PICKING UP GOLD AT THE SOMMELIER WINE AWARDS 2024
Aimed specifically at the on-trade, the Sommelier Wine Awards are conceived to highlight some of the best wines available, putting them on the map for high end hotels, bars and other venues who wish to enhance their lists with new and captivating products. These awards are judged by some of the top palates and noses in the hospitality trade, and receiving any mention from this elite body is an honour in itself.
With this in mind, it is no minor feat to walk away with a Gold Medal for our Robin Baum Wines, RBW, Veneto Bianco 2020 (Veneto, Italy) as well as a “Critics Choice” and a “Pub & Bar” recommendation.
WHAT THE JUDGES HAD TO SAY
The accolades received by RBW, Veneto Bianco 2020 (Veneto, Italy) were accompanied by the following remarks, painting a picture of this wine’s characteristics and qualities:
‘Immediate stone fruit, apricot and peach yoghurt, as well as honey and buckwheat. Beeswax on the palate, with grain and cereal notes, and a touch of orange. A gastronomic style, with depth.’ – Matthew Davison, Moor Hall
‘Mineral and savoury notes, with orchard and stone fruit. A food friendly wine that would be perfect for a gastropub.’ – Giacomo Recchia, Bob Bob Ricard
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR AWARD-WINNING WINES
RBW, Veneto Bianco 2020 (Veneto, Italy) is just one of the artisan wines made in Italy by Robin Baum, a specialist winemaker from England. All of the wines under the RBW label are mainly matured in ceramic egg shaped vessels, hence Robin’s nickname “The Egg Man.” To find out more, get in touch by calling 07778311625 or send an email to robinfbaum@gmail.com.
THE EGGMAN PRESENTS
RBW is the brand of wines made in Italy by Robin Baum, a specialist winemaker from England. All his wines are matured in ceramic egg shaped vessels, hence the nickname THE EGGMAN.
“The wine world is talking about eggs, egg shaped vessels in which wine is matured. By coincidence I am seen as a pioneer of this method of production.
I started using them 6 years ago in Chianti when I imported 2 Magnum 675 ceramic egg shaped vessels made in the Barossa Valley in Australia into Italy. At the same time I bought 2 cement egg shaped vessels made by Nomblot in Burgundy.
Further research identified producers within Italy and I thought it would be interesting to start a collection and compare Clayver, Sirio and Porcellanea and more recently TAVA. This collection is now housed in the 5 wineries in Italy where I make my portfolio of Italian wines, in Veneto, Chianti (2), Montalcino and on Mount Etna in Sicily. The pyramid of wines identifies these wines.
So why egg shaped? Simply the shape enables better circulation of the juice allowing the various molecules present to interact and better contact with the lees following fermentation in the eggs.
The benefit of the egg shape was only one of the reasons why I chose to make my wines using ceramic egg shaped vessels. I wanted to go back to enhancing the natural flavours of the grape and producing elegant, juicy, fruity wines with long lengths of taste in the mouth. All the vessels I use are porous so you get 2 benefits from this:
1. Natural slow oxidation of the wine, and
2. Natural temperature control, the cool air filters into the wine from the outside of the egg and this cools the inner wine.
Also these vessels are inert and add no flavours to the wine. All the vessels are certified for use by the relevant Food Standards Authority, and all the vineyards with whom I work have adopted organic standards in both their vineyards and winery, and most are certified. Indeed some are certified biodynamic.”
SO WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF REAL NATURAL WINE
IT IS RAINING MEDALS ON THE EGGMAN!
THANK YOU MR. WINEHUNTER
For over 30 years in early November the Merano Wine Festival has taken place in the Alto-Adige region in Northern Italy, this year we decided to participate for the first time. All wines (maximum 5) have to be reviewed and selected in a blind tasting carried out by the WineHunter team of experts. The results are in:
DIPLOMA OF EXCELLENCE RBW WINES
- 2018 Veneto Pinot Nero GOLD
- 2020 Veneto Garganega IGT ROSSO
- 2015 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG ROSSO
- 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG ROSSO
- 2018 Chianti Classico DOCG ROSSO
ALL of our wines achieved in excess of 90 points with the top selection being Pinot Nero made in partnership with our good friends at Contra Soarda- 96.
