< Tasting Notes

Wines for Spring Showers
- April 2026

Spring is here. With all its inklings of anticipation against a backdrop of persistent precipitation.
So wines that feel fresh and lively just felt…right. Am I right?
Plus - a wine named after the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival? How on the nose is that. Spring has sprung!
Cheers!

(**NOTE - Links are embedded in each winemaker’s names to direct you to their respective websites. Know thy vintner!**)

UNICO ZELO 'Alluvium' Fiano 2021 *‍ ‍Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Brendan Carter and Laura Blanden founded Unico Zelo in 2012 with a singular mission: to champion Italian grape varieties grown in Australia, spotlighting the remarkable potential these Mediterranean grapes show when planted in their adopted homeland. Brendan arrived in Adelaide in 2010 after working at Veuve Clicquot, bringing a foundation in traditional method sparkling production that would inform his meticulous approach to winemaking. Laura joined shortly after, and together they quickly established themselves as leaders in Australia's natural wine movement. Just two years after founding the winery, they jointly won Australia's coveted Young Gun of Wine Award, with judges praising how they had recalibrated the potential for new varieties and unglamorous sites. Their focus on Fiano in particular has drawn international acclaim, with Decanter awarding their recent vintages scores of 94 and 97 points and naming one of their Fianos among Australia's top wines.

Alluvium comes from Unico Zelo's grafted vineyard in Birdwood in the Northern Adelaide Hills, the highest and coolest of their three Fiano sites at 500 meters above sea level. The vineyard was grafted over from Sauvignon Blanc to Fiano in 2015, planted in alluvial quartz-shot clay soils that give the wine its name and mineral backbone. The Adelaide Hills' cool climate allows for slow, extended ripening that maintains phenolic development while preserving vibrant acidity. After hand harvest, the fruit undergoes 48 hours of skin contact in the crusher before pressing. Wild fermentation happens in stainless steel tanks, and the wine is racked off gross lees post-ferment, bottled at 12.5% alcohol with no filtration. Brendan describes this as their most classic Fiano in style, referencing how Italians sometimes call Fiano the Riesling of the South for its lean mineral profile and electric tension.

NERD ALERT!! - The decision to graft existing Sauvignon Blanc vines over to Fiano rather than replanting demonstrates both pragmatism and vision. Grafting preserves the established root system while changing the variety above ground, allowing the vines to produce quality fruit much sooner than newly planted vines would. The quartz-shot clay soils provide excellent drainage while the clay component retains just enough water to sustain dry-farmed vines through Australia's hot summers. This combination of free-draining minerality and water retention creates the tension that defines Alluvium's character.

Grape(s) - 100% Fiano

Flavors - Grapefruit, lime zest, jasmine tea, guava, and kaffir lime. The palate is all crackling acidity and clean mineral structure with a laser-like precision.

Serving - Serve well-chilled with oysters, ceviche, grilled whole fish, or anything involving citrus and herbs. The wine's mineral intensity and high acidity make it perfect for cutting through rich or fatty preparations while its texture prevents it from feeling austere.

Album Pairing - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - ‘Sound of Silver’ - 2007 * James Murphy's meticulous production on this album mirrors the precision winemaking that defines Alluvium. The propulsive, motorik grooves and crystalline synth work create dance music with the clarity and focus of the wine's mineral backbone, while the emotional warmth prevents either from feeling sterile or academic. Both represent cultural fusions that sound inevitable in retrospect: Brooklyn translating European dance music into something distinctly American, Adelaide revealing Italian grapes as naturals for the high country. The album's tension between restraint and exuberance matches the wine's balance of crackling acidity and textured richness from skin contact. Murphy spent years obsessing over every detail of this record, and that same commitment to getting it exactly right shows in how Brendan and Laura grafted these Fiano vines, waited for them to mature, and bottled the result only when it expressed something true about place.

