IT'S NOT ALL DOOM N GLOOM 🌞

What’s up winos,

Well, autumn was fun, wasn’t it! Blink and we’ve missed it. Here’s to six months of winter and digging out all those massive coats you shoved under your bed coz you had nowhere else to put them (just me? Cool. They were extremely dusty. Whoops).

That said, I’m all about mind over matter. So let’s talk wines that’ll put you in mind of sunnier climes (climes you could actually just go visit for like £9.99, TYSM Ryanair).

First up, got in a slew of wonderfully affordable Albariños courtesy of Alberto Nanclares, up in Rías Baixas, possibly the only place in Spain where it rains as much as it does here. Alberto started off as a classic garagista in 1997, and initially used conventional farming techniques before quickly becoming disenchanted with them and saying adios to chemicals after a couple of years. He now tends 2.2 organically farmed hectares of Albariño, which overlook the Atlantic, so benefit from that lovely fresh sea-spray vibe. Yum. I present to you three distinct takes on the noble Spanish grape: Dandelion, a lipsmacking acid bomb; Soverribas, a rich, mineral, salty stunner; and Nanclares, elegant, floral and crisp. Pair these with your favourite fish and you’re laughing.

ICYMI, got some iconic Champagne arrivals too. Guess this sunnier climes theme has gone south (heh) already. Whatever. Laval is a bit of an ‘if you know you know’ producer in Champagne, evidenced by the fact that the only indication there’s a winery behind the doors is a miniscule little sign (rather than the red carpet rolled out at certain other estates), but it’s time you all got to know. Laval is one for the connoisseurs, with only 2.5 hectares and a production of just 15,000 bottles a year, which might not sound very micro unless you’re aware that Champagne as a whole produces about 300 million annually. Though there’s documentation claiming vineyard growing here as far back as 1694, the Lavals only started bottling under their own name in 1971, when they presumably decided their goods were too elite to be selling off. 1971 was also the year they went organic. Yay! The estate is based in Cumières, in Vallée de la Marne, and the wines are jaw-droppingly good - textured, rich and intense. You can shop the whole lot here, and I highly recommend you do.

I’ll round us up with a couple of hot strays - a smoky Chenin from the elite Les Onglés site, a yummy, tart-fruited pet-nat from our pal Kevin, who makes this wine on the side of his day job selling booze for our pals Les Caves, and a stupidly good Chateauneuf that’s unexpectedly fresh and lifted.

Finally, don’t forget to bag your tickets to le Salon de Dan’s. The whole gang’ll be there all day pouring our finest own imports. If you’re lucky and I have enough tasting pours then I might start speaking French at you. But don’t let that put you off coming.

C u there!

xoxo

Megan