Hi i’m konstantin baum master of wine And today i’m going to focus on one of The most controversial wine categories In the world some call them the only Real wines while others argue that they Are flawed i will give you my thoughts On natural wines and we’re going to Taste some well-known examples from that Category so let’s do this [Music] Everything that was required to make Fermented grape juice was present in Nature before humans walked the earth But if it was up to nature alone wine Would not exist before us there were Only rotten grapes therefore wine is not A natural product it’s a cultural Product as it requires human Intervention to make wine so right from The start the term natural wine is a bit Misleading i think the more appropriate Term would be low intervention wine While i like the idea behind natural Wines enjoy many of these wines do think That natural wines make the wine world a More exciting place i also think that The natural wine movement is often Plagued by dogma and that they don’t Always live up to their own standards But let’s talk about the definition First what is natural wine raw ones the Self-described world’s largest community Of natural organic and biodynamic wine Makers defines it as follows
Wine that is farmed organically and made Without adding or removing anything in The cellar this is a pretty clear-cut Definition and i think this clear Message has contributed significantly to The success of the natural wine movement But as ever so often it gets more Complicated if you read the fine print Raw wines requires their producers to Farm their vineyards organically but Many natural wine producers are not Certified organic which makes it Difficult to tell who is actually Walking the walk raw wine also allows Producers to use finding and filtration And you can even chapterlize or acidify In an exceptional year i always thought That it was not possible to add cultured Yeast to natural wine but you can Actually use cultured yeast if you are Making a sparkling wine while some Natural wine producers do not add any Sulphites to their wine most of them Actually do and the maximum level of so2 In a wine for raw wines is 70 milligrams Per liter which is only roughly half or A third of what you’re allowed to add in A conventional white or red wine it is Therefore not as clear-cut as the Natural wine movement sometimes would Suggest they are allowed to add or Remove things to or from their wine Overall i do not really care how natural Wine is i do care though whether wine is
Organically made from a small producer And made in a low intervention way i do Also care about the fact whether a wine Is flawed and for a long period natural Wines often contained flaws the main Reason for that was the absence of Sulfites sulfites are an important tool In wine making as they protect the wine From oxidation and microbial spoilage They’ve been used in wine making for Thousands of years and they are also Used to conserve dried fruit vegetables Fish and meat for example while only a Tiny percentage of the population is Allergic to sulfites they got a bad Reputation because people were blaming Their hangovers on them but has anybody Ever had a hangover after eating a whole Can of dried plums let’s see whether i Get a hangover after drinking vast Amount of natural wine Let’s taste the first one i’m going to Taste is the 2019 envynante tagannan From tenerife that retails for 20 us Dollars all of the ones that i’m going To taste today was selected by leon the Intern and he’s quite a natural wine Buff so i’m looking forward to tasting Through his selection the first thing i Gotta mention is the wax capsule on this Wine i do like wax capsules and they Seem to be used quite frequently in Natural wine production there can be a Bit of a pain to open so i usually just
Puncture the cork through the capsule Through the wax and then just pull the Cork out like this the only thing that Happens then is that you have some wax Up here and some of it might get into The wine so you can scrape that off a Little bit with the little knife on your Corkscrew or you just Leave it tenerife is the largest of the Canary islands and this wine was called Taganan after a local name for those Rugged vineyards on volcanic soil where Those grapes were sourced from this wine Spent eight months in stainless steel And neutral oak vessels so it shouldn’t Be Like oaky it should be more fine and Elegant okay if you look at the color Straight away you can see that there’s Something different going on there this Is not light yellow and this is a dark Golden color and this suggests that they Used little sulfur and indeed they did Use very low levels of sulfur the grape Varieties here are lister and blanco my Vasia mammogelo ibio and goal but i Don’t think that this is necessarily Super important in this case this is More a total stylistic expression rather Than a specific expression of different Grape varieties i think the wine smells Super interesting this is not what you Would expect if you’re used to drinking Fruity white wines it smells of bruised
