The Sauce Subscription - October '24

Some grape varieties are synonymous with a particular region. Chardonnay is at home in Burgundy and Riesling will forever be associated with Germany. While Italy prides itself on an abundance of native grape varieties that span the length and breadth of the country.

However, this month we are looking at the ‘Fish Out of Water’ wines. These are made from grapes which have been on a journey to make their way into the wines which you will receive. Let’s look at some new and exciting expressions of familiar favourites.

If you want to restock on something you loved, or try something you missed, be sure to take a look below. We'll run through all twelve wines which featured in the October subscription.

Don't forget, all active sauce sub members get 10% off all wines online and for takeout in store! Simply use code saucesub10 at checkout.

Red Wine

Mitolo Jester Cabernet Sauvignon [£27]

• The wine has spent 12 months in a mix of both French and American oak and this influence is clear. However, it does not overwhelm the fresh fruit flavours which stem from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety. It is big, balanced and complex. Read More.

Thorne & Daughters Copper Pot Pinot Noir [£31]

• Once harvested, the grapes were wild fermented with native yeasts and 60% were kept as whole bunches to bring both sweet fruit and savoury flavours. The wine then spent 9 months in older French barrels. This helped to layer in some woody, spiced notes. A truly Burgundian expression of Pinot Noir from the Western Cape of South Africa. Read More.

Montes Alpha Colchagua Carmenère [£24]

• The man behind the Montes Winery, Aurelio Montes, simply stated: "Our philosophy was simple - to produce excellent quality wines at a level which didn’t exist in Chile at the time.” Aurelio was a key figure in pioneering fine Chilean wine, such as this Carmenère. Read More.

Trinity Hill Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir [£29]

• Trinity Hills Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir is bursting with red fruit flavours of cherry, raspberry and strawberry, as you'd expect from a New Zealand Pinot Noir. However, gravel soil has really aided ripening which provides the wine with strong flavours of blueberry, plum and a brambly spice. Read More.
  

Alpha Box & Dice Dead Winemakers Society Dolcetto [£30]

• Alpha Box & Dice have gone through great care to preserve the delicate varietal notes of this wine. They’ve avoided any oak ageing and made sure that the grapes were picked early in the morning to preserve the valuable acidity. Smooth, supple and bursting with fresh fruit flavours. Read More.

Cramele Recas Solevari Reserve [£14]

• This reserve Syrah has not see large quantities of oak. Instead, simple stainless steel fermentation has been employed to preserve the natural flavours of these high-quality grapes and keep the wine feeling fresh. Unbelievable value for money. Read More.

White Wine

Framingham Classic Riesling [£27.50]

• Small parcels are blended together to provide a wealth of different fruit characteristics. It retains a great deal of acidity, but displays much riper fruit flavours than many other Riesling wines. The most defined notes in this wine include meyer lemon, mandarin, nectarine and cantaloupe melon. Read More.

Mandrarossa Urra di Mare Sauvignon Blanc [£24]

• The wine was processed with care, in order to retain both the citrus, stone fruit and herbal tasting notes, as well as that biting acidity that keeps this wine feeling so refreshing. Fresh and structured, with a powerful finish. Read More.

Blank Canvas McKee Vineyard Grüner Veltliner [£31]

• Blank Canvas is a collaboration between Master of Wine Sophie Parker and her award-winning winemaking consultant husband Matt Thomson. A complex, oak and lees aged Grüner Veltliner from Marlborough in New Zealand. A truly special wine. Read More.

Jericho Wines Fiano [£27]

• The Jericho Wines Fiano has been aged on fine lees for 5 months. Here, the dead yeast cells are ‘stirred through’ the wine at regular intervals to provide the wine with a creamy texture as well as a nutty, brioche quality alongside the fresh fruit and floral notes from the Fiano grape variety. Read More.

El Coto 875M Finca Carbonera Chardonnay [£24]

• The El Coto 875M comes from the highest vineyard site in the whole of Rioja. It is fermented un-toasted French oak barrels. This adds subtle oaked flavours, as well as adding body. It is then aged on lees, before spending 10 weeks in oak prior to bottling. Not only does this build further complexity, but it also creates a luscious and creamy texture on the palate. White Burgundy better watch out! Read More.

Thistledown Gorgeous White Grenache [£18]

• Thistledown Wines is the brainchild of Masters of Wine, Giles Cooke & Fergal Tynan. The small-batch, hand-made wines they have created found instant acclaim and this particular wine earned 91 points from esteemed critic James Suckling. Rich and thoroughly delicious.