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“Black friday Sale!” New Organic and Bio Dynamic wines from Velenosi and Marche on sale tomorrow only!

I don’t normally get involved with ” SALES” its not my thing! But as this is possibly the last time I an do this then why not!

This fabulous wine below is just one example of one of the new wines that will be substantially discounted tomorrow, Black Friday 23rd November!

Sale price, Black Friday Friday 23rd November £12.50

New wine, just imported this week from Saint Saturnin in the Northern part of the Languedoc near Cevnnes. it’s a blend of mainly Merlot ( oaked in old French barrels) with a little Portan ( 30 %) 10% Grenache and 10% Syrah. Soft berry fruits, blackberry, sloes and elderberry with some cherries too and even a hint of summer flowers. A pure delight. fab wines for £13.95, sale price on Black Friday £12.50

750ml 13.5% alc vol

 

 

 

 

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New ” Organic and Bio Dynamic” wines arrive from Velenosi in Marche and Mehofer in Austria on the 5th November!

New wines!

The following wines have just arrived into the UK, 8th November 2018…..

These wines can all be bought online, so click on the link ” buy online” at the top of the site you can then put together a mixed case of these wonderful wines from there.

Mehofer, Wagram, Austria (Organic vineyard for over 30 years)

Gruner Veltliner 2017: £15.95

Roter Veltliner 2017: £18.25

Riesling 2017: £18.25

Zweigelt and Cabernet 2015: £19.50

Velenosi, Marche

Pecorino. DOCG 2017 : £21.00

Rosso Piceno DOC 2017: £15.50

Rosso Piceno DOC “ Bio and Organic” 2017: £18.95

Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2017; £14.50

La Crima de Morro D’Alba 2017: £16.95

Roggio Filare DOC 2013: £45.00

Visciole 2017: £22.50

Azienda Agricola Terrebianca

Moscato D’Asti 2016 DOCG: £16.50

Domaine de Melavielle, St Saturnin, Coteaux de Languedoc

“Charmille” “Organic and Bio Dynamic” 2016, (Syrah, Cab franc, Merlot and Portan blend): £12.85

If you would like to taste some of these wines please call simon on 07821 968111 or email me at [email protected] and lets arrange a tasting soon…

 

 

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New wines for 2018: some ” Organic” Bordeaux from Chateau Grand Francais as well as” Organic” Tempranillo from Dionisos

 

January 2018: New imports from Whirly wines

There have been a flood of new wines imported for 2018, so its a pretty exciting time at Whirly wines, 22 Ritherdon road, London, SW17 8QD, whether you are coming to the wine shop or buying wholesale for your restaurant. All the prices below are Ex Vat.

Bordeaux

My first “Organic and Bio-Dynamic” wines from this prestigious wine region. Unheard of, to be honest since they are pretty traditional here.  40 year old vines, Organic certified since 2002.

Chateau Grand Francais, 2015, “Cuvee Prestige”( un-oaked), AOC “ Organic” Bordeaux Superieur: 45% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc: clean, soft tannins, ripe berries plus a little cinnamon; modern Bordeaux: £14.95

Chateau Grand Francais 2015, Grande Cuvee ( Oaked )  AOC “ Organic” Bordeaux Superieur; 50% Merlot. 30% Cabernet sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc. Red cherry and black, fleshy and spicy. Modern day Bordeaux, juicy strawberry, blueberry on the nose, full of shine and brightness, sort tannins, with a creamy middle palate: £16.95

Cote de Duras

Chateau Molhiere: Terroirs de Duc 2015: new vintage of this Cabernet Franc and Merlot Stalwart imported, for many years now from close to childhood family cottage ; earthy, country red wine. £8.10

Languedoc

Domaine Ricardelle de Lautrec, Pay D’OC, “Organic and Bio”

Pinot Noir 2015: a new find that has been ringing well with many private and restaurant clients already. Its unusual to find Pinot Noir in Languedoc, hence this wine is bottled under AOC “ Vin de France”. Don’t let that put you off. Spicy and full Pinot, juniper and hedgerow berries. Exciting wine that represents great quality for the price: £11.50

Chardonnay 2015 ( un-oaked): Light fresh Chardonnay, not in anyway big and bold, in fact light and fresh. £11.00

Spain

La Tierra de Castilla, Valdepenas, PGI “ Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla”

Dionisos, Organic and Bio” Tempranillo 2015 ( aged in large amphorae clay pots, Roman style, please see the picture below). 100% Tempranillo, 13.5% alc vol, hand picked grapes, fermented with own wild yeasts in big amphorae pots, with thick walls in order to slow down the fermentation process.  Young appealing, deep and lively purple colour. On the nose great intensity and ripeness, fleshy and sweet red cherries. Milky enveloping notes on the palate with overwhelming energy. £13.00

