Wines included in this set:

2021 BLANKbottle, 'Smaug The Magnificent', Stellenbosch, South Africa

45% Roussanne, 19% Chenin Blanc, 19% Verdelho, 17% Palomino

Pieter Walser is easily one of our favorite South Africa winemakers. He sometimes he makes up to 30 different wines per year, many of which are one-offs and never repeated. This eclectic approach has gained him a cult following and we're lucky to stock a handful of his wines and provide them for your enjoyment. In this set you have two wines from Peter. Lucky you! His wines are exciting and original. This wine is just starting to show its beauty and can age to build strength and complexity for another 4 to 6 years, like a sleeping dragon. Label artwork by his young son, Luca. The wine is dry, rich, round, and creamy with ample acidity, saline minerality, medium-body and a pronounced nose with notes of baked red apples, figs, peach, lime, butterscotch, hazelnuts. A very long finish with a waxy and oily coating and a lingering mouthfeel.

2020 BLANKbottle, Confessions of a White Glove Chaser, South Africa

60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon

This is the second wine in this set from Pieter Walser. A Bordeaux blend with grapes sourced exclusively from vineyards in the Helderberg region of Stellenbosch, known for its optimal growing conditions for Bordeaux varietals. Pieter identified the vineyards by observing pickers wearing white surgical gloves, a sign of estates conducting extensive vineyard research. He sourced grapes from these vineyards, prioritizing proximity to ensure the freshness and quality of the fruit. The wine is a lovely expression of the Cape, with abundant ripe brambly fruit and super-fine tannins, contributing to a smooth and elegant mouthfeel, medium-plus body, and lifting acidity. It is harmonious and balanced. A standout choice for enthusiasts of Bordeaux-style wines from South Africa.

2021 Högl, J&G, Grüner Veltliner, Federspiel, Wachau, Austria

100% Grüner Veltliner

The Högl winery, located at the Western edge of Austria's renowned Wachau region, where the Spitzer Graben meets the Waldviertel, is known for producing wines characterized by precision and refreshment. Situated at the edge of the Wachau region, Högl benefits from this area's unique microclimate and terroir, where the steep Spitzer Graben valley opens into the Waldviertel. The proximity to the Danube River also influences the vineyards, contributing to the distinctiveness of their wines. The wines from the Högl J&G Series are crafted by Joseph and George Högl, a father and son winemaking team, and are fresh and lively, showcasing the best qualities of the grape variety. Grüner Veltliner is celebrated for its versatility and food-friendly nature, making it a perfect choice for pairing with meals and enjoying on its own. This classic wine is chock full of notes of ripe and crunchy apple, celery leaf, radish, and white pepper, complemented by exotic fruit. Pure summer drinking pleasure!

2021 Moric, Blaufrankish, Burgenland, Austria

100% Blaufränkisch

Across the border you’d call it Lemberger, for a while everyone was calling it Gamay, but in Austria, in the hands of one of their premier winemakers, you call it Blaufränkisch. Roland Velich of Moric tends to the ancient native grape variety with reverence, not only because it has been compared in taste and quality to some of Beaujolais' finest Crus, but because of its resilience in what the French call goût de terroir. Velich’s finest wines come from terroirs at the boundaries of winemaking, where challenging climatic conditions produce grapes whose vines root deep in rich Burgenland soils; the goût, or taste, comes from an organic encounter with nature. 2021’s Blaufränkisch is a gorgeous, unpretentious, yet age-worthy wine. It is medium-concentration of ruby with aromatic notes of ripe dark fruit—cherry, plum, and berries intertwined with mushrooms, tea leaves, savory herbs, and floral. The palate is dry, medium-bodied, with medium, youthful tannins, and singing acidity. 

2022 Bodegas Albamar, Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain

100% Albariño

Bodegas Albamar is a family winery, making Albariño in the O Salnés sub-region of Rías Baixas for generations. In 2006 the Alba family started bottling and commercializing their wines. Xurxo Alba harnesses Galicia’s unique terroir by using only indigenous yeast (rare for the region) and encourages a long, slow fermentation. He blocks malolactic fermentation, to allow all the saline freshness and bright minerality to show through. The eponymous 2020 is from many different plots, mostly on granite soils. It is dry, pale straw, with notes of ripe peach, pineapple, lemon, green apple, loads of salinity. It’s beautifully balanced and textured on the palate—with the structure to develop in the bottle.

2020 Dominio de Pingus PSI, Ribera del Duero, Spain

90% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), 10% Garnacha

Having established Pingus as a new benchmark for greatness in Spanish wine, Peter Sisseck has embarked on a new quest: to produce a wine that captures the soul of Ribera del Duero. And he is making that vision a reality by harnessing the passion of the region’s growers who, for far too long, lacked the tools, capital, and vision to make wine that is truly “theirs.” And thus, Ψ Psi was born. It started as a Utopian idea. It was born of Peter’s passionate belief in organic and biodynamic farming, as well as his gratitude to the region for giving a young Danish winemaker the opportunity to make arguably Spain’s most coveted wines. And that idea was given even greater urgency as he watched the region’s oldest vineyards disappear. This wine is deep ruby, aromatic with tons of ripe red and dark fruit, rich earth, and floral attributes. It also has loads of freshness and lift among all the complexity. A crowd-pleaser.