L’APPARTAMENTO is full of vibrant, nourishing table wines that promise to lift the spirits in the depths of winter.
BARRACO
Bianco G 2022
Sicily, Italy
From an isolated plot of fifty year old bush vines of Grillo handed down to Nino by his father. These are planted over red sand and terra rossa, just a kilometre from the sea. This spent twenty four hours on the skins before ten months of élevage in a combination of old casks and concrete vats. A vivid yellow, this really shows the pedigree of the site and is compact and elegant with delicate notes of minerals and brine leading to a long, salty finish.
Grillo
MONTEFORCHE
Carantina 2023
Veneto, Italy
Garganega from vines up to thirty years old, planted over the region’s volcanic soils. This was fermented on the skins for three days with some whole bunches, before resting in concrete vats on lees for nine months. A brilliant shade of gold, this is a great expression of the land, with stone fruits, smoke and minerals combining to beautiful effect.
Garganega
CATHERINE DUMORA
E(j)oka 2022
Auvergne, France
This beautiful rosé comes from a blend of Gamays and Hybrids from her vineyards in the Auvergne, and Colombard from a friend in the Minervois. The grapes were pressed directly to earthenware jars for a short rest, producing a pale, hazy rosé with delicate notes of wild strawberries, blood orange and minerals. Perfect for the sunshine, this is as pure and nourishing as it gets.
Gamay d’Auvergne, Gamay, Hybrids, Colombard
LE COSTE
Le Primeur 2023
Lazio, Italy
Aleatico that underwent carbonic maceration for ten days, before being pressed off to vat to finish fermentation and rest until the following spring. From a cooler year, this pours a wonderful shade of purple, offering soaring notes of red berries and rose, whilst blood orange and bitter herbs offer refreshment in spades. Few wines capture the heady joys of summer in this way and this is one of their best yet.
Aleatico
CASCINA TAVIJN
Vino Rosso 2022
Piedmont, Italy
This is everything we look for in a vino da tavola. This year it is made entirely of Freisa from young vines planted over Asti’s soft, sandy soils. The grapes spent two months on skins, before being pressed off to fiberglass tanks for a year of ageing. As one might expect this is a little lighter and brighter than previous vintages, with flavours of red cherry and bitter herbs framed by some neat tannins. The kind of wine one might dream of finding at a simple trattoria in Piedmont’s countryside.
Freisa
CLAIRE AND FLORENT BEJON
Pain Perdu 2023
Loire, France
From a small parcel of Cabernet Franc in the village of Beaumont-en-Véron on the right bank of the Vienne. The vines here are forty years old and planted on a slope over limestone and sand. The grapes were fermented as whole bunches in cuve for three weeks, before being pressed to a combination of vats, old barrels and amphorae for a short élevage. Wonderfully plush, open and expressive, it pairs red fruits, earth and spice to beautiful effect.
Cabernet Franc