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Home , Carbonic maceration, Maceration (wine)

30 GREAT RED BUYS 30 GREAT RED BUYS

My top 30: carbonic reds A simple technique for simplistic ? Not so nowadays, says Andy Howard MW, who discovered there was still plenty to learn when he set out to find his 30 top examples of red wines made using this well-known, but often misunderstood whole- method

Ask most enthusiasts what the term of wine. It is only recently that forward- ‘’ means to them, and the thinking winemakers are finding ways to vast majority will think – and adapt MC to craft some fascinating wines. almost certainly not the top-tier, cru end of MC can only be used at the start of the the Beaujolais market. In reality, this is a fermentation process, producing up to two process that is both intriguing and highly degrees of . must be intact and character from our Willamette Valley and ‘Grapes must be intact and healthy, with scientific, yet misunderstood by many. Having healthy, with hand-harvesting of whole almost “enhances” its youthful charm.’ been asked by to review wines made bunches a key element in the . MC has The impact is not just about flavour and hand-harvesting of whole bunches a key using carbonic maceration, it quickly became a number of very positive effects on the aroma. Bergström notes: ‘There is a textural apparent how little I knew about the finished wine, ranging from accentuating element that whole-cluster fermentation and element in the vineyard’ intricacies of the process. The more I delved different aromatic elements to the conversion carbonic fermentation lends to the wine.’ As a into the subject, the greater my appreciation (and reduction) of malic acid; increasing levels result, Bergström Wines has now developed its of the differences and variations found in Andy Howard MW is a of glycerol; softer tannin extraction; and own protocol for fermentation of its top-tier Above: carbonic a great combination of ripeness, generosity of these wines from producers around the world. Decanter contributing bright, ripe, juicy flavours with a freshness wines. maceration involves aromatics and fruit, along with an underlying In simple terms, carbonic maceration or editor and DWWA that makes wines approachable early on. In Otago, New Zealand, Akitu owner the fermentation of freshness and lightness. macération carbonique, referred to below as judge. He runs his own Scientific studies have shown that glycerol can Andrew Donaldson feels the use of MC in uncrushed grapes or Interestingly, it is not just New World ‘MC’, relates to the process where whole wine consultancy increase by a factor of 10, with a halving of Pinot Noir vinification is important. ‘There are whole bunches winemakers who are experimenting with MC. grapes, protected from oxygen (normally Vinetrades, and was malic acid levels and increase in pH of 0.2. lots of phenolics and in the stems that An increasing number of carbonic maceration under a veil of ) undergo an formerly a retail wine aren’t found in the grape skin or berry. By Riojas are starting to appear – a method intra-cellular fermentation due to enzymatic buyer for 30 years Serious intent harnessing these you can add to the phenolic commonly used in the past. These could reactions without the action of yeasts. However, carbonic maceration should not be stability of the resulting wine.’ The use of MC hardly be more different to the classical image Although this technique has been used, exclusively associated with light, fruity, and whole bunches ‘encourages a slower of an -driven , yet many are of high often inadvertently, for thousands of years, it easy-drinking wines, as the technique is now build-up of fermentation temperature, quality and well worth seeking out. was the 1930s experiments of Michel Flanzy, a being applied to wines with much higher resulting in improved tannin polymerisation Carbonic maceration has had a bad press in French scientist in Narbonne, which showed quality aspirations. Traditionally associated and development of exciting aromatic recent years but, despite being associated with MC’s potential. It was embraced by producers with the grape and Beaujolais, MC is compounds’, he says. With age, Akitu Pinot the cheaper end of the Beaujolais market, it is in the Beaujolais-boom years, becoming being embraced by winemakers in Spain, Noir develops a complex, exotic melange of rapidly becoming a serious tool in the kit for synonymous with light, quaffable reds made Australia, South Africa and the US, with great spicy flavours and aromas. innovative producers around the world. Their from the Gamay grape, which exhibited results being achieved using , , Giles Cooke MW is focusing his South skilled winemaking uses carbonic maceration tell-tale aromas and flavours of pear-drops Cinsault, and Pinot Noir. Australian winemaking efforts on innovative, to add complexity, accentuate aromas and and (when taken to excess) bubblegum. Josh Bergström, general manager and exciting Grenache-based wines. Cooke says MC flavours, while helping manage both acidity Unfortunately for both the region and the winemaker at Bergström Wines in Oregon, is brings ‘a framework to the Grenache, adds and tannins. These are wines to savour, enjoy, process, consumers moved away from flavour an advocate: ‘MC brings a lovely and complex seasoning and restraint’. All of the wines using and contemplate how science and nature are profiles more akin to a sweet shop than a glass aromatic experience that takes the fresh fruit this technique in his Thistledown range show being combined using this technique. ➢

