The CWB Tesco Pink-Off

A Tesco Pink-Off between England and France

Think pink and chances are, neither England nor the Loire is what first springs to mind.

But, with the popularity of rosé rising, everyone is keen to get in on the act. Even northerly climates.

If you reckon England is all about traditional method fizz and Sancerre is just flinty Sauvignon, get with the program!

Both regions now do pink wines - and do them very well.

Tesco Finest English Sparkling Rose Brut (£21)

Made by award-winning Hush Heath Estate, this refreshing pink sparkling wine is produced in the traditional method, hand harvesting grapes to make a pale coral coloured wine, with wild strawberry and citrus flavours, balanced with a vibrant acidity.

A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, cool fermented and aged on the lees for over a year to give a toasty, brioche note. 

white flowers and marzipan with brioche; fresh and sherbetty, citrussy with delicate redcurrants, alpine strawberries and red cherries; fine mousse and minerality; clean and harmonious with good underpinnings.

Good.

Serve as a garden-party aperitif or match with creamy cheeses, oily fish or seafood canapés.

Sancerre Rose (£12)

Made from Pinot Noir, picking is done early in the morning, when the temperature is low, to protect all the Pinot Noir aromas. The grapes are gently pressed and the juices are then fermented at low temperature to preserve all the aromas revealing the subtlety of the terroir. It is bottled in the Spring following the harvest to keep the flavours.

white pepper, red plum and cherry fruit; citrus, tropical fruits, florality and aromatic lemongrass; stone fruits and red berries with zippy gooseberry and grapefruit; good savoury concentration, underpinnings and length.

Very Good.

Match with seafood starters or picnic foods such as quiche and cold cuts.

*****

Further details:

English Fizz - History

Hush Heath Estate, situated in Kent, dates back to 1503. At the heart of the property is a Tudor manor surrounded by 162 hectares of perfectly manicured gardens, vineyards and apple orchards. Forward thinking Richard Balfour-Lynn planted first planted vineyards on the property in 2002.

Today, Hush Heath's 15 hectares of vineyards and 8 hectares of apple trees are meticulously and sustainably managed by a family of viticulturists.

Nestled among the rolling hills, within The Garden of England, the Hush Heath vineyards enjoy quiet serenity and a favourable microclimate supporting optimal ripening conditions for our prized grapes.

Our vines and wines benefit from our outstanding soil; deep Wealden clay, unique to our corner of Kent, which provides dense structure in our wines and vibrant, lively acidity.

Sancerre Pink

Nestled in the heart of the Sancerre appellation, the Domaine Fournier Père et Fils winery goes back generations of winemakers since 1926. The Finest Sancerre Rosé comes from Pinot Noir vines aged between 10 to 30 years.

Sancerre, in the Loire Valley, is incredibly well known for its Sauvignon Blanc wines, but Pinot Noir is also grown here and made into delicate rose wines like this Finest Sancerre Rose.

Kinsbrook Pinot Gris

An unusual Pinot Gris from England's Kinsbrook

Think of English still white wines and it tends to be obscure Germanic or native varieties that come to mind; anything that can tolerate England's cool, damp climate.

Pinot Gris, the grape of warm, dry Alsace is certainly not high up on the list and yet that is what the founders of Kinsbrook have planted in their vineyard near the South Downs between Brighton and London.

The full history of the winery is below, but suffice it to say that in 2014, the Beckett family established the 40-acre vineyard with largely self-taught Joseph Beckett the youngest vineyard owner in the country.

With no small amount of vision and ambition, they have made a really lovely wine that manages to be several things at once:

- technically impressive (really well made from good quality fruit)

- unusual, if not unique (great for bragging rights)

- lovely to drink (delicious!)

Kinsbrook Pinot Gris, 2020 (£20)

Aromatic with delicate herbs and white flowers; ripe pear and white stone fruit with gooseberry, cantaloupe melon and freshly-cut grass; honeysuckle, some sweet spices and a touch of minerality. Very adept and elegant, very well-made.

