GROSS BY NAME, NOT BY NATURE

Hey, Fionn again.

No rhyme and reason to this one. Feelin’ a bit random this week so I’m just gonna ramble on and see where that takes us. Good luck!

Last Friday a whopping three pallets arrived from Domaine Gross. My poor back. Anyway, that is probably about a months supply of THIS. In my eyes the perfect orange wine. Colour? Yep. Texture? Yep. Aromatics? Yep. Biodynamically farmed, unsulphured deliciousness that is stable over a few days. Not that it’s ever lasted that long. What more do you want? Honestly, I’ve yet to find something comparable at a remotely similar price point. If you do manage the impossible, you know where to find me!

Top-ups from his single varietal macerations too. These are beautiful expressions of both grape and place. If you want to get your head around Alsace and its plethora of grapes, look no further. I’m sick of people saying skin contact can mask a wine’s ‘varietal characteristics’. Looking at you again WSET… How can extracting even more from the skin of a grape make it less expressive? Surely, if anything, the opposite is true. Anyway, enough of my ranting. They are all singing right now. The Riesling is a textured take but with ample acid. Sylvaner as a grape is just so underrated, with this being an elite illustration. The Pinot Gris is up there with the best from Friuli, cheaper too. The rest can all be found here.

Whilst I’m at it he makes a clean as a whistle Cremant that should be your party starting pour for the foreseeable. Again, you simply can’t get Champagne, English, or any other trad method fizz as good as THIS for £40. Unfiltered, unfined, no sulphur but a textbook example of how the very best ‘natural’ wines can be so precise. Stunning. Come taste our salon.

On the topic of value fizz, I also must mention these new Pet-Nats from Alanna laGamba. We met last year when she and her partner, Martin of Marto, took Ken’s by storm. Since then, we’ve bumped into each other at tastings both here and in France. She has an incredible energy and infectious passion for wine that is so apparent in her wines. Alanna has some serious skill, yet these are wines that don’t take ‘emselves too seriously. This is German Lambrusco. Wild at first but it settles down into a juicy fruited fizz with cola-like spice. Somehow, I didn’t down this 9.5% juice bomb in a single sitting, and it was even better after a few forgotten days in the fridge. Her pink offering is lighter and even leaner! Think crushed berries and watermelon rind. At the end of the day, the most important thing about wine is that it should be fun. Terroir, soil, and all that geeky stuff are great don’t get me wrong but what I look for most in wine is enjoyment. Very few bottles make me smile quite like these. See for yourself.

I know it’s not officially Rosé szn™ but these from Le Coste are too good to not drink year long. After a little rest, we missed the sun, but boy was it worth the wait. Sour fruited and saline, not even a liter is enough. The Rosato is in that rare category of truly otherworldly, best in show, pinks. Rose petals, smoke, and bloody citrus. This always has a special place in my heart, especially this vintage! I brought it to my first staff dinner for god’s sake. It went down a lot better than the other bottle I bought but that’s a story for another time…

Enough rambling!

Lysm

Fionn

Xoxo