Simon J Woolf & Friends on Wild and Wonderful Wines
Spicy and even a little animalistic on the nose, with crushed raspberries and plum fruit. It has that velvety, expressive fruit and texture on the palate, with bright fruit acids and fine tannins with a sappy, nutty finish. A wonderful, Read more
Filled with cherry compote and a hint of black pepper on the nose, this blend of vineyards from various sites around the Leithaberg DAC has spine tingling freshness and acidity, with delicious sour cherry fruit. Structurally, this is still a Read more
Slightly muted and compacted on the nose, this Blaufränkisch from two vineyards (Fehlmühl, Reisbühl) on the slightly lower lying plains around Eisenstadt has spicy, brambly fruit. The oak ageing (16 months in large format barrels) has marked the wine a Read more
Each variety was treated differently in this blend, and it hasn’t really come together, despite being over three years in the bottle. The barrique fermented Chardonnay shows cinnamon and toast notes that jar with the wilder more appley character of Read more
Youthful and fruity on the nose, this white blend fermented and aged just in steel tank has a wonderful perky acidity burst on the palate. The energy of the Riesling really shines through, but then the finish is long and Read more
Sadly the new barriques used for a part of this wine overawe the rest of the wine. There is spine tingling acidity and tangy fruit, but it can barely survive the onslaught of oak. The attack shows lovely taut fruit Read more
Lightly peppery, with attractive pear fruit on the nose. Surprisingly and pleasingly rich and honeyed on the palate, with slightly tangy quince and brined (preserved) peach. The concentration and richness are impressive, for a wine that still remains fairly light Read more
Simon visits João Tereso, a sound engineer turned winemaker with a penchant for breathing new life into old vineyards, and for crafting delicious natural wines in the Lisboa region.
Simon gets ranty about pét nat, natural wine’s ubiquitous fizz. This article was originally published in Noble Rot Magazine, issue 27.
Simon visits consultant and natural winemaker Rodrigo Martins, to learn about his change to working exclusively with organic viticulture and his personal Espera project. We also talk about his frustration with the DOC classification process in Lisboa.