Drinks well on first opening, but rounds out with some aeration; will gain complexity with age.

Very Good.

Light enough for a summer sipper, match with young cheeses or seafood.

Stockist details here: Stockists — Kinsbrook Vineyard

***** 

From the Kinsbrook website:

Kinsbrook Vineyard was founded by the Beckett family in 2014. At the core of the company’s ethos is the importance of family.

Our range of still and sparkling wines are named ‘KIN’ because we honour interconnectedness, both with our family and our customers. After all, the best wine is the wine shared with those we love. Everything we do is in line with our true passion for our nation’s fine wine and food, our appreciation for our land and our roots and the celebration of all that it means to be Kin.

‘Kinsbrook Vineyard has been built ‘from the ground up’ by the third generation of The Becketts. We are a family-run Sussex Vineyard whose goal is to produce premium wines using innovation and meticulous attention to detail.

At the heart of each bottle is our devotion to the English countryside and our unwavering desire to seamlessly translate the fruit from the field into your glass.’

At 27 years old, Joseph Beckett is the youngest vineyard owner in the country. In 2014, after finishing University, Joseph and his family decided to invest in the English wine industry. His first négociant wine, created by award-winning winemaker Dermot Sugrue, was bottled and placed on lees in 2015 whilst Joseph created his ten year plan.

Almost totally self-taught, Joseph plunged himself into setting up his vineyards with the tools he had at hand. The first vineyard was planted in May 2017, with further sites planted in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

With qualifications from Plumpton College and his WSET Level 3 under his belt, he has an insatiable desire to keep learning.

Joseph visited Auckland in 2016 which allowed him to witness first-hand the immensity of the wine tourism on offer in New Zealand. Truly struck by its success and its scale, Joseph came to realise that there was huge unlocked potential in British wine tourism.

He resolved to dedicate his life not only to the production of premium wine, but to the creation of an all-encompassing, shared experience around it.

We have a total of 44,500 vines so far, across three sites.

• The Orchard Site was the first vineyard to be planted in May 2017. In the 20th Century, the field was used to grow apples and pears to make English cider. The site is made up of 19,500 vines. 

• The Pension Field was planted second, in 2018. This field is our smallest block with only 3,500 vines. It is solely Pinot Meunier.

• ‘Picketty 1’ was planted the same year, with 12,500 vines.; a further planting of 9,000 vines took place at ‘Picketty 2’ in 2019.

The 40 acre site will continue to expand through the years as Kinsbrook grows in size. This vineyard is to become our main site devoted to local and national Wine Tourism. 

The three grapes traditionally used to make a cuvée (blended) sparkling wine are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. We have planted these three varieties, along with Bacchus, Pinot Gris and Précoce (early ripening) Pinot Noir.

Tuffers' Tipples - Phil Tufnell's wine collection

A new range of wines from former cricketer Phil Tufnell, via Virgin Wines

A wine's presentation should make a promise that the liquid in the bottle keeps.

Tuffers' Tipples do exactly that.

You will probably be able to decide everything you need to know about the wines from how you feel about the presentation - in the most general sense.

If you like the look and sound of them, you will, on balance, probably enjoy them - and vice versa.

The wines come as a range of six from different countries: the whites are two Sauvignons and an English Bacchus; the reds include a French GSM blend, Spanish Tempranillo and an Aussie Shiraz.

Each bottle has a different picture of Phil and you'll pay quite a premium for the celebrity association.

The basics are mostly present and correct; freshness, aroma, fruit and a bit of savouriness. The whites have some lees aging to make them more food-friendly so they generally score better for winemaking effort than for the underlying quality of the fruit.

They are probably best served to a general audience with the whites well chilled; they will match with party foods, such as pizzas, barbecues with plenty of strong sauces or chips-and-dips.

Detailed tasting notes are below; for my money the Bacchus is the most interesting of the lot.

