Two sisters, one vision, no limits

"Our wines are for those who want to rediscover wine from a new perspective" say Anthony Aubert and Jean-Charles Mathieu. The two young winemakers see their wines as personalities, and they name them accordingly. Their super-fruity, lively Sauvignon Blanc is called Kate. She has the character of a young, self-confident globetrotter. The traditional Corbières, they have named Marie-Antoinette. Doesn't that immediately conjure up thoughts of extravagance, corsets and perfume? Translated into wine: that means exciting, intense flavours with berries and a subtle minerality with a well-structured body. Et voilà, it could be so easy!

Innovation is the driving force at Aubert & Mathieu. This young southern French company is bursting with ideas. A year ago, they caused a stir in the media when they presented the world's first wine created by ChatGPT. That was a joke, of course, but it shows how this pair approach new possibilities with a playful attitude. So it's no wonder that one of the very best non-alcoholic wines we've tasted so far comes from this visionary winemaking duo. Thanks to Kisumé, this year's celebrations know no limits!

New wine trend!

The Tierra del Vino DO in the far west of Spain is increasingly causing a stir. Although this appellation was only founded in 2007, it can boast a thousand-year history of viticulture. Bodegas Viñas del Cénit tells us just how deeply rooted the winegrowing culture is in this special corner of the world. The winery has ancient vineyards — including some vines that are almost 200 years old — a real rarity! Winemaker José Manuel Benéitez López wrests very small quantities from the gnarled bush vines, in some cases even just picking individual berries. A special feature of these old vineyards is that they grow very different grape varieties. This used to be standard practice until new winegrowing techniques became established with a focus on the concept of efficiency. This change was accelerated by phylloxera, which destroyed almost all vineyards in Europe between 1870 and 1880. Since then, our vineyards have exclusively grown grafted vines: these involve rootstock from a resistant variety from America, which is then combined with the scion from one of the noble European varieties. But a few vineyards have been spared. Viñas del Cénit is one that has rare, ungrafted vines of this kind. Just as in times gone by, José Manuel takes the grapes from these special vineyards and creates wine using the field blending technique. This is a different approach to a cuvée, where different grape varieties are grown separately and fermented individually to be blended later. Here, the different varieties are processed together — and thus have to be harvested at the same time. As each grape variety has slightly different ripening times, there is a natural balance between acidity, fruit and body. These wines also have a broad spectrum of flavours, which is a delight for anyone who likes to embark on a sensory journey of discovery! No wonder then that field blending has become the latest trend on the wine scene. Having nearly disappeared, this technique is making a comeback and is stronger than ever, not surprisingly when the results are as modern and high in quality as the field blends from Viñas del Cénit!