Bin #014

Bin #014: Verdeca 2022

Release date: May 2023

Region: Puglia, Italy

Grape:Verdeca (100%)​

This wine hails from Puglia, a region typically known as negroamaro and primitivo territory, but on her last visit Sarah Knowles MW was struck by the quality of the white wine she enjoyed during the hot summer evenings. The grape responsible was verdeca, a local variety producing refreshing, ripe-fruited whites with great charm that slip down all too easily!  

Verdeca is almost exclusively grown in Puglia with a concentration in Taranto and Bari. In total it is estimated that only 800ha are still planted. When its DNA was analysed at San Michele All’Adige, a link to the ancient Dalmatian grape of Plavina Crna was identified, hinting at its origins across the Adriatic sea. As a late-ripening grape, it is well suited to the sunny warm weather of southern Italy, retaining beautiful acidity and minerality despite the often very warm summers.  

Leonardo Pinto, the consultant at Produttori di Manduria who made this wine for us, has led the way in embracing some of the smaller parcels of indigenous varieties they have – like the verdeca. This sums up the philosophy of the Bin Series perfectly: celebrating the pioneering spirit of The Wine Society, unearthing unknown wines with exciting potential for this range of limited-edition wines with a story to tell.

Bin #013

Bin #013: Pedro Ximénez Seco, Montilla-Moriles 2021

Release date: March 2023

Region:  Montilla Moriles

Grape: Pedro Ximénez (100%)​

We are thrilled to introduce you to the first new addition to our limited-edition Bin Series range of 2023: an unfortified, dry Spanish table wine made from Pedro Ximénez, a grape that is normally used for making very sweet sherries.

This is a wine we recommend wholeheartedly to all. It was made by Spain’s oldest family-owned winery, Alvear, and bottled especially for The Society. It comes from Montilla-Moriles, near Cordoba, which is around two and a half hours’ drive north-east of the official sherry region of Jerez, and which has a unique terroir that is reflected beautifully in the wine.  
 
This light, unfortified white was fermented and matured in large concrete amphorae (tinajas) under a veil of flor (yeast) for several months, and then bottled after a year to capture the wine’s zesty minerality. Expect a dry, mouthwatering and mineral wine with a bready, umami note and fantastic food-matching credentials, whether enjoyed as an aperitif with olives and almonds or a dinner-table partner to sushi or grilled sardines.

Bin #012

Bin #012 Mandó Rosado 2021

Release date: August 2022

Region: Spain

Grape: Mandó (100%)

We’ve seen 11 reds and whites bottled under our Bin Series label, and now it’s time to offer the first rosé. For Bin #012 we have headed to Spain, specifically Valencia, where we discovered this delicious rosado three years ago on a buying trip and have since kept a keen eye on recent vintages. The fabulous 2021 represented the perfect opportunity to bottle it under the Bin label.  

The grape behind the wine is mandó, a red-skinned grape which creates a vibrant, relatively deep pink appearance from a soft pressing then is fermented like a white wine. Mandó is virtually extinct, but producer Celler del Roure saw the potential in it because it manages to ripen early and reach flavour ripeness at naturally lower sugar levels, resulting in wines with moderate alcohol level. In Valencia’s hot climate, this is a crucial attribute.  
 
This is a dry yet substantial wine with floral and red-fruit flavours, full of energy and extremely refreshing. The purity of the organically grown fruit is retained by fermenting in stainless steel. The wine was then aged in old clay underground amphoras before being bottled. Celler del Roure’s cellar contains about 100 amphorae (or tinajas as they are called in Spain) and owner Pablo Calatayud believes this is critical to retaining mandó’s natural delicate flavours and freshness.

As a result of supply issues, we have taken the decision to bottle this wine without a foil closure. This doesn’t affect the quality of the wine in any way and has the added benefit of less packaging, helping in a small way towards our sustainability goals. We've also chosen to bottle this fresh, fruity rosé in brown recycled glass, as opposed to clear 'virgin' glass, for an added environmental benefit.

Bin #011

Bin #011: Alicante, Vin de France, Ollieux Romanis 2021

We return to France for our limited-edition range, with mouthwatering results.

Release date: April 2022

Region: Languedoc Roussillon

Grape: Alicante (100%)

Alicante bouschet has been around since the 1860s, largely in blends with other varieties. Flying solo, it’s denied appellation contrôlée status, hence the vin de France designation, but its strikingly deep colour and fragrant fruit will instantly appeal to members who love to explore characterful reds.

A crossing of two ancient grapes, teinturier du Cher and aramon, with better-known grenache, alicante is loved by growers for its easy disposition, resistance to disease and the exceptional colour it brings to blends.

