Jauma - Hola Nuria Verdelho Pét Nat (2020)

Jauma - Hola Nuria Verdelho Pét Nat (2020)

Nuria worked with me in 2015, she is a wine maker, wine educator and sommelier for the infamous Bar Brutal in Barcelona. One night while in Brutal, Nuria brought me a glass of bubbles to try. “What do you think boss?” I said the wine was clean, maybe a little boring but totally smashable. “F#!k you boss, that’s my pet nat Muscat!” Nuria snarled. So it’s with great pleasure I bring you this homage to my dear friend, Nuria. Mainly Verdehlo but with a squeeze of Muscat.

Jauma is one of the first natural winemakers in Australia, with James Erskine starting to make his first wines a little over 10 years ago. Until last year James didn’t owned any property, but along with his business partner Fiona managed vineyards in Clarendon and McLaren Vale (Fiona is basically employed as his full time farmer).

Last year, James bought a cherry farm in a region called Lenswood, in the higher elevation part of the Adelaide Hills. He picked the cherries last year (and did some fun projects like cherry vinegar) but also got to work on planting his first, own vineyard.

He makes his wines, for now, in Basket Range (he is hoping to build a winery on his new project, TBD), in a beautiful old fruit shed. He makes what seems to be a million different wines, as he is constantly inspired by new vineyards, new varieties, new techniques, etc. That being said, Grenache is most certainly his jam. He makes everything from pet nat, to full carbonic, to blended with shiraz, to multiple single vineyards of it. 

His background is an a high end sommelier and wine judge, and I think this shows in particular in his single vineyard Grenache bottles. They are as natural as wine can get, but have a more serious tone to them, even if that labels are playful. They can also certainly age, even though bottled under crown cap.

Pineapple, Honeydew, Lemon

General Tso's, Holy Basil Rice, Vietnamese

About the Winemaker

Jauma is one of the first natural winemakers in Australia, with James Erskine starting to make his first wines a little over 10 years ago. Until last year James didn’t owned any property, but along with his business partner Fiona managed vineyards in Clarendon and McLaren Vale (Fiona is basically employed as his full time farmer).

Last year, James bought a cherry farm in a region called Lenswood, in the higher elevation part of the Adelaide Hills. He picked the cherries last year (and did some fun projects like cherry vinegar) but also got to work on planting his first, own vineyard.

He makes his wines, for now, in Basket Range (he is hoping to build a winery on his new project, TBD), in a beautiful old fruit shed. He makes what seems to be a million different wines, as he is constantly inspired by new vineyards, new varieties, new techniques, etc. That being said, Grenache is most certainly his jam. He makes everything from pet nat, to full carbonic, to blended with shiraz, to multiple single vineyards of it. 

His background is an a high end sommelier and wine judge, and I think this shows in particular in his single vineyard Grenache bottles. They are as natural as wine can get, but have a more serious tone to them, even if that labels are playful. They can also certainly age, even though bottled under crown cap.

Tasting Notes

Pineapple, Honeydew, Lemon

Pairings

General Tso's, Holy Basil Rice, Vietnamese