Ribera del Duero

Meloso“ Joyen” 2016, 100% Tempranillo

An old favourite is back, beautifully rich yet sublime Tempranillo. This wine speaks volumes for this premium red wine region of Spain, surely take over from Rioja in that department, making wines fresher and easier to drink with no oak, which to me is a blessing. 30 year old vines, 14 days maceration with temperature controlled by water. 10,000 Bottles made, grapes picked 4th week in September; very light process of filtering and clarifying; £11.75

Ribeiro

Val de Souto

Wines made with oh so much passion by Jose Manuel Blanco Perez. His wines speak volumes for the small winemaker making wines oh so exquisite.

Val de Souto 2016: another old favourite. Godello, Triexadura and Lourieira. Jose Manuel Blanco Perez makes wines of passion; he puts his soul into the wines. He works his land 365 days of the year, he rarely takes a holiday, this is his life. This wine has lovely aromatic qualities yet is dry on the finish. Honeysuckle and clover honey on the middle palate. A pure delight. £11.90

Benedictus Fructus 2015

Albarino and Godello. Left on the Lee’s for 5 months so pretty big and rich yet still oh so easy and beautiful to drink. This wine exudes class. High aromatic intensity, due to being left on the lee’s with great harmony and balance. Citrus, mandarin and grapefruit on the palate with some floral notes too. Only 4,000 bottles made. £16.75

Italy

Verona, IGT Veneto

Villa Aganoor”

From north west Italy and the home of Pinot Grigio some simple yet very well made wines for you for the front page of your list. With these wines i can offer you quality wines at a good price, around the £6.00 mark

Pinot Grigio 2016: weighty and complex PG, with apples and pears on the palate. A really pleasurable glass of wine. £6.25

Sauvignon Blanc 2016: clean, fresh zingy and lemony SB. Another simple yet very good wine for the money. £6.25

Merlot 2016: young, fresh perfumed Merlot, full of fresh young berry fruit. £6.25

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Christmas Whirly wine mixed case offer & Smoked salmon from the Weald smokery, East Sussex….come in and order before the 7th December…..

 

 

Mr Whirly’s Christmas cases, chosen to match classic Christmas fare!

Half dozen

Amboise Tourraine, Bonnigal Vignerons, Limeray, Loire: richer than most Sauvignons from Tourraine since its been left on the lees for 5 months. Great match with smoked salmon.

Chateau Domaine de Viaud, Cote de Bourg, 2010, Bordeaux: soft tannins elegant Merlot based Bordeaux from Blaye, a mile across the Gironde from St Estephe. Wonderful with beef and cheese as well as most festive red meats and cheese

Azienda Marzuco, Syrah 2016, Castelvetrano, Sicily: Light, elegant Syrah, only 12.5 alc vol so very unusual indeed, normally Syrah is 14-15% alc vol. Wonderful wine with ham on Boxing day, it would take a little spice, if the ham has been baked in this way. Fruit led, red cherries with some soft black pepper.

Azienda Marzuco, Vermentino 2016, Castelvetrano, Sicily: The grape is from Sardinia but this is made in Sicily. Linear clean white wine with some mediterranean salt on the palate with ripe melon. Great with shellfish,  fish or even Turkey.

Mas Rous, Muscat 2012, Cotes Catalane: dry Muscat, firm and grippy with some lovely orange zest on the finish. Great with goats cheese, Pecorino and Monchego.

Velenosi, Visciole NV, Marche, Italy: Old traditional way of making pudding wines in Marche, italy. They pick cherries in late Spring and make a syrup from the grapes then add grape juice from La Crima and Rosso Piceno grapes in September. Great freshness and acidity, you can really taste the red cherries. Perfect with Black forest Gateau ( the wine matches perfectly with chocolate)

Total: £92.50

Dozen

Domaine Robert, Limoux NV: cracking, crisp dry sparkling from Limoux near Carcassone, S. France,

made from Mauzac and a little Chenin. Great alternative to Champagne, made in the same way and not quite so expensive.

Azienda Marzuco, Vermentino 2016, Castelvetrano, Sicily: The grape is from Sardinia but this is made in Sicily. Linear clean white wine with some mediterranean salt on the palate with ripe melon. Great with shellfish,  fish or even Turkey.

Amboise Tourraine, Bonnigal Vignerons, Limeray, Loire: richer than most Sauvignons from Tourraine since its been left on the lees for 5 months. Great match with smoked salmon on Christmas day morning as the lunch is prepared.