22 | July 2019 • DECANTER DECANTER • July 2019 | 23 30 GREAT RED BUYS

Akitu, A1, Central Bergström, Domaine de la Côte, Chamonix, Greywacke Domaine Coudert, Domaine Le Cazal, Otago, New Zealand Cumberland Reserve Memorious Pinot Pinotage, Franschhoek, Clos de la Roilette, Tradition, Minervois, 12017 95 2Pinot Noir, 3Noir, Sta Rita Hills, 7South Africa 2015 93 8Fleurie, Beaujolais, 9Languedoc, France Willamette Valley, Oregon, £39 The New Zealand Cellar California, USA 2016 94 £18-£21.50 ABS Wine Agencies, France 2017 93 2017 93 A challenging year, but this 40% whole- USA 2015 95 £59 Roberson Harrogate Fine Wine Co, Noble Green, £13.75-£16.96 Goedhuis & Co, £10.95-£11.75 Yapp Bros, Jeroboams , bunch (the rest being whole berries) Pinot £39-£46 Pull the , Roberson Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr focus on Wright Wine Co Harvey Nichols, Lant St Wine, Richard Kihl, The Smiling Grape Co Noir has loads of Far-Eastern spice to This Oregon Pinot has benefited from -oriented Pinot Noir. This marries Whole-bunch, carbonic maceration and Theatre of Wine, Uncorked Old-vine Syrah, Grenache and complement rich, dark black fruits. seven days under gas, bringing out the earthy Burgundian characters with some the use of some ripasso grapes have given Semi-carbonic maceration, natural yeasts co-fermented in this deliciously easy- Fantastic acidity keeps everything in colour, aromatics and mouthfeel – without Californian warmth. Elevated aromatics a plush, generous wine of purity, smooth and old oak foudres all contribute to this drinking yet concentrated and silky- perfect harmony. Plenty of ageing the tannins. Ultra-fine texture, beautiful are complemented by fine tannins, crisp tannins, sweet red-cherry fruit and a spicy benchmark Fleurie. Combines rusticity smooth Minervois. Matured in concrete potential, clearly showing the direction in balance; a fragrant, delicate Pinot with acidity and purity of fruit. Oak underpins finish. Although aged in barrels for 18 with pleasure: violets on the nose, cherry cuves for eight months. A lovely example which top Otago Pinot Noirs are headed. bright, polished red fruits. Lovely acidity the structure but is so understated. Fine, months, the oak here is beautifully supple. and blackberry on the palate, with some with concentration, spice and a lingering Drink 2020-2027 Alcohol 14% to finish. Drink 2019-2025 Alc 13% fresh, elegant. Drink 2019-2024 Alc 13.5% Drink 2019-2022 Alc 14% leathery notes. Drink 2020-2024 Alc 13% mineral note. Drink 2019-2023 Alc 14%

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Tapanappa, Foggy Thistledown, She’s Blank Canvas, Syrah, Gérard Bertrand, Heretat MontRubí, Miguel Torres Hill Vineyard Pinot Electric Old Vine Hawke’s Bay, New Le Viala, Minervois Black, Penedès, Spain Chile, Reserva de 4 Noir, Fleurieu 5Single Vineyard 6 Zealand 2015 93 1 0La Livinière, 12017 1 93 1 2 Pueblo, Maule 93 93 Peninsula, South Australia Grenache, McLaren Vale, £21.50-£27.99 Alexander Hadleigh, Languedoc, France 2015 £13.99 Jeroboams, The Smiling Grape Co Valley, Chile 2016 2017 94 South Australia 2018 94 Carruthers & Kent, Christopher Keiller, Exel, £50.70-£57.11 (2014) Exel, Fintry 30% carbonic maceration gives this £11.49 Aimee’s Wine House, Dronfield Wine £29.05-£34 Exel, Mentzendorff £24.67-£29.99 Alliance Wine, Liberty Wines, The Fine Wine Co, The NZ Cellar Wines, Hallgarten Wines, Harrods, Wine Poole new-wave Penedès Garnacha a real lift. World, EH Booths, Hoults, Polygon Wines, 2017 was almost a perfect here; Carruthers & Kent, The Fine Wine Co, Salut Wines A highly complex and savoury Syrah from Syrah (60%) and Carignan (15%) Deep and inky in colour, there is plenty of Magnum Wine Co Brian Croser used 30% whole-bunch fruit, This uses 50% whole-bunch, old-vine a single-vineyard site. 60% whole-bunch underwent separate carbonic maceration dark, spicy black cherry and damson on An intriguing 100% dry-farmed País made cooled, then layered with de-stemmed Grenache giving a plush, soft, luscious fermentation and co-fermentation with before blending with Grenache. Intense the palate, with a refreshing savoury, from 95% carbonic maceration grapes. bunches before the tank was sealed. red-berry/cherry palate. Spices, a touch Grüner Veltliner skins, prior to 10 months’ and profound, with violets and black fruit. slightly mineral edge. Lightly oaked, there Delicately scented, it manages País’ Floral, delicate yet with great persistence of pepper and bright acidity keeps this oak ageing. Great freshness on the palate, 12 months in oak has imparted further is warmth and Spanish character here. tendency to rough tannins, combining red – an ultra-elegant example of Australian elegant and beautifully fresh on the finish. with bright damson and cherry fruit, black complexity. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 15% Very moreish. Drink 2019-2024 Alc 13.5% plum and cherry fruit with a savoury Pinot. Drink 2019-2024 Alc 12.8% Drink 2020-2025 Alc 14.5% pepper to finish. Drink 2020-2025 Alc 13% finish. Drink 2019-2022 Alc 12% ➢

