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Exploring New Wines in 2022

One of the most exciting elements of working in the wine trade is getting the opportunity to taste new wines. It is a thrill when we find a wine that shines at a trade tasting. I can never wait to show it to customers who we know will enjoy our new star. This year the team at South Downs Cellars has been searching far and wide for your next favourite wine and we believe that we have found some real gems in the first couple of months of 2022.

The organic, soon to be biodynamic, Domaine Capmartin definitely falls into the new gem category. They avoid adding sulphur, take a minimal intervention approach to their winemaking and are a great example of how good natural wines can be when they are crafted with love and attention. We are now stocking two of their red wines, their Tannat and the Pimpant Rouge. The Tannat Vieilles Vignes, priced at £17.95 a bottle, is a wine with plenty of juicy fruit, intensity of flavour and a soft rounded body. Not only would it make a great accompaniment to a hearty stew or a fine cut of steak but it is also rich in antioxidants that scientists believe are good for your body! Meanwhile their Pimpant Rouge, at £18.95, reminded me of a Loire red, with its high acidity, vibrant fresh berry flavours and a touch of something herbal on the finish. This is a wine that takes Capmartin’s minimal intervention approach to its natural conclusion with fantastic results.

 

In terms of exciting new white wines, we would be remiss not to highlight Produttori di Manduria’s Alice Verdeca, at £15.95 a bottle. This wine displays aromatic white flowers mixed with citrus notes as well as ripe pear and pineapple.  Dry on the palate, this is fresh and rich in minerality. As with so many of Italy’s wines this is tailor-made for the dinner table but is also versatile enough to be a cracking glass on its own. From Northern Spain, Adegas Terrae have crafted another gem of a white wine in their Agoreira Godello, priced at £16.95. The Agoreira is a sublime wine with marked singularity, as a result of a careful selection of the best bunches of the Godello variety, the queen of the white grapes in Valdeorras. This is a wine that the producer describes as ‘a masterpiece made for lovers of excellent things’ and we are inclined to agree with them.

These are only a small taster of some of the fantastic wines we have found over the last couple of months. Other highlights include the exceptional value found in the Casarena 505 series from Argentina, they have a great Malbec and delightful Chardonnay we are very excited about, both priced at £11.95 a bottle. From the north Italy, Cantina Valpantena have produced some wonderful value driven wines for under a tenner that we are sure will soon become regulars to our shelves. To find out more about these brand-new treasures and other exciting new wines on our shelves why not call by either of our shops and ask our team.

 

By Ed Blacklock

 

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