Wine of the Month - October 2021
This month we are treating you to not one but two Wines of the Month!
Why, you ask?
Because we just couldn't split this 'wild' pair up. Just look at them, a
laid back, thirst-quenching, smooth and fruity South Australian white and a fresh and fruity, easy-drinking grenache—both in perfectly sized 50cl bottles with a
crown closure.
Throughout October, these will be sold at the reduced 'mixed 6' price of £9.00. You will also get 100 bonus loyalty points for every bottle of #V18W or #V18R that you purchase!
The Producer
This Month's Wines of the Month come from Wild and Wilder, part of Thistledown Wines, a small-batch winery in the idyllic Adelaide Hills, just to the east of Adelaide itself. Giles Cooke and Fergal Tynan, both Masters of Wine, work with top quality fruit they've sourced from carefully picked vineyard sites. With the helping hand of Peter Leske, they aim to make lithe, energetic wines that illustrate the benefits of great sites and intelligent low-intervention winemaking.
Their wines are all about energy, detail and purity.
_ 'Like the thistle itself, our wines may appear robust on the surface, but we seek deep flavours, a core of beautiful fruit and complexity that can be peeled back, layer by layer.'_ - Thistledown Wines
The Wines
Tabula Rasa V18W
Let’s start with the white – Tabula Rasa #V18W
This 50cl bottle with a crown cap closure is a bit of a departure from the norm, and while it’s not a wine that takes itself too seriously, it’s quite delicious nonetheless. The blend is 70% Semillon with 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 6% Arneis and 4% Manseng.
All four varieties that make up #V18W come from the same single-vineyard close to Thistledown’s winery in Lenswood, Adelaide Hills. A close planted and premium vineyard perfectly set up for cool climate viticulture.
The winemaking process for this wine is a complex vinification in order to make a deliciously simple wine. The Sauvignon and Semillon are given 24 hours skin contact before crushing, pressing, settling and cool, fermentation. The Arneis and Petit Manseng are hand-picked, foot crushed, drained and added to the larger ferment, which prolonged the ferment and added complexity and texture. Post-primary fermentation, the wine was racked off gross lees before spending 2 months on fine lees prior to bottling
Tabula Rasa #V18R
Now moving on to the red...
Living up to their name, Wild and Wilder are delighted to present the rule-breaking Tabula Rasa. Each year, the slate is wiped clean and, with no preconceptions, every vintage is original.
#V18R draws on fruit from historic vineyards across South Australia, Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro and Carignan. This delicious wine captures the very essence of one season in a playful format that demands to be drunk. Just as every vintage is unique, so is every vintage of Tabula Rasa. Though the consistent factor is some delicious, succulent old vine, whole bunch Grenache, there is always a smattering of other varieties depending on what has thrived in any given season. Minimal intervention lets the fruit do the talking. Some components have received subtle barrel ageing – around 10% of the wine spent 4 months in older French oak.
These wines sort of scream East London hipsterism but don’t judge a book by its cover. These 50cl bottles are just right for two glasses with supper or a great bottle to take to a picnic/festival/the park. 50cl bottles may be the way forward. Just don’t mistake it for a beer...