This years Festival is held from 3 – 7 November in Merano and we hope to see you there to taste our medal winning wines.
REMEMBER in the U.K. we only sell our wines direct, that way you get a better price. Contact details for both U.K and Italy are below.
SALUTI!
HOW DOES THE WINEHUNTER AWARD WORK?
There are eight expert panels with at least three members each. They blind-taste forty wines in each round of tasting. Every bottle is opened at least two hours beforehand, to let the wine breathe and open up.
The experts are told a few key details about each wine. They’re told where it’s from, which grapes it’s made from, how it’s made and the vintage – but the producer is kept secret. The wines that score really high are then tasted by the Central Committee of Merano. It consists of Helmuth Köcher (the founder of The WineHunter) and two other senior experts.
After tasting the wine, the expert panels assign scores out of 100 based on the way the wine looks, the way it smells and the way it tastes. The best wines – those that score more than
90 points – are awarded diplomas of excellence:
– Rosso (Red): 90 to 92.99 points
– Gold: 93 to 95.99 points
– Platinum: 96 to 100 points.
Newsletter August 2023
WINES MADE BY “THE EGGMAN “ IN TUSCANY, VENETO AND SICILY
Our PYRAMID of wines shows all the wines currently bottled of which stocks are stored in our warehouses in Tuscany and London so we can deliver any mixture directly to customers in Italy and England.
“ONE STOP SHOPPING”
JUST RELEASED ETNA ROSATO 2022
ANOTHER MEDAL 2018 IGT
100% Sangiovese – no oak matured 24 months in Porcellanea ceramic egg shaped vessel.
GLOBAL MASTERS SANGIOVESE 2023 Blind Tasting BRONZE MEDAL
To add to Bronze medals awarded to Chianti Classico Riserva 2016, Pinot Nero 2018 and Silver medal to Brunello di Montalcino 2015 in previous Global Masters tastings AND 91/100 to Gran Selezione Chianti Classico 2017 in Decanter tasting last year.
NOT JUST CHIANTI – NOT JUST SANGIOVESE
Winemakers Club Italia makes wines under its RBW brand label in wineries situated in Veneto, Sicily and Montalcino as well as Radda in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti.
Together with Setriolo in Castellina MERLOT 2019 was matured for 2 years in my original Magnum 675 ceramic egg made in Barossa Valley, Australia.
In Veneto in partnership with Contra Soarda VENETO BIANCO 2020 and PINOT NERO 2018 both matured in Clayver trio ceramic vessels . Yes, of course they are egg shaped!
In Sicily we have just bottled ETNA ROSSO 2019, 100 per cent Nerello Mascalese grown on the northern slopes of Mt Etna.
In Montalcino, BRUNELLO 2015 made in partnership with Fattoria dei Barbi and, of course, 100 per cent Sangiovese.
NEWS from THE EGGMAN May 2022
EACH YEAR I MAKE A ONE OFF SPECIAL WINE, A LIMITED PRODUCTION OF BOTTLES MATURED IN MY CERAMIC EGGS WHICH I AND MY COLLEAGUES BELIEVE MERITS BEING MADE INTO A SPECIAL BOTTLING ON ITS OWN.
2017 was a unique blend of grapes consisting of 46 per cent Merlot, 36 per cent Alicante Bousquet and 18 per cent Sangiovese matured in my original Magnum 675 Australian egg for 12 months and made in partnership with Setriolo in Castellina in Chianti.
A big bold wine due to the large amount of Alicante Bousquet which is a very tannic grape variety. Sold out within 3 months of release, but I have kept back a few bottles to monitor its ageing over the next 10 years when I still think it will be a fantastic drop.
2018 100 per cent Sangiovese, no oak matured for two and three quarter years in a ceramic egg shaped vessel made by Porcellanea in Barbaresco in Northern Italy. Normally this wine would be blended into my Chianti Classico but throughout our regular tastings of this vintage this wine leapt out.
2019 95 per cent Merlot and 5 per cent Alicante Bousquet again made in partnership with Setriolo and matured in that same Aussie egg for 2 years. Just 800 bottles to be released in the autumn of 2022. Silky smooth Merlot and no oak – pure fruit and definitely Merlot grape on the palate.
Final comment- interestingly all 3 wines have no oak, a pure definition of the grapes and their individual distinctive flavours. ENJOY!