Unico Zelo is my favourite producer of natural wines next to Gentle Folks. It also has a very strong environmental bend and co-operative focus. I cannot quite understand Unico Zelo's portfolio, but in any case, I just tasted three wines just released. They are all based on Italian varieties, better suited to Australian climate or at least the warm areas where these wines come from.
The 2022 Jade & Jasper is the Fiano. The fruit comes from the Riverland. Obviously, most Riverland fruit is for large industrial production, but there is now one or the other grower who is serious about quality and Unico Zelo has access to them. This wine is very fresh, with peach flavour and with a good acidic backbone. Not much complexity, but a well made quaffer (86 points).
The 2022 Truffle Hound, as the name suggests, has its conceptual home in Piedmont. It is a Nebbiolo/Barbera/Sangiovese/Merlot blend. I struggled with this. One would expect quite a savoury and gamy expression, but this wine is quite fruit forward as well. The fruit is from Clare Valley and McLaren Vale. There is some licorice and spice on the palate, but the fruit is very dominant (86 points).
My pick of the three is the 2022 Fresh A.F. This is a Nero d'Avola with added Grenache and a dash of the white variety Zibibbo from Riverland. Brendan and Laura Carter love Nero d'Avola the most, because it is so water efficient. The cherry fruit is very vibrant. In terms of fruit weight, the wine sits between a Rosé and a Pinot Noir. I recommend to drink it slightly chilled. A great pizza wine (88 points).
The key feature about these wines is their freshness. I think about them as grape juice with alcohol. They are well made, very drinkable, and well priced.
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