(^149)
For more of Master of Wine Sarah Heller’s
recommendations, follow @sarahhellermw
BIG-PICTURE THINKING
VÉRITÉ LA MUSE 2013 w
Who said sustainability has to feel
austere? This merlot-dominant Bordeaux
blend from JacksonFamilyWinesof
California’sSonoma
edto
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ed
growth
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y indulged
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STATE
RD
ANC 2017
y-the-glass
opular
tangy
csof New
borough
is
erious
sustainability cred. Yealands has
used scale to support emissions-
driven initiatives like burning
vine prunings for electricity and
developing wetlands around their
vineyards to support biodiversity.
Their cutest undertaking? Grass-
mowing babydoll sheep.
FAMILIA TORRES
GRANS MURALLES
2011 w
This Conca de
Barberà blend
incorporates native
Spanish grapes
long believed extinct, garró and
querol (adding density and
chewiness), with better-known
natives garnacha, cariñena
and monastrell. Torres is one
of Europe’s largest vineyard
owners, meaning its initiatives
around sustainable energy,
water use and transport have
major impact. For example,
it pioneered higher altitude
vineyards and ancestral vines
for climate change mitigation.
DRY FOR DRY
MARCO CIRILLO’S
1850 ANCESTOR VINE
GRENACHE 2016
Though known for shiraz, the
Barossa Valley’s increasing focus on
less thirsty grenache is an encouraging
sign. This ethereal, silky, tart cherry and
raspberry-fruited Australian gem is grown
in a vineyard so dry and sandy you want
to run through it barefoot in a bikini.
LOCAL HERO
GRACE WINERY CABERNET FRANC 2015
Growing grapes in the humid, stormy
environment of Yamanashi, Japan, has its
challenges. This long-established family
producer worked with renowned viticulturalist
Richard Smart to develop the Smart
Japan system of vine cultivation
tohelp it farm more sustainably.
This franc’s aromas of smoke,
sagebrush, bright red cherry
and cigar with a lucent medicinal
brightness suggest it has paidoff.
BETTER BOTTLES
TAITTINGER BRUT RÉSERVE
NV u
One of the few fully
family-owned Champagne
houses again as of 2006,
Taittinger has taken the
long view by not only
reducing the weight
of its bottles to the
recommended 835g
but also by using 94
per cent recycled
glass (versus 80 per
cent for the region).
Even Comtes
de Champagne
Rosé, very much
a prestige bottling,
is only marginally
heavier. The wine style
itself is future-ready, with
a high proportion of pure,
cleansing chardonnay
lending it longevity (yes,
Brut NV can age!).
California sSonoma
Countywascreate
rival Pomerol’sPé
Withitslusciousr
cherryandunderg
aromas(andthe
knowledgethatit
froma low-water-
largely solar-powe
winery),it willmak
feelsimultaneousl
anddeeply virtuou
xYEALANDSES
SINGLEVINEYAR
SAUVIGNON BL
Therearefewby
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thanthegrassy,
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onepacksse
BEYOND BIODYNAMIC
Don’t know where to start on the sustainability trail? Here are some recommendations
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