Jane Lopes’ Bundle

Jane says: 2013 marked my first real wine trip anywhere, and amongst my first visits was to that of Dönnhoff. It was through tasting here that my love for Riesling was truly cemented. I was awestruck by the incredible balance – flavour, sugar, acidity. From then onwards, Dönnhoff has constantly delivered with quality.

The Dönnhoff family has a rich 250-year history in the wine region of Nahe, Germany. The estate is blessed with a suite of incredible vineyards, with one of their key vineyards, Oberhäuser Leistenberg being the main source of grapes for their Tonschiefer cuvée. Tonschiefer is a translation of “clay slate”, which refers to the rich slate that dominates the vineyard. Dönnhoff produce a variety of sweetness levels with their Rieslings with this one being in a dry style. Driven by a crystalline acidity and supported by generous fruit characters, this vintage of Tonschiefer is a wine with a long future ahead of it.

Jane says: On that same 2013 trip, I visited Weinbach. It’s a visit I still clearly remember, especially the very mum & pop feeling of tasting in their living room. They produce some of the most incredible wines in all of Alsace. Pinot Blanc is one of the most overlooked varieties. It’s capable of fresh and easy drinking styles while also having the ability for wonderful complexity. Weinbach has always had a consistency to their style and have not chased fads over the years. I love the “flesh” to their wines that always add interest & intrigue.

The famed Weinbach estate dates back to 1612 when it was founded by the Capuchin friars, with the Faller family as its custodians for the last 122 years. Under unique Alsation labelling laws, the Pinot Blanc of Weinbach is actually a blend of Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc (with the term “Pinot Blanc” being permitted for wines made with Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir) with part of the fruit coming from their famed monopole Clos des Capucins. The wine is aged only in stainless steel to retain freshness, while displaying a greater textural component than most examples from the region, having been whole-bunch pressed. Dry with a long lasting finish layered with spice.

Jane says: To me, this was one of those wines that put a different style of Californian Chardonnay on the global radar. For a long time, most people would hear American Chardonnay and just think “big, oaky butter bombs”. This wine however, is so fresh & precise. It doesn’t skimp out on the fruit but also shows that you don’t have to rely on serious oak and over-ripeness to give interest to a wine.

As Wine Director for the Michael Mina restaurants, Raj Parr was responsible for some of the top wine lists across the US for a long time. In 2010, partnering with Sashi Moorman, he created Sandhi. Their aim was to create wines that truly speak of the places from which they come, with organic practices in the vineyards and as little intervention through the winemaking process as possible. This cuvée is a blend of vineyards within Santa Barbara with an average vine age of 25 years. The wine is aged in older barrels, helping to retain a purity of fruit, as opposed to an oaky impact.

Jane says: Along with Raj, Michael Cruse is a highly important figure in the American wine world pushing forward fresh and balanced styles of wine. Michael’s passion is for working with ‘alternative’ or lesser known grapes, and showing what’s possible, while avoiding big, alcoholic monsters. Across the range, he does very well to retain true varietal expression with a beautiful freshness to the wines.

Michael Cruse first came to winemaking prominence with his traditional method sparkling wine project Ultramarine. Since 2013, Cruse Wine Co. has presented “unabashedly Californian” wines that are delicious and fresh in style, with a focus on less common grape varieties. The Alder Springs Vineyard Tannat is from a high altitude vineyard providing a cool climate influence which allows the grapes to ripen completely without losing their finesse. A freshness of fruit, as opposed to a rustic quality often seen with Tannat comes forth, balanced by dark cherry and a leathery overtone.

Jane says: I’ve always loved Italian wine. When you drink a lot of something, it becomes rare to have one of those true new discoveries, and that’s what Burlotto did for me. They produce such lifted and perfumed examples of Nebbiolo; an incredible combination of power and delicacy.

In the late 20th century, G.B. Burlotto was one of the driving forces not just within Italy but around the world. While his passing marked a more troubled time for the estate, his great-grandson Fabio Alessandria is set on returning the estate to its former great self. The domaine is founded on traditional principles of Barolo using extended skin contact and ageing in large barrels, however they still find themselves expressing a sense of youthful approachability as exemplified through their Langhe Nebbiolo.

Jane says: Moving to Australia certainly brought about with it some revelations, both in general and definitely in the world of wine. Most examples you see in the US are the high alcohol monsters with lots of new oak being thrown at them – essentially people trying to make Grenache as though it’s Shiraz. Fugazi was one of those wines that redefined what Australian Grenache can be. I love the way it holds a ripeness of fruit while still having a freshness and overall balance to it; not the monolithic beasts that you’d usually see.

Taras Ochota truly personifies the term “rockstar winemaker” with his past of playing in punk rock bands before turning to winemaking. With a vinous career that has taken him from Italy to the US, Taras and his wife Amber now find themselves back home in South Australia. Their approach is geared for unadulterated examples of wines, with a less is more philosophy to their winemaking. The Fugazi Grenache is from an unirrigated site within the sandy soils of Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale. Incredible density of fruit that remains light on its feet and unencumbered by oak.