Graziano Chenin Blanc 2011, Mendocino, California: top end Chenin, not from the Loure, its home but from cool climate Mendocino in Northern California. Vanilla and cream bounce out of the glass. This wine is drinking beautifully for a 7 year old wine from California and shows that wines of this age can be made to last and develop in the bottle over this sort of time. Wonderful alternative to old Chardonnay.

Stefano Lubiana, Chardonnay 2016, “ Primavera” : another elegant wine from Lubiana, in the south of the apple isle, Tasmania, near Hobart. Oaked gently, cool climate Chardonnay of delight and wonder. Pick some quiet evening over Christmas and sit down and enjoy.

Willespie, Margaret river white 2011, WA: a blend Of chardonnay,Verdelho, Riesling and Semillon from one of the top wine regions of Australia: takes Pork ands spicy dishes oh so well.

Chateau Domaine de Viaud, Cote de Bourg, 2010, Bordeaux: soft tannins elegant Merlot based Bordeaux from Blaye, a mile across the Gironde from St Estephe. Wonderful with beef and cheese as well as most festive red meats and cheese

Stefano Lubiana Pinot Noir 2013, “ Primavera”: elegant, fruit forward Pinot from Tasmania, one of the most exciting new world destinations for this elegant grape. Cool climate country down here. Strawberry and summer fruit notes with some spice and

Azienda Marzuco, Syrah 2016, Castelvetrano, Sicily: Light, elegant Syrah, only 12.5 alc vol so very unusual indeed, normally Syrah is 14-15% alc vol. Wonderful wine with ham on Boxing day, it would take a little spice, if the ham has been baked in this way. Fruit led, red cherries with some soft black pepper.

Mas Rous, Muscat 2012, Cotes Catalane: dry Muscat, firm and grippy with some lovely orange zest on the finish. Great with goats cheese and Monchego.

Lillypilly Noble Blend 2006: Noble rot, blend of Semillon, Gewurtz, pineapple with orange blossom. Perfect sticky with a steamed ginger pudding or something similar.

Velenosi, Visciole, NV, Marche, Italy: Old traditional way of making pudding wines in Marche, italy. They pick cherries in late Spring and make a syrup from the grapes then add grape juice from La Crima and Rosso Piceno grapes in September. Great freshness and acidity, you can really taste the red cherries. Perfect with Black forest Gateau ( the wine matches perfectly with chocolate)

Total: £242.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weald Salmon, Flimwell, East Sussex

Whole side of Salmon unsliced: £45.00

Sliced side of smoked salmon: £48.00

Premier grade Gravadlax, whole side ; £52.50

Packs of 200 grams salmon: £12-14

Packs of 400 grams Salmon: £20-24

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Wine tastings for the months ahead: new wines from Verona just in; Cider from Monmouthshire, Craft beer from Brixton and Kew Brewery, Kernels and Harvey’s: two shopping nights for the diary, 12th and 30th November.

Its already October and Autumn is very much in the air, the tree’s on Clapham Common today looked resplendent in the late afternoon sun. With this change of season brings new and exciting developments in the Whirly wine shop.

First of all on the Sunday 12th November  Whirly wines and all the shops on the street are hosting a Winter street fair with a difference. There will be an abundance of stalls on the street and I shall be teaming up with Brindisa outside and Mr whirly will match a wine with some of their food choices and will be making the most amazing mulled wine on the wood burner outside the front of the shop. Charity lucky dip, raffle with fantastic prizes, meet and make friends, local community event, Christmas tree, wreath and garland orders, gifts and accessories and complimentary wine and nibbles at Whirly Wines too!  On the Thursday 30th November we are hosting a Christmas shopping evening. Come in and taste some new craft beers from Brixton Brewery, some delicious wines from the Barrel from Sicily that you can fill up for only £8.25 for a bottle from the barrel, order your mixed case of Whirly wines for Christmas, geared to Christmas menu classics as well as order and taste Smoked salmon from the Weald Smokery in East Sussex. We shall also have a Christmas Charity raffle in association with Macmillan Cancer research.

In this next week, 17th October are some very simple yet good wines from Verona and Villa Aganoor. Some Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot wines, priced at £8.50 a bottle. This will give whirly wines an offering of 12 wines under the £8.50 price point, vital these days when you the customer are looking for easy drinking wines at sensible prices that are made correctly.

From the 19th October we will stock a whole range of new drinks too! Small batch Cider making from Monmouthshire as well as Great bottled Craft beer from the smaller brewery, dotted around the South of London, from Kew in the west to Brixton and further north to Bermondsey. So together with a new array of beers from Harvey’s in Sussex, Whirly wines will offer you a fabulous choice of other drinks to enjoy from small, quality producers.

