Annual Rose & Sausages Melbourne 2025

A textural, medium-bodied rosato, the 2023 Rosato sees the return of a small amount of saignéed nebbiolo. Paired with the bright & fruit-drive barrel-fermented sangiovese, this new release wine holds enticing medium weight

An elegant medium-bodied rosato possesses a nose of enticing strawberries & cream, dark cherry & ripe raspberry notes, with savouriness following on the palate thanks to a portion of saignéed nebbiolo & fermentation in old French oak barriques & puncheons. The textural mouthfeel is accompanied by notes of sour cherry wood & pleasing phenolics. A nuanced finish with balanced acid and tannin, this easy-drinking Rosato epitomises European savouriness alongside sangiovese's cherry-dominated generosity.

75% Garnatxa, with 5% Syrah and 10% Merlot. 10% of Lasendal Tinto is free run bled after 8 hours' skin contact.

A beautiful Garnatxa Tinto in miniature ... It's everything about the berry but lighter, fresher and zippier. Beautiful red fruits of the forest with an appley crunch, a light wave of Montsant's limestone soils and delicate fruit tannins in a nice buzzing herbal register ... Mas Donís pink has a lovely juicy and refreshing primary feel without any sugar heft. It fits and sits right in the middle of the palate, leaving a perfect amount of space - an invitation to be completed with riotous chat-and-chew action. Well cut with earthy acidity, the rosehip and maraschino palate is vibrant and has very neat lines.

Claríto is a tribute to the deep traditions of Rioja, updated perhaps. ‘Back in the day’ such wines were the epitome of a Village Rioja. In little towns, a small amount of Viura would trickle in, but it would take days to fill a press, so it was ‘little-by-little’ adding whatever correctly-picked fruit came in until a batch was ready, first white then later some red.

In 2022, the Viura was picked (September 14th), de-stemmed and macerated for 3 days or so until the red was ready to pick. This was added as 100% whole bunch Garnacha atop the white. After a couple of days co-maceration, it was gently pressed to a yield of just 65%. The young Clarete must was then left to ferment spontaneously in combination of a 3,200L raw concrete vat and a 2,000L stainless tank. Working with lots of skins, the fermentation started easily and was done in 8 days. The young wine and its fine lees were then aged in gorgeous raw concrete cubes for 8 months (a portion aged in a single old 1,000 litre foudre), stirred occasionally to protect from reduction During this time, natural malolactic conversion happens to create balance and palate structure. No sulphur additions are made to the wine.

The subtle orange look of Claríto ‘22 is matched on the nose with a line of tangerine skin. This fragrance plays beautifully around an air of ‘dust in a Rioja vineyard’, along with faded roses. Dried silage (including a hint of pickle) and sea shell smells tell of Viura grown in chalk. The nose is deep, bell-clear, like smelling the water in a well, many feet down, below the dust, the heat, the haze. Cool and still. The throat develops a deep compulsive tickle of desire to swallow. One is drawn in. In the mouth, there’s savoury roundness backlit citric with orange and golden persimmon, crabapples, brushed steel earthiness, faded florals. Steel magnolias and cherry skins in short. It’s edged by deep chalky minerality and run through with tangible energy … a circle with a line through it. Plenty of skinsy-tannin mouthfeel gives ungrippy grip, presence without tension.

Peach tea, melon, a herb and floral perfume, fennel seeds, strawberries too. It’s juicy, but balanced, lots of fresh strawberry and raspberry, bright acidity, a chalky and dusty texture, succulent with it, a glycerol slipperiness, though it finishes tight, with a twist of blood orange and excellent length. Nice. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

Biodynamic viticulture is of surprising rarity in the Provence region given the ideal sunny and windy conditions; one outstanding practitioner is the tiny property of Domaine les Fouques, run by Yves Gros, with the wine made by daughter Christelle. Guinea fowl and chickens are also farmed here. At a mere 17 hectares and in a stunning setting, a visit here offers a somewhat mystical quality.