Mixed Bag Vol. 19
Eclectic wines, grateful hearts, and drones for defenders - a charity tasting built on generosity
Some tastings have a theme. Others have a vibe. This one? It's got gratitude and a bit of beautiful chaos.
The constant remains: we gather, we open bottles, we pool resources, and Mr Oleksandr turns that into drones and equipment that our defenders actually need. The maths is simple - wine in, tech out, lives protected. Everything else is just the pleasant scaffolding around that core mission.
As for the lineup - let me be honest. There's no grand narrative arc here. What there is: a fascinating accident of geography and generosity. Because here's the thing - several of these bottles were donated specifically for this cause. Massive thanks to Andrii S and Julie B, whose contribution made this tasting possible. And to Lo for hosting us - without a proper venue, we'd just be standing around someone's kitchen, which has its charm but lacks a certain gravitas.
So what are we drinking? English Chardonnay from Cambridge's only winery. Jura Savagnin that does its own peculiar thing. A powerful Friulian orange wine. Slovenian Pinot Noir. Tom Lubbe's newly renamed light red from Roussillon (RIP Brutal Rouge, long live Tommy Ferriol). Loire Chenin Blanc. And because every good story needs a proper ending - a 2000 Amarone that's been patiently waiting for exactly this kind of moment.
It's eclectic. It spans styles, regions, and philosophies. But that's sort of the point, isn't it? We take what we have, what's been generously given, and we make something meaningful happen. The wines will speak for themselves. The drones will do the rest.
Let's drink.
Il Carpino Exordium 2008
- Region
- Italy » Friuli-Venezia Giulia » IGP Venezia Giulia
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Wine
- Vintage
- 2008
- Grapes
- Tocai Friulano
- Alcohol
- 14
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Find at

This wine secured the 🏅 7th place in our wine tasting lineup.
Beautiful expression of age - there are even cognac-like notes creeping in. Dried fruit compote, apple uzvar, moss, river water, old jam, dried peach. Medicinal notes and dry grass add complexity without making it weird. On the palate it's sweeter than the nose suggests - rounded out, with tannins that have turned soft and almost honeyed. The acidity cuts through beautifully, still very much alive. In the mouth it genuinely starts to resemble a botrytised wine, which is fascinating territory for something that started life bone-dry.
Matassa Tommy Ferriol 2023
- Region
- France » Vin de France
- Type
- red still, dry
- Producer
- Wine
- Vintage
- 2023
- Grapes
- Syrah, Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains
- Alcohol
- 10.5
- Sugar
- 0.4
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Find at

This wine secured the 🏅 8th place in our wine tasting lineup.
Class, as always. Tommy Ferriol just doesn't miss. There's something raw and torn about this - burst berries, noticeable VA that adds character rather than fault, loads of Nordic berries and sour cherry. The acidity is sharp, powerful, almost aggressive, but the tannins are surprisingly well-integrated for something this young. Very good wine. The kind that makes you want to buy a case and forget about it for five years, except you know you'll drink it all within a month.
Peter Lehmann Margaret Barossa Semillon 2012
- Region
- Australia » Barossa Valley
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2012
- Grapes
- Sémillon
- Alcohol
- 11
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Find at

This wine secured the 🏅 9th place in our wine tasting lineup.
Blind, I was absolutely convinced this was Portugal - some Douro thing, maybe a white from a producer flirting with oxidation. Very tasty. Great minerality, cheese notes (like baked Camembert, all gooey and rich), lovely roundness, creamy texture that coats your mouth. High acidity keeps it from being cloying, beautiful mineral edge underneath. Turns out: old Australia. Semillon that's been sitting around long enough to become interesting.
Gutter&Stars Star 69 Long-player Chardonnay 2022
- Region
- England » Essex » Crouch Valley
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2022
- Grapes
- Chardonnay
- Alcohol
- 12
- Volume
- 750 mL