I have also detailed some really individual wines tastings on the events page throughout October and November, do have a look on there and book into one of them soon won’t you! This is a great way to taste some really top end and beautiful wines in a affordable way so do support these evenings since they are pretty special and unique for the local postcode of SW17, there aren’t many wine shops that offer this service, showcasing hand sourced wines from such quality producers.

More soon no Doubt

 

Mr Whirly

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Sicily, a whole array of delights in your local wine shop in SW17…..Now serving 5 wines from the barrel from only £8.25 a 750ml bottle ( please bring one with you)

Mr Whirly is very excited to present you ten new wines from his recent trip to Sicily in May this year, from the small “Cantine Gulino” in Siracusa, where the boot of Sicily kicks the football of Sicily and the place where civilisation was born in 800BC, we have an abundance of grapes specific to this small wine region; then from Castelvetrano, famous for its olives as well as its vines  that are very close to Port Palo, an old destination for myself, Simon and Becky Thomas and Bob Parkinson ( Owns ” Food by Bob” in Cirencester) from a few decades ago, since it has a great beach and restaurant called ” Vittorio’s”, we have some delicious low alcohol wines that offer wonderful value for money for the 750ml bottled Vermentino and Syrah ( £11.95) as well as “Bag in Box” Cattarato and Syrah-Nero D’Avola from only £8.25 a 750ml bottle.

Pictured at the bottom of this post, the very special “Moscato de Siracusa” wines ( ” Don Nuzzo” and ” Jaraya”)  from this vineyard, grapes that are specific to Siracusa, sun dried off and on the vine and pure deliciousness in a glass, full of fresh figs and apricots but too syrupy at all, very fresh and acidic.  Then we have the ” Pretiosa” label, 100% Albanello, another grape specific to this delightful city,  this wine had really interesting palate of ripe Melon and Mediterranean sea salt and would be perfect with Scallops or some other shellfish. “Cantine Gulino” are the only producer that make the Albanello grape in a single varietal wine. Its beautifully different, therefore a great ” Whirly wine”. The Next white is ” Fania” a gorgeous Aperitif style wine, blending Fiano from Napoli and the ” King of Grapes from Sicily”, Insolia, to make a summer flower wine, perfect as an Aperitif wine. On a recent tasting tour of Scotland and Wales this wine was the most popular of the white wines we tasted. Two reds wrap up this array of wines, the ” Fanus” which is an un-oaked wine, Nero D’Avola and Syrah, very earthy and natural in its style, very much a wine that allows both grapes to express themselves as they are and the “Dru’s”, 100% Nero D’Avola, the main red grape of Sicily and again the home of  this grape is here in Siracusa; 12 Months on oak and seriously big yet refined juice. The reason why I am writing about these wines is because of this wine, tasted in London in January and now imported to the UK six months. Buy it and enjoy it. Needs a nice steak or possibly Grouse, now that they are in season.

From Castelvetrano and ” Azienda Marzuco” we have four more wines that also show themselves off in a sunset over Mendocino light, but at a price point of £8.25 and £11.95 a bottle. Their Vermentino, a grape originally from Sardinia, is a more linear and tight version of the mould found in the island a few hundreds miles north of Sicily, but with a little time once you pull the cork it really begins to open up and blossom, with honeysuckle and flowers on the palate and nose. Their Syrah is at £11.95,

another great find, since its extremely rare to find a Syrah at only 12.5% Alc vol. It has hints of white pepper spice, but the colour and taste is more like a richer Pinot Noir to be honest. It also had some lovely spiced berry fruit, cherries and blackberries and really expresses itself very brightly and happily. Then the find of all the wines at the moment in your local SW17 wine shop is the Nero D’Avola and Syrah from Cantina Gulino out of the ” Barrel”, another light wine in colour and alcohol at 12.5% alc vol, simply bright red cherries in a glass and quite the most drinkable wine you will find in London at the moment at £8.25 a bottle. Their Cattarato- Trebbiano out of the barrel is pretty damn good too, at the same price, spicy stoned fruit, clean and zingy and so easy to drink. So Whirly wine now serves 5 wines for you from the barrel at an affordable price of under £10 a bottle so please come in, taste before you buy and there are not many wine shops you can do that in, whatever city you are living in around the world, and support your local wines business. I am not in anyway expensive, no one can say that of Whirly wines and yet the quality of the wine, I can guarantee you, will far surpass anything from my supermarket friends around each corner of Ritherdon road. So come into your local wine business, support Whirly wines NOW….I need your support….