The whites

Sauvignon Blanc, Côtes de Gascogne, France (£11.99)

zesty and aromatic; fresh white stone fruits, melon and pineapple with pea shoots and zippy lime, some savoury leesiness.

Match with lighter curries, such as prawns with red lentils.

Sauvignon Blanc, Margaret River, Australia (£18.99)

floral and tropical with white peppery spice; melon, tropical fruits and stone fruit with citrus and zippy lime zest, gooseberry and grapefruit; savoury, leesy underpinnings.

Thoroughly pleasant.

Match with white meat and herbs, such as roast pork with sage or monkfish with a herby broth.

Bacchus, Essex, England (£15.99)

floral hedgerow and delicate aromatics; citrussy sherbet, lemongrass and fresh green herbs with some complex savoury leesiness; light and fresh with some persistence.

Thoroughly pleasant.

Match with light, aromatic starters, such as mozzarella with parsley or herby cream cheese on ciabatta.

The reds

All three reds would work well at an outdoor summer party; match with smoky grilled meats and plenty of barbecue relish. The Shiraz demands robust and strong-flavoured foods.

GSM, Pays d'Oc, France, 2020 (£12.99)

overripe plums, figs and prunes with spice and menthol; freshness with baked bramble fruits, raisins and coconut-caramel.

Tempranillo, Castilla-la-Mancha, Spain, 2019 (£12.99)

spice, bramble fruits, dried herbs and damp earth; mouthwatering freshness with pastille fruits and dusty, dried cherries.

Shiraz, Margaret River, Australia, 2019 (£18.99)

spicy dark berry fruit with inky graphite; fresh and generously extracted with blueberries, milk chocolate, oaky vanilla and caramel.

*****

Notes from Phil Tufnell and Virgin Wines:

Phil Tufnell fell in love with wine over 30 years ago, on his first Ashes trip to Australia with England and has delighted in creating his own collection of bespoke tipples.

His aim? To produce game-changing wines, that leave even the most discerning of wine drinkers stumped for choice.

Phil says: “I’ve always loved wine, with a passion that goes beyond just drinking it! The whole winemaking process fascinates me, and I’ve been privileged enough to learn about everything from provenance to pressing to most importantly tasting, while working on this collection. It’s been incredibly exciting to get to know the winemakers involved, I can’t wait to continue on this journey with Virgin Wines and have everyone try this cracking selection of wines. Happy Days.”

To start the collection, a delectable Tempranillo from Castilla-la-Mancha in Spain is joined by a flavourful French duo of a Sauvignon Blanc and GSM (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blend.

These premium-level editions are perfect for everyday drinking and work nicely alongside the collection’s super-premium bottles: a new world Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc.

Carefully selected from Australia; these special tipples are a nod to Phil’s cricketing heritage and 2003 I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here win.

Topping off the range is something a little closer to home; a luxurious English Bacchus expertly made in New Hall Vineyard in Chelmsford.

Echoing the same sentiments as Phil, the team at Virgin Wines are delighted to be bringing out this strong portfolio of wines with ties to Phil’s remarkable playing career.

Virgin Wines’ Head Buyer and all-round wine guru Andrew Baker says: “Phil is a cricketing legend who has genuine interest in wonderful wines but wants to have fun along the way, which is what we’re all about.

The wines we’ve sourced for this collection are made in collaboration with extremely talented, independent winemakers across the globe who have absolutely mastered their craft. We cannot wait for our customers to try them.”

The CWB Fizz-Off: England vs France

Two celebratory wines with bubbles: Hambledon vs De Saint Gall

English fizz is truly world class; we have the cool-climate and chalk soils to make a sparkling wine that can stand up against anything the rest of the world can offer.

Yet Champagne remains the benchmark for sparkling wine, even if only for historic and marketing reasons.

You will pay about the same for an English wine vs an equivalent Champagne; English wines are inherently more expensive to make (smaller scale, cooler climate), whereas the French wines carry more of a price premium.

