Pioneering.Quirky.Artisan.(red)
Everything we love in a red wine: aromatic lift, juicy moreishness, terroir expression, varietal identity and bags of personality. It is made from our favourite Sicilian grape variety, Nerello Mascalese, which is a thin-skinned black grape, producing pale-coloured wines, similar in depth and weight to a Pinot Noir, and capable of translating the rocky minerality that comes from vines growing on the side of a volcano. Take a moment to savour the extraordinary aromas of apricot, jasmine, cherry and frankincense, which lead you to a seriously fine and elegant palate of red stone-fruits and cool pebbles. It's a very digestible, food-friendly wine with high acidity and a refreshing purity that leads you to demand another sip. 13.5% alc. Drink now-2028 (conservatively).
Biodynamic farming
Customer comments (including previous vintage):
“It’s like Gina Lollobrigida just kissed me on the lips and I’m currently lost for words… Genuinely think this is my favourite wine of the year.” - Mr. B.F.
"Feels like a perfect summer red. We really enjoyed it." - Mr. J.S.
"I love this wine, it's become my new fav!" - Ms. C.H.
“I opened one of the Guardoilvento last night. Delicious. Still great freshness but just the right amount of development too.” - Mr. T.V.
”We thought the Etna Rosso was sensational.” - Mr. M. H.
“A wine that strums my heartstrings.” - Tamlyn Currin for JancisRobinson.com
This is a terrific wine from Marco de Grazia of Tenuta delle Terre Nere, who, in 2006, was offered two small parcels on Mount Etna in the crus of Feudo di Mezzo and Moganazzi, which were too small to blend into Terre Nerre’s cuvees, and so this project was born, named after his daughter, Eli, whose crayon drawings have adorned the labels ever since, changing each year as she grows up. It has the gorgeous aromas that we look for in proper Etna Rosso, with that telltale note of peach fuzz and apricot skin, as well as dried cherries and whetstone, plumped up on the palate by sweeter flavours of pomegranate and wild strawberry. 13% alc. 12 months on 20% new oak. Drink now-2027.
Press review:
JancisRobinson.com: “Licking terracotta tiles on a hot summer day after a thunderstorm; eating small red cherries fallen onto an old, crumbling stone wall; pomegranate seeds crushed between rough concrete. Transparent as stained glass, rugged as weathered brick. Incense and under-log earthy; crushed radicchio and soft triangles and columbine-scented five-pointed stars of flavour of earth and flower and root and fruit and stone. A wine that strums my heartstrings… (TC). Drink now-2027.“ 17.5 points
Customer comment:
“I have popped the Etna Rosso La Vigne di Eli and have to say it’s lovely, light, refreshing and invigorating in equal measure, and your tasting note is absolutely spot on.” - Mr A.H.
“Stunning and incredibly priced.” - The Wine Advocate, 95 points
The buzz about the Ribeira Sacra region is only going to get louder when people taste wines like this. The region seems to be spearheading a new direction in Spanish wine towards lighter, fresher, silkier reds with lower alcohol and an appetising dryness that makes them so versatile with food, showing more of an affinity with the textural fragility of Pinot Noir, for example, than the ‘oak soups’ that you often find in modern Rioja or the Ribera del Duero.
This is a fantastic introduction to Spain’s new bearing, which is really gathering pace in the ‘Atlantic’ appellations around Galicia, and I can't recommend it highly enough. The Lousas ‘Vinas de Aldea’ is Envinate's equivalent of a ‘village’ wine, in the Burgundian sense, sourced from 12 different parcels in various sub-regions of the Ribeira Sacra ranging from 20 to 60 years of age and located between 400 and 600 metres altitude on varied soils of slate and granite depending on the location.
The Vinas de Aldea 2023 is predominantly made from Mencia, with a few local varieties thrown in for good measure (Brancellao, Merenzao, Mouraton, Bastardo, Garnacha Tintorera), and the grapes were foot-trodden and fermented with whole-clusters (i.e. with the stems) in small open vats before transferring to 2,000 litre barrels for 11 months. It’s oh-so-fine and elegant and beautifully tailored to fit its shape. The aromas are pure and wild, suggestive of shiny cherry skins, fraises des bois and crushed purple flowers, while the flavours glide across the palate, evoking dark cherry, juicy red grapes, blood orange, a hint of white pepper (typical of Mencia) and a suggestion of cool minerals. It tastes best if you drink it slightly below room temperature. It’s an utterly beguiling Spanish red and you shouldn’t hesitate in snapping some up while stocks last. 13% alc. Drink now-2032.