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Whirly tour of Sicily, 11-14th May 2017

Day 1, Thursday 11th May

I love coming to this island. Its people are very different from the mainland I find. Thats all I am going to say on this front. But the island is full of passion, history and wonderful architecture too. Oh and quite old temples. I am here on this trip to find wines at that crucial £10 mark that I talk of at the end of my last tour to Croatia and Slovenia in March. So its a big trip. Will I succeed? Buono Fortuna amico mio.

First stop is Alcamo and an old friend or two. Not wines for the £10 sticker but wines that are natural and a little more expansive shall we say. Bosco Falconeria are an Organic vineyard and they now make natural wines. Yeah, here we go again, on the  ” Natural wine world trail!‘ They are located high above Alcamo in the rolling hills and to get there the drive is along a dirt track and some crazy corners. But when you get to Bosco its heavenly and tranquil, a massive contrast to the rubbish and abuse of the environment that one experiences on the S113 to get here ( this is my one gripe about Sicily I am afraid, its worse than SW16 where I live). Natalia and her family live I feel a very special life that they have created. Sadly Mary her mother is in New York, her birthplace so I missed her ( she came here in 1969 met Tony fell in love and stayed, just like that!)

We taste 2015 wines. All are almost sold out and the 2016 are not ready to taste but they will be ready for Whirly to import in September this year. First we taste the Cattarato 2015 white label. I have imported this wine before but back in 2012. Its evolved a great deal as a wine since then though. totally natural yeasts; does not stay on skin contact at all, a very little sulphite in the beginning. Natalia explains to me,

” I d0n’t like the definition of natural so much.I don’t think its the best definition. I prefer a wine that respects the grape and the terroir. What we do with the wine depends on the year.” She goes on to explain that they use bentonite, a form of clay to clean the wines, but again not every year. The wine has great depth and character, a great deal richer than all other Cattarato’s I have tasted. Next wine is the ” Peregrino” ( the yellow label below). Three days maceration on the skin. This is a red wine version of the Cattarato, but picked at the same time as the first Cattarato. ( 13% alc vol) Lastly Nero D’Avola (15% alc vol) very expressive, much more so than I can remember in the past, this is a very “bright and happy wine,” I remarked at the time. Nine months in tank, ” It’s better for the wine’ says Natalia, ” the earlier you bottle it, it will need sulphites since its not stable.” I say goodbye to Natalia and Tony and drive back down the gravel track with a happy smile on my face.

Next stop, Castelvetrano, just north east of Marsala. I know exactly where to meet Gaetano and Sebastiano and as I walk into the bar opposite McDonalds just off the the A29. They spot me and are very surprised to see me. I could not call on the way and had emailed  that morning to say could we meet earlier at 1.30pm. Gaetano could not be more different from Natalia and Tony, he is as far away from the ” Natural” set up in Alcamo as one could be removed: he’s a local farmer, hard working and eager to sell to me and he owns 42 hectares of vineyard land as well as olive groves, so a substantial area of land. We race around in Geatano’s beaten up Fiat Punto and he shows me his vineyards, on a road I have travelled many times on the road to  Porto Palo, a windy and also beaten up road, that passes across a long valley of flat farmland with a bridge of enormous proportions taking vehicles east to Agrigento and west to Marsala. Under this bridge is where I find myself in the vineyards of ” Donna de Coppa”. We then visit his olive groves and where he packages the olives and finally his bottling and winemaking plant. Its a middle sized set up, larger than most wineries I work with but in tasting the 2016 wines out a tank I am convinced they are wines that I can sell to my customers at around the £10 mark and they will be enjoyed. They are very good wines indeed. This is what Sicily can offer, some really fab wine at fab prices. We taste ” Bianco Siciliana” 2016, a blended wine of Trebbiano and Cattarato and probably some other white local grapes out of the tank, then a Vermentino 2016 out of tank, a Syrah 2016 and finally a Nero D’Avola-Syrah 2016 blend. All are bright and expressive and well made. I manage to finally get back to me car ( Gaetano wants me to stay for dinner)  and say farewell with another big smile on my face. I have achieved what I came here to do. Four hours later at 8pm I arrive in Siracusa on the east coast of Sicily, just in time for dinner. If you have never been to Siracusa go. Ortigia is the most wonderful place and as I discover over the next 2 days the birthplace of civilisation as we know it.