Here I put two sparkling wines to the test - appropriately, at the start of English Wine Week.

The English fizz is from Virgin Wines, the Champagne is imported by Daniel Lambert Wines.

The Young Turk

Hambledon Vineyards Classic Cuvee Brut NV (£30, Virgin Wines) 

From one of the oldest commercial vineyards in the UK, established in 1952 in Hampshire; the wines have been served on the QE2, in British Embassies, the Houses of Parliament and around the world.

Yeasty brioche with complex, musky toastiness; apple-and-pear fruits with creamy brazil nut and oatmeal, florality and biscuity richness; fresh, precise and linear. Rich, expressive and adept.

Very Good.

Serve as an aperitif or match with seafood, such as prawn vol-au-vent starters or a salmon main.

The Old Master

De St Gall Blanc de Blanc Premier Cru N/V

Blessed with an exceptional terroir, De St Gall takes a collective approach to winemaking with expertise passed down from generation to generation. Thanks to the unrelenting passion of its winegrowers and winemakers, the winery has honed its methods to produce highly singular Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagne wines of a pure, elegant style, united by a common passion for winemaking, a sense of duty and a desire to share this precious knowledge: they are the guardians of an invaluable legacy that must be carefully preserved as it is brought to fruition.

Pale yellow, expressive with florality, fresh hazelnut, apple flesh, yellow stone fruit, citrus, biscuity brioche and creamy leesiness; full and generous with fine bubbles and freshness; persistent, full and precise.

Very Good.

Serve as an aperitif or match with sophisticated hors d'oevres.

The judgement of Paris?

So, which of these two wines is the better?

That's almost impossible to answer as, within their style, they are both quite different.

Both being traditional method sparklers, they are citrussy and fresh with bubbles in. So far, so similar. They also sit broadly in the same price bracket (if you are fussing over a few £s, you are missing the point at this level).

The English fizz is a blend of 60% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier, giving more richness, weight and expressiveness to the wine, despite it being from much further north.

The Champagne is a Blanc de Blancs, meaning 100% Chardonnay; this means more florality and elegance. Everything is just that little bit finer and, I suspect, it will improve with age in a more interesting way than the English fizz.

So, an honourable draw, then.

*****

Other reviews

Jamie Goode calls the Hambledon "quite brilliant. 93/100 " - full review here: 

Hambledon Classic and Première Cuvées: two classics from Hampshire – wineanorak.com

Two Rathfinny Wines

A brace of English fizzes from Sussex-based Rathfinny

Mark and Sarah Driver, owners of Sussex winery Rathfinney, are not short on vision - as they explain on their website:

Our ambition is that in twenty years’ time you will walk into a bar or restaurant in New York or Beijing and you’ll be asked, “Would you like a glass of Champagne or a delicious glass of Sussex? I can recommend Rathfinny.”

Based on these two wines, that is not an unreasonable expectation; the quality is in no doubt, so the only challenge that remains is raising awareness.

How it all began - The Rathfinny vision

Mark and Sarah Driver established the Rathfinny wine estate in 2010 on a working arable farm with the express intention of producing some of the world’s finest quality sparkling wines. 

Their vision is about a great deal more than the production of outstanding Sussex sparkling wine. Rathfinny aims to contribute something special to the unique spirit of place in this beautiful part of the South Downs, which has been farmed since medieval times.

Where it all began - The perfect location

The estate is located on the same band of chalk that forms the Paris basin, running from northern France into southern England. This breath-taking south-facing slope in the south downs of Sussex is one of England’s exceptional natural landscapes. The climate, chalk, soil and aspect make it the perfect site for producing world-class sparkling wine.

Once a working arable farm in the South Downs of Sussex, Rathfinny’s first 50 acres of vines were planted in April 2012. All the grapes come from their single-site vineyard of 385,000 vines across 230 acres with plans to increase this to 350 acres eventually.