Apple raisins coffee toffee Some really wild flavors coming together Here on the palate it’s very fresh and Vibrant the acidity is sharp There’s good length quite a bit of body As well so this is complete but Definitely not your usual white wine but I don’t think that there’s anything Wrong with it it’s just made in a Different way and expresses the idea of The wine maker in a very good way i Would actually rate this wine quite high I think this is a 92 point wine on my Scale the next one is the 2020 matasa Quivi alexandria that retails for 30 us Dollars this one was made by a Biodynamic producer that didn’t add any Sulfites to the wine they are still not Allowed to write no sulfites on the Label because sulfites are always part Of the wine making process as they Develop naturally Instead they write no added sulfites or Sauce to feed argentine this is quite an Interesting project by a master of wine And somebody else they purchased a Vineyard in russia at a fairly high Altitude and they’re making some Interesting wines from there this is Their muscat the alexandria a grape Variety that is quite aromatic and quite Interesting especially when it comes From higher altitudes this is actually An orange wine so they just crush the
Bunches and then left the grape skins in Contact with the juice for one to two Weeks this changes the flavor profile of The wine completely it also changes the Color and the taste of the wine so this Should be exciting let’s pour it just Looking at it you can see that this is a Very different wine it’s quite golden in Color but it’s also pretty cloudy it Didn’t find or filter it so you can see Little bits and pieces flying around in The glass oh this is good it smells very Intense but it’s not overly flowery It has some exotic flavors there there’s A little bit of pineapple a little bit Of peach but there are also some yeasty Notes coming through A little bit of smoke even on the Palette it’s quite linear quite fresh Quite vibrant it only has 11 percent of Alcohol so it doesn’t burn at all it’s Quite fresh and long in the finish i’m Often not a big fan of those very Aromatic wines but this has exactly the Right balance it doesn’t feel artificial It’s super aromatic but there’s also Something else there it’s not just fruit Flavors there’s also something else Going on in the glass and it’s fresh and Vibrant on the palette so i do like this This again is an excellent wine I rate this 93 points it’s really really good Delicious the next one is the 2019
Heinrich crawfired that retails for 35 Us dollars and you can’t really say that Natural wine producers are not creative With their packaging this is like a clay Bottle and it almost looks like the wine Is sealed completely in clay but on top There’s a little wax layer and Underneath i guess there’s a cork they Actually ask you to shake the wine Before opening it i guess it’s also a Little bit cloudy and they want All of those bits and pieces to get into The glass together with the wine Oh wow Look at that color that’s kind of Special this is another orange one and This one really looks orange it’s a Curvy of pinot blanc chardonnay pinot Gris and noel burger and it was aged in Barrels and amphora for 19 months Stylistically this is very different to The previous orange wine it’s much more Opulent it smells like oranges and Grapefruit and on the palate it’s quite Rich and concentrated with quite a lot Of body this is a very interesting wine Especially the color just jumps into Your face i’m not a big Color person i don’t really care about Color in wine in this case this really Makes the wine stand out flavor and Texture wise it’s also really well made I think this is high-end very good I would rate this
91 points the next one is the 2020 Cheetah himmler of jose that retails for 30 us dollars the wine is a curvy of Cabernet franc and blaufrankisch and the Label is admash to a sculpture whose Name i’m not even going to try to Pronounce here again the one is an Interesting color it’s not your regular Cote de provence jose color it’s more of A dark onion skin color but it looks Good on the nose the wine is quite neat And tidy it smells of sour cherries on The palate it’s fresh and vibrant it’s Not 100 clean in my opinion the finish Is slightly weird i would rate this 84 Points this is good this is fun it’s Interesting it’s different but it’s not That complex next up we have the 2020 Pusta libre by klaus preisinger which is Again a really funky looking bottle i Don’t know why are natural wine Producers so much focused on the shape And design of their bottles If it’s really all about The wine inside the bottle but anyways I’m getting distracted here this looks Pretty cool it’s kind of modeled like a Coca-cola bottle from the 1950s this is A curvy of zweiget saint laurent and Pinot noir three red grape varieties That are planted fairly widely in Austria Plus pricing works biodynamically uses Minimal amounts of sulfites and he’s
