The Wines....
This latest release is from our 2021 vintage.
These two wines are exceptional examples of modern cool climate natural craft wines.
Natural Amphora Solaris 2021 and Natural Amphora Rondo 2021, both of which are made solely, as always, from grapes from our Welsh non intervention, regenerative vineyard. One which works in balance with nature, without any outside inputs, emphasising the importance of whole farm system from soil to fruit.
This gives the consumer the opportunity to taste an authentic natural wine of Wales. These are truly unique wines gifting the unadulterated taste of the terroir of our vineyard.
Working on the very cusp of viable viticulture, these wines, which have been fermented on their own yeasts and made in amphora, hold a special place in modern Welsh wine production.
Passionate about sustainability and Welsh provenance we were delighted when David Morris from Mountain People Wine approached us in early 2021 to collaborate on making our wines in Wales. This negated the need to cross the border with our grapes. David is a highly experienced natural wine maker and was up for the challenge of creating wine in our Spanish tinajas (amphora) as ferment vessels. We made our first natural wine in these vessels at our first vineyard and bodega (winery) in Spain over 20 years ago. It is very exciting for us to come full circle and be able to release such unique wines here in West Wales.
Huge thanks to Tim Davey for his time and patience in creating the labels.
More huge thanks to Cathryn Bell Ómós Digest, Sommelier and food pairing Consultant at Wine Rover.ie for the tasting and food pairing notes :
The name Natural amphora Solaris
The vintage 2021
The vineyard Gwinllan Hebron Vineyard
The location West Wales
The viticulture Regenerative / Non-Intervention / Organic
The grape Solaris
Fermentation in Amphorae Malo Lactic fermentation unblocked
Filtration None Clarification Gravity
Time in Amphora 11 months
Solaris Amphora 2021
Vinho Verde meets Carmarthenshire! Bright and fresh with lots of zesty citrus and green apple notes, elderflower cordial and white flowers on the nose. Light bodied, medium plus acidity, medium viscosity, low alcohol, lovely mineral astringency and a palate that hunkers down to a faintly spicy pistachio and maize at the base.
Play to the bright and floral notes with fresh lighter dishes full of citrus zest and fresh herbs – eg smoked salmon, dill and lemon, fish tacos with lime and coriander, fennel, orange and goats cheese salad, scallop ceviche with smoked rapeseed oil and elderflower vinaigrette or explore the richer, more savoury elements of the wine thanks do it’s oxidative winemaking by introducing umami by way of tomatoes, nori seaweed , soy, white miso (sushi anyone!) parmesan and the magic of caramelisation of charring and roasting. Grilled artichoke with Italian herb dressing, lovage and walnut pesto, charred carrots dressed with tahini and furikake seasoning, grilled asparagus with gremolata. Be sure to give it a dose of fat to bind with the minerality by way of olive oil, soft cheese, and egg yolk emulsions for that extra umami hit.
March 2023
Cathryn Bell Ómós Digest, Sommelier and food pairing Consultant at Wine Rover.ie
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The name Natural Amphora Rondo 2021
The vintage 2021
The vineyard Gwinllan Hebron Vineyard
The location West Wales
The viticulture Regenerative / Non-Intervention / Organic
The grape Rondo
Fermentation in Amphorae or American oak barrels Malo Lactic fermentation unblocked.
Filtration None Clarification Gravity
Time in Amphora 11 months
Rondo 2021 – (cool) room temp
Wholesome earthy nose, full of beetroot and crushed bilberries, elderberry, cranberry and rosehip, cured meat. Light bodied, high acidity, low alcohol, fine grained tannins to give the delicious astringency of the flesh around the stone of a yellow flesh plum. Pleasant, appetitive bitterness on the finish.
First of all, the wine needs to be met texturally with high acid. There’s also enough tannic astringency to give it some fat and protein to play with but nothing structurally huge and bull-dozer like. There’s a wonderful affinity for fresh “cold” herbs in the top notes of the wine (chilling it brings out more menthol cassis notes), so things like mint and parsley are huge friends here, along with a bitter streak that would love a piquant partner – fresh salsa verde for the win! Mustard and the likes of horseradish and wasabi, peppery watercress and rocket leaves, would all be big pals here too.
Structurally, the wine would like the melt-in-your-mouth fat consistency of cured meats, thinly sliced carpaccio or tender, slow-cooked lamb – the ripeness of the fruit profile of the wine gives the sweetness of the meat and fruit-led vinaigrettes somewhere soft to land, so think lamb kleftiko and salsa verde, beef carpaccio with elderberry vinaigrettes with a rocket salad for that piquant match.
In the absence of meat, give the tannins richness and succulence to bind with in the form of Greek style baked aubergine, roasted mushrooms with balsamic and soy, mild blue cheeses.
In the earthy base notes of the wine, there’s wonderful potential to use umami as an amplifier for the wine, to plump its flesh and let it expand and resonate (but be sure to chaperone the umami with a bit of salt, sweet and fat). Again, we can bring in miso and soy here, along with dashi and roasted yeast extract. The low alcohol also makes this a wonderful foil for chili heat, so I think this wine could really hit its stride in the context of Japanese and other Asian style cooking.