This wine secured the 🥇 1st place in our wine tasting lineup.
Hand-picked in early October from a small block of Chardonnay (clone FR155), the grapes were whole-bunch pressed and cold-settled in tank for 48 hours before being transferred to French oak barrels - ex-Burgundy, third and fourth fill.
Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation happened simultaneously in barrel within Gutter&Stars' cool cellar, taking 48 days to complete. The barrels were topped up, and the wine matured on its gross lees without bâtonnage until September 2024, when it was blended and bottled. In total, this Chardonnay spent 23 months in oak.
Bottled on 12th September 2024, with 600 bottles produced.
Artwork: ‘Blurred 260523' by Chris Wilson/Ed Wright (2024)
Wine name: Both REM and Fatboy Slim recorded tracks called Star 69. There was a English rock band in the mid-90s called Star 69. It's also the American and Canadian version of ‘1471' on a landline phone.
— Gutter&Stars
Marzipan, flowers, crab. Every wine from this producer I've tried is brilliantly, beautifully weird in the best sense. Rice liquor, sake vibes - there's an umami quality. Superb structure, killer acidity that zips through everything, long finish that keeps evolving. Very interesting and delicious - properly layered, though it's too young to fully reveal itself. Beautiful fruit, smoke, vanilla, grilled lime. The barrel work is masterful without being showy. My wine of the evening, and I'm still thinking about it the next morning.
Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups Venise Cuvée Parcellaire Monopole 2022
- Region
- France » Vin de France
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2022
- Grapes
- Chenin Blanc
- Alcohol
- 12.5
- Sugar
- 3.2
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Find at

This wine secured the 🥉 3rd place in our wine tasting lineup.
Quince, gunpowder, sea air, chalk. Lovely, complex, multi-layered wine that keeps shifting in the glass. Great structure - you can feel the precision in how this was made. The barrel work is spot-on: present enough to add texture and complexity, restrained enough not to dominate. This is very good and very tasty. The kind of Chenin that makes you understand why people become Loire obsessives. Give it a few more years and it'll be stunning.
Buronfosse L'Hopital Les 3 Savagnins Floraux 2022
- Region
- France » Jura » Côtes du Jura AOC
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2022
- Grapes
- Savagnin
- Alcohol
- 12.9
- Sugar
- 2
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Find at

This wine secured the 🏅 5th place in our wine tasting lineup.
Zesty and electric, with green and yellow apples up front, wrapped in layers of yeast, cream, and salted nuts. There's a herbal thread running through - almost medicinal but not off-putting - and sharp minerality that gives it real edge. The high-toned acidity keeps everything buzzing, almost vibrating on your tongue. It's clearly young, probably too young, but the fruit peeks through just enough to make it drinkable now. Vibrant, structured, full of promise. A lovely, slightly wild thing that'll reward patience but doesn't punish impatience.
Raumland Cuvée Katharina 2019
- Region
- Germany » Deutscher Wein
- Type
- white traditional sparkling, brut nature
- Producer
- Wine
- Vintage
- 2019
- Disgorged
- N/A
- On lees
- >36 months
- Grapes
- Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir
- Alcohol
- 12
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Find at

This wine secured the 🏅 6th place in our wine tasting lineup.
Blind tasting. Didn't guess it, which annoyed me because I'd been specifically wanting to try this. Very cool wine. Brioche, yellow fruit, citrus, some light red berries - classic sparkling territory. I thought it was Champagne at first, the aromatics were spot-on, but the finish is a bit smudged, a little less precise than I would love it to be. That's what threw me off. I started second-guessing myself into absurd territories. Still, it's fun and tasty. German Sekt at this level deserves more attention than it gets.
Burja Žorž: 2020

Unfortunately, this one was corked.
Dario Prinčič Bianco Trebež 2020
- Region
- Italy » Friuli-Venezia Giulia » IGP Venezia Giulia
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Wine
- Vintage
- 2020
- Grapes
- Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
- Alcohol
- 13
- Volume
- 750 mL

This wine secured the 🥈 2nd place in our wine tasting lineup.
Bold and direct, but not flat - there's real depth under that richness. Opens beautifully in the glass: ripe peach, apricot jam, dried mango, and a touch of herbal dryness that keeps it from going full-on fruit bomb. Still very young, with high acidity and grippy tannins that announce themselves clearly. It's bright and intense in a way that'll either charm you or push you away - no middle ground here. Long, perfumed finish that lingers beautifully. A wine with serious presence. The kind of orange wine that makes converts of sceptics.
Masi Serego Alighieri Vaio Armaron Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2000

This wine secured the 🏅 4th place in our wine tasting lineup.
Black olive, marzipan, liquorice, dried cherry, chocolate - the nose is almost Port-like in its intensity and sweetness. You expect something heavy and cloying, but then the acidity surprises you: still vibrant despite the age, still cutting through all that concentration. The tannins are beautifully developed and integrated, turned soft and almost velvety. This is powerful wine - very concrete, very unapologetic about what it is. Maybe not the most interesting or intellectually challenging bottle, but… bloody delicious. Sometimes that's enough. Sometimes that's everything.