There are three principal grape varieties; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier as well as a small amount of Pinot Gris. The vines are set out on an ideal south-facing slope, just three miles from the English Channel where the unique local micro-climate and the free-draining chalky soils create superb grape-growing conditions.

Classic Cuvee 2017, Sussex (£29.00 at Harvey Nichols during May)

Made from a blend of predominantly Pinot Noir with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, aged for 36 months in the bottle. 

Red fruits, yeasty brioche and autolysis on the nose; ripe redcurrant and wild strawberry fruit with citrus and orchard fruits. Creamy and complex; precise and harmonious, supple yet linear and intense with flawless, complex underpinnings.

Improves with aeration; will age.

Very Good.

Serve as an aperitif or match with fish and chips, grilled prawn linguini or a home-cooked chicken pie.

Rathfinny match this wine with potato gnocchi, wild mushrooms, sage and pine nuts in their Flint Barns Dining Room restaurant.

Blanc de Blancs Brut 2017, Sussex

Frothy with citrus-sherbet, white flowers and honeysuckle; orchard fruits, brioche and creamy brazil nut and oatmeal savouriness; precise, linear and structured yet rich and rounded. Concentrated, intense and mineral 

Improves with aeration; will age.

Very Good Indeed.

Drink as an aperitif or match with seafood from oysters to langoustine in butter sauce or twice-baked cheese souffle.

Other reviews of Classic Cuvee

Recommended by Brian Elliott here: Sunday Best Wines for Spring | Mid-Week Wines (midweekwines.co.uk)

Jamie Goode: This is pure and focussed. It’s all about fruit, with precision and intensity. Zesty, citrussy, with hints of cherries and pear fruit – Jamie Goode, WineAnorak.com

Oxford - A Brief Guide

Entering Oxford, I wondered if I might have to show my passport; I've lived in Cambridge for longer than anywhere else and it is fair to say there is a degree of rivalry between the two cities.

I've always characterised the two places thus: as a city, Cambridge is nicer, but as a county, Oxfordshire is more interesting.

Oxford is the slightly larger of the two; everything is on a grander scale and with more of it: two rivers, rather than just one; a more-extensive leafy suburban hinterland; wider streets, bigger parks and a larger city centre.

Cambridge has long struck me as a cosmopolitan global city, up there with London and NY - albeit a tiny one that retains its mediaeval street layout; it is essentially a grand university and vast teaching hospital-cum-research campus with an provincial fenland market town wedged in between.

Oxford feels more like a well-to-do, upper-middle-class, southern English town that happens to have a university in it. Its colleges feel more shuttered away and inward looking; in the city but not really of it.

Stay

Staying in central Oxford is not cheap, but there are various inexpensive hotels nearby if you just need a bed for the night and don't mind a short drive. Premier Inn and Holiday Inn will (at the time of writing) both get you a room for less than an AirBnB in the city.

Eat - breakfast / brunch / lunch

Tourist cities are generally poor-value for eating out as they do not have to rely on repeat business. We headed out of the centre for coffee, cakes and melts at Jericho Cafe (Jericho is a Victorian hipster suburb a ten-minute walk from the centre).

Eat - dinner

The Killingworth Castle in Wootton is a 17th century coaching inn with its own beer range and a Good Pub Guide food award.

The Feathers in Woodstock also comes recommended, especially for its range of gins.

For more informal dining, Posh Fish in the suburb Headington does some of the best fish and chips in Oxford - with Bury Knowle Park just opposite, you can order and have an impromptu picnic on a sunny evening.

The only thing you need to bring is something to accompany it - in our case two Rhônes; a white Grenache blanc and a spicy red, both from Roaix.

See

The main purpose of any trip to Oxford has to be to see the city itself and especially the colleges; there is plenty of all-day parking around the edge of the city and from there you can spend a day wandering around all the main sights which are well signposted once you arrive.

Punting

In Cambridge, the best way to see the colleges is from the river; by contrast, punting in Oxford will take you alongside parks and river walks.

