If you have not explored Swabia, you should. Spatburgunder/Pinot, Trollinger/Schiava and Riesling are the primary grapes. You should be able to find some Knauss, Beurer and Enderle&Moll though hip retailers.
If you like Loire, have you moved West to explore Muscadet?
If you have discovered Jura, have you looked into Pfifferling’s wines from Tavel?
Alsace and Austria are huge regions with excellent and historic producers. Riesling is a wide and deep rabbit hole to go down…
Portugal. Specifically Herdade do Mouchao from the Alentejo. Fantastic old school wine, but not at all rustic. Ages wonderfully. I’m looking for older vintages. The Dao, Quinta de Pellada and Saes. Both run by Mr. Crasto. The Carrosel blend is fantastic as is their Encruzado. In Barriada, both Luis Pato and his daughter Phillipa Pato. Both red and whites. And that’s not talking about the Douro, Tejo, or Vinho Verde.
Also, incredible wines from the South of Italy abound. Howard mentioned Taurasi, but Aglianico has many expressions, of which Taurasi is merely one. Would also explore Nerello and Negroamaro-based wines. Look at the wonderful wines of Sicily. Seek out Elena Fucci’s Titolo, just as a readily available example.
While I wouldn’t say I love it, my brother introduced me to Jura wines several years ago and I enjoy them on occasion. I think the specific appellation was Arbois.
Yeah, I think it’s in Ecclesiastes. Not really horrible if you think about it, merely stating that mankind really has nothing new up its sleeves. I find it akin to something I saw this week, that there are only 6 or 9 (can’t remember exactly) plots in literature. We can keep saying something is different, but it really is a variation on a theme.
I’m not sure these are in the very top leagues of wine, but well worth exploring:
+1 When you are in the mood for a light, very floral red.
+1 I read recently that the vines on Santorini are all ungrafted; phylloxera never reached the island. I wonder if that helps explain the complexity of these wines.
To all of these, I would add:
Whites from the Alto Adige in Italy – German grapes such as riesling and Muller-Thurgau and Kerner.
Nebbiolo from outside the Langhe, such as Gattinara. Somewhat lighter than Barolo and Barbaresco, but capable of great finesse.
Narince (pronounced nah-rin-juh), a native white Turkish grape from the Aegean coast and islands that shows a lot of complexity and depth. Vinkara and Kavaklıdere make decent ones that are available in the U.S. Try to get the unoaked versions if you can. I think they’re more distinctive.
Kalecik Karasi (pronounced kah-leh-jik kah-rah-si), a native red Turkish grape grown around Ankara that can produce surprisingly light (for a hot climate) reds with almost pinot-like red fruit aromas. Again, Vinkara and Kavaklıdere are the ones you’re likely to find here.
Mastroberardino, Caggiano and Perillo pop into my mind. And yes, old Colares wines are really something.
Agree with all your suggestions here, great wines - although in my books Alto Adige wines or Piedmontese Nebbiolos are anything but unusual. Turkish grapes, on the other hand, are well within the boundaries of more eccentric wine suggestions. If I may add, also wines made from Papaskarasi grapes are worth exploring.
Agree. As there’s no definition of “unusual”, it’s rather entertaining to see how stuff you’ve drunk most of your vinous life is unusual to some. However, I’d agree that your list of wines is pretty much in the unusual end.
I actually started to think some unusual wines and regions for people who are interested in the more eccentric end of the wine world.
Some obvious and better-known examples:
Aged Hunter Valley Sémillons (this is so well-known style that it really isn’t even unusual, yet it’s rather rare to see anybody drinking them nowadays)
Chateau Musar
Frank Cornelissen
Jurancon wines
Massandra
Nicolas Joly
Txakoli
Then on to the darker side:
Aosta Valley wines
Asturian wine
Bugey and Savoie
Carcavelos
Carema
Colares
Dingac and Postup
Fief-Vendéens
Georgian wines made from other than Rkatsiteli or Saperavi grapes
Japanese wines made from other than Koshu grapes
Klevener de Heiligenstein
Lorraine wines
Morellino varietal wines
Rosés des Riceys
Schilcher and Schilchersekt
Slovakian wines (Alibernet, Devín, Dunaj, Neronet, Palava and Slovakian Tokaj)
How old is mature Colares? I see the currently released vintages are about 10 years old already.
Lots from the 50’s around. Even from the 1930’s are not too hard to find and are drinking wonderfully. If you like Colares, you also might like Caves Sao Joao. They have wines from both the Dao and Bairrada (and even a blend of the two, although this is no longer allowed by the EU.)
One of the most distinctive and interesting (as well as delicious) wines I’ve had recently was a Schioppettino by Ronchi di Cialla, from Friuli.
Really beautiful and intriguing stuff, can age, and is great with Italian food. I must have had my nose in that glass for 45 minutes.
I’ve also enjoyed some wines from Corsica, and I’ve gone through about a half dozen bottles of Maestracci “e prove” red from 2014. Tasty, well-fruited, and with a touch of something herbal that you don’t find from mainland France.
Finally, I’d also give a thumbs up to any wine from Chateau Simone. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a friend supply all 3 of them in one sitting (white, red, rose) and they are all delicious, balanced, and full of unique character.
Turkish grapes, on the other hand, are well within the boundaries of more eccentric wine suggestions. If I may add, also wines made from Papaskarasi grapes are worth exploring.