Merely one of many in France, it’s a major variety in southern Portugal and was much prized in California during Prohibition, when the grapes could be trucked from California to the east coast without the fruit rotting. No smuggling is needed today to appreciate its other virtue: it’s really quite delicious!

In the winery, it gives off wonderful aromas of freshly picked fruit and it’s always a treat to taste the first alicante of the year and admire its colour, which stains everything deep purple. Not for nothing do its genes include a teinturier – ‘dyer’ in French!

Ollieux Romanis is a large and impressive Languedoc estate which has grown alicante for more than a century. It uses it in many of its red wines, notably The Society’s Corbières, although never more than 1-2%. In generous years it sometimes makes a blend of carignan and alicante which works well. But I liked the idea of a pure alicante, and I’m thrilled by the result. Served cellar-cool, its plummy fruit and dash of spice will definitely break the ice when the barbecue season approaches. And with our free-delivery trial extended to 3rd May, it’s an ideal opportunity try something new and different, with no minimum spend.

Bin #010: Godello-Albariño-Treixadura 2020

Bin #010: Godello-Albariño-Treixadura 2020

Release date: September 2021

Region: Ribeira Sacra, Spain

Grape: Godello (81%), Albariño (12%), Treixadura (7%)

It was in Spain that we found the very first wine in our Bin Series, and for the 10th, we were we’re delighted to return to this dynamic winemaking country. 

Bin #010 came from one of the country’s most dramatic vineyard areas, Ribeira Sacra, where the steep terraces on narrow valleys require a heroic approach to viticulture. It’s a small region in the north-west area of Galicia, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean giving a milder and more temperate climate than the rest of Spain. This is an area known for its sophisticated red wines from the mencía grape and to a lesser extent on whites, where leading producers focus on varietal wines. 

One such leading light is Eulogio Pomares at Quinta do Estranxeiro, a winemaking talent behind names like Zarate in Rías Baixas. He was eager to try something different by blending godello, albariño and treixadura, and he achieved it with remarkable success. 

The grapes were all hand-picked – machine harvesting is not practical on vineyards this steep – and many of the vineyards are extremely old. The result is a delicious, aromatic white with lift, complexity and elegance. Gentle yet intense, it combines floral notes and citrusy flavour with a touch of spice.

Bin #009: Chiroubles 2020

Bin #009: Chiroubles 2020

Release date: May 2021

Region: Beaujolais, France

Grape: Gamay

Is the famed region of Beaujolais the obvious choice for a series championing less well-known regions and grapes? When it comes to Chiroubles – among the least known and least fashionable of the ten ‘crus’ of the region – we felt it was. While names such as Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent have become well established, Chiroubles still evades the recognition it arguably deserves. In a vintage like 2020, however, it showed why it merited greater attention. 

The vineyards of Chiroubles lie between 300 and 600 metres above sea level – they are the highest in Beaujolais – and in the past the grapes often struggled to ripen fully. Due to climate change and the increasingly warm temperatures that the region has encountered in recent years, however, times have changed. 

Indeed, our buyer Tim Sykes believes that Chiroubles now provides one of the most authentic illustrations of gamay, a grape that relies on its perfume and delicate floral character for full expression. 

Bin #009 was made without the addition of sulphur, the preservative that winemakers typically use to prevent their wines from oxidising and to ensure a longer shelf life. Beaujolais has been one of the pioneering regions in the wine world when it comes to producing low-sulphur and no-sulphur wines. 

It is very difficult to make really good wine without the use of sulphur – buyer Marcel Orford-Williams likens it to walking a tightrope without a safety harness. But the 2020 Chiroubles from Domaine de Boisselière was bottled with the technical assistance of Maison Aujoux, our partner for The Society’s Beaujolais-Villages and Exhibition crus Beaujolais, and couldn’t have been in safer hands. The result was a wine with lovely fresh, vibrant fruit and an appealing purity.  

Bin #008: Manseng Noir 2019

Bin #008: Manseng Noir 2019

Release date: February 2021

Region: IGP Gascogne, France

Grape: Manseng noir

A century-and-a-half ago, European vines and vineyards were the victims of a pandemic that would have severe consequences, not least the disappearance of countless grape varieties. Among the casualties were varieties that were probably less viable or just difficult to grow. It is impossible to know how many were lost, but some did survive, often growing wild on sandy soils where the phylloxera louse didn’t prosper. 

Finding these odd vines, analysing their DNA, studying and propagating them has been the work of pioneering spirit, André Dubosc and the team at Plaimont, that group of co-operatives central to wine production in Gascony. 