24 | July 2019 • DECANTER DECANTER • July 2019 | 25 30 GREAT RED BUYS

Shaw & Smith, Stolpman , Te Mata, Gamay Division Wine Domaine Herència Altés, Balhannah Vineyard Estate Syrah, Noir, Hawke’s Bay, Making Co, Lathuilière La Xalamera, Terra 1 3Shiraz, Adelaide 1Ballard 4 Canyon, 1 5 New Zealand 2018 93 1 9Division-Villages 2 0 Gravallon, 2Alta, 1 Spain 2016 92 Hills, South Australia 2013 California, USA 2015 93 £19.20 Harvey Nichols, The NZ Cellar Méthode Carbonique, Pisse-Vieille, Brouilly, £21.85 Bancroft 93 £32.60 Stannary St Wine Co A single-vineyard wine from the Oregon, USA 2018 92 Beaujolais, France 2017 92 Husband and wife team Rafael de Haan £39.50-£54.99 AG Wines, Exel, Yields were drastically reduced in 2015, Woodthorpe Terraces Vineyard, this POA ABS Wine Agencies £13.95 Corney & Barrow and Nùria Altés are making exciting wines Liberty Wines, Oz Wines, The Australian Cellar, but 50% whole-bunch, no press wine, vibrant New World Gamay utilised 53% A 100% carbonic-maceration Pinot Noir Initially firm and quite structured, with a in fashionable Terra Alta. 100% single- The Fine Wine Co, Wine Buffs, Winearray, natural fermentation in concrete and old carbonic maceration. Blended with from a dynamic artisanal producer in bit of air this broadens and develops some vineyard Garnacha, whole-bunch and WineTrust100 wood has given this style and intensity tank-fermented wine, it spent nine weeks Portland. Bright red fruits, spices and lovely character. Pisse-Vielle is a vineyard carbonic maceration enhancing the 70% whole-bunch, 30% whole berries. with black olive notes – like a cross in used French barrels. Fresh and floral, great acidity to finish. Part-aged in oak of just over 1ha on granitic-clay, with vines freshness and subtle aromatics of this Aromatic lift. Soft, smooth, fine tannins between Cornas and premium Syrah from with raspberry and blueberry fruit notes, barrels for five months, drinking well now averaging 50 years. Made with traditional rich, soft and spicy wine. Despite high and a light oak touch (14 months in 500L Chile. Bitter cherry and dark chocolate on and a hint of aniseed on the finish. but will age. Freshness is a key objective semi-carbonic maceration; profound and alcohol, this stays refreshing and light on puncheons). Drink 2019-2025 Alc 14% the finish. Drink 2020-2026 Alc 13.8% Drink 2019-2022 Alc 12.5% here. Drink 2019-2022 Alc 13% long. Drink 2019-2025 Alc 13% the palate. Drink 2019-2023 Alc 15%

