Rondo at the Thomas Walk vineyard in Irelan

 

Do you know where would you find the oldest plantings of Rondo?    It is grown in in England, where it is the third most planted red variety.  I have drunk some Dutch Rondo and it is found in other cooler wine producing countries, notably Denmark.   But County Cork in southern Ireland certainly did not trip off the tongue.   And if you liked to know more, I can tell you that the most northern planting of Rondo in the United Kingdom is in Scotland in the county of Fife and the largest planting is at Denbies in Surrey.  

 

It was sailing that brought Thomas Walk to southern Ireland.  He hails from Franconia, the land of Sylvaner and Muller Thurgau,  and was exploring the British Isles on a boat and outside the town of Kinsale.   He liked what he saw and decided to plant vines on his land.  First, he had to clear the sheep and gorse.  His initial plantings – twelve plants of eight different vines failed, thanks to problems with disease, but then Helmut Becker from the Geiseinheim Research Institute suggested Rondo, which at the time was called rather prosaically Geisenheim 6494-5   It is a hybrid variety with a very muddled parentage include Vitis Amurensis, which led Thomas to call his wine Amurensis Walk.  It was only given the name Rondo in 1997.   But the oldest plantings date back to 1985 which qualifies it for a listing in the Old Vine Register.   And the great advantage of Rondo in cool damp climates is that it is highly resistant to disease.  

 

We walked through the vineyards on an August morning, avoiding the gentle rain of an Irish summer and enjoying the views.  The vines looked very healthy, with luxuriant vegetation and some well-formed bunches. Hedges protect the vines from any wind.  Thomas works organically, using no sprays. And he composts the skins and stalks. The winemaking is as natural as possible, with cultured yeast obtained from Germany but otherwise Thomas favours minimum intervention.  His small cellar is spotless and well equipped with small stainless-steel vats.   

 

And from his three small vineyards, barely totalling a hectare, Thomas makes four wines.  There is a sparkling rosé which was not ready for tasting.  He disgorges a la volée, so no freezing, and wearing oil skins for the occasion!  The rosé is quite deep in colour for a rosé, more a light red.  It is dry and savoury, with good acidity and quite an austere finish.

 

There are two versions of red, Velvet, with shorter four- or five-day maceration and Ruby with a longer, seven to ten days on the skins.  One of the characteristics of Rondo is its deep colour.   We tasted the two 2025s from vat.  Both had a deep colour with some firm tannins, balanced with red fruit, while Velvet was lighter in weight than Ruby.  There is no oak; Thomas said very firmly that he did not want the taste of oak.  And then we tried the 2019 Ruby which had evolved nicely to develop some dry savoury flavours, and the 2018 Velvet which was well balanced with tannin and fruit and a fresh finish.   

 

It was a wonderful example of the unexpected in the world of wine.  You never know quite what you will discover.    And as Thomas’s production is tiny, there are very few outlets, his local pub and restaurant as well his local wine shop and the pop-up store at Ballymaloe, that is of course known for its restaurant.  

 

www.thomaswalk-vineyard.com