raffaele Mastrovincenzo

Friuli Venezia Giulia Carso Doc Red, iron rich soil with a limestone content leads the wines an acidity characteristic  and mineral notes. Vitovska seems to be the queen of this special terroir a crossing of Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Prosecco Tonda and Terrano a red which come from the Refosco Istriano Family. Vitovska is a thicker skinned variety that can withstand cold winters, summer draughts and the strong wind of the Bora. Zidarich is a small producer in the small town Prepotto only 24.000 bottle on only 8 ha of vineyard. His Winery looks like a cathedral  sculpted from the hard rock a perfect meeting of nature and human ingenuity. The wines are very particular and strongly traditional. The whites are made crushing the berry and leaving the juice with own skin during the cuvaison (fermenting must).  A true craftsman grower with a real understanding of the Carso terroir. The Vitovska form 2009 was cloudy golden straw yellow. Floral and mineral with citrus zest ...

                                                     Photo from Agrapart website Was my birthday not long ago and I had the pleasure to drink this beautiful champagne from Avize the champagne grower is Agrapart  in the Cote blanc, they make outstanding champagne, 6 styles in total: -7 cru brut:  made in chardonnay 100%  in 7 different villages which represent the domaine of the house. They are: Madreuil, Oger, Bergeres les Vertus, Avize, Cremant, Oiry and Avernay Val D'or. Normally the wine is an assemblage of two vintage which are previously aged in barrel with the malolactic done completely and 3 years on lees. -Terroirs extra brut: 100% chardonnay, malolactic completetely and 4 years on lees with elevage in oak before la liquere de tirage. Two vintage blended together. -Complantee extra brut Grand Cru: cepage are Pinot Noir...

Emmanuel Brochet Villers aux Noeuds . R.M. 2,5 ha Pinot noir, Meniuer and Chardonnay Bottles produced annually 6.080. Located beyond the city of Reims, in direction for Epernay there is a tiny village Villers aux Noudes where he works and lives-Emauelle Brochet a small vigneron in Champagne. The vineyard are training organically with AB certified, but you will not find written on the label. Small traditional press are used "Coquard" (the wooden square base). All his Cuvèe born and mature in wood for over a year, but the tone is never woody too obvious with an incredible balance acid structure. First vintage was 2002, but be careful, because it can rely on vines planted in 1962 and 1986. His millesime 2002 with an elavage on wood 11 months, show bright colour with golden hue, elegant fine bubble note of pistachio, brioche, apple and citrus zest a note of vanilla really clean and fresh on the palate with a tension acid… Linear and energetic. Love Champagne...

Nicolas Joly's Chateau de la Roche aux Moines 7 hectares of one of the most celebrated Savennieres producer which has an AOC on his own as a monopole Coulee-de-Serrant. The father of the biodynamic in France started back in the 1981, which today is still a leading spokes person for the "trendy" of Biodynamic around the world as a leader of the association Le Reinassance des Appelations in english called Return the terroir. Since 2006, Virginie his daughter takes a position as an oenologist in her fathers winery, she has contributed to the production of more recent vintage.  Savennieres  as i wrote previous on this blog is a great Appelation in the Loire valley in France just in the  Anjou section.  Savennieres is also called the kingdom of dry white wines; the AOC area is limited to the three communes to the south of Angers, on the right bank of the Loire, Savennieres, Bouchemaine and La Possonniere. There are two distinct denominations within the ap...

Yarra Yering Dry red wine N°1 2005 Cabernet ° Merlot ° Malbec ° Petit Verdot Honestly I never understand cabernet red wine, first are very expansive, second are very hard to enjoy due their tannin structure and powerful. However last night a friend of mine from Yarra Valley let me try this wine from his personal cellar; we did the tasting blind. A first glance the purity of the fruit the smooth tannin the oaky character as moka, coconut and chocolate the slight oxidative component the hint of brett, farmyard, forest floor let me conclude the tasting, a spanish wine with cabernet into. I said this is Vega Sicilia or some good outstanding Rioja, I was definitely in the old world truly enjoyment wine. Black cherry, rasberry jam, cook beetroot, dusty, dark flesh plum and tomato leaf. Lots of pleasant oak sweet spice and vanilla. Lovely tar and charcoal minerality. We discovery the bottle and bang Cabernet blend from Yarra Valley, "Yarra Yering" awesome. I know I'm shit...