Organically farmed
Vegan-friendly
Press review:
The Wine Advocate [bottled sample]: “The bottled 2023 Lousas Viñas de Aldea is perfumed, intoxicating and showy, with a floral note of dried rose petals that I also found in the Misturado from this same vintage. There's also a flinty smokiness that gives the wine a different twist. It's stunning and incredibly priced. Drink now-2032.” 95 points
The Wine Advocate [barrel sample]: “I tasted a very promising barrel sample of the 2023 Lousas Viñas de Aldea, cropped from a more Atlantic, cooler and rainier year (especially when compared with the super warm and dry 2022). Right now, it's super primary and they are slowly introducing larger oak foudres (3,000 litres) and lowering the impact of the oak in the wine. This has very good freshness, purity and elegance, reminiscent of past vintages like 2021 or 2016. It has terrific balance. Drink now-2032.” (94-96) points
Customer comment:
“We tried the Lousas Vinas de Aldea over the weekend. It was quite delicious. In fact it was so good we drank a bottle on Saturday and opened another on Sunday. So clearly I am going to need some more.” - Mr. Q.J.
A featherweight red wine from Catalonia with a pale colour and imperceptible tannins, made from the local Trepat grape and showing high-toned aromas from the whole bunch fermentation and flavours of strawberry nectar, pumice stone and cold embers. Quirky and delicious! 12% alc. Drink now-2027.
Organic/ biodynamic
An absolute stunner from the guys at Envinate! Just the right amount of wispy volcanic smokiness on the nose to draw you in, but not so much that it occludes the fruit, which jumps out of the glass with juicy vibrancy, packed with shiny black cherry, raspberry, blueberry and pomegranate laced with whetstone, pumice powder and pepper (that’s the volcano talking!). One of our favourite releases from these brilliant winemakers. A field blend of Negramoll and Listán Negro. Very old vines. 12% alc. Drink now-2030. Organic (non-certified). Vegan
Press review:
The Wine Advocate: “The 2022 La Santa de Úrsula is balsamic and reveals notes of rose petals and talcum powder. The fruit is darker (riper), and it has a juicy palate with fine tannins and a long, lingering finish. Drink now - 2029.” 95 points
Tamlyn Currin for JancisRobinson.com: “So fine, high-wired and pellucid that the wine has a kind of haunting, keening brilliance. The rose-hip and hawthorn-berry fruit is bright and wild and pure with a wintery tartness, curved like a cutlass in the teeth of a salty wind. Old-brick bitterness and petrichor minerality, enough to set your jaw on edge and send tingles down your spine. The tannins are like a storm wind, invisible and yet whipping through the stones and the bones and iron-red flesh of the fruit. Crack of smoke. It’s a whetstone of a wine, and it will divide opinion. Some (like my husband) will find it thin, some (like me) will fall in love with the pared-back-to-the-breath of this naked, raw, hungry wine. The score is for people like me. The rest of you can go to Napa.” 17.5 points
Customer comments:
“A belter.” -Mr. M.A.
“This might be the finest wine that I have tasted from Lukas Van Loggerenberg.” - Neal Martin, 97 points
“World class.” - Tim Atkin MW, 96 points
When Chris Alheit introduces a new winemaker, who he says is one to look out for, then people necessarily sit up and take notice. That was what happened when Chris contacted his old friend and UK importer, Richard Kelley, with an email that simply said “Richard meet Lukas, Lukas meet Richard”. Richard caught the next plane out to The Cape and the rest is history. Within a few years, Lukas has become synonymous with South Africa’s ‘New Wave’ and both wine merchants and wine drinkers now have to fight for an allocation.
His ‘Graft’ Syrah from the Polkadraai Hills, just outside Stellenbosch, is a thing of great beauty, evoking wines like Cote Rotie and Hermitage with purple flower petals in its upper register, black cherry in its middle register and sweet spice in its lower register. It’s wonderfully authentic. There’s a wonderful inner perfume that suffuses the dark, mellifluous fruit, bringing exotic seduction to a grape than can taste monolithic in the wrong hands. It’s 100% whole bunch-fermented, which brings a sappy, juiciness to the wine, and aged for a year in a mix of Italian concrete and old French oak, which softens and sweetens the crunchy young berries. Can be drunk when young, as it has so much fruit, but it has decades ahead of it. 14% alc. Drink now-2042.
