Collier Saumur 2015, Petr Marada Sauvignon 2018 and Montisci Barrosu 2018

After a bottle of Bollinger NV which performed as expected, I had brought a Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc 2015. I really love this wine but had yet to try the 2015. There are some opinions on the 2015 being over-oaked so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was delicious.


2015 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (5/6/2022)
Pop and pour. This could have benefited from a splash decant to blow off the touch of reduction and help the fruit come to the foreground on the nose. But, last night, there was no time for that. Aromas of pear, white peach, some vanilla cream and some interesting herbal scents (hay, honeysuckle). The palate is nicely integrated with some nice ripe fruit on entry along with beeswax giving this wine a very pleasant and rich mouthfeel. The bright acidity appears on the mid-palate and cuts through the fruit and oak very nicely. Along with the acidity comes some refreshing crushed stones and citrus notes all the way to a long finish. Very good. The structure will probably keep this aging nicely but this bottle had very nice balance and complexity. I might age some for science but a lot of them will be drunk shortly.

We then moved on to the restaurant (Ayla) where the somm was quite nice and talkative. I decided to let him select a white for the first service and a red for the second one.

He recommended a 2018 Petr Marada Sauvignon Blanc from Moravia to go along with Turkish Ekmek flatbread and hummus, octopus carpaccio with cannelini bean salad and pine nuts and, seared calamari with charred vegetables and a rather spicy and delicious herb salad.


2018 Petr Marada Sauvignon Blanc - Czech Republic, Moravia, Slovácká (5/6/2022)
The nose was not really expressive even as it warmed up: some peach, citrus and dried herbs. The palate is rather flat. It’s lacking acidity which makes this rather monotone. It did work with some spicy calamari as it helped tone down the spiciness of the dish but I found this boring and would not buy it again.

I found this online: Marada Sauvignon Blanc 2018 — Vinofactum

Drink cold, or it would be a perfect wine to make a wine punch with!

Yeah… not a selling point…

Due to our less than enthusiastic response, the somm decided to get us a couple of glasses of Jean Louis et Fabienne Mann Riesling Vieilles Vignes 2018. Not memorable but enjoyable. It was more enjoyable than the Marada Sauvignon.


I was hoping the somm’s second selection would hit the mark and it did. Beautiful wine I had never heard of before. This was to go with braised lamb shank with freekeh, yogurt, almonds and pistachio and, lamb chops with morrocan bbq sauce.


[*]2018 Giovanni Montisci Cannonau di Sardegna Barrosu - Italy, Sardinia, Cannonau di Sardegna (5/6/2022)
First time with this wine. The somm had this off the list as apparently he only gets a tiny allocation of this. Explosive nose: spices, florals, red berries and dried herbs. The spices and florals make it hard to stop sniffing this. The palate shows nice concentration with a good dose of darker berries upfront and savory dried herbs. It’s earthy as well giving it a lot of depth. The acidity is singing and provides the required lift to make this absolutely gulpable. This could accompany a variety of dishes. Complex and yummy. I really liked this wine.