SAINT PERAY 2008, DOMAINE DE LA GRANDE COLLINE

Photos are illustrative only.

TASTING NOTES

'This is a wine that will either leave you scratching your head or rushing to get more before the tiny number of bottles available have disappeared. Why? Because it needs to treated with some love. If you just chuck it in a glass for a quick gulp you will wonder what the fuss is about, but if you serve it right it will reward you with incredible complexity and a unique drinking experience. 1) Leave it stood up in the fridge for a few hours so it can settle. 2) Pour the wine into a decanter, taking care to leave the 'lees' in the bottom (yes, there are some solids in there). 3) Put the decanter back in the fridge or in a cool place for a few more hours (as many as you like). The result? An incredible melange of green apple, citrus oil, white flowers, malted milk biscuits and key lime pie. Crisp acidity but weight and depth on the palate and so much length that you will be tasting it for days. Only 150 cases produced for the whole world, so why not do it properly?'
Mark Andrew
Wine Buyer

PRODUCER NOTES

Hirotake Ooka is a Japanese winemaker based in St Peray in the Northern Rhone Valley (in an extraordinary cellar burrowed into the side of a mountain). Since he established Domaine de la Grande Colline, he has become one of the most talked about young winemakers in France, with all manner of blogs and fellow natural winemakers working themselves into a frenzy over his wines.

The winemaking is devoutly natural. The farming is biodynamic, grapes are foot pressed, fermentations are spontaneous, yeasts indigenous and there are no chemical additions including absolutely no SO2 used at any point in the entire process - a feat which, according to Hirotake, less than ten winemakers in France genuinely manage to pull off. Most natural wines will use small amounts of sulphur at the bottling, but Hirotake refuses to use any. The wines are left to do their own thing and there are no manipulations at all. This means that they often take a long time to finish their fermentations, with some of his cuvées still bubbling away after five years or more.

The resulting wines are startlingly original and exceptionally good. When our buyer Mark Andrew first tasted them at the domaine, he said, 'this was one of the most exciting tastings I have ever done at a winery. Hirotake is an amazing winemaker - so meticulous in his craft and completely committed to making expressive wines that are full of character. The fact that he is a natural winemaker is only a small part of the story - the main thing is that he is a true artisan who will become one of the most sought-after producers in France.'

All items from Domaine de la Grande Colline