![]() ![]() ![]() For South Africa it is very old, Nelson Mandela was still in prison when this was made and I know nothing about it. ![]() There was lots of competition from the delicious 2011 Chêne Bleu Aliot, the sublime 1978 Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon from California and the downright amazing 2001 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes, but my stand out wine was from my own collection and it was a beautifully mature Merlot-Cabernet blend from Stellenbosch. I nearly forgot, all right I did forget and had to come back and add this, the most exciting wine that I drank all year. It is certainly a rich style of sparkling wine, but it never gets too serious, the fruit, freshness and frivolity dominate the palate and made me just want to drink more. I have long admired what Andrew does and if there is a better Australian fizz than this – indeed any non-Champagne fizz, although it had stiff opposition from Gramona’s amazing 2006 111 Lustros Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava – then I have yet to try it. It’s rather modestly called Apogee Deluxe Brut and is handmade by the great Andrew Pirie from fruit grown on a 2 hectare vineyard in northern Tasmania. Just the other day I presented my favourite sparkling wine of the year and I would urge you to try it if you can. ![]() The new discoveries kept coming too, new grapes like Tibourenfrom Provence and Cserszegi Fűszeres from Hungary, exciting old vine blends from Chile, a light red or a deep rosé from Tuscany, made from Tempranillo at that! Try as I might I simply could not leave Spain alone, I kept finding amazing Spanish wines that moved and excited me and that offered great value for money too – have a look here, here, hereand here.Īlong the way too I tasted a superb Albariño from California and another from New Zealand – Albariño is on the march it seems and you can read about them by clicking here. I was particularly thrilled to meet the charming David Mazza who farms a tiny estate in Western Australia, but makes an amazing range of wines from Spanish and Portuguese grape varieties – you can read about him by clicking here. The harvest was postponed compared to 2020 to the second ten days of September starting with the sparkling wine bases, and ending in the first ten days of November with Aglianico del Taurasi.One added bonus of this trip was that I managed to stay an extra night in Verona and so saw that wonderful little city and was able to experience the delights of Lugana, a white wine from the southern shore of Lake Garda – it might well be my favourite Italian white right now and this delicious example is my Christmas white wine.Īs well as overseas visits I have tasted some amazing wines over here too. The health of the grapes at harvest is exceptional and this is due to the absence of rains in the last two months before the harvest and consequently of mold. The persistence of temperatures just above average throughout May, June and the first half of July, and the prolonged absence of rain, slowed down the phytopathic pressure and allowed for good flowering and fruit set.In general, the climatic conditions have allowed a management of the vineyards without particular problems. A good vegetative restart therefore took place, but in the first part of April there was a significant drop in temperatures, which led to a delay of about a week in the growth of the shoots. The 2021 vintage began with rather mild winter temperatures that lasted almost one degree above the seasonal averages until the beginning of March, with abundant rains. The harvest 2021 at Villa Matilde promises well thanks to quality-oriented agricultural practices and generally favorable climatic conditions. ![]()
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