There is a short, circular route past the botanic garden starting from the Magdalen Bridge Boathouse for novices and those pushed for time. The more adventurous can punt all the way down the Cherwell to the Thames - just take care not to get swept away to London and beyond.

Further afield

Beyond the city are Blenheim Palace and Gardens, birthplace of Winston Churchill, and next-door Woodstock with its wall-to-wall quaintness, as well as the Cotswolds themselves.

L&C Gin from Virgin Wines

 A new gin from Bullards Distillery, exclusive to Virgin Wines

Virgin Wines have been working with Norwich-based Bullards Distillery to produce a new gin; a London Dry, the botanicals are re-distilled with the gin and juniper for elegance.

With an emphasis is on easy-drinking freshness, additional flavourings have been limited to lime leaf and cardamom.

Using fewer ingredients means that each must complement the others and be of the highest quality - there's no room to hide.

Fortunately, Virgin's spirits buyer, Dave Roberts, and Master Distiller of Bullards, Dave Crofts, have succeeding in creating a distinctive and very elegant gin.

L&C Limited Edition London Dry Gin (£41.99, Virgin Wines) aromatic, citrussy and botanical with lifted cardamom on the palate; zesty, fresh and inviting. Balanced, harmonious, elegant and long.

Good.

Serve as an aperitif, ideally neat. In the Garden. On a sunny day.

The English Whisky Company Smokey Single Malt Whisky With Jug - Virgin Wines

A Father's Day gift from Virgin Wines - English Whisky

The English Whisky Company Smokey Single Malt Whisky With Jug

To the list of things that you didn't know England did well you, can now add peaty whiskies.

The English Whisky was established in 2006 in Norfolk as a retirement project. Unlike vodka or gin which can be sold as soon as produced, whisky needs time in cask to mature; 8 years is considered entry-level, so it's a while before your project starts to pay back.

Is this a distinctively English whisky? Absolutely not - and that's no bad thing. Tasted blind, you'd be forgiven for placing it on Islay, home to Scotland's smoky, peaty whiskies.

It comes with a water jug and whilst it's all about personal preference, one rule-of-thumb is to add just a few drops, around 20% of an appropriate mineral water to your glass.

The English Whiskey Company Smokey Malt Whiskey with Jug (£46.99, Virgin Wines) complex and expressive; rich, sweet and full palate, viscous, saline and peppery with savoury fruitcake, roasted peaty spices and long, warming finish.

Very Good.

Drink as a digestif or match with sticky toffee pudding or espresso and dark, bitter chocolate.

Irresistible Eight Acres Sparkling Rosé - The Co-op

A classy English barely-pink fizz from the Co-op

Hush Heath is a Kent-based vineyard making excellent English fizz.

I have to confess to finding the shiny purple packaging for this sparkler a little garish; it brings to mind more a basic Prosecco than a traditional-method fizz

It is a pink fizz, but only just a rosé - on colour alone you could argue either way for it being a dark standard issue or a rosé. However, on the palate there is lots of red fruit which makes it a rosé by flavour if not colour.

It is also reasonable value within its category; priced in the high teens, it is certainly not "everyday cheap", but the contents are excellent and worth every penny.

And being home grown, you can enjoy being patriotic in a more progressive way than, say, putting a brick through someone's window.

Irresistible Eight Acres Sparkling Rosé (£18) traditional Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier blend; very pale pink in colour, with brioche and autolysis; clean, fresh and vibrant with orchard fruits, wild strawberry, lime and redcurrant. Textured, minerally and well-structured with a fine mousse.

Good.

Drink as an aperitif or match with canapes such as seafood vol-au-vents.

English Fizz and South African Pinotage from The Co-op

Two wines from the Co-op - for British Food Fortnight and International Pinotage Day

Naming your range "Irresistible" is quite the statement of intent; the good news here is that the Co-op's buyers reliably source a collection of well-made, easy-drinking yet sophisticated wines.