The magic combination of low alcohol, low tannin, high acid and ripe fruit makes for a wonderfully versatile and food friendly wine – the perfect guest at any dinner party!
March 2023
Cathryn Bell Ómós Digest, Sommelier and food pairing Consultant at Wine Rover.ie
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Hebron Vineyard's 2018 vintage resulted in our first release in 2019, a rare Welsh red wine "1" made from our Rondo grapes.
This has proven to be a very popular wine and has now sold out, although with a little arm twisting we may release a bottle from our private cellar.
Also from the 2018 vintage comes a superlative sparkling white wine 'Silver Lining' made from our Solaris grapes. This wine has spent an extra year in the bottle, using the 'méthode traditionnelle' and the base wine was of such excellent quality that we were able to produce a very rare UK non-dosé or brut zéro sparkling wine. This means no sugar was necessary to balance the wine.
"It forces the winemaker to have a flawless base wine with good balance" (Forbes).
Released in November 2020. We are very pleased that 'Silver Lining' has been given PGI status.
Davy Zyw
Wine Buyer for Berry Bros. and Rudd, author of I Love Champagne and 101 Champagnes & Sparkling Wines to Drink before you Die. Ex-sommelier at La Gavroche, Mayfair.
Tasted 'Silver Lining'.
Davy Zyw tasting notes:
The name Silver Lining
The vintage 2018
The vineyard Gwinllan Hebron Vineyard
The location West Wales
The viticulture Non-Intervention / Organic
The grape Solaris
Fermentation in steel The method Traditional Method
The dosage 0 g/l sugar Time on elevage 9 months Time on lees 11 months
Bottling date 23/07/2019 Disgorgement date 24/06/2020
The appearance is pale gold, attractive green flashes.
The nose entices; remarkably tropical, green mango, pithy lemons, green wine gums and limey top notes, Sauvignon Blanc-esk. There is touch of hedgerow, nettle even.
The palate is immediately fruity, the mousse gentle with a very pleasing texture. Not overly complex, but the Silver Lining has something which so few UK Sparkling wines deliver, real drinkability.
The foaming palate is full of vibrant granny smith, lime cordial fruits and gooseberry crumble notes, although traditional method there is little mature autolytic character; the fruit is the main event which is spot on. Acid backbone is on greenside, we are in Wales after all but this keeps the palate taught and whets the whistle for your next glass.
This is my first taste of Welsh Sparkling and Hebron Vineyards, it will not be my last.
A very exciting vineyard with real promise.
I was really impressed with the Silver Lining and look forward to tasting more of your wines in the future.
I wish you the best of luck with your heroic project, I think it's awesome!
Iechyd da!
Davy Żyw
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David Darlow Wine Master, Winemaker, Organic Vineyard owner, and ex winemaker for Chandon.
Tasted 'Silver Lining'.
David Darlow MW tasting notes:
The name Silver Lining
The vintage 2018
The vineyard Gwinllan Hebron Vineyard
The location West Wales, cool maritime. The elevation 155m Facing South, South-West
The viticulture Non-Intervention / Organic
The grape Solaris
Fermentation in steel The method Traditional Method
Time on elevage 9 months Time on lees 11 months Recommended dosage 0 g/l sugar.
Bottling date 23/07/2019
Appearance:
Clean bright pastel lemon shimmer of moderate intensity.
Fine bead, vibrant and balanced.
Aroma:
Clean emerging youthful intertwined aromas of cut hay, pear with a subtle mango and passion fruit background.
Taste:
Clean bright flavours of flinty lemon, star fruit and pear, integrated across a softly dancing mousse.
Finishing with a moderate length of key lime and biscuit.
Conclusion / Discussion:
Exceptional quality from hybrid variety. High quality tirage and outcome.
Recommend: NIL 0 g/l sugar at disgorgement = Non-Dosé, Brut Zéro, Brut Nature or Brut Savage.
On reflection the hybrid character is well balanced and in context of the wine overall without any unnecessary amplification (acidity/sugar).
Time on lees perfect.
Would not recommend introduction any further autolytic aged characters to the wine as its delicacy would be compromised.
Drink: now
Cellaring potential: 5-7 years.
David Darlow MW – 21st March 2020
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Neither of our 2018 'Premier Cru' vintage wines have required any interventions after the first ferment stage, a testament to the quality of these Welsh grown grapes.
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Our 2019 vintage led to the simultaneous release of both a still medium/light red and a still bright flavoured white wine.
"Triskele" White and Red (Solaris and Rondo)
Once again the quality of the grapes has created two wines without the need for interventions after the first ferment stage. Both wines are excellent.
We feel that the superb unadulterated taste reflects the love and passion that goes into our work, the regenerative organic principals we follow, the mineral rich terroir of the Preseli foothills and the west coast cool climate.
Released in November 2020.
