A themed box featuring two bottles and a piece of writing
Borderlands is an occasional wine box, featuring bottles that I have selected to be both delicious and exciting, and tied together by a theme. These are rare wines and other drinks that express an idea or story, in the borderlands of style, category, making, farming or origin.
Volume 1: Ichi-go, ichi-e
A once-in-a-lifetime barrel… and jostling with the bears for the grape harvest
The first theme is impermanence, styled after the Japanese phrase ‘Ichi-go, ichi-e’ - ‘one time, one meeting’. I am celebrating the ephemeral nature of making and enjoying craft drinks: you cannot drink the same bottle twice! These are both serious and yet light drops that are equally good for meditation or slaking the thirst.
This box features a groundbreaking cider from Little Pomona in Herefordshire aged in an ex-Burgundy barrel and a delicate yet intense red wine from Ernest Vineyards in coastal Mendocino, California.
The box is available in the UK for £48 plus delivery.
SOLD OUT. Please join the mailing list below for info on the second edition.
One bottle of:
Little Pomona, Once in a Lifetime, 2021
This still cider from Hereford’s Little Pomona reaches new levels of what fine cider can be.
Made entirely from the Egremont Russet variety, whose flavours intensify off the tree yet retain good acidity, this was aged in a ‘miracle’ ex- white Burgundy barrel for 6 months, and whilst very much a cider, echoes the complexity and finesse seen in exceptional wines.
Pure orchard fruit flavours meld with wonderful richness from the wood, yet not at the expense of balance or precision. There is subtle textural grip, with great finesse. The lovely bright acidity works well with food, but it’s superb on its own as a drink to ponder and enjoy.
One bottle of:
Edaphos by Ernest, Trousseau, 2019
Joseph Ryan’s experimental adjunct to Ernest Vineyards, Edaphos, produces some of my favourite wines from the USA, and indeed anywhere.
Whilst the bears often take their fill of the small planting of Trousseau grapes from the Alder Springs Vineyard in Mendocino, in 2019 a good crop allowed this experiment: one month of whole bunch fermentation in a Concrete Egg vessel before the grapes were gently pressed and fermentation completed.
This is one of the showstopper red wines I’ve tasted in 2023, so delicate, yet still so intense. If you enjoy light reds on a warm day (or any day) the delicacy and purity of fruit flavours of this wine are for you. Savouriness cuts against bright strawberry and cherry fruit flavours, draped effortlessly on a featherweight structure. There is the brightness of California with respect to this grape’s origin in Jura, France.