CALVEZ BOBINET 'Hanami' Cabernet Franc 2023 * Saumur, Loire Valley, France
Sébastien Bobinet represents the eighth generation of his family to make wine in Saumur, though his path to the family business took some detours. Growing up surrounded by vines and wine in the heart of the Loire Valley, he helped his grandfather in the vineyard and cellar from age seven. After spending time in a wine lab and even working in glass-making, Sébastien returned to take over the family vineyards in 2002, starting with less than two hectares. He quickly embraced organic farming under the influence of natural wine pioneer Olivier Cousin, expanding the estate to its current 6.5 hectares planted to Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Pineau d'Aunis, and Gamay. In 2011, his partner Émeline Calvez joined the domaine, bringing her training as a sommelier and a year spent traveling France working harvest with natural wine growers. Émeline now handles the winemaking in their impressive cave cellar dug 500 meters deep into Saumur's soft limestone cliffs, where the stable 12-degree temperature allows for minimal intervention vinification.

Hanami, named after the Japanese cherry blossom festival, was created in 2012 as Sébastien and Émeline's answer to the question of what an early-drinking, aromatic Loire Cabernet Franc should taste like. The wine comes from a blend of several different Cabernet Franc parcels planted on Saumur's characteristic tuffeau limestone soils, all farmed organically without chemical inputs. The 2023 vintage employs a mix of carbonic and pellicular maceration, combining whole bunch and destemmed fruit to preserve freshness and fluidity. The wine ferments with indigenous yeasts and ages in concrete tanks, bottled at 12% alcohol without fining or filtration. This is their vin de soif, designed to preserve the aromas of fresh grape juice in a light, direct, immediately pleasurable package.

NERD ALERT!! - The name Hanami captures exactly what this wine delivers: fleeting beauty meant to be enjoyed in the moment. The Japanese tradition of viewing cherry blossoms celebrates impermanence and the appreciation of transitory perfection, which aligns perfectly with the wine's character as something to drink young while its fruit and floral aromatics are at their peak. The mix of carbonic and pellicular maceration extracts color and aromatics while keeping the tannins soft and approachable, creating a wine that reads as serious Cabernet Franc without demanding cellaring.

Grape(s) - 100% Cabernet Franc

Flavors - Tart cherry, cranberry, peony, fresh herbs, and green pepper. The palate is ethereal and floral with silky tannins and bright, lively acidity.

Serving - Chill it slightly and serve with charcuterie, grilled vegetables, lentil salad, or simple roasted chicken. This is a wine for picnics, terraces, casual gatherings, and any moment when you want something substantial enough to be interesting but light enough to keep pouring.

Album Pairing - THE SMITHS – ‘The Queen Is Dead’ - 1986 * Like Hanami, this album balances darkness and light with remarkable deftness. Johnny Marr's jangly, intricate guitar work provides brightness and propulsion while Morrissey's lyrics explore melancholy and mordant wit, creating something that feels simultaneously uplifting and contemplative. The production has a shimmering, airy quality that mirrors the wine's ethereal character, and both prove that seriousness doesn't require heaviness. The album's springtime-in-Manchester vibe matches Hanami's cherry blossom namesake perfectly.

LIMITED ADDITION Aligoté 2024 Willamette Valley, Oregon
Chad Stock and Bree Stock founded Limited Addition Wines in 2018 under their consulting company Constant Crush. Chad graduated from California State University Fresno in 2006 with top honors in enology, completing his University Academic Achievement Award before apprenticing at Rudd Winery in Oakville and moving to Oregon to help launch Antica Terra in the Eola-Amity Hills. In 2011 he founded Minimus, and has since become Oregon's leading consultant for minimal intervention winemaking and vineyard establishment for alternative grape cultivars. Bree is a Master of Wine, earning the qualification in 2016 as the first MW in Oregon and the only female MW in the Pacific Northwest. Australian-born, her wine career began with sommelier roles on both Canadian coasts before returning to Australia for management positions specializing in wines from the Iberian Peninsula. She joined the Oregon Wine Board in 2017 as education manager, later becoming director of education, and sits on the boards of Assemblage Diversity in Wine, Masters of Wine North America, and SommCon. Together they make wines from rare varietals never before grown in the Willamette Valley, approaching the work as a long-term climate resilience strategy for Oregon viticulture.

