November 2022 Natty Pack

Natty November Pack:

Markou Vineyards Savatiano 'Kleftes' PGI Attika, Greece 2021

Clear, moderate but shiny lemon color. As it approaches the nose, a burst of primary perfumes begins with the aromas of nuts, such as ripe peach, leading the way. Green fruits, such as quince and ripe pear, accompanied by tropical fruit aromas like pineapple, with light notes of green pepper, supplemented with light secondary flavors of biscuit dough and honey, without being exhausted. The mouth is dry with moderate balanced acidity, moderate body and alcohol but intense flavor, that justifies the perfume and nose intensity. A slightly more intense presence of mint flavor, a few citrus fruits such as grapefruit and musk-lemon are finely balanced with a moderate vegetable aftertaste.

2021 Bizaut-Naudin le Gamay de l’Allié ‘Bi Naume’, Loire Valley, FR

Domaine Naudin-Ferrand, found at the border between the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits, is run by Claire Naudin, who producers precise and balanced wines. The domain has followed low-intervention methods and responsible agriculture for over fifteen years. 

This project started after several devastating vintages in Burgundy. Claire decided to seek out vineyards to supplement her production. She opted for a site nearly 200km east of Beaune in St Pourcain planted to Gamay. With pink granite soils it is not unlike Beaujolais. After the grapes arrive in refrigerated trucks, they are fermented as whole-clusters in concrete without any pump-overs. This was the first wine she ever bottled entirely without Sulphur. It is unfined and unfiltered.

2020 Ocho Kisi ‘What are you Waiting For?’ Unfiltered Amber Dry Kveri, Georgia

Founded in 2012 by a group of wine-loving friends, Ocho has always been made organically using traditional Georgian techniques. Ocho is a member of the Natural Wine Association. They harvest their grapes from vineyards in Kakheti and Kartli. 

The Kisi grape variety is widespread in Kakheti, Georgia’s wine region, particularly in the Telavi and Gurjaani districts. In general, Kisi grapes produce light straw-colored classical wines with pleasant aromas, but when skin contact is involved it takes on a whole new dimension. 

'What Are You Waiting For?' goes through a wild yeast fermentation and sees 6 months on the skins in Qveri, then aged for 6 months in the same vessel.   It's bottled unfiltered and unfined, with just a touch of sulfur added.

The wine displays a golden amber in color and is bursting with notes of juicy tangerine and dried apricots. It's fresh and the tannins are soft due to the Qveri aging.  Serve this wine as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to meat, mushroom and vegetable dishes and baked or stuffed fish.

NV Constantina Soleto ‘Rosalia de Castro’ Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain 

Constantina Sotelo took over the family vineyards in Galicia in 1985. The location is in the beautiful Salnés Valley in Rías Baixas, close to the sea and a region known as the birthplace of Albariño. The 2.5 hectares of old vines are pie franco and trained in the pergola technique, which is traditional to the area. Constantina Sotelo makes the wines with minimum intervention, using vessels such as old chestnut barrels, terracotta amphorae, stone amphoras, terracotta bottles and concrete eggs to create different expressions of the Albariño grape.

No added sulfites.