Day 2, Friday 12th May

I am here to meet Simona at Cantine Gulino. It turns out that the vines are just at the back of the hotel I am staying at. I meet Simona and Sabastiano Gulino, the family owner who explains to me, after a walk around the Muscato Bianco and Nero D’avola vineyards ( 7 hectares) both famous for being varietals with their origins in this area. This is the home of both grapes. The vineyard has been in the ownership of the family since about 1600 but in the 20th century with the onset of the industrial revolution, the discovery of the the natural springs  that meant vegetables were planted and vine ripped out, the vineyard site fell away and very much into disrepair. In 1995 they started to restore the buildings and its now the way it is now. They show me, high up above the floor the original vats where they would press the wines with their feet. The picture below of the arch shows the pipe in the ceiling where the juice would run free.

The first wine we taste is called ” Fania”, 60% Fiano and 40% Inzolia, from grapes in ” Contrada Burgio” near to Noto. Inzolia is a native grape to this land, the Fiano’s homes is Napoli. Inzolia is ” the king of grapes”. Simona explains,” Its very difficult not to produce a wine here without structure. The structure here is bigger.” She means that its the perfect place to grow Fiano and other grapes, the sun shines and it rains very little. The soil is limestone and very fertile. Its all about sun, weather, limestone soil. “The land here was part of the African plate “ Simona goes on. The soil is full of marine sediments full of calcium and this mountain range  is called the ” Monte Iblei”. There are three other mountain ranges in Sicily: Madonie near Palermo, Pelottaani near Messina and Etna near Catania. All four form Sicily. Back to the wine. They make 30,000 bottles of Fania, its very dry with great acidity, very citrusy. “ Wines of the African plate are full of acidity and therefore keep fresh and last for at least 3 years in the bottle”. Good news. the grapes are de-stemmed. no skin contact, pressed, 24 hours maceration then seperate tanks for 6 months. Next wine is Chardonnay 100%, the only wine I don’t like. Made for a commercial export market and not indigenous.

The third wine we taste is the Albanello 2016 a grape typical of the Siracusa wine region and SE Sicily. Cantine Gulino are the only producer of pure Albanelle in Syracusa, the wine is very different with 24 hours on their skins, very quick and notes are both sweet and savoury with a little melon. I like it. Next ” Fanus” a red wine, blend of Syrah and Nero D’Avola ( 60/40). As I taste this the swifts are flying in and out of the barn where the wines are stored. Syrah loves Sicily and Sicily loves Syrah. A grape that Alessio Planeta used to put Sicily on the wine map almost 20 years ago flourishes in this hot, dry dusty land. This wine is macerated for 2 days on the skins, then 6 months in tank before being blended. No oak. Crimson red in colour and light on the rim, 30,000 bottles made, ” simple yet delicious”. Then a wine I tasted in London in January this year, and the reason why I am here, their 2014 Nero D’Avola, 12 months on oak, dried on the vine then a small percentage under the sun. This is a big juicy Nero D’Avola, a really exciting wine that needs time and will age well with plums, rich blackberries and a little sweet spice. 6,000 bottles made, delicious. The last two wines we taste are the Moscato bianco wines from the vines on the property that we walked a few hours earlier ( see picture below). The Don Nuzzo is made by drying some of the grapes under the sun. Its a fresh wine, full of figs and dried apricots. This is indeed a special wine in Italy and Sicily as Simona explains to me. The Jaraya is lighter in colour,as you can see from the picture below. The grapes are totally dried under the sun as well as on the vine, its a great deal sweeter than the first wine and also richer and full of apricots. Supremo Quality.
In the afternoon I decide to take a wee drive over to Noto to meet Theresa who I met in London in January when she was looking after the wines from Cantine Gulino and who now runs a new Enoteca called Enoteca della strada de Vino del val Di Noto”. The business in only a few weeks old but in a great site in a lovely square off the main street running through this gloriously beautiful town. Its not as old as Siracusa, so does not have the depth of time in its architecture, nevertheless the buildings are stunning and its so very well kept indeed. Below is a picture of one of the many churches in the town.

I taste some wines from local producers picture belkow and the Organic wines from Giasira and Riofarra stand out. What I am finding is that each grape, whether its Grillo, Cattarato, Fiano, Albanello or Nero D’Avola all show themselves in a very different yet exciting way depending on the where they are grown and due to the various soils in Sicily that are part of the four different mountain regions discussed earlier. This means we have a very exiting prospect for importing wines from Sicily in the future and one could have say 4-5 Cattarato’s that all show themselves to be very different from each other.

Day 3 Saturday 13th May

A drive back to Palermo then the most splendid Passajata for 4 hours around the town, ending in dinner at my favourite restaurant, Piccolo Napoli. Street food ( Palermo possibly has the best street food in Italy) old town Palermo, The Opera house , what a joy this place is. 