Press reviews:
Vinous (Neal Martin): “"The 2022 Graft is pure Syrah from Polkadraai Hills that is matured two-thirds in concrete, the remainder in second-fill barrels. "It's the easiest wine I make because of the quality of the vineyard," Van Loggerenberg mentions. It has a stunning crushed violet petal, mineral-driven bouquet that effortlessly subsumes the 100% whole bunch. The palate is supremely well-balanced and tensile, with touches of pink peppercorn and brine infusing the black fruit, leading to another, almost Cornas-like, pliant finish. This might be the finest wine that I have tasted from Lukas Van Loggerenberg (so far). Drink now-2050.“ 97 points
Greg Sherwood MW: “This pretty Syrah shows a deep broody aromatics with layers of rose water, lavender, violets, red plum, red cherry, and scented talc. The palate shows incredible intensity and fine chalky tannins with a power and precision, or as Lukas says, Cote Rotie meets Polkadraai Hills! A multi-layered, texturally stimulating Syrah that s incredibly perfumed, intense, and quite profound. One of Lukas s most sophisticated wines without doubt.” 97+ points
Tim Atkin MW: “ "A freak of a vineyard", is how Lukas van Loggerenberg describes Karibib, the source of several of the Cape's most exciting Syrahs, including this one. Fermented with whole bunches before ageing in a 70/30 combination of concrete and older barrels, Graft is a violet, lavender and paprika-scented red with a palate of damson, black olive and blackberry, dense, layered tannins and the grip and concentration to age. World class. Drink now-2032.” 96 points
JancisRobinson.com (Tamlyn Currin): “Smells of black pepper and wild strawberries. Intensely peppery but no shortage of super-fresh, resonant fruit. The tannins feel like old parchment, layer upon layer. It really presses into you, delicious concentration on the mid palate but really dancing on the nose and on the finish. Tremendous energy. Drink now-2032.” 17.5 points
This was our favourite red wine at Vinateros, the ‘new wave’ Spanish trade tasting that takes place in London every 2 years. It’s made from the Baboso Negro grape grown on the western side of Tenerife in the trips-off-the-tongue appellation of Ycoden-Daute-Isora. As you would expect, it has a subtle, volcanic smokiness to it, as well as a peppery character, but there’s so much more to it than spice and mineral accents. It’s taut, nervy and focused on the palate, offering zesty red berry and violet flavours, but the fruit is succulent and sweet and fills the mouth with floral cherry and pomegranate and a little nutty oak, finishing on a tender note that evokes some of the best wines from Beaujolais or the Jura. Exceptional!
Technical data: Baboso Negro from a single vineyard called La Vizacondesa. 20-year-old ungrafted vines planted on clay-loamy soils. 30% of the grapes are whole-bunch fermented without crushing. Cold maceration for 48 hours followed by stainless-steel fermentation.. After pressing, the wine is racked into used 600-litre French oak casks. Barrel maturation lasts 12 months and the wine is not stabilised or filtered. Organic farming. Drink now-2028.
Press review:
The Wine Advocate: “As with the rest of the wines, I tasted two vintages of this red, so I also sampled the 2017 Ignios Orígenes Baboso Negro, which matured in a 1,500-litre oak foudre (and one barrique), so the rate at which the wine takes oxygen during the élevage was very different from the 2016. This felt much younger, and it had a creamy twist that was probably added by the new oak in which it was aged. It has plenty of fine-grained tannins that might require a little more time in bottle.” 93 points
“OMG – what a discovery!” - Ferran Centelles, former wine director at El Bulli, writing for JancisRobinson.com
“Another fabulous Valdeorras red from this producer!” - Tim Atkin MW
Mainly Mencía and Garnacha Tintorera grapes with smaller quantities of other local varieties, including Merenzao, Sousón, and Brancellao. The nose has terrific depth, featuring ripe blackberries, morello cherries and black plum, but there are also delicate top notes of violet, apricot and mint, reflecting the cooler character of the 2021 vintage. The year that the wine spent in barrel brings a little smoky spice without overpowering the mineral accents imparted by the slate soil. A fabulous taste of modern Spanish winemaking! 13% alc. Drink now-2035.
