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Big Salt 2020
Ovum

Big Salt 2020

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£22.00
Availability: Translation missing: en.general.icons.icon_check_circle icon Out of stock

COLOUR: WHITE

GRAPE: RIESLING GEWURZTRAMINER

COUNTRY: USA

REGION: OREGON

BOTTLE SIZE: 75CL

THE WINEMAKER: OVUM

John House and Ksenija Kostic both have day jobs so they're able to take risks with Ovum. For example, they focus solely on whites rather than more lucrative reds. "They are unveiled, so raw," explains House. "You can't hide anything. I think whites are a better conduit for terroir (the expression of a vineyard site) than red wines." 

Where a larger winery might ferment whites quickly in large, temperature-controlled steel tanks for a consistency of style from year to year, the goal at Ovum is to reflect the vintage, no matter what it brings. So the techniques are old-school: House and Kostic allow fermentation to happen spontaneously and linger for months, in neutral (old) oak barrels. The resulting wines are richly textured and deeply layered. 

The name "Ovum" is a reference to the perfect natural shape of the egg, and the life cycle a wine takes, from grape to bottle. And, yes, for all you wine geeks out there, these guys do have one of those au courant egg-shaped concrete fermenters. "There is a special convection that occurs in the concrete egg during fermentation that constantly stirs the lees," House explains. "The natural energy and heat generated by the yeasts make the sediment move in a circular fashion, making, in my experience, wines on the most mineral end of the spectrum." 

House and Kostic have made it their mission to find the state's best old plantings of overlooked varieties like Muscat and Gewurztraminer. Their explorations have led them to highlight different vineyards, often in unexpected regions, with each vintage. "There are parts of southern Oregon we find very compelling," says House. "I just got an e-mail from someone who has plantings of Riesling, farmed organically in the Umpqua Valley since 1979. Where has this fruit been going until now? It has been blended." 

SHIPPING & RETURNS

Birmingham deliveries

We offer FREE delivery for orders £85+ within a 10 km radius of our Birmingham city centre. For orders under we charge £5.00 delivery within our 10 km radius.

National deliveries outside Birmingham

We offer FREE UK delivery for all orders £100+. Orders placed before 10am on Monday will be delivered by Friday to addresses in mainland UK, providing the wines are in stock, with some postcode exceptions. Please note that orders placed online on Saturday or Sunday will be processed on Monday, for delivery by Friday the same week.
We have no minimum order, although there is a minimum delivery charge of £9.00 for orders under £100 in order to cover our logistical costs.
We try to ensure delivery is made within 5 working days.
For orders under £100 we have worked hard to find the best price we can, bearing in mind that wine is both heavy and fragile. We use ParcelForce couriers who specialise in due care and diligence with fragile and liquids.

European and Worldwide Delivery

Please contact us direct for a quote. Given the complexity of shipping wine internationally we will provide a bespoke price based on requirements.

Bank Holidays

Our couriers do not operate over bank holidays, therefore additional time will be taken into account if an 'order to delivery window' is processed over a bank holiday.

Returns

We offer free replacement on all stock if proven to be damaged in transit.
If our products are proven to be out of condition on arrival we offer replacement stock to the same value.

 

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