If you have marked your diary for British Food Fortnight (21 September - 6 October) and International Pinotage Day (12 October), then you could do a lot worse than these two:

Irresistible Eight Acres Sparkling Rosé (£18) a fresh and elegant English classic-blend pink fizz from Hush Heath Estate in Kent.

Co-op Irresistible Pinotage (£7) a good value and well-made juicy saffer with dark fruit, spice and herbs.

At any other time, you can serve the fizz with canapé starters and the red with a main of darker game.

Denbies Cubitt Blanc de Noirs 2013

A classy English BdN fizz from Denbies

English fizz is now arguably an established classic; you can comfortably serve a glass of English fizz to guests at the start of a good meal and not feel the need to explain or apologise.

There are other wines with bubbles in, of course - of which some more sophisticated than others. Where English fizz excels is at the very top; crafted, complex, precise sparklers that can be as good as any you will find.

Wines this well-made and long-aged in a cool-climate are necessarily not cheap to produce or therefore buy; but they represent good value for the quality.

Established in 1986, Denbies in Surrey is now England's largest vineyard and accounts for a tenth of all UK plantings - I have historically always found their wines to be impressive.

For those with a technical interest, this is a vintage Blanc de Noirs fizz, meaning that it is a white wine made from black grapes, here Pinot Noir, with secondary fermentation in bottle and a low dosage, resulting in a weightier, more aromatic and more textured wine with some evolution at six years old.

I normally make it a principle not to drink vintage fizz until at least 10 years; this is drinking nicely now, and will improve further with aging.

Cubitt Blanc de Noirs 2013 (£34, Denbies, denbies.co.uk) ripe red-berry fruits, orchard fruits and citrus with leesy, yeasty brioche and autolysis. Substantial, savoury and well-structured with linear acidity and minerality; pure, precise and poised.

Very Good; and will continue to improve with age.

Drink as an aperitif; match with meaty white fish, such as monkfish, Dover Sole in butter or soft white cheese.

Also available from Denbies is a newly-released Sparkling Bacchus at £16.95.

Domaine of the Bee at Thirsty

A tasting of Justin Howard-Sneyd's Domaine of the Bee wines at Thirsty Cambridge

What do you get if you cross a Master of Wine with a winemaker and buyer for Waitrose and Laithwaites?

This not a joke in search of a punchline, it is the backstory to Justin Howard-Sneyd who has worked in wine shops, been a cellar-hand and assistant winemaker in 4 different countries, was Global Wine Director for Laithwaites and in charge of the wine department at Waitrose before producing his own wine at Domaine of the Bee.

With not a lot of money to invest, Justin bought 4 hectares of vines in the Roussillon region of the South of France, near the village of Maury and began to make wine.

There is very much a family resemblance to all of Justin's wines - and the influences are clear: technically, they are very well made with no rough edges, as you would expect from an MW; they are also very fruit-forward and expressive, just the sort of thig that major retailers know will sell; finally they are made in small quantities and priced ambitiously to avoid competing on volume at the lower-end of the market.

In their own words, the Domaine loves to champion big reds, the style we love and the style we make, and we are unashamed enjoyers of full-throttle, turbo-charged Grenache.

Hart of Gold 2013 (£31.25) Chardonnay, Pinot, Pinot Meunier blend, big, substantial, spicy and leesy with lots of red apple and ripe citrus fruit. Good.

Taronja de Gris, Orange Wine 2017 (£30) orange wine from Grenache Gris with 1 month skin contact including some stems; fresh and elegant with soft red fruits, aromatic orange peel, herbal notes and some tannic grip. Good.

Grenaschista Cotes Catalanes (£16.50) fresh and elegant with red fruits, fine tannins, long and supple with old vine concentration. Good.

B Side 2015 (£18) second wine (hence the pun-tastic name) bramble fruits, oaky spice, warming and expressive. Good.

Domaine of The Bee (£25) a vertical of recent vintages

2015 plump, supple concentrated and inky with dark fruits, garrigue herbs and spice. Good.