Manseng noir is one such long-forgotten grape variety, but it may be a future hero. Like most grape varieties from the south-west, its origins are Basque. It is related to other manseng varieties, which are white and better known. 

What the studies showed is that manseng noir produces a wine with a huge amount of colour and plenty of tannin yet ripens with very modest alcohol potential. It interested Basque producers in Irouléguy, where it is known as arrouya, and producers in Gascony. Its potential in a world of wines of increasingly high alcohol is obvious. 

This manseng noir was taken from very young vines of no more than five years old. Deeply coloured – almost purple in the glass – along with masses of fruit and a lovely balance, with plenty of freshness. 

Bin #007: Encruzado 2019

Bin #007: Encruzado 2019

Release date: October 2020

Region: Dão, Portugal

Grape: Encruzado

A grape full of promise, offering invigorating palate refreshment in its youth, with a proven track record for ageing, which brings more fulfilling, toasty notes of complexity, encruzado is the signature white grape of Portugal’s Dão region – yet few of us have heard of it. 

Cruz means ‘cross’ in Portuguese and this grape is thought to be a natural cross from only the 1920s or 1930s. First documented in 1942, it is the youngest of Portugal’s fine indigenous grapes. 

It is a solid component in blends in the Dão region, and elsewhere in Portugal, but it offers unique character when it stands alone. The delicate aromas of white flowers, mineral and citrus notes of its youth give way to more complex, toasty character as it matures. It can go quiet on you after a couple of years in bottle, in which case you may prefer to let it grow up a little and express itself before broaching again. 

This wine was made by Carlos Lucas, who knows a thing or two about the grape. He uses encruzado in blends and makes a variety of styles, but here we opted for a pure, unadorned (unoaked) wine, which just happened to have been vinified in Carlos’s specially designed super-cool stainless-steel tank. 

Bin #006: Pinot Noir 2018

Bin #006: Pinot Noir 2018

Release date: August 2020

Region: Tasmania

Grape: Pinot noir

Tasmania is arguably the most exciting region in Australian wine. As things continue to heat up elsewhere, this more moderate climate, influenced heavily by the exposure to the sea, is finally beginning to get the attention it deserves, after years of excellent but very small-scale wine production. 

When buyer Freddy Bulmer visited the country, several winemakers currently working in more famous regions told him they had recently bought vineyards in Tasmania to develop. One winemaker in the McLaren Vale even went so far as to say, ‘If I was to start all over again and buy a new vineyard anywhere in Australia, it wouldn’t be in McLaren Vale, it would be in Tasmania.’ 

The Wine Society is not new to Tasmania by any means. Thanks to former buyer Sebastian Payne MW, we have had an excellent Exhibition Tasmanian Chardonnay on our List for decades. It is a testament to Sebastian’s foresight that some winemakers in Australia’s major regions are only catching on now! 

We had wanted to include an example of Tasmania’s other speciality, pinot noir, under this label for some time. A conversation with Michael Hill-Smith MW of Shaw & Smith and The Other Wine Co. revealed he knew of an excellent parcel of pinot from a well-known Tassie winery. 

Tasting it, we realised it was exactly what we had been looking for: a vibrant, complex and silky wine that demonstrates admirably why so many are excited about the quality and the potential here. 

Bin #005: Xinomavro 2017

Bin #005: Xinomavro 2017

Release date: May 2020

Region: Naoussa, Greece

Grape: Xinomavro

Our fifth Bin Series was a very special xinomavro from Greek winemaking master Apostolos Thymiopoulos. 

Metaphorically speaking, Apostolos has wine running through his veins: he inherited vineyards from his father, who previously grew grapes to sell. However, Apostolos saw the potential in these plots of vineyard, in the rolling hills of Naoussa in northern Greece, and so decided to stop selling the fruit in favour of capturing and bottling this potential. 

He is now recognised as a master of Greece’s xinomavro grape, putting both the grape and the Naoussa region on the map and gaining a strong cult following globally. It’s easy to see why. His xinomavro from Rapsani has attracted the attention of the likes of Decanter magazine and many critics worldwide. 

Apostolos has always been excellent as spotting unloved vineyards in northern Greece and liberating them, giving a new lease of life to what are often incredible old vines. Bin #005 was sourced exclusively from a new site which got Apostolos very excited, in the small Greek village of Fytia. 

Fuller-bodied than a pinot noir, lighter than a Barolo, and yet with similarities to both, this was a unique wine bursting with personality. You could be forgiven for thinking it had been produced by one of the great winemakers of Burgundy while on a holiday to northern Greece! 

