Old vine wines with Sarah Abbott

Sarah Abbott, co-founder of the Old Vine Conference,  led a unique presentation of wines from old vines at the London Wine Fair 2024.

Old Vine Conference is a London based non-profit dedicated to the promotion of wines made from vines with decades of history behind them.

This is hopefully a good thing in many ways. First of all, of course, old vines usually make harmonious, complex wines with great aging potential. 

Also, it is environmentally useful to maintain the genetic diversity of vines, and maintaining old vines reduces the chance that some varieties might get lost forever.

So what is "old"? for the OVC a vine is "old" when it is at least 35 years old, a rule apparently developed in Barossa, in Australia.

Here are my tasting notes:

1. Villa Bogdano 185 bianco, Veneto Italy, 2018

81yo vines of friulano

This vineyard was originally planted in 1943, and it is now farmed according to EU organic rules (bio).

Moderately intense and still good freshness. Good complexity and length. 

Www.villabogdano1880.it

Rrp £ 23, score 89

2. Garage wine sauzal lot 95, Maule valley Chile 2018, 

No recorded age, monastrell 

Origins shrouded in mystery but these vines were were already old when Nivaldo the owner was a child and HE is now old... 

Ripe cherries, good balance, complex, delicate, fragile, not concentrated as expected, mature now, don't wait any longer.

Www.garagewine.company

Rrp £ 19, score 88

3. Plaimont Manseng Noir, côtes de Gascogne 

Manseng noir variety, young vines re-planted from old vines material.

Vibrant light perfumed wine, floral notes, delicate tannins, might be best enjoyed cool.

Www.plaimont.com

Rrp £12 score 87

4. Marchelle Wines Cinsaut, Bechtold Winery, Mokelumne River, California, USA 2020 

Vines are a whopping 138-year-old!

Intense, elegant, perfect balance, complex, ready now with some aging potential.

Only 77 cases made grab one fast!

Www.marchelleswines.com

Rrp usd 54, score 92

5. Louis Martini, Gnarly vine, Monte Rosso Sonoma valley, 2018

100% Zinfandel

Like the previous wine, this also comes from a 138yo vineyard.

Intense ripe cherries, elegant, complex, perfect balance, long. An exceptional, harmonious wine.

Ready now could yet evolve some in bottle. 

Www.louismartini.com

Rrp £ 61 score 96

6. Once and future, Teldeschi vineyard "Frank's Block" in Creek Valley, Sonoma, 2019

Zinfandel

120yo vines for this fruity, balanced very long wine. Ready now but tannins could perhaps become a bit rounder with a couple of years in the bottle.

www.onceandfuturewine.com

Rrp usd 50, score 89

7. Catena Zapata Malbec, m mendoza, Argentina 

Vines 94yo and 28 yo

Www.catenazapata.com

Plump mature red fruit and also complex long 

Rrp £75 score 92

8. Feudi di San Gregorio, Serpico, aglianico, Campania Italy 2016 

Vines 100+ yo ungrafted

Www.feudi.it

Fruit, alcohol, tannins still very much alive. Hopefully time in the bottle will help harmonize this wine. 

Rrp £60,score 86

Join the Old Vine Conference if you agree old vines often make great wines!

https://www.oldvines.org/membership

Meet the producer: Argentinian Malbec by Bodegas Fabre

Time for Argentina at the LWF 2024 and its most iconic grape: malbec. I never get tired of it, it is an endless sequel of great enjoyment and it seems to get better and better with time,

Pioneers in Argentinian Malbec, Bodegas Fabre, brought to life exceptional wines in some of the most extraordinary terroirs in Mendoza. Born from winemaker and owner Hervé Joyaux Fabre, who became the first winemaker to produce a premium single varietal Malbec in Argentina, Bodegas Fabre has since become a global presence with wines such as Viñalba and Alta Yari.

I joined Bodegas Fabre's husband and wife team, Hervé Joyaux Fabre and Diane Joyaux Fabre, alongside Buckingham Schenk's Marketing Director David Tromans to explore the origins, and current trends of Argentinian Malbec with four wines from Viñalba & Alta Yari.

Viñalba started making malbec in the 1990s when it bought a plot of 100-year-old vines. They have grown since, with some parcels up to 1600 masl. The also tried Patagonia, where they grow grapes but then they transport them to Mendoza to vinify. In Argentina latitude and altitude play against one another, so in the far south of Patagonia they grow grapes at lower altitude to compensate for the cooler climate.

