👑ULTIMATE RIZZMASTER👑

What’s up winos,

How’s everyone doing on this fine Tuesday? I’m pretty A+ myself, and as ever, the reason is wine. The phrase ‘ultimate rizzmaster’ has been making the rounds on the internet this week thanks to a resurfaced clip of Timothee Chalamet handing his crown over to Tom Holland, and while it did take me a bit of googling to work out what it meant (okay boomer), now I’m down with the kids again, I have to disagree in light of our latest shipment. The ultimate rizzmaster is Hofgut Falkenstein.

I know I throw the word ‘bargain’ around a lot, but hand on heart, I can’t think of better pound for pound value than these Rieslings. You seriously can’t find better Mosel juice at this price. And if you manage to, let me know. I’ll be all over it like a rash. The Weber family are one of the few in the Mosel flying the flag for the minimal intervention approach - i.e. the old old style of making wine, picking grapes at low ripeness and bottling straight from cask. Although each cuvee has its own particular nuances, there’s a clear through-line in the range, namely, some serious pent-up energy just waiting to be released. There’s a lot to read on the labels (have fun picturing me building those products on the website and then have fun picturing me trying to pack your orders correctly) but what’s inside is simple: pure, clean, precise wine from probably the best grape variety going. Falkenstein’s portfolio showcases everything Riesling has to offer, which is a lot. From the herbal to the citrusy to the tropical, the bone dry to the Kabinett to the Spatlese, there’s a bottle for all palates. And the best part? Almost all of them are sub £35. And the two cuvees over £35 are very, very worth it. These are wines you need in your life.

Speaking of rizzmasters, we just landed some Peter-Jakob Kühn from the Rheingau. According to my camera roll, I drank one of these a few weeks ago, and while I’m not gonna pretend I remember everything about that evening, I will say I remember it absolutely slapping. Kühn is one of very few estates in Deutschland who farm biodynamically, and they’re so passionate about it that they applied the principles to their home life too - no white sugar, white flour or processed foods. I’m not necessarily down with that (don’t they know you can make PIZZA with white flour?) but I won’t complain about it in regards to wine. And yet again, three out of the four come in at an eye-poppingly reasonable price. Don’t say I never give you anything!

Moving away from Riesling (sigh), a week or two ago we were lucky enough to spend some time tasting the goods with Angus Vinden, one of the new gen of winemakers in the Hunter Valley. Angus is all about balancing the honouring of tradition with making space for creativity and innovation, which he manages by having two labels - the more trad portfolio that keeps the old domaine name, and his ‘Headcase’ offshoot, where he’s able to have a little more fun. For the whites we’ve got a cuddly, cosy Semillon, a rich and balanced Chardy, and a freshie of a Chenin; he also does a very food-friendly rosé (rosé season isn’t over! It will never be over!) and a beautifully light, elegant Shiraz, which are not words you often see in the same sentence, believe me. Well worth taking a look at these.

Last up, a little treat by way of Sicily - we got a handful of Alessandro Viola’s sparkling Catarratto. This absolutely slays. Trust me.

And finally (yes, I know I just said last up), have u got ur tickets to our Beaujolais party yet? Don’t sleep on it, I’m telling you.

Love u!

xoxo

Megan