Bin #004: Furmint 2011

Bin #004: Furmint 2011

Release date: February 2020

Region: Tokaj, Hungary

Grape: Furmint

The story behind Bin Series #004 comes from a Hungarian importer, who told us about a parcel of aged white wine, sitting unlabelled in the depths of a cellar in the historic Tokaj region. This furmint was, they said, superb and perfectly mature, but it had no home to go to and as a result was being offered at a special price. 

It all sounded a little too good to be true… but when we tasted it, it was clear that this was one of our best wine surprises of the year, and that we had to secure what little there was for members to enjoy. 

Furmint is a grape many wine lovers will know from its role in the great sweet wines of Tokaji. Dry furmint, however, has made more of an impression in recent years. What makes these wines special is their ability to age beautifully, but finding a good example at a modest price can be tricky.  

After nine years of ageing, this was a complex, electric white wine, offered at a superb price for its quality. With a character that hints at the zippy freshness and intriguing kerosene aroma of good bone-dry riesling and the beeswax-like flavour of aged Hunter Valley semillon, complemented by nuts, lime and honey, it offered great depth of flavour and a remarkable backbone of crisp acidity. The perfect match for seafood or creamy dishes and very possibly the best-value aged white wine on the market.

Bin #003: Ribolla Gialla 2018

Bin #003: Ribolla Gialla 2018

Release date: September 2019

Grower: Puatti Vigneti

Region: Friuli, Italy

Grape: Ribolla Gialla

The first two Bin Series wines were red, so it was time to introduce a white wine to the range: an Italian exclusive that was too good to miss. 

Thought to be of Greek origin by way of Slovenia, the ribolla gialla grape has a long history in Friuli, producing rounded whites with bright fruity acidity and an original herby bouquet that is hard to describe but heavenly when done well. It’s also a grape that, for all its popularity in Venice, has for too long been the bridesmaid to the same region’s (very different) pinot grigio on our shores – one of the reasons we jumped at the chance to feature it as a Bin Series wine. 

Puatti is Friuli’s top winery known for this style, and this was crafted especially for us by Andrea Lonardi, who is widely seen as one of Italy’s most gifted and thoughtful young winemakers. A wine of great poise and presence, its peachy and almondy nose followed through to the palate with intense apricots, culminating in a complex finish with lemongrass, chamomile and chalk. 

Bin #002: Zweigelt 2017

Bin #002: Zweigelt 2017

Release date: July 2019

Grower: Familie Mantler

Region: Weinviertel, Austria

Grape: Zweigelt

Austrian reds are among the wine world’s best-kept secrets and since the Bin Series was created, buyer Freddy Bulmer wanted to include one. It took a blind tasting to find the right wine for the job. 

A series of samples was lined up and tasted by the buyers. Familie Mantler’s zweigelt, which was new to us, emerged as one of the undisputed stars of the show. 

Zweigelt is an underappreciated grape, capable in the right hands of producing delicious medium-bodied wines with freshness and just the right amount of quirkiness. Matured the traditional way in large wooden vats, this one showed all the grape’s typical soft texture and fresh acidity, but in such a juicy and delicious way, it charmed all who tried it. Freddy knew that The Society had to do something with this delicious wine, and after getting to know the small family firm behind it, realised the second instalment of our Bin Series had been found. 

Bin #001: Bobal 2017

Bin #001: Bobal 2017

Release date: May 2019

Grower: Bodegas Altolandon

Region: Manchuela, Spain

Grape: Bobal

Like so many love affairs with Spanish wine, our story for the first Bin Series wine began in Rioja…even though the wine was sourced from Manchuela in Valencia! It was at a tasting in Spain’s famed fine-wine capital that our Head of Buying Pierre Mansour discovered this intensely rich, blueberry-laden, spicy red from the bobal grape. 

Pierre was bowled over, and after meeting the growers and being impressed by both them and their philosophy, he decided this was the perfect candidate for our first Bin Series wine. 

Bobal has an image problem: although widely planted, it has struggled to shed its reputation as a workhorse variety responsible for mostly bland and uninteresting wines. This one, however, was anything but, showing what the variety can do when grown at high altitude (ensuring freshness) and made well. 

Organic methods were used to manage the vines, using only natural fertilisers and some green pruning to further guarantee the quality of fruit prior to hand-harvesting. The grapes were vinified as naturally as possible with native yeasts and little other intervention. A short four-month stint in 225-litre French oak barrels built up the complexity while retaining the grapes’ natural purity. 

We’re delighted to have had this wine bottled under the debut ‘Bin’ label for members to enjoy.

Back to top