it takes your breath away. How good is this wine in the greater constellation of the Loire and the rest-of-the-world Sauvignon Blancs? It is right up there in my opinion and for £27.50 it offers insane value for money.
2016 Château Tour du Moulin, Les Terres Rouge, Fronsac, Bordeaux, France (£19.00, www.decvin.com).
Drinking now, smooth, pure, clean, nicely balanced, very accurate and super-long. These are some of my tasting notes for this delicious claret and so I had to find out more! It turns out that Château Tour du Moulin is the home of the highly-respected consultant winemaker Vincent Dupuch. Dupuch has been associated with none other than Ausone, Pétrus and l’Eglise Clinet – Saint-Émilion and Pomerol royalty – and so this is why this wine is so terrific. Fronsac never tasted so downright regal! Make an orderly queue.
2016 Poggio Trevvalle, Morellino di Scansano, Tuscany, Italy (£17.00, www.decvin.com).
Made from Sangiovese with a small percentage (3%) of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, for a touch of intrigue, the bulk of the flavour-grunt here comes from a vineyard planted in the seventies while the top notes and florals are derived from younger vines. With an all-encompassing flavour of deep blackberry tones dotted with wild herbs and brief flashes of liquorice, this is an immensely satisfying Tuscan red with more flair and élan than a wagon-load of Chiantis. What I find so attractive about this wine is the depth and length of flavour which is that of a £50 not a sub-£20 number!
2019 Grangiovese, Sesti, Castello di Argiano, Tuscany, Italy (£15.95, www.decvin.com).
This 2019 vintage landed in the UK a few weeks ago, but (bloody) Brexit has meant that it is only just making its way onto the Decorum website. While it wasn’t showing online yesterday, I am assured by Rupert (Devin’s Darth Vader) that he will reserve you some stock for delivery if you drop him a line (rupert@decvin.co.uk)! Grangiovese is made from younger Brunello di Montalcino vines and other random parcels which don’t make the cut for his Grand Vin (which has a £60+ price tag). I am certain that this wine is not 1/3 as tasty as Sesti’s Brunello and, if I am being totally honest about the flavour of this extraordinary 2019 vintage, I wouldn’t be surprised if this wine is dropped very soon because the fruit is every bit as lusty as I would expect for its inclusion in the Brunello (or at least the stunning Rosso from this estate)! Is this the last Grangiovese? We will find out next year, but you don’t want to miss this boat!
