Six Wines That Stopped Me in My Tracks

Exceptional new discoveries from Austria, France, Italy and Slovenia

Socrates is supposed to have said “the unexamined life is not worth living” shortly before his death. He was referring to self-reflection, but the words have an eerie resonance in our social media-addicted world:

If you didn’t post something, did it actually happen?

I’m tortured by this question every time an amazing wine hits my gullet. It’s partly a sense of professional duty - a wine communicator should broadcast their discoveries, no? But part is admittedly the pernicious desire for the adrenaline of likes and shares.

If my followers don’t feel the FOMO, did I truly enjoy that wine myself?

Judged by modern influencer standards, I am an abject failure. I post a tiny fraction of the delicious liquids that end up in my glass. Here then is my token and highly insufficient attempt to get with the programme: Six wines I tasted this year that, up until now, fell through the publishing cracks.

All are wines and/or producers new to me. All are exceptional, and most are available in the EU and beyond. Do track them down and enjoy. I’ll be checking your TikTok feeds later.

🔴 Charly Rol - Blauer Portugieser 2024

Kamptal, Austria

Hailing from Burgundy, Charly moved to Lower Austria a decade ago. I’m a bit hazy on the dates, but I think this is the third vintage of his own label wines. I love the playful Côtes Danubiennes sub-brand. All of his wines blew me away - they are brilliant expressions of traditional Austrian varieties. The winemaking exudes confidence and a decidedly French sensibility.

Charly has just one hectare of his own vines and buys in grapes from friends who farm organically or biodynamically. I also tasted Grüner Veltliner 2022, Blaufränkisch 2023 and Zweigelt 2023 at this year’s Karakterre fair, but my pick is the Blauer Portugieser.

The grapes were sourced from Christoph Hoch. There’s beautiful ripeness and generosity, not something you take for granted from this variety. The fruit tastes vivid and well defined, with a supple, creamy texture. For Blauer Portugieser, it’s really quite hedonistic.

I’ve not managed to track this wine down online, but the other three wines (all highly recommended) are available from Gute Weine (delivery to selected EU countries) for €27 a bottle. Otherwise contact Charly directly.