The small village of Volnay one of the most sorted Pinot Noir from the Cote de Beaune in between Mersault and Pommard mostly compared from the Chambolle Musigny of the nord of Burgundy for is finesse and elegance coming from similar soil of Chambolle, high active chalk content and low clay. 115 hectares of premier cru vineyard 35 in all with the best premier cru: Les Taillepieds Clos des Chenes Champans Cailleretes Santenots Mikulski is a polish guy with an attitude to do a great wine in the Cote de Beaune start in the early 1990  with this incredible non classic label in homemade writing, so cool. Mr. Mikulski is a non interventionist  guy, essentially organic a "lutte raisonee" he balance his work around the health of the soil and the biodiversity of the vineyard. His Santenots du Milieu from 2009 was rich and masculine lots of red fruit some mature and sour, dry branches autumn tree, mushroom character, forest floor, red apple skin and smoky meat arom...

St Aubin is a burgandy lovers paradise, located between Chassagne and Puligny Montrachet. Only 500 acres which is almost white wine production with less than 25 percent of red wine made, which are not perfumed and complex when you compare with Volnay-Pommard area. The best sites in St Aubin are  En Remilly,  Chatenière,  Les Murgers des Dents de Chien.   Les Murgers is arguably the village’s best vineyard: very stony and chalky.  There is very little soil here, and the vines can suffer in difficult years; but when the grapes ripen fully, they give the most powerful and elegant wines of St Aubin.  En Remilly is slightly less stony and the wines can be a touch broader.  The same is with La Chatenière, a steep vineyard with a fine southerly exposure. One of the producers I really like in the area is Domaine Hubert Lamy, along with Marc  Colin which are perhaps the best producers in this  appellation.  For many years, the do...

 Lalou Bize Leroy… Perhaps the most dynamic and important lady on the wine business in the world; a major shareholder of D.R.C. as well as owner of Domaine and Maison Leroy and the owner of Domaine D'Auvenay. She began her career as an intern in a Domaine in Gevrey Chambertin, learning how to make wine and how to taste. In 1955 she start running Maison Leroy and in 1974 Lalou also took over her father role's as director of D.R.C.. In conflict of interest in 1992 left the role as director at Domaine de la Romanee Conti at her sister Pauline and also Domaine Leroy lost the distribution of the wine of D.R.C. for owning some expansive Clos or village in the Cote D'or; her version of Richerbourg and Romanee St Vivian seen as competitor in some eyes in D.R.C. Lalou in Domaine Leroy was among the first of Burgundy big name to choose biodynamic viticulture. Nicholas Joly in Savennieries help her to understand the philosophy of Biodinamique culture and speed her up on the changeov...

Recently I open this beautiful wine from Morey Sant Denis, "Clos des Monts Luisant" made from 100% Aligotè grapes in the heart of Cote de Nuits by Domaine Ponsot a monopole with great integrity and terroir driving. Aligotè is normally see as secondary grape varieties but Ponsot made with this clos a queen of white burgundy production, made with ancient vines make an outstanding wine to buried in your cellar . Ponsot considers biodynamics to be a dream, as from a practical point of view it is close to impossible to practice in a pure way. The vine are relatively short pruned - son not so many bunches - spraying is kept to minim and everything is harvest by hand. Ponsot is almost the last vineyard to be harvested. Jean Marie Ponsot was also one of the pioneers of the clonal selection of Pinot Noir in Burgundy during 1960, many of the most respected Pinot Noir clones (113, 114, 115, 667) were selected from the estate Clos de la Roche. Ponsot doesn't use new oak, preferrin...