Mas Martinet - Cradle to Grape...

Congratulations to Sara Perez who on the 16th August gave birth to a baby boy. The pictures below show Sara foot crushing the grapes (with one month old in sling) that will make up the as yet unreleased Pesseroles Blanc. Evidently Sara's dedication to the cause shows little sign of abating!

A last minute addition to Germany 2011

I am much looking forward to our German Riesling 2011 tasting & offer next week.  We have delayed the tasting this year until September so that we can show for the first time the Grosse Gewachs and the current JJ Prum vintage (June is always too early for them.)  Another wine got added to the team sheet this week, an uber fine Herrenberg Auslese Fuder 15 2011 from Carl von Schubert of the old monastic Maximin Grunhaus estate in the Ruwer.  It had not been bottled when I visited the estate back in May so I was unable to taste it.  A very different wine to Abtsberg, the redder slate soils make for a less powerful, mineral but finer and fresher Riesling than the grey blue slate of Abtsberg.  They will go shoulder to shoulder next week and should provide a startling contrast to each other.

As usual we will be offering wines from the good and the great of Germany and are particularly pleased to be showing a larger selection of dry Riesling than ever before.

I am excited at the prospect of reacquainting myself with 2011.  My fond memories in May were wines of purity, clarity, less botrytised richness than in most recent vintages but with a great balance between intensity of flavour and feather-weight lightness - this is what makes German Riesling on slate so unique and thrilling.