Bottes Rouges by Ivan Omelchenko

Fermented tomatoes, blood, and Nordic berries with warming spices dancing around. Lovely acidity but lacks the body to back it up - though that's expected from the variety, isn't it? There's something about overripe berries here, that edge between fruit and decay. The wine feels too young, caught in adolescence. And yet, it's ridiculously drinkable. The kind of contradiction that makes you pour another glass while wondering why. Pleasant confusion.

Strawberry fields with a hint of barnyard funk - that good funk, not the scary kind. Blood and bitter herbs keep things interesting, while something brilliantly fresh cuts through, like eucalyptus after rain. It's all surface charm though, bright and vivid but refusing to go deep. Not every wine needs to be profound. Fresh, lively, absolutely smashable.

Nordic berries fighting through a wall of fermentation funk. This wine is absolutely not ready - screaming youth from nose to finish. Blood and spice try to emerge but get slapped down by rigid tannins and screeching acidity that borders on volatile. There's even a salty edge, which is actually brilliant and saves this from being a complete waiting game.

Christ, this is work. Slightly fizzy, aggressively green, with Nordic berries struggling through a wall of screeching acidity. Blood notes somewhere in there, but you have to fight for them. The tannins are raw and angry, like they're personally offended you opened this bottle. Everything about this screams "why did you touch me, I'm not ready!" It's right at my purchase threshold, but only because I know what it could become. Right now? Borderline masochistic. Chuck it in the cellar and forget it exists for three years minimum.

Raspberry and flowers wrestling with proper barnyard funk - that cow-and-cellar combination that makes natural wine sing if you intro this shit stuff. Chalk dust keeps everything lifted. It's still tense, coiled like a spring, but unlike its siblings this one's already showing its cards. Round, spiced, balanced - all the right pieces in place, just waiting to relax. This is the overachiever of the lineup, drinkable now if you're impatient (guilty), but clearly capable of so much more. Give it time and it'll probably hit higher territory. But honestly? It's already pretty damn delicious.

Lemon and chalk with that distinctive silicon minerality cutting through. Yellow fruits peek out, then bruised apples and hazelnuts join the party. The acidity is spot on - bright but integrated, carrying everything through a properly long finish. That mineral backbone with the nutty development is just too good to resist. It's singing already, but it's better to hold it for a few years anyways.

Fuck me, this is frustrating. I love this wine, I really do, but it's like watching a brilliant movie through a foggy window. Lemon tart with a hint of fresh bread, yellow fruits tumbling over hazelnuts, and this brilliant acid structure that just won't quit. Some herbal whispers too, adding complexity. The finish goes on forever, taunting you with what's to come. I know - I absolutely know - this will be stunning in five years. Right now it's merely very good, which feels almost insulting given what it's capable of.