New Year, New Wines

About the Winery

Markus Altenburger

The Altenburger family has farmed land in and around Jois since the 16th century. Their vineyards are only half an hour from Vienna, but seemingly in another cosmos altogether. 

Markus is fascinated by Blaufränkisch – the red grape of Burgenland. He works with massal selections from his Gritschenberg vineyard's old vines. There, loose clusters and small berries are well adapted to the dry Pannonian summers. The grapes express the schist for fruiter wines charming in their youth, as well as the limestone, for length and structure. The wines express this tension, the influences of limestone and schist soils, and something of the wild abundance of nature, as well.

Since Markus took over his family’s estate more than a decade ago, he’s moved from what he calls “well-behaved wines” to those that are much closer to nature and bear a far more personal stamp. In the cellar, he favours native yeasts, minimal added sulphur, long, protective lees contact, and concrete and neutral wood for ageing. 

About the Winery

Mesquida Mora

Bàrbara Mesquida Mora established the groundbreaking Mesquida Mora winery in Mallorca in 2012 near the town of Porreres, producing wines in the DO Plà i Llevant and Vins de la Terra de Mallorca designations in the southern and eastern areas of the island.

Bàrbara’s wines form a rich mosaic recalling the diversity of Mallorca varieties while also representing the history of her pioneering winemaking family, with her own unique futuristic vision. Upon leaving behind the winery created by her pioneering great-grandfather in 1945 in Porreres, Bàrbara started her project from scratch with historic vineyards inherited from her mother. Previously, Bàrbara managed the family winery for eight years, from 2004 until 2012, and was one of Spain’s first Demeter biodynamic certifications in 2007.

Bàrbara has not only been a passionate practitioner of organic and biodynamic viticulture for more than two decades; she has also introduced a regenerative agriculture approach through encouraging biodiversity within her estate vineyards. Prior to her winemaking career, Bàrbara studied Medieval literature and Catalan language in Barcelona. Comfortably multilingual culture, art, and language are like air and water for her, informing every aspect of her work. Bàrbara is among the vanguard of a wave of young producers recuperating and contributing to the unique cultural and viticultural matrix of traditional Mallorcan agriculture.

About the Winery

Groupe Bellene

Led by Nicolas Potel in Beaune, Groupe Bellene is composed of the négociant arm Maison Roche de Bellene, the winery arm Domaine de Bellene, and a special back-vintage series under the Collection Bellenum label. 

• Maison Roche de Bellene offers a complete range of wines, with an emphasis on individual terroirs from old vines of more than 40 years. All of the growers that Nicolas works with are either organic certified or sustainably farmed.
• Domaine de Bellene represents the wines that are produced and bottled from Nicolas Potel's private vineyard holdings. 
• Collection Bellenum is a back vintage series that Nicolas Potel sourced from his friends in the region, offering a magnificent selection of bottled history. The wines have moved only twice in their lives, from the original cellar to Potel's and now to yours!

Nicolas Potel grew up at Volnay's Domaine Pousse d'Or, where his father worked. He trained abroad and returned home in 1996 to build a négociant business and started Maison Nicolas Potel, where he sourced grapes from good parcels, often working with the growers to improve the quality. By 2002, he was making 120 wines from 50 different appellations, and the rest is history!