Done a really good job here this is a Very fresh and vibrant fruit forward Wine and i think at 13 us dollars this Is a really good deal i would rate this 89 points i would definitely prefer this To any coca-cola and This is fun it’s good it looks like leon Really likes austria because this is the Third austrian natural wine it’s the 2020 good orgao anastasios Which retails for 30 us dollars and it’s A cuvee of blaufrankisch and spygate Good orga also got really creative with Their labels all of the wines have Fictional characters associated to them This is anastasios but the older Characters are associated with the more Expensive ones while the younger Characters are more well associated with The cheaper ones i guess anastasia is The son of virtude and joshuari and the Brother of theodora whatever that means The wine smells of blackberries and Cherries there’s a little bit of a spicy Peppery note coming through as well it’s Very fruit driven very fresh and vibrant On the palate it’s juicy and fresh and Lively it’s a really enjoyable fresh and Vibrant wine definitely pretty good they Are saying anastasius can always be Counted on lusty and direct he never Hides his past rooted in the gravel and The limestone of his homeland nor does He ever excuse his manner
Yeah i think this is actually pretty Good i don’t think that it is super Profound but i think it’s it’s really Good it’s a really good wine i i would Rate this 89 points as well Juicy fresh and vibrant Really good wine next up is the 2016 Savo ma surosh from the domain chassoni That retails for 60 us dollars and we’re In burgundy and i just realized that we Didn’t have three but four austrian ones So now we are back in france the founder Of this domain frede kosa got into the Wine business by accident he did Different jobs and then got really Interested in wine and founded his Winery in 1996 and now he’s making wine From some really great vineyards in Burgundy this is very profound and Complex and very interesting because one Is dancing on knives edge between Flawed and amazing it smells of cherries Blackberries but there’s also this Delicate vinegar note in the background That comes through a little bit but Lifts up all of the flavor all of the Aroma on the palate it’s Juicy the tannins are grippy so there’s Quite a lot of structure there It doesn’t have the longest length But it’s an interesting wine i mean At 60 us dollars it better should be an Interesting one but this is really good I mean it’s complex
And i think this is a divisive wine in a Way i think people will have different Opinions on this style of wine i happen To like it I’m not super convinced that it’s the Best wine in the lineup so far but it’s Certainly one of the most interesting Ones and i would rate this 92 points the Last one of the tasting comes from one Of the more famous producers from the Natural wine movement franco nellison And his 2019 suzukaru that retails for 25 us dollars and is from sicily he is Certified organic and uses very small Amounts of sulfites he Is an interesting character i actually Visited his winery a few years ago and I really liked him and i really liked The style and there’s actually no Capsule there so no point in me cutting It the wine is eighty-five percent Nerello muscalis which is a Yeah pretty widely grown grape variety In sicily and the rest is just a mix of Different grape varieties what i found Quite interesting when i visited him is That they are now using this cork so a Natural wine producer that actually uses A synthetic cork Um Yeah i don’t know what are your thoughts On that i found that a bit weird this is More of an entry level wine the vines For this wine are 50 years old on
Average he distemps the berries and then Leaves the grape skins to macerate on The juice for roughly 30 days the wine Smells of plums cherries a little bit of Black currant coming through as well and You also have some black tea notes a Little bit of green pepper on the Palette it’s quite juicy and fresh and Vibrant there’s not a lot of tenants There it’s more yeah on the freshness on The vibrancy i would rate this 90 points This is a really good wine really Enjoyable but not the most profound wine That we’ve tasted today this was a Really interesting tasting i haven’t Tasted this many great natural wines in A row so that was a very good selection By leon i don’t think that this is Necessarily representative of all of the Natural wines this represents more of The best natural wines but i was Pleasantly surprised that there were Very little flaws in those wines they Were really balanced i mean they were Different edgy but not in a disgusting Way so i really enjoyed them all of them Were really good the best ones for me Was the first the taganan and Um i also really like the matassa Definitely a great wine But when it comes to the reds i think it Has to be the source That was really really beautiful Great wine but i can honestly recommend
All of them if you want to try something A bit different a bit weird but Beautiful so i hope you enjoyed this Video if you liked it then please like It down here subscribe to my channel if You haven’t done so already my question Of the day is obviously what do you Think about natural wines do you drink Natural wines or not do you hate them do You love them please comment down below I hope i see you guys again soon until Then stay Thirsty [Music] You