Press reviews:
JancisRobinson.com (Ferran Centelles): “OMG – what a discovery upon opening this bottle! This wine is unique, simply outstanding for its price, easily deserving not only the retail price in Spain but at least twice as much. Black-fruit profile with black cherry, blackcurrant and pomegranate, yet delivered with exquisite delicacy. Fabulous fine-grained tannins, light yet deep, extremely sapid with remarkable freshness and precision. Compared with other wines from the estate, this shows a slightly darker fruit character, while retaining incredible drinkability. Subtle smoky and ashy touches appear on the back palate, perfectly integrated. A deeply moving wine that transports you to the wild, dramatic landscape of Valdeorras. Congratulations and thank you for enlightening my palate! I can only hope that warmer vintages like 2022 or 2024 will retain the same stunning quality shown in this 2021. Drink now-2035.” 18 points
Tim Atkin MW: “Another fabulous Valdeorras red from this producer! The wine is a reflection of the cooler vintage with impressive acidity and minty freshness. The nose is pure, direct and red fruited, offering a hint of the slatey origins of the vineyard. Rose petals and strawberries add some delicate, pretty aromas to an essentially profound and layered wine.” 94 points
Decanter (previous vintage): “Resplendent floral, oaky, toasty, plummy and dark cherry nose. Palate is full bodied and concentrated, the tannins fine and silky. Holds a long, compelling note through the finish. Outstanding example of its style.” 95 points
“Their finest effort to date.” -The Wine Advocate, 100 points
This comes from one of the most dramatic vineyards in Tenerife, clinging to a cliff face on the north-east corner of the island. The wine itself is quite pale, like rosehip cordial. So fresh, so pure, so elegant, so Tenerife! The fruit is beautifully pared down, as if reduced to its bare essence. Thinly sliced strawberries, watermelon, rose petals and cold embers. Elegance… from a volcano!
A blend of Listán Negro, Baboso Negro, Negramoll, Vijariego, and 10% of white varieties such as Malvasía. Red basalt soils of volcanic origin. Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation with ambient yeasts in open vats using 100% of the stems. Daily punching down, and malolactic conversion in neutral French oak barrels of 500 litres. Aged in the same barrels for 11 months on its lees, without any racking. Simple really. Only 1,800 bottles produced. Organic farming. 12% alc. Vegan-friendly. Drink now-2030.
Press review:
The Wine Advocate: “2021 was a cooler year, like 2016 and 2018, and they did longer macerations. The grapes were healthy, they got a little higher yield and it was all easy. The 2021 Táganan Parcela Margalagua is young and long, very balanced, complex and elegant, peppery, spicy and floral, with iron-like notes, raw meat and a salty twist on the finish. The wine is long and expansive. This was their finest effort to date, with a superb 2023 produced later at a similar level. Drink now-2034.” 100 points
A beautifully aromatic Nerello Mascalese sourced from pre-phylloxera vines on the slopes of Mount Etna, fermented with wild yeasts and aged for 6 months in French oak barrels. The combination of the altitude (2,000 feet above sea level) and the rich, mineral soil, give the wine extraordinary aromatic lift, almost exotic, suggesting chopped red cherries, peach fuzz and whetstone, while the palate is as buoyant and fresh, as the somewhat pale colour suggests it will be, but there's real fascination and depth in there too, as you might find in a ripe Nebbiolo or a richly-scented Pinot Noir. 13.5% alc. Drink now-2029.
Biodynamic farming.
Customer comments (including previous vintage):
“All the hype about this wine is more than deserved..... absolutely stunning!” - Mr. R. H.
“As always, thank you for spotting the wine - another absolute banger, which blew away the conventional Burgundy we had at the same meal.” - Mr. R.E.
”That Etna Rosso is absolutely amazing. Thanks so much for the recommendation” - Mr. A.D.
“Loving it (too much!). Would be happy to take two more cases if you have them.” - Mr. I. W.
”I much enjoyed your Etna Rosso last night – it was lighter than I expected but very smooth and delicious." - Mr. A.M.
"Like drinking liquid silk, really light and cherry-scented but with that dark, basalt thing going on too. Ethereal and magnificent. Love it." - Mr. J.W.
"I did just cracked open a bottle of Ciauria and it is excellent!" - Mr T.J.
"I thought the Ciauria was really lovely! Great find." - Mr. J.L.
"It's incredible! I've never had anything like it." - Mr. G.D.
"Tried the Etna Rosso last night and it was delicious!" - Mr. J.F.
"You can tell from the repeat order that the Ciauria has gone down very well. Looking forward to receiving the order, looking forward to drinking it more." - Mr. G.S.