2022 Aristargos

The 2022 Aristargos is immensely complex, fresh and exciting. It comes from different soil types that express a refined mineral essence with pomaceous and yellow citrus notes in this wine. Medium-bodied, the palate displays surprising weight and a kiss of phenolic bitterness, delivering a balanced structure before ending with a food-friendly finish that has me coming back for more. An incredibly cerebral wine, the Aristargos has me thinking and going back for second and third sips. You'll want to buy as much of this as possible.

Full bottle 1,342 g. 47% Chenin Blanc, 11% Sémillon, 9% Verdelho, 7% Clairette Blanche, 7% Roussanne, 6% Grenache Blanc, 6% Marsanne, 5% Colombard and 2% Viognier. Predominantly driven by old vines (the Chenin Blanc, Sémillon, Clairette Blanche and Colombard), and the focus remains on the granitic soils of the Paardeberg. Chenin Blanc from shallow shale soils in the Paardeberg and iron-rich clay soils to the west of Malmesbury are also added. Dry-farmed bush vines. Planting dates vary from 1960 to 2013. The grapes were whole-bunch pressed and naturally fermented and then matured for 11 months in old neutral French oak barrels. The grapes from the two Sémilllon vineyards were fermented on their skins for a week before being pressed and matured in a very old 2,500-litre foudres for a year. The Colombard was also fermented on the skins (for five days) and matured in old oak barrels. Two Chenin Blanc components were fermented and matured in concrete vessels – one an egg, the other a square tank. In total the grapes came from 21 different vineyards, picked in 28 different lots. Almost 14,000 bottles produced plus magnums. Intense nose with great freshness. Real breadth and interest and strong green-fruit flavours. Really exciting structure and grip to this wine. Long. Very long. SO much more exciting than the regular Chenin Blanc. Already a good drink but it should become even more compelling. Lightly powdery, long finish. (JR)

9 varieties: Chenin Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Sémillon, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Verdelho, Viognier, Marsanne and Colombard. 20% goes into concrete (one egg and one square tank) and the rest goes into old oak. Skin contact on the Sémillon and also with the Colombard to avoid sweetness. Fresh and vivid, each variety bringing something but fitting together to make a perfect mosaic of a wine. Ripe pineapple richness, peppery freshness, sweet angelica. Lively, lots there and great fun. (TC)