September 2025 - Tindal Wine

Simon Tyrrell – Rhone 2025 vintage update

Rhone Valley, Vintage reportSeptember 4, 2025 by Harriet_Tindal

Simon Tyrrell's update on Vintage 2025 so far....

As an intro, Simon works with us in his downtime from making excellent wines in the Rhone with Les Deux Cols. An 8ha property they purchased in 2016 in the northern Gard. This is his report on 2025 in his vineyards.

If 2024 was a rough ride in terms of disease pressure and the eventual yield, it did result in some pretty outstanding wine, particularly, the reds. 2025, on the other hand, has yet to reveal itself fully in a qualitative sense but it has certainly been even more of a roller coaster ride from spring through to the beginning of September.

Everything looked well set with constant periods of rain over winter and into early spring and rarely has the land in this part of the world looked so green and lush. Of course, instead of stopping when we wanted it to, the rain continued through budbreak and into flowering and at one point in May, it looked as though we might be set for another 2024 when, as organic growers, we were forced to spray eleven times. However, by the end of the first week in June, all this changed with the onset of a prolonged hot, dry spell which finally ended on the 28^th July with 25mm of rain. We ultimately only did five treatments this year. By this point any sense of a later harvest had started to evaporate and a second heatwave that lasted almost until the end of the 3^rd week of August saw the vines start to stress from a lack of water. Interestingly, whilst the acidity levels remained very good, the grapes contained little juice and low levels of nitrogen, essential for a smooth alcoholic fermentation. In spite of some small downfalls of rain, by the week of the 25^th August some of the vines had begun to take water from their bunches as they went into survival mode, resulting in some dried out, raisin-like grapes and there were many hours spent nervously looking at weather apps in the hope of seeing rain on the horizon.

Well, when the rain did eventually come, it did so in buckets and across the valley. We recorded 138mm between 10.30pm and 5.00am on the night of the 31^st August/1^st September and other parts of the Southern Rhone reached up to 160mm. Unfortunately, some areas were hit by hail with losses of up to 80% in certain vineyards.

If the weather now stays fair and the Mistral starts to blow, it could be a very interesting vintage, particularly for Grenache based wines. There were already some lovely aromas developing and with the good acidity levels. Now with a softening of the skins and an increase in volume, it finally looks hopeful. Of course, there’s along way to go and a lot could happen, as it already has in this topsy-turvy year.

Giuseppe Quintarelli – what legends are made of

Producer, ValpolicellaSeptember 3, 2025September 3, 2025 by Harriet_Tindal

The hills above Verona are home to a network of windy roads taking you past the terraced rows of vines elevated by the Veronese pergola system. Rocky white precipices project the limestone rock sitting close to the clay surface, lending that chalky mineral perfume to the best wines. These intensely planted hillsides produce the various styles of Valpolicella. 7ha of this belongs to the legendary Quintarelli estate.

A family winery made famous by the efforts of Giuseppe Quintarelli. A leader in the region, broadcasting to the world the undeniable quality of the top wines from, here. His only ambition – to raise the quality of the region and leave behind the difficult times of low prices endured by his grandparents in the 1930s. Living at the winery, Giuseppe and his family worked hard to prove that the traditionally dried wines of Valpolicella had the ability to compete with the best on the world stage.

Summers at Quintarelli saw the 9 grandchildren running round the vines, helping in true Italian style. With the generational shift in 2010, Giuseppe’s daughter Franca took over, moving into the house with her family. There followed a renovation of the house and winery with a new cellar underground extending the original one. Quintarelli’s wines are aged for a number of years prior to release, 7 years for the Amarones, 6 for the Valpolicella. The cellars are home to huge oval Slavonian oak foudres, enhanced by carvings illustrating the family history and winemaking process. The biggest barrel of 12000 litres is carved in honour of Giuseppe and illustrates the family values of religion and work. A second foudre of 5,300 litres stands ode to Franca Giuseppe’s wife. The carving shows four birds in a nest representing their children.

Recioto is the father of Amarone, the first wine of the region to use dried grapes in fermentation in the 1930s. An accidental refermentation of the skins produced the first example of what is now known as Amarone. The grapes are dried in special rooms with the shoulders or the ears as locally known saved for the Recioto. Oriot means ear in Italian. 6 months drying for Recioto, 4 for Amarone. The winemaking at Quintarelli has been overseen by Ricardo Ferralini for many years.

The tasting room, deep in the bowels of the cellar immediately calms. A combination of history and respect are driven by the barrel lined walls, broken with a photo of Giuseppe and Ricardo above a quote in Italian, translated as ‘Tradition that stands the test of time’.

Francesco gathered glasses and slowly took me through the wines. In the past each label was handwritten, by friend and original owner of the 12 Apostles restaurant in Verona. After 12 years Giuseppe’s daughter Sylvia mastered the script and took over the detail. Now they are printed, but dedicated labels written by Francesco’s mother are available for special occasions.

Each wine is unique, they do however all share the distinctive finesse and elegance of this property. Perhaps it was the effect of the room, the wines carried a mystical quality dancing over the enduring persistence on the palate.

*Harriet’s tasting notes are below. Our full offer can be requested by emailing sales@tindalwine.com

Sugrue South Downs, an English winery run by a Limerick man.

ProducerSeptember 1, 2025September 3, 2025 by Harriet_Tindal

It’s more than just speculation….

The English wine industry is flying high at the moment with global recognition putting their efforts front and centre in terms of visibility on the wine scene. If the rain stays away, 2025 could be as good as 2018 for the growers over there. Excitement builds as beautifully ripe grapes wax and bloom in readiness for picking this month.

The noise is never louder than when standing with Dermot and Ana Sugrue and their project in the South, Sugrue South Downs. Having left well known Champagne houses in the stalls with their recent win in Decanter’s 2025 ranking of Sparkling wine in magnums. The first blind tasting competition to mix Champagne with other regions. Sugrue is the most exciting producer in the UK at the moment.

Not afraid to think outside the box, Dermot’s tinkering in the winery has moved them outside the ‘safe zone’ and into an innovative and exciting realm with Bonkers Chardonnay. A self-confessed Chardonnay nut, Dermot produced the first release from the 2022 vintage, this is the product of a rainy day and the discovery of a half full barrel of resolute Chardonnay, defying expectations by the clarity and stability exposed post oxidation. Blended with some other small parcels and plonked in American oak for a little ‘je ne c’est quoi’, we have a unique and delicious English Chardonnay making waves wherever it’s tasted. So popular is ‘Bonkers’ that Dermot is already taking orders for the next vintage, still in barrel.

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