Limited Addition sources Aligoté from multiple sites across the Willamette Valley, including Abbey Road Farm in Yamhill-Carlton and Johan Vineyards in the Van Duzer Corridor. Abbey Road Farm operates as a 45-acre regenerative organic estate featuring 16 different grape varieties on northeast-facing amphitheater slopes cooled by afternoon winds. Johan Vineyards maintains 85 acres under Demeter Biodynamic certification, with calcareous sedimentary soils and erratic granite contrasting sharply with the iron-rich volcanic soils found elsewhere in the valley. The winemaking follows strict minimal intervention protocols: whole cluster pressing, barrel fermentation in neutral French oak with indigenous yeasts, aging on lees, no fining or filtration, and sulfur additions kept under 25 ppm total. Limited Addition commits to 100% carbon-neutral operations, and their focus on varietal diversity proved crucial during the 2020 wildfire season when smoke taint devastated Oregon vineyards. While many wineries lost entire harvests and produced no wine that year, Limited Addition only lost their Pinot Noir to smoke damage. Their Mencia, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, and other alternative varieties survived, leaving them down just 20% in production while diversity saved the vintage.

NERD ALERT!! - Aligoté is Burgundy's other great white grape, once nearly equal to Chardonnay in plantings before phylloxera devastated French vineyards in the late 1800s. During replanting efforts, Chardonnay won out and Aligoté became relegated to worker's wine and family consumption. Today about 20 Oregon producers make varietal Aligoté, and in May 2026 they gathered for the Aligoté Affair at Balsall Creek, the first North American celebration dedicated to the grape. The variety thrives in Oregon's cool climate, developing vibrant acidity and mineral character that recalls Burgundian examples while expressing distinct Pacific Northwest terroir. Limited Addition's commitment to championing unusual varieties like Aligoté, Mencia, Trousseau, and Gruner Veltliner represents more than novelty seeking. It addresses a fundamental question facing wine regions worldwide: how do we build resilience as climate patterns shift? By establishing genetic diversity in vineyards, growers create insurance against catastrophic loss from single events like wildfire smoke, extreme heat, or unexpected frost.

Grape(s) - 100% Aligoté

Flavors - Lime zest, grapefruit, green apple, wet stone, orange zest, basil, rain on pavement. The palate shows bright acidity with a tangy, mineral-driven profile and light body. Crisp and refreshing with citrus-forward character.

Serving - The wine's high acidity and mineral character make it exceptional with raw oysters, ceviche, grilled fish, or butter-poached asparagus. Try it with sole meunière, fresh goat cheese, or Japanese cuisine featuring ponzu and citrus. The crisp profile cuts through rich preparations while complementing delicate flavors.

** AUDIOPHILE LP OF THE MONTH CLUB VINYL**

Album Pairing - YEAH YEAH YEAHS – ‘Cool It Down’- 2022 * After nine years away, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs returned with an album that confronts climate crisis, wildfire seasons, and pandemic isolation with unflinching honesty and hard-won maturity. The record was partially made in Los Angeles during wildfire season that left skies red and raining ash, capturing apocalyptic anxiety while refusing to succumb to it. Limited Addition survived Oregon's catastrophic 2020 wildfire season through the same philosophy that shapes this Aligoté: diversity as resilience. While the Yeah Yeah Yeahs channeled crisis into eight tracks that balance darkness with hope, Limited Addition bet their operation on rare varieties that conventional wisdom said didn't belong in Oregon. Both approaches proved prescient. The album donated vinyl proceeds to environmental law charity Client Earth while Limited Addition commits to carbon-neutral operations. The pairing works because both recognize that survival requires adaptation, that monoculture thinking fails when conditions change, and that building something new from challenging circumstances demands both courage and pragmatism. Karen O's voice shifts across the album's sonic landscape with the same versatility that lets Aligoté thrive where others might struggle.