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Rêverie, Pinotage, Artuke, Rioja, Spain Château de Pizay, Matias Riccitelli, Birichino, Bodegas Zugober, Voor Paardeberg, 2018 92 Morgon, Beaujolais, The Party Saint Georges Belezos 50/50, Paarl, South Africa France 2018 92 , Uco Pinot Noir, Rioja, Spain 2017 1 6 £11.95 Lea & 1 8 2 2 2 3 2 4 1 7 91 2018 93 Valley, Mendoza, Argentina Central Coast, California, Unwooded made with £11.99 Majestic £34 Red Squirrel carbonic maceration! Wonderfully vibrant Château de Pizay dates back to the 14th 2017 92 USA 2016 91 £10.25 Corney & Barrow Winemaker Jacques de Klerk is creating a on nose and palate, with pronounced centur, and is now an estate of more than £14 Marks & Spencer £31 Berry Bros & Rudd, Butlers , From Rioja Alavesa, this Tempranillo is a name for himself with ; this is floral aromatics, bright, ripe dark berry 100ha. This is a serious Morgon with 100% whole-bunch Uco Valley fruit was Carruthers & Kent blend of half carbonic maceration and half his first Pinotage, far-removed from those fruit and great lift. Artuke is a small structure and body to match the dark fermented in concrete; the result is fresh, Going down the ‘natural’ route, with a de-stemmed bunches – the back label of old – 100% whole-bunch fruit, a hint of biodynamic estate, run by the Blanco berry fruits on the palate. Refreshing, vibrant and fragrant. Floral notes on the rather hazy colour and slightly funky nose, states in Spanish that ‘the formula of Gamay and Cinsault with soft, sweet, family for more than 100 years. The 5% savoury, juicy and smooth, there is more nose are interwoven with raspberry and but plenty of bright, juicy, fresh red berry happiness has two halves’. Bright, juicy, primary red fruits, refined tannins and Viura in the blend adds extra freshness. to this than just bright and vibrant fruit. plum fruit, with a distinct mineral edge to fruit and typical Californian sweetness rounded; aromatic, persistent, yet good cleansing acidity. Just 12% alcohol, and all Drink 2019-2021 Alc 13.5% A great partner with a plate of charcuterie. finish. Light on its feet, this is classy yet balanced by crisp tannins and fresh weight on the palate. Finishes with a slight the better for it. Drink 2019-2023 Alc 12% Drink 2019-2022 Alc 14% fun.Drink 2019-2022 Alc 14% acidity. Drink 2019-2022 Alc 13.5% spiciness. Drink 2019-2021 Alc 13.5% ➢

26 | July 2019 • DECANTER DECANTER • July 2019 | 27 30 GREAT RED BUYS

2Château Combel- Domaine de Domaine Joël la-Serre, La Vigne Gry-Sablon, Delaunay, Gamay, 2 5Juste Derrière 2 6Dominique 2 7 Touraine, Loire, Chez Carbo, Côtes du Lot, Morel, Fleurie, Beaujolais, France 2018 91 Southwest France 2018 91 France 2017 91 £10.90-£13 Aubergine Fine Food £19 Linden Stores, Red Squirrel, The Grape £15.60-£19.99 Alexander Hadleigh, & Wines, Carruthers & Kent, Cork of the North, Escape, The Grocery Wine Vault Box Valley Wine, Carruthers & Kent, Exel, Exel, Inn at Home, Liberty Wines 100% Auxerrois (Malbec) with carbonic Liberty Wines, Rannoch Scott, The Fine Wine Co, In the Cher Valley on clay/silex soils. This is maceration. Vibrant, youthful wine, fresh Wine-Man a great example of why aromas of blackberry and a bitter-cherry From old vines. Although soft and juicy on Gamay should not be overlooked. Fine and sloe fruit-driven palate. Winemaker the palate, there is a distinct mineral finish balance between bright, crisp cherry Julien Ilbert says this is his ‘vin de soif’. which lifts this above mass-produced fruits, soft tannins and a distinctly mineral He’s correct! Drink 2019-2021 Alc 12.5% Fleurie. Drink 2019-2021 Alc 12.5% finish. Drink 2019-2021 Alc 13%

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Louis Jadot, CVNE, Marks & Beaujolais- Maceración Spencer, Paul 2 8Quincié, France 2 9Carbónica, Rioja, 30 Sapin, Fleurie, 2017 91 Spain 2017 90 Beaujolais, France 2017 90 £12.99 Waitrose, Waitrose Cellar £14.50 Amps Wine Merchants, Bon Coeur, £10 Marks & Spencer 100% Gamay from vines grown on granitic Fountainhall Wines Winemaker Jérôme Donzel’s excellent schist soils, fermented partially using A major Rioja producer also dabbling with entry-level Fleurie from 40-year-old vines carbonic maceration. Deep colour. Shows carbonic maceration wines. This youthful, ticks all the expected boxes. Semi- loads of juicy, fleshy Gamay character, bright, juicy 100% Tempranillo has ripe carbonic fermentation has resulted in a refreshing acidity and a lick of minerals on tannins beneath soft, plump dark berry fragrant, elegant Fleurie that shows the finish. Not cheap for Beaujolais- fruits, with violet/floral aromas. Easy- plenty of ripe strawberry fruit flavour, Villages, but an intriguing and individual drinking but very nicely balanced, fresh bright acidity and a savoury note to finish. wine. Drink 2019-2023 Alc 12.5% and moreish. Drink 2019-2021 Alc 13.5% Drink 2019-2022 Alc 12.5% D

28 | July 2019 • DECANTER