This direct import was "discovered" for us by the same broker who sells us Pasquiers. A small family-run operation
With 40 ha in DOC Friuli, they care about the bees (SNQP = sustainable certification for the wines / close to organic certification/ and also for workers ).
They are located in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
From our friends at the winery:
"The lower Friuli area is a landscape particularly favourable to the cultivation of vine. This is possible due to the proximity to the Adriatic Sea that mitigates the temperatures, but also due to the presence of the mountain range of the Julian Prealps that divert the cold northern currents away"
Phil "discovered" this wine in a chance meeting at the Air France lounge in Bordeaux! This blend of 70% Sauvignon blanc, 20% Sémillon, 10% Muscadelle is a textbook white Bordeaux that is wonderfully crisp and jut plain fun to drink. Fun fact: Hubert De Boüard (owner of Chateau Angelus in St. Emilion) consults on this wine!
In an increasingly complex and ever-changing wine world, I have a soft spot for those who just keep things steady and simple. The Bottex family is literally the only vigneron family I know who make one single wine, have always made only one single wine, have no plans to expand, and make their one single wine ridiculously, deliciously well. No changes to the label nor to what’s inside the bottle, in at least the few decades I’ve been drinking it. No need to chase any fads when you’ve got something impeccable you can be proud of. This is a universally loved pink bubbly delight of candied strawberries and roses, always true and always exquisite. Icing on the cake is that it’s affordable, too.
—Chris Santini (Kermit Lynch)
The 2020 Rosso di Montalcino is dark and youthfully inward, as nuances of black currant and licorice are offset by crushed ashen stone. It’s silky and enveloping, yet with a saline-core of minerality and bright acids that create a more tactile feel, as...