JUSTIN GIRARDIN 'Maranges' Vielles Vignes 2022 * Maranges, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France

The Girardin family has cultivated vines in Burgundy since 1570, with Justin representing the thirteenth generation to work the family land. After studying in Beaune and Bordeaux and completing an internship in Tasmania, Justin returned to the domaine in 2013 and officially took over the 17-hectare estate from his father Jacques in 2017. His uncle Vincent Girardin had previously established the family name among Burgundy's elite producers, creating high expectations for Justin to navigate. Rather than chasing his uncle's acclaim through identical methods, Justin has quietly transformed what was once rustic, old-fashioned Santenay into fresh, vibrant, exciting Burgundy that lets terroir speak clearly. His holdings span some of the Côte de Beaune's finest sites in Santenay, Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard, Savigny-les-Beaune, and Maranges. While not officially certified organic, Justin employs many organic techniques out of conviction that healthy vineyards produce wines that genuinely express their origins.

The Maranges Vieilles Vignes comes from 50-year-old vines planted in the Aubuzes climate on the edge of the Santenay vineyard. The name Aubuzes derives from the Gallic word "albucre," meaning whitish clay soil, and the vineyard delivers on that etymology with rich clayey earth covered in pebbles, gravels, and calcareous sands. The southwest-facing slope provides ideal sun exposure while the elevation moderates temperatures. Justin hand-harvests the fruit and sorts it three times: twice in the vineyard and once on a sorting table at the winery. The grapes are destemmed and undergo five days of cold pre-fermentary maceration at 12 degrees Celsius to extract primary aromatics before indigenous yeast fermentation begins. After approximately 20 days of fermentation with gentle extraction, the wine ages for 12 months in French oak barrels from Allier and Vosges, with just 15% new oak to provide structure without overwhelming the fruit.

NERD ALERT!! - Maranges occupies an interesting position in Burgundy's hierarchy as the southernmost appellation of the Côte de Beaune, often overlooked in favor of more famous neighbors like Santenay and Chassagne-Montrachet. This relative obscurity translates to significantly better value, as wines from producers like Justin offer classic Burgundian character at prices well below what comparable quality would cost from more celebrated villages. The 50-year-old vines provide concentration and complexity that younger plantings cannot match, with deeply established root systems accessing minerality from the limestone bedrock while the vine's maturity contributes aromatic complexity.

Grape(s) - 100% Pinot Noir

Flavors - Ruby red with aromas of ripe cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and violet. The palate shows red fruits with delicate wood influence bringing fine structure and a persistent finish

Serving - Classic Burgundy pairings apply: roasted chicken, beef tenderloin, veal, mushroom risotto, or medium-aged cheeses. Serve slightly cool at 16 to 17 degrees Celsius to preserve the wine's elegance and prevent the alcohol from dominating.

Album Pairing - LED ZEPPELIN – ‘III’ - 1970 * After two albums of earth-shaking heavy blues, Led Zeppelin retreated to a remote cottage in Wales and emerged with their most delicate and introspective work. The acoustic fingerpicking on "That's the Way" and "Tangerine," the mandolin-driven "Going to California," and the gentle folk of "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" reveal a band capable of profound restraint and nuance. Like this Pinot Noir, the album proves that power doesn't require volume, that delicacy and depth can coexist without contradiction. Both reward patient attention with layers that only reveal themselves slowly. The album arrived at a moment when Zeppelin could have chased bigger, louder success but instead chose to explore vulnerability and craftsmanship, much like Justin working in the shadow of his uncle's acclaim while quietly forging his own path. The stripped-down arrangements and honest emotion mirror the wine's refusal to hide behind excessive oak or winemaking tricks, and both demonstrate that the most memorable expressions often come from knowing when to hold back.

REMINDERS

• To celebrate our valued club members we offer 20% off all food ordered on the day you pick-up. 

• If you can not pick up on the pick up dates please contact mckay@barmiriam.com and we will hold your allotment offsite and can arrange for a future pick up.

• Email mckay@barmiriam.com to buy more single bottles or a case with special club pricing.

• Queen Anne Bottle Shop is open Tuesday-Saturday from 3:00pm — 8:00pm.

• Wine pairs best with friends. Tell your friends.