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Dry January, surely not! Don’t forget its still important to drink wine!

 

Dry January, what is this! Its a terrible thing! Above are father and son, Giovanni and Mauro from the famous Manzone vineyard in Monforte D’Alba, right next door to Barolo in Piemonte, making some of the most exciting wines in Italy if  not the world. Do you know these wines are now stocked in your local wine shop here in Tooting, SW17! Yes they are right on your doorstep and they are the most wonderful wines: whether its their single vineyard Barolo ” Il Castelleto” 2011 or their wonderfully smooth and Velvety ” Langhe” Nebbiolo  ” Il Crutin” 2012 these wines show the finesse and subtlety of this lovely grape that now has the same following as Bordeaux in terms of investment wines. I also have their unusual and rare Rossese Bianco 2014, a long lost white grape from Piemonte that has been oaked for 12 months. Combine these wines with some stunning Amorone and Ripasso from Bonfanti in Verona and some classy offerings from Perusini in fruli ( top magnums please see below picture) including Riboilla Gialla and Sauvignon Blanc as well as some Merlot and Refosco red offerings. Don’t forget we also offer Organic wines from La Bouysse in Corbiere from the barrel at only £10.50 a litre which equates to £7.50 for a 750ml bottle. So don’t feel blue in January come into the Whirly shop and let me cheer you up!

 

 

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Mr Whirly’s Christmas cases!

Mr Whirly has hand selected cases of 6 and 12 with wines chosen to match classic Christmas fare!
From Blanquette Limoux whilst cooking to “La Roche Vineuse” Macon Gamay for the Turkey, to Lillypilly’s Fiumara No. 7 for your plum pudding, and everything in between, you are sure to find a wine for every course and every guest!
Discounted for a limited time only, until this Saturday 17th December

Half a dozen:

 

1. Blanquette de Limoux, Carte Ivoire, Domaine Fourn de Robert: 

unknown sparkling wine from south of Carcassone; top stuff and great to try something new!

 

2. Amboise Tourraine, Bonnigal Vignerons, Limeray, Loire: richer than most Sauvignons from Tourraine since its been left on the lees for 5 months. Great match with smoked salmon.

 

3. Chateau Domaine de Viaud, Cote de Bourg, 2010, Bordeaux: soft tannins elegant Merlot based Bordeaux from Blaye, a mile across the Gironde from St Estephe. Wonderful with beef and cheese as well as most festive red meats and cheese

 

4. Alain Normand, La Roche Vineuse, Gamay 2014, Macon: lovely soft strawberry on the nose and palate and unusual that this grape is from Macon. Fabulous with turkey, duck and goose.

 

5. Mas Rous, Muscat 2012, Cotes Catalane: dry Muscat, firm and grippy with some lovely orange zest on the finish. Great with goats cheese and Monchego.

 

6. Lillpilly, Fiumara no 7, Leeton, NSW, Australia: Cross between a port and Pedro Ximenez A blend of special cuvee’s from over many years, this wine is the perfect match for Plum pudding on Christmas day!

 

Total: £93.50 With discount of 7%: £6.54 Total: £86.96

 

 

 

A dozen: 

 

 

1. Champagne: Remy Bernard “Carte Blanche” NV, Allemant: small bubbles, delicate and moussey. Top quality wine made from the three classic Champagne grapes, Pinot Noir and Me- unier and Chardonnay.

 

2. Blanquette de Limoux, Carte Ivoire, Domaine Fourn de Robert: unknown sparkling wine from south of Carcassone; top stuff and great to try something new.

 

3. Amboise Tourraine, Bonnigal Vignerons, Limeray, Loire: richer than most Sauvignons from Tourraine since its been left on the lees for 5 months. Great match with smoked salmon on Christmas day morning as the lunch is prepared.

 

4. Perusini, Pinot Grigio 2015, Friuli, N. E. Italy: Pinot grigio as it should be in the glass from Fruili, the top white wine region of Italy.

 

5. Mehofer, “Organic” Gruner Veltliner, 2015, Wagram, Austria: light in alc, only 10.5%, and wonderful wine for the start of the day! Apples and pears, simple yet perfect.

 

6. Willespie, Margaret river white 2011, WA: a blend Of chardonnay,Verdelho, Riesling and Semillon from one of the top wine regions of Australia: takes Pork ands spicy dishes oh so well.

 

7. Chateau Domaine de Viaud, Cote de Bourg, 2010, Bordeaux: soft tannins elegant Merlot based Bordeaux from Blaye, a mile across the Gironde from St Estephe. Wonderful with beef and cheese as well as most festive red meats and cheese.

