The founding ‘Objects’ of The Wine Society, drawn up at our 1875 AGM, make for interesting reading; not necessarily because of any rhetorical flourishes, but more because of how true they remain more than 150 years later. As well as ‘obtain(ing) Wines and Spirits... in a pure, unadulterated condition’ and ‘sell(ing) them at cheap rates to Members of the Society’, they enshrine the principle that The Society should ‘introduce, in addition to the Wines in General Domestic use, other Foreign Wines hitherto unknown or but little known in this country.’
Leading the current charge to continue this noble directive is buyer Fiona Hayes, who in addition to her duties covering the Rhône, Germany, Alsace, Jura, Savoie and Switzerland, has been given an open brief to seek out some of the best ‘hitherto unknown or but little known’ treasures from areas not currently covered by her colleagues. It’s thanks to her efforts that members have been enjoying Ukrainian chardonnay, Syrian wines, rare Cypriot grapes and an exciting project revitalising the ancient heritage of Turkish wine, to name but a few, in the past year or two. The newest additions in our latest List show she’s only just getting started!
'I am all about China at the moment’
China is a country we have had our eye on for many years, as the potential has always been massively exciting. After tasting extensively, Fiona has made it a real area of focus (in her own words, ‘I am all about China at the moment’!). Quality is no longer an issue, but with domestic pricing high, finding wines that can be sold for the right price on these shores requires some care and cherry picking. The latest arrivals hit a sweet spot of outstanding quality and genuine value for money in the UK.
Emma Gao’s Silver Heights has been turning heads over the last few years. A highly talented winemaker with experience at Bordeaux grandee Calon-Ségur, Emma has been among those building the reputation of Ningxia’s East Helan Mountain region in the centre-north of the country. Its combination of high altitude, sunshine and diurnal temperature variation mean that grapes can ripen well, shielded from cold winds by the Helan mountains. Silver Heights was founded back in 2007 by Emma and her father, Gao Lin, also a winemaker. Emma’s passion for adopting organic and biodynamic practices is matched by a desire to push the boundaries, and the results are thrilling. Her ‘Bloom’ Pét-Nat (i.e. a sparkling wine fermented in the bottle and not disgorged) really is a breath of fresh air. Predominantly chardonnay, which is given a long maturation for floral aromas and clementine and peach fruit, supported by pinot noir and – wait for it – the addition of some rice wine! Far from being a novelty interloper, this brings a gorgeous umami tang to the palate.
For a cracking-value red expression of Ningxia, Fei Tswei’s Magma blend is quickly gaining a following among members. This stood out smartly in a recent blind tasting I attended, and at £16 a bottle really overdelivers. It’s remarkable to think this project, founded by Lily Zhang and her husband Jiao, only began less than 15 years ago using vines planted on the eastern foothills of the Helan mountains. An otherwise true-blue Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec, with the curious addition of a splash of dunkelfelder, it’s a spot-hitting, cassis-imbued, bramble-fruited gem with gorgeous cedar and spice, and plenty of structure. If it’s a white wine you’re after, Xiban, also in Ningxia, has made a chardonnay that really impressed us for its luminously expressive tropical fruit and layers of biscuity, creamy generosity and complexity.
Armenia: ancient vines and new faces
Aimée Keushguerian and her father Fahe’s wines are from some of the world’s oldest and highest vineyards. These compelling bottles offer a glimpse of the past through a modern lens. Despite Armenia’s rich winemaking heritage (the earliest ‘winery’ was discovered at the Areni-1 cave in 2011, dating from 4,000BCE), the wines – once famous in the ancient world – are barely known today. In the Soviet era, state-owned wineries focused on brandy production with high-yielding, neutral grapes grown for distillation. Luckily, the remote mountain vineyards, home to some of the country’s 350 or so indigenous (and often ungrafted) grape varieties, survived. These spectacular sites are at the heart of Armenia’s winemaking revival.
Having grown up in Tuscany, Aimée decided to repatriate and join her father in 2016. Zulal wines (meaning ‘pure’) was established to express the country’s native grapes as precisely as possible. Areni noir, proven to be more than 6,000 years old, is the world’s oldest grape. It is well adapted to the harsh conditions in the Vayots Dzor province. Situated at 1,400m, winters are freezing and summers are scorching, but this hardy grape thrives in its rich limestone and volcanic soils. Zulal Areni Red Classic is fresh with red-berry perfume and black-pepper hints, suggesting qualities akin to both pinot noir and to syrah.
Aimée’s father Vahe returned to Armenia in 2009, founding Keush four years later. He was the first to make traditional sparkling wine from indigenous grapes. Keush Origins Brut NV is a blend of voskehat (60%) – the ‘queen berry’, prized for its structure and acidity – and the rare khatouni (40%), which contributes finesse, floral tones and gentle fruit character. The grapes are from 60-100-year-old vines in the remote village of Khachik in Vayots Dzor. Grown at an impressive 1,550-17,50m, these are the highest-altitude vineyards for sparkling wine in the northern hemisphere, and possibly the world. The result is crisp and dry with citrus and peach notes, and a lovely brioche-like character from 22 months in its yeast lees. The vineyards are stunning, the history is ancient, the approach is modern and the wine is delicious.
Ukraine delivering against the odds
We remain proud to support Ukraine’s wines at what is, of course, a very difficult time, and have been heartened by the fantastic response to Bolgrad’s chardonnay. We’ve now added a ripe and juicy merlot from Eduard Gorodetsky. Eduard is a talented and resourceful winemaker, keen to pursue his projects despite the backdrop of war. As such, there’s no winery yet, as it’s still being built, and getting the wine to the UK has been interesting to say the least. We’re delighted to have received it and take our collective hats off to Eduard’s ingenuity and determination. At a mere £11.50 a bottle, this is a cracking merlot that’s as easy-going as it is versatile, and we heartily encourage members to give it a go.
Poland’s potential
Finally, it would be remiss not to share our excitement about a restock from Kamil Barczentewicz, whose wines were so well received when we began listing them last year. He is a star winemaker with a laser-like focus on quality and an approach that’s firmly rooted in sustainably minded, low-intervention viticulture. His 11 hectares of vines, perched on a limestone ridge near the Vistula River in Poland’s south-east, were only planted between 2017 and 2019, but the wines they are yielding are as fascinating as they are joyful to drink, and a true bellwether of the country’s potential to make distinctive, delicious, minimalist-style wines of poise and restraint. The wine I’d recommend starting with is his Dobre Modre, a beautifully bright blaufränkisch (Kamil’s holdings of this grape are currently the largest in Poland) that will delight lovers of lighter-style reds with its striking wild-flower bouquet, supple, pepper-flecked palate and lively, second-glass-inviting finish. That something this strikingly good can come from such a recently planted project is quite remarkable, and the future is surely an exciting one.
The pace of change in the world of wine is faster than I can ever remember, and Tim Atkin MW’s maxim that ‘fine wine can – and does – come from anywhere’ has never been truer. I hope this whistlestop tour has encouraged you to discover some of the flavours on offer, and we await more treasures from Fiona’s travels and tastings with bated breath and clean glasses!