Viñalba reserve malbec 2022, Uco valley

Tannins well structured, could benefit from some time in bottle, can't really feel the oak aging. 

Score 88 rrp 12

Viñalba Patagonia reserve 2022

200 masl only because higher is too cold

Violet, licorice, Good balance and length

Score 88, Rrp 15

Viñalba Gran reservado 2019

Mendoza, Uco Valley 

1 year in French oak 

Very intense ripe red fruit, smooth tannins long the best of the flight, superb value.

Score 93, Rrp 19

Alta-Yari Gran Corte 2022

1560masl, extreme wine making 

Blend with malbec 35% cab franc 60%and cab sauvignon 5%

Mineral spicy notes 

Needs a couple of years to smoothen tannins corners

Score 90, Rrp 25

Bordeaux virtual master class and blind tasting

École du Vin tutors, Mike Turner and Leona de Pasquale took us through an introduction to Bordeaux.

By way of intro, we learned that Bordeaux is now 23% organic and % is growing.

Clairet can be seen as dark as Rose. Key differences between Rosé and Clairet are: Rosé: maceration normally for up to 12 hr or direct pressing Clairet: maceration 24-36 hrs Fermentation 18-20 °C and Clairet tends to go through MLF

They then challenged participants to a blind tasting to match the wines to their appellations before revealing their identities.

Leona de Pasquale was usefully on hand throughout the session to answer your questions in the chat box.

Here is what we tasted blind. I guessed two out of six right...

Wine n.1

Château Gaillard 2016 Saint Émilion Grand Cru
mod complex and long
merlot predominant 70%, 30% cab franc which still makes its presence strongly felt
50yo vines
aged in 225l barrels, one third new
14% abv

RRP £ 20-25
score 89


Wine n.2
Domaine Perganson L'Inattendu 2018, Haut Médoc
22% merlot, 23% cab sauvignon, 30% petit verdot, 18% malbec, 7% cab franc
aged 1 year in 225l barrels
still rough
avb 14.5%
RRP £ 14
score 84


Wine n.3
Clos du Notaire 2019 Cotes de Bourg
(CdBourg oldest vineyards in region, planted by Romans "Vitis Biturica"
merlot 100% organic, no barrel, no aging recommended
complex needs time to round out tannins
no oak and no sulphur
abv 15%
RRP £12-14
score 92


Wine n. 4
Chat La Freynelle 2020 rosé
100% cab sauvignon
20yo vines
direct pressing
Rosé made in whole of Bordeaux region, with many different soils and terroirs
short maceration method used to make rosé, a few hours max
fresh, strawberry
abv 13%
RRP £ 7-8
score 87


Wine n.5
Chat Haut-Rian 2020 Entre deux mères (two tides, comes from marée)
40% sauvignon blanc 60% semillon
35yo vines
4 months on lees
fresh citrusy
abv 12.5%
RRP £ 8-10
score 87


Wine n.6
Chat Faugas 2018 cadillac AOC
Semi sweet
late harvest
100% semillon
epoxy lined concrete
score 86
abv 13.5%
RRP £ 13-16
Score 88


Oenobordeaux App can be download for those who are interested.

Thank you Ecole du vins de Bordeaux

Meet the producer: Vignobles Chatonnet, Bordeaux, France

A new discovery for us this producer from the right bank in Bordeaux. The homeland of merlot, one of my favorite grapes, mellow yet powerful, velvety and structured. A touch of elegance in many Bordeaux wines from either bank, but a protagonist in Lalande de Pomerol, where the vignobles Chatonnet is based. 

Today we met with Andrea Giraud who is in charge of the international market at Paul Chatonnet. We asked about the peculiarities of this vineyard. Let's hear it directly from her.

 

Tasting notes:

Archange 2016, merlot 100%

A typical expression of this noble variety. Opulent, elegant, complex and long. A masterpiece merlot, at the pinnacle of rive droite interpretation of this grape.

Result of "lutte raisonnée", aiming at minimizing human intervention as much as possible but without ideological strictures.

Score 97

La Sergue 2016,  Merlot (85%), Cabernet Franc (12%) and Malbec (3%)

An original composition with the unique addition of malbec instead of the more familiar cab franc which is the normal third party of the Bordeaux trinity. The result is a balanced and moderately complex wine that is ready now but could wait a little longer.

