We're back and here to help you stock up on essential liquids, we are essential services, wine is food, support the producers, support the troops. This week we've got some real depression beaters, from sunny Puglia to sunny Victoria you'll find that Rosato season has kicked off, deep and slightly cloudy pink wines are #essentialliquids this week. Elsewhere on the webshop you'll find a gripping Pinot from the stellar young star Josh Cooper and some fun new clear tubes from Fin wines, a very sexy newcomer from the lockdown state. Read on for some more info and links...
WELCOME TO THE MOONLIT FOREST
Jayden Ong is a man of many talents, many vineyards, many labels. He cut his teeth at one of Melbourne’s legendary wine bars, the now sadly defunct Melbourne Wine Room. Towards the end of his six-year stint there, finishing in 2006, Jayden took up a distance education Wine Science Degree at Charles Sturt University. He completed vintages around Victoria while opening his own wine bars Cumulus Inc and Cumulus Up with Andrew McConnell. He has vineyards in the Yarra, on his own property and leased blocks from which he makes wines with minimal intervention and additives.
Moonlit Forest is his groovy label with fun styles like the Skin Contact Pinot Gris, and a deep spicy Shiraz. Then theres his 'Jayden Ong' label, no less groovy, but focused on his home vineyard in Mount Burnett, Yarra Valley called Chestnut Hill. From here we have a very cool Sauvignon Blanc which has also seen some skins, very compelling drinking. Check out these beauties here.
FATALONE, ANTICHI VINI PUGLIESE
Fatalone are an old-school, 'organic since before chemicals were invented' kind of winery, and they are iconic in Gioia Del Colle, the holy land for the Primitivo grape. High on the roasted plateau of the heel to Italy's boot, surrounded by miles of olives and stone. It's a hot, dry climate tempered by the cold nights and 360m of altitude. The deep, dark and rustic Primitivo finds it's home here and makes some blockbuster 15-16% wines that will get your cheeks red. But our good friends at Fatalone also make some very interesting lighter styles which are uncommon outside of Puglia. We've got a hold of their Primitivo Rosato, a deeply coloured, minerals and berries rendition of the variety made from the lighter second growth of the vines. And their Bianco, a textured and fresh white from the incredible Greco variety, which is so well adapted here since it arrived with the Ancient Greeks that it holds it's lightning acidity even in the hottest seasons.
If you want to take a trip without leaving the house, these wines are amazing value for their level of interest, sense of place and their old-school, unfiltered natural winemaking.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Fatalone roughly translates to 'ladies man' and is named for Filippo, the 2nd generation of the family to work this estate, who lived to the age of 98 and according to legend for breakfast every morning of his adult life drank half a litre of Primitivo and half a litre of milk, presumably not together.
+PERSONAL WINES
Coming straight out of left field is this very interesting skin-contact Sauvignon Blanc from the Summertown vineyard in the Adelaide hills. Takahiro Suga is the man, a Japanese somm and neophyte winemaker who has been working in the vineyards for Kersbrook Hill and has made his first vintage of +Personal Wines with fruit from the famous Hills hotbed of natural wine. Initially tight, tart and slightly spicy, the wine expands into all sorts of pineapples, guava and citrus. Textured, structured and juicy, this is great drinking for the price and a very good first effort!
LAST CHANCE TO SUBSCRIBE FOR AUGUST
We're just about to start shipping the August subscription packs so Friday will be the last opportunity to sign up. Try it out, give it as a gift, why not - the value is unbeatable and we've got some rippers lined up this month. Go here to check out the myriad options and configurations. Do it!
PACK 'EM UP, SHIP 'EM OUT
We're back with online-only packs galore. Grab yourself one of these to enjoy discounts on selections that wouldn't normally see them. Wines that we've picked around the shop just because we like them, you'd be mad not to.
We've gone from recommending wines to our customers in shops to spilling hot 7-11 coffee in our laps while trying to read the Gregory's. We've added Tuesdays into the mix so now we're delivering every afternoon except Sunday and Mondays. If you're within 15km of Melbourne CBD and order before 1pm you'll get the wine before dinner time FREE.
SUBSCRIBE NOW TO OUR MONTHLY PACKS!
We have from the outset prided ourselves on having the best monthly subscription wine service in the game. We take this so seriously that each and every month we convene a panel of expert wine industry folk around a cheese board at Sam's house for a tasting selection panel. No punches are pulled, frankly it's brutal. So the wines that go in our monthly packs are certified FIRE.
