T.S. Eliot described April as the cruellest month in his epic poem The Waste Land, a phrase which seems very apt for 2021. The frosts of April 7th have created wastelands throughout French and other European vineyards, winemakers will be reliant upon stocks of wine from previous years, many of which were challenging in themselves. Simon Woolf’s The Morning Claret contains an insightful, moving and challenging article by Hannah Fuellenkemper based in the Ardeche region. I hope you will read it.

On a more personal level the phrase struck me again as I reviewed the bottles opened during this month. A corked bottle, an oxidised one and a lovely wine that turned mousy by midway were three blows. I should add before the natural wine haters start to nod in ‘what do you expect?’ mode that only the latter was a natural wine. I opened six bottles of conventional (though organic) wine and two were faulty. Maybe I should stick to the more reliable natural side.

In truth the month was short on wine excitement. I bought a few different Chablis wines a few months ago and though they have been ok they have left me a little cold, rather like the April weather here in the UK. Similarly an organic Rioja, New Zealand Syrah and a number of Italian wines (another attempt to expand my wine horizon). There was nothing wrong with these wines and it was good to try Teroldego, Tempranillo and Pecorino for example, grapes not usually part of my drinking. Nothing wrong, but nothing exciting.

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Back to Ariana Occhipinti, mentioned in the March review, for better things. The SP68 Bianco 2019 was refreshing, dry, flavourful and another hit from this excellent Sicilian producer, a blend of Muscat and Albanella grapes. Muscat was again the feature of another enjoyable wine, this time an orange wine from Alicante, Bodegas Vinessans Tragolargo 2020. Bright orange in colour, characteristic orange wine light tannins and more typical of Muscat with its floral notes than the SP68. It is an easy drinking, light and enjoyable wine, a good introduction to skin contact wines for anyone unfamiliar with the ever increasing range. Another successful wine was the vinho verde from Folias de Baco Uivo Loureiro 2018. Loureiro is the grape, biodynamically grown with no SO2 added. Sappy, fresh but with a round aftertaste from being aged on its lees this was very enjoyable, one of my favourite Portuguese wines of this year, another project I embarked upon. However, I had a better vinho verde this month, Niepoort’s Nat’Cool Drink Me Branco 2019. More Loureiro, blended this time with Alvarino, Arinto and Trajadura and producing a sappy, aromatic wine which was delicious on its own as well as with food. Slightly cloudy, tasting of citrus and apples and in a one litre bottle!

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To a limited number of reds. Jeff Coutelou’s Couleurs Réunies 2018 has become a firm favourite in his wide range. A blend of over 20 different grape varieties, red and white it produces a vibrant purple wine with full on fruit which calms as the bottle empties to add a depth of plummy complexity, slightly sweet and sour. I love it, but then you knew I would. A real treat now. I have recommended Little Wine on here many times in the last year, a terrific, ground breaking website and bottle shop. After a year on business they gave away a bottle with purchases and I gladly accepted the enticement. The bottle was lovely, Claus Preisinger’s Puszta Libre 2020. Blending Zweigelt, St Laurent and Pinot Noir with 20% undergoing carbonic maceration and the rest destemmed for a short maceration the result is alight red, almost rosé, but packed with fruit and pleasure. The Little Wine website describes it in Claus’ words as a ‘homage to good Beaujolais’ and it is certainly that. And more.

Wine of the month though went to Marcel Deiss’ Rotenberg La Colline Rouge 2013. A blend of Riesling and Pinot Gris grown biodynamically from a beautiful hillside in Wintzenheim, Alsace this was classic Alsace wine. Dry, clean flavours with a slight sweetness on the end, apples and pears, lemon and a little honey. Someone told me this was heavily filtered which surprised (and disappointed) me, but there was no denying how well this tasted. For purity of the natural wine drinker I should have chosen the Preisinger as wine of the month. By Alsace standards Deiss was a biodynamic pioneer and adventurous and this wine was just lovely.