Score 95

Away from the camera we also tasted:

Haut Chaigneau 2016, merlot 90%, cab franc 10%
Dark Ruby red, intense nose of red fruits
Fresh for a 2016, could use a few more years to round its edges but already balanced enough to be highly enjoyable with structured food. I had it with lasagne.

Score 89

   

Meet the producer, Alpasiòn Wines, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

In the context of the London Wine Fair 2021, we have been fortunate to receive some samples from a remarkable winery in the Uco Valley of Argentina.

Alpasiòn in their own words (from their website): The people behind this project are all wine lovers who decided to make a dream come true by making honest, iconic wines together. We decided to name our inaugural release “Alpasión,” a combination of the Spanish “alma” (soul) and “pasión” (passion). The Alpasión label features the fingerprints and signatures of all of the winery’s owners as testimony to friendship for life. The winery owns 85 hectares of land and although not certified just yet, Alpasión practices sustainable organic farming to ensure the health of soils, ecosystems and people. Even part of the vineyard is planted in the shape of a giant fingerprint.

Whataboutme? Sauvignon blanc 2019

Sauvignon blanc 100%. Zesty and citrussy, fresh aromas on the nose, followed by a clean taste in the mouth. A simple yet pleasant wine.

Score 80.

Whataboutme? Malbec 2019

Easy, round and mod long, typical malbec.

Score 86

Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Ripe red fruits and plums. Excellent balance and length for this complex cab. It is still young, could age but it is good now. The best of the range.

Score 94

Malbec 2018

Easy and round, more complex aromas than Whatabaoutme? and surprisingly long.

Score 88.

Grand Malbec 2017

A wine that must wait, the tannins are still aggressive. Excellent potential, the fruit is there, so is the complexity. To drink in 3-4 years at least.

Score 90.

Grand Cabernet Franc 2018

Ripe fruit and plums. An opulent wine, very well balanced, which is not always easy with a cab franc. Deserves a wait, at least 3-4 years.

Score 90

Meet the producer: Achaval Ferrer from Mendoza, Argentina

Achaval Ferrer (image from their website)

A producer from Argentina who is proud of carrying on a long, ultra-centenary tradition of wine making. Many vines are ungrafted, that is they were not touched by phylloxera and therefore had no need for grafting as most of the rest of the world.

In the works of Jevgenijs Suscinskis, who guided my tasting a few days ago and whom I would like to thank here, grafted vines give you a picture of the vineyard, ungrafted ones give you a movie! A film that does not last two hours but perhaps two centuries!

Here is the result of the tasting, very efficiently organized by MyOnlineFair:

Mirador 2014
malbec 100% from old vines, some  are 70-year-old plants on own roots.
A well balanced, dark ruby, round wine with lots of energy to offer.
15 months in french oak but one does not feel the wood much, excellent freshness is still there.
Score 89.

Bellavista 2014
malbec 100% from old vines, some up to 100 years old. 

Unfiltered and unfined it shows slight deposit. Violet black and red fruits emerge in the nose make for a fresher malbec compared to the previous one. Clearly this has further aging potential. This is an expensive bottle, around 100 Eur per bottle retail. Definitely worth it!

Score 95

 

Mendoza malbec 2018
malbec 100%

An interesting, moderately complex blend from grapes from different altitudes. A wine where the producer tries to offer the most typicity for the variety.

Score 88. 

rrp 18

Quimera 2013

45% malbec,19% cabernet sauvignon,18% merlot 18% cabernet franc

Warm blending of grapes in oak barrels to age together, an interesting method in stark contrast with most other blends where the individual varieties are vinified separately and blended at the end, prior to bottling.

Score 88

Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
cabernet sauvignon 100%
A majestic witn with long and perfectly balanced finish, due in large part, no doubt, to the 30 to 40-year-old vines from which it is produced. The wine was still excellent even after the bottle had been opened a few days (and closed after each tasting with vacuvin), long and balanced, even harmonious.

Score 93.

One word about pairing these and other Argentinian wines. Of course you will read all over the place how they go well with local food, especially famed beef from the pampas. Which it does, but this is very restrictive for the huge potential offered in these bottles.

At Jevgenijs' suggestion, I tried a pairing some of these wines with mildly spicy southern Chinese food and was very pleasantly surprised. The moderate body and smooth finish contrasts the mild (I repeat mild! Nothing can pair with very spicy food!) spices of Hunan cuisine.