Wine of the Week! 05/20/24

Cambridge Road Rosso

Normally $28.99 / Now on Sale for $17.96
100% Syrah (Wairarapa region)

Many winemakers we feature have a connection and reverence to their land and a desire to express its unique character in the wines that they make. However, Lance Redgwell in Martinborough, New Zealand takes that all a step further.

He had a dream about making wine in a natural way when he started his oenology studies in 1998. After a decade, more or less, of making wine while also building and sailing boats (Yeah, he’s that guy!), he bought a 30 year-old vineyard in New Zealand’s Wairarapa Valley, on the southern tip of the North Island, just 17 miles from the ocean.

Sandwiched between snow-covered peaks to the west and rolling hills to the east, this area is a cool climate zone, influenced by Antarctic winds. (Imagine living in a place where your weather is majorly influenced by Antarctica!) Thus, grapes ripen slowly gaining steady acidity, aromatic potential, and fine tannins. Here, Redgwell biodynamically dry farms, ferments with ambient yeasts, and ages on lees, with a dedication to letting each wine, each vintage even, be an expression of what the grapes they’ve harvested have to offer at that moment. “I view winemaking as the natural preservation of the beautiful fruit I’ve been able to grow in every year,” says Redgwell.

The Cambridge Road Rosso is a pleasing, yet dynamic wine. More than others, it will really change as you open it and as it remains open. Pour it in your glass and let it take some air before you drink it, or even fully decant it, should you wish.

Light-bodied and unfiltered, it delivers juicy fruit with just enough acid to get your mouth watering. It’s good when you first open it, and we still like it the next day, but this is a good wine to take to a party or to share with friends or family when you can finish off the bottle at one sitting.

If you ever wanted to try a natural wine, this Red of the Week is a nice introduction.