Wednesday Wines – Episode 231 – A Treasure Trove at Yapp
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The Yapp Autumn Press Tasting is always a fabulous event, and I found far too many gems to cover in my other columns, so I have decided to list for you here in Wednesday Wines – with one-liner tasting notes drawn directly from my scribbles! Every bottle mentioned below is a cracker, so load up now.
Sparkling
2019 Busi-Jacobsohn, Cuvée Brut, East Sussex, England (£39.00)
A fabulously expressive English sparkler with a powerful, vinous, structured palate and an imposing finish. Not for the faint-hearted.
Whites
2023 Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, Sur Lie, Jean-François Baron, Loire, France (£13.50)
Benchmark, glugging Muscadet with a classic ozone freshness over a slender, pliable body. Sheer heaven as an all-purpose ‘fridge door white’.
2022 Forest Hill, Estate Riesling, Mount Barker, Western Australia (£21.50)
World-class quality for £20, this is one of the most riveting and nervy dry Rieslings in Australia, and it will age for a further 5-8 years with ease. Awesome.
2023 Sancerre, Les Charmes, Domaine André Vatan, Loire, France (£21.95 bottle, £48.00 magnum)
While the bottles are delicious, the magnums caught my eye. I never see Sancerre mags, and this is a time-honoured example of why Vatan has been at the top of the pile for over three decades.
2022 Domaine du Clos des Fées, Vieilles Vignes Grenache Blanc, Catalanes, France (£29.25)
Simply staggering. This is a perfect white Burgundy swop for almost any label you can think of with its honed, generous, mineral-soaked palate, mesmerising depth of flavour and teasing, come-hither finish. The value for money for this calibre of flavour is absurd.
2022 Le Pied de Samson, Viognier, Domaine Georges Vernay, Collines Rhodaniennes, Northern Rhône, France (£38.50)
I don’t know who buys Condrieu any more when there are wines like this with this price tag. Made by an acknowledged genius from restrained, elegant fruit that puts many hefty Condrieus to shame.
Reds
2022 Le Petit Caboche, Domaine du Père Caboche, Vaucluse, Southern Rhône, France (£13.25)
It has always been a bit of a joke that this stellar cheapy has maintained its laughable price tag while the quality of perfume and flavour continues to be augmented as every year passes. Hilariously gluggable and bright as a button, this is your tried-and-tested (over decades) autumnal house red!
2019 Château Milhau-Lacugue, Cuvée Magali, Saint-Chinian, Languedoc, France (£14.95)
With five years of age under its belt and a ‘Rhône-recipe’ that ought to place it in Vacqueyras or Gigondas, this is a refined, gentlemanly offering with a tiddly price tag and a gloriously complex flavour with a thoroughly civilised delivery. It’s like Bordeaux and the Rhône had a love-child and it decided to live in the idyllic hills in the South of France.
2023 Chinon, l’Arpenty, Emilien Desbourdes, Loire, France (£16.50)
This flavour takes me back! It is pristine Cabernet Franc, so light on its feet you can pour it with any fish dish imaginable. I used to list this wine at Bibendum Restaurant, and it flew out of the door because people fell in love with its vivacity and timbre within the first sip.
2021 Lirac, La Fermade, Domaine Maby, Southern Rhône, France (£17.50)
My readers know I LOVE the white version of this wine, and yet I often (rudely) forget to mention just how good this hearty red is. Filling the intellect gap between Caboche and the Chnf below, but maintaining a highly competitive price tag, this is dinner party level Rhône booze for a weekday price.
2023 Les Sorcières du Clos des Fées, Côtes du Roussillon, France (£17.95)
Like the Lirac above, this is another wine that completely belies its price tag. Again, made from a Rhôney recipe, but this time from the Spanish end of the French coastline, this is a dark, swarthy, and, as the name suggests, magical brew with epic juiciness and spice. It is more of a wintry number than an autumnal wine, and I insist you taste it because it has a flavour complexity all of its own.
2023 Domaine Saparale, Corse Sartène, France (£19.95)
A curio, I have followed Saparale for aeons, and I am finally falling into step with its energetic, saline, plummy notes and diaphanous, red-fruited appeal. The finish is bouncy and joyful and it really isn’t particularly serious, but it fulfils a mid-afternoon craving like no other red in this piece.
2022 La Chevalière, Patrick Jasmin, Collines Rhodaniennes, Northern Rhône, France (£19.95)
Off the charts! This is the wine that I have chosen to focus on in an upcoming MoneyWeek column, so I will not say any more here than BUY IT before it sells out.
2022 Jasper Hill, Occam’s Razor Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria, Australia (£33.00)
This is a structured, imposing wine with a menacing edge that ought to be decanted and then served blind at top-notch dinner parties. It shows stunning Heathcote minerality under a glistening, black-fruited suit of armour. I love it and I marvel at its unique Shiraz flavour that will have you searching for tasting notes never uttered before!
2021 Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine Alain Graillot, Northern Rhône, France (£35.00 bottle, £72.00 magnum)
The King of Crozes does it again. I have bought these wines since the mid-Eighties, and Graillot never puts a foot wrong. In 2021, this is a lithe, restrained, and cautious wine with a profound depth of fruit, yet it is delivered with such grace and elegance that you have to remind yourself you are drinking Syrah!
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Elisabeth Chambellan Vieilles Vignes, Domaine du Père Caboche, Southern Rhône, France (£36.00)
Goodness me, this is a stunning wine. I rarely drink Chnf these days because price tags seem to hover somewhere between £50 – £100 for the ‘trendy’ producers’ wines, but I see no reason to spend any more than £36 now that I have discovered this monumentally delicious new release from the ever-charitable Domaine du Père Caboche. Look no further for the most impactful wintry red of the year.
Fortified
NV Domaine La Tour Vieille, Réserva, Banyuls, Roussillon, France (£25.75)
Don’t think twice or dither here. Just slap a bottle of this beauty in your mixed case, chill it a couple of degrees and pour neat little glasses at your next cheese board moment. This historical style of wine is so bloody delicious that it will take your breath away. This is a Tawny Port-like creation with oceans of Gallic flair and more mischief than a bus full of school kids off to the zoo!