Looking back at our summer sensations, we at UnscrewMe discovered some joyful juices 🥳 that we want everyone to know about.

No matter how warm or cold it is outside, a great glass of wine can always bring out the sunshine ☀️ and brighten up even a rainy autumn day. Today, we want to shine a spotlight 🔦 on an intriguing Italian red wine from Piedmont, a great German Riesling from the Mosel region and a fantastic French sweet “vin doux naturel” from the southern region of Languedoc-Roussillon. 🏅

Intriguing Italian 🇮🇹

• Wine: 2012 Boca DOC
• Producer: Le Piane
• Region: Alto Piedmont, Piedmont, North, Italy 🇮🇹
• Story:
  Since its opening earlier this year, Vagabond in Paddington has become a weekly feature in my schedule 📆, dropping in for one or two tiny tasters on the way home. One of the great wines I sampled there recently was this Boca by Le Piane made from 85% Nebbiolo grapes 🍇.
  This smooth red wine won my palate over instantly thanks to its dark berry and sour cherry notes, enriched by earthy and chocolate flavours, salty liquorice lingering around combined with black pepper and a hint of sweetness, a bit vanilla from oak. Definitely a wine worth noting down and seeking out! 👍
  Being a 2012 vintage, it had almost 7 years to age by now. Not a very long time, but certainly long enough for some development. The grapes were harvested in a good year reaching decent ripeness. The small-batch production was just 9,000 bottles. And after four years in big oak barrels, the wine has come out nicely balanced with impressive structure and moderate alcohol. It’s ripe, clean, accentuated dark fruits in a glass.

Great German 🇩🇪

• Wine: 2017 Riesling Trocken
• Producer: Weingut Markus Molitor
• Region: Haus Klosterberg, Mosel, Germany 🇩🇪
• Story:
  Now, to some venues you go for the vibe, the variety and the view. Without question, SUSHISAMBA on the 38th floor in the centre of the City of London is such a place. 🤩
  Luckily, they don’t just focus on immediately instagrammable views 📸, they also put together a wine list matching the vista 🤓. On a stunning day in August, my choice naturally was a Riesling. Produced by Markus Molitor in Germany, this dry Riesling delivered pretty much everything you could wish for.
  Vibe, check ☑️. Variety, check ☑️. View, check ☑️. 🍾 Wine, check ☑️.

Fantastic French 🇫🇷

• Wine: 1983 Riveyrac, Rivesaltes AOC
• Producer: Domaine Riveyrac
• Region: Rivesaltes, Languedoc, France 🇫🇷
• Story:
  We mentioned the excellent, Michelin-starred Portland Restaurant before. But one wine in particular deserved a special mention. I had never heard of the style “vin doux naturel”, but the Rivesaltes area in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region in the South of France has a long history in making this sweet wine, reaching back as far as the 14th century 📜. The wine is made from a range of Grenache grapes, Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, with the addition of Macabeu.
  Despite its age, this 1983 Riveyrac which had been aged in oak barrels ⏳and bottled only in 2018 still had bags of vibrant acidity to combine with nutty flavours and inspiring fruit notes. Unsurprisingly, it went very well with the strawberry and raspberry dessert I had at the end of my dinner. Another outstanding wine that I won’t forget quickly 🥳.

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We’re always happy to hear about new restaurants with great wine lists, newly opened wine bars in London or just a nice wine you discovered recently.

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After one of our writing spots at UnscrewMe, Curators Coffee, sadly closed down in Fitzrovia recently, we’re happy that with Kiss the Hippo Coffee the replacement is just as good. Fuelled by some decent coffee, we finally wrote up this little list and are working on a range of new articles and features.

First published in October 2019.
Also available at https://medium.com/unscrewme/summer-2019-wine-highlights-86241b4adb3