My journey in Icelandic music began many years ago with the unforgettable Björk. Two holidays later, having enjoyed the 'Blue Lagoon' (yes, there is one there!), ski-dooing on glaciers and coming out of nightclubs at 6am with the sun already shining brightly, I needed to know more. Convinced by a local to buy a Bellatrix album and later discovering Sigur Rós, my fascination with the country was also ignited by the novel, The Fish Can Sing, an allegory of the struggle for personal and national identity, society values and other aspects of the human condition.
Fast forward to 2024 and Kaleo, the internationally acclaimed, Grammy awards-nominated Icelandic blues rock band, are playing to a packed OVO Arena Wembley, a short walk away from where I grew up and first listened to Björk and co.
Just before their set, I had the opportunity to try four new wines, a collaboration between Kaleo's lead singer, JJ Julius Son and French wine producer, Maison Wessman.
Multi award-winning Maison Wessman is a producer and négociant in southern France, making wine from their own estates and also with a partner in Champagne. In 2016, Robert Wessman, the Icelandic-born businessman and founder of the winery, bought the twelfth-century Château de Saint-Cernin, along with its vineyards in the high Issigeac plateau in Périgord. Five years later, he added another estate nearby, Vignoble des Verdots, close to the town of Bergerac.
Today the winery owns just under 100 hectares - 66ha in Périgord and 30ha in Limoux. They buy in grapes for some of their cuvées, but all the Vignoble des Verdots wines are 100% from their own vines.
Maison Wessman is committed to sustainable practices, protecting biodiversity and soil health with the aim of achieving zero carbon footprint before 2030. Already, Petit Cernin Rouge, a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, is the world's first wine packaged in the Green Gen Bottle®, made from flax fibres, developed by French start-up Green Gen Technologies®.
JJ Julius Son of internationally acclaimed Icelandic group, Kaleo
Son and Wessman have been friends for over a decade. Their shared love of wine has led to this collaboration to create two red wines from Périgord and two white wines from Limoux.
This cuvée sees six months' ageing on its lees in stainless steel vats. The wine is made from grapes grown in the Aude region, at the foothills of the Pyrenees, where the Mediterranean climate is hot and dry and soils are based on clay, gravel and limestone.
🍇 Grapes: Chardonnay 100%.
🎚️ ABV: 13.5%.
🔍 Colour: Yellow with a hint of green.
👃 Nose: Gentle notes of tropical and stone fruit with a touch of lemon.
😋 Palate: Fresh and lively with notes of citrus, white peach, a hint of brioche and a slightly mineral finish.
This cuvée is vinified and aged in wooden barrels for ten months. The grapes used come from two different terroirs: the Haute Vallée (up to 450 metres above sea level with red clay on limestone soils) and the Oceanic (200 to 300 metres altitude with gravel and black clay on limestone soils).
The temperate, moderately humid, marine climate of the Oceanic terroir is characterised by relatively mild summers and winters. Higher altitude, humidity and cooler temperatures in the Haute Vallée see grapes ripening slower. As a result, Chardonnay from the region typically shows freshness with good acidity and complexity.
🍇 Grapes: Chardonnay 100%.
🎚️ ABV: 13%.
🔍 Colour: Bright yellow.
👃 Nose: Floral and aromatic notes of white blossom and tropical fruit plus brioche and cream.
😋 Palate: Notes of lemon cream with tropical fruit, lemon, butter and a touch of cedarwood.
This cuvée is unoaked and comes from grapes grown on clay, limestone and flint soils.
🍇 Grapes: Merlot 70%, Cabernet Sauvignon 20%, Malbec 10%.
🎚️ ABV: 13.5%.
🔍 Colour: Garnet red.
👃 Nose: Notes of small, crunchy berries.
😋 Palate: Notes of red and black berries, blackcurrant and spice with accessible tannins and fresh acidity.
This cuvée has seen ten months' ageing in oak barrels. Grapes grow on well-drained limestone soils with good exposure to the sun.
🍇 Grapes: Merlot 60%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%.
🎚️ ABV: 14%.
🔍 Colour: Deep red.
👃 Nose: Intense and fragrant notes of red fruit, blackcurrant, violet, black pepper and cloves.
😋 Palate: Notes of red and black berries, plum, a touch of cassis, spice and a hint of earthiness with good structure and depth plus well-integrated tannins. The softness of Merlot comes through, while the mouthfeel remains fresh throughout.
Music and wine bring people together. Combine the two and it's even better! Music can even change the way we perceive wine - see my recent Languedoc Vineyard Vibrations article on The Write Taste.
However, you might have to wait a little longer to get your hands on these wines and to enjoy them with some Icelandic vibrations, as Maison Wessman does not currently have a UK importer. When they do, RRPs are expected to be around £15 for White Blood/Hot Blood and around £20 for White Raven/Raven Blood. The official release of these wines will take place during Wine Paris in February 2025.