 

8. Alain Normand, La Roche Vineuse, Gamay 2014, Macon: lovely soft strawberry on the nose and palate and unusual that this grape is from Macon. Fabulous with Turkey, duck and Goose.

 

9. Bonfanti, DOC Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2014: small producer in Verona that makes very special wines indeed. Ripasso means two fermentations: rich yet sublime. Lovely Christmas day wine. New wine that has just arrived. 18 months in Barrel.

 

10. Mas Rous, Muscat 2012, Cotes Catalane: dry Muscat, firm and grippy with some lovely orange zest on the finish. Great with goats cheese and Monchego.

 

11. Lillypilly Noble Blend 2012: Noble rot, blend of Semillon, Gewurtz, pineapple with orange blossom. Perfect sticky with a steamed ginger pudding or something similar.

 

12. Lillpilly, Fiumara no 7, Leeton, NSW, Australia: Cross between a port and Pedro Ximenez A blend of special cuvee’s from over many years, this wine is the perfect match for Plum pudding on Christmas day!

 

Total: £195.00 With 10% discout: £19.50 

Total: £175.50

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Tuscany and Piedmont Tour, July 10-13th 2016

Recently, following a failed attempimg_0794t to get there in May, I visited the home of the two great red varietals of Italy, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, Brunello de Montalcino and Barolo. Despite the miles in between the two towns and the crazy late night driving along the Mediterranean curve near Genoa, I had a fabulous time visiting both towns. They are held in so much admiration in the wine world of Italy and indeed the whole world and this reputation is growing every day.

After the most delightful night in Siena watching the people in the main square and not going un-noticed was the lovely sight of young people not looking at their i-phones but talking to each other enthusiastically! Wow it would be lovely to see a bit more of this in London. But what a city and Square this place is: I love the way it is hidden up and above the town so that if you did not know there was a beautiful city with the most amazing panoramic square that is beyond belief in terms of atmosphere and feel. Do go if you have never been.

 

( Manzone Single Vineyard wines above the highlight of which is “Il Castelletto 2011”, the small vineyard around the Castle)

I skipped Chianti the next morning and headed to the smaller yet to me, far more individual grower of the best the Sangiovese can offer in Italy, Montalcino, which received its DOCG status in the 1970’s. Another beautiful little hillside town, as many wine towns are, Montalcino is located about 20 miles south of Siena on the small road to Rome! It took be about 2 hours to find ” Terralsole” and the vineyard of Mario Bollag and his lovely wife Athena, since the signs are very difficult to follow and no one knows the vineyard when asking! Its not surprising since when I eventually do get on the right road its down the end of a gravel track of about 3 miles, as seems to be nearly always the case!

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( The view from Monforte D’Alba across to Serralunga D’Alba and below the cellar at Manzone)

As Athena shows me around the house and cellar ( Mario is tasting 2012 vintages before blending with some of his consultants or friends) she explains to me that Mario was the black sheep of a prominent Basle family in Switzerland and he was an artist who studied at ” Ballata” in Florence in the 70’s. He fell in love with wine as well as art and worked his first vintage in Montalcino in 1990. However ” he wanted a bigger palate” so he bought the land we were walking on in 1993 as well as some land called ” Fonte Latta”, meaning “milk fountain”, since legend has it that if you were short of breast milk for your baby you drank the water from this fountain and the milk would flow. In 1995 he started planting the vines up here and built the house I stood in which was built from scratch.

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Mario uses 600 litre barrels of French oak  from Alier,for his wines and somehting about 220 litre wines and they are nowin the second year of conversion into Organic status. They also have higher elevation vineyards here in Montalcino which means the grapes are far more expressive and these vineyards are called ” Pian Bossolino” up to about 410 metres.

What I like about this whole set up is the clear passion for producing some of the most individual Brunello’s that one could possibly wish to find. They are up there in price too mind you but the quality and precision behind the winemaking is wonderful to witness. Mario also does not release his wines too early. Their present vintage is 2006; 5 years ageing in barrel and two in the bottle.

We tasted some 2012’s wines that were at present single vineyard wines. His Reserva 2012 was very soft and elegant, the Trio 2008 was a blend of grapes from other countries, Cabernet franc, Merlot and Syrah and velvety too. The 2013  ” Milk Fountain” was out of the barrel as well as the 2013 ” Pian Bossolino” which is a special cuvee of “Sangiovese Grosso”. The last wine we tasted was my personal favourite and was called ” Anata” and was a blend of the two vineyards and is clearly going to be an excepttional vintage, very bright and light.

 

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(Mauro with his delightful father Giovanni)