2013 lighter, fresher, more aromatic. Good.

2011 mushroomy-truffley nose, dark fruits, minty-porty, concentrated and well-structured. Good.

Co-op Irresistible Limestone Rise 2016

An English wine for St. George’s Day from The Co-op

English wine is now becoming A Thing - and with St George's Day approaching, this English wine, made by Denbies for the Co-op, makes for an affordable, patriotic aperitif.

Co-op Irresistible Limestone Rise 2016 £8.99 aromatic hedgerow and elderflower with tropical fruits and fresh minerality. Nicely rounded, if perhaps a little lacking in definition.

Match with light vegetable starters, white meats and mild cheeses.

Bancroft Wines - Spring Portfolio Tasting

Bancroft Wines' Spring Portfolio Tasting, held in the Dutch Church

I've long believed that you judge the quality of a wine merchant by their weakest wines, not their best. Pick a couple of bottles at random and if there's nothing bad about them, you're likley to be on to a winner.

Fortunately, all the wines I tried at this Bancroft Spring Portfolio tasting were throroughly enjoyable, many of them very impressive indeed.

Here are my top picks:

Westwell Wines, Kent, England
Recently acquired by new owners, the wines on show came with the purchase, so few details available; the range is wide - white, fizz, pink, dessert and even amphora - and they were all enjoyable and reasonably priced given their origin.
WS Special Cuvee 2014 (£22.45) elegant, pricise and mineral traditional metho fizz; low dosage; leesy with a firm, assertive backbone. Very Good.

Weingut Weszeli, Kamptal, Austria
Another newly-acquired winery, with an excellent range of GV and Riesling.
Gruener Veltliner Kaeferberg OeWT 2013 (£26.10) precise, complex and full gruener; restrained with stone fruit and some creaminess. Substantial, structured and long. Very Good.

Elena Walch, Alto Adige, Italy

Lagrein Riserva Vigna "Catel Ringberg" 2013 (£30.20) fresh and spicy with fine tannins; substantial with dark fruit and earthy truffles. Balanced, harmonious and poised. Still very youthful. Very Good.

Tacchino, Piedmont, Italy
Good range of classic reds, whites and an off-dry fizz.
Rosso di Monferrato, Di Fatto 2013 (£15.50) a blend of four varieties, spicy and darkly fruited with black and sour cherries, freshness and a firm core; long. Good.

Domaine Savary, Chablis
Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir 2015 (£36.70) rich, complex and floral-honeyed; fresh, with orchard fruit. Still very youthful. Very Good.

Domaine Ratte, Jura
Excellent biodynamic wines from Jura with a distinctive flavour.
"Nature" Savignan 2016 (£25.30) complex nose with struck-match and musky, cidery sharpness; fresh and piercing, yet rich and rounded; long, substantial and complex with good underpinnings. Very Good.

Valdaya, Ribera Del Duero, Spain

Valdaya Mirum 2015 (£31.80) very fresh and harmonious with dark fruit, spice  and very fine tannins. Elegant, substantial and precise. Very Good Indeed.

Hermanos Perez Pascuas, Vina Pedros, Ribera Del Duero, Spain
From the entry-level mid-teens to the top cuvee with a trophy price-tag, these were all excellent wines. Choosing here is really just a case of selecting a budget and taking your pick; it would be easy to single out the £200+ wine as the best, as indeed it was. However, in the real world, there is better value around £20.
Vina Pedrosa Crianza 2014 (£21.50) bramble fruit, spice, earthy truffleyness; harmonious, supple and complex with freshness and substance. Very Good.

Es Fangar, Pla I Levant, Mallorca
Mallorcan wines are not that often seen over here, but are worth seeking out.
N'Amarat, 2011 (£35.75) fresh, spicy and complex with dark-berry fruits and gamey truffleyness; elegant and supple. Very Good.

Bodega Luigi Bosca, Mendoza, Argentina
South America is all too often in thrall to the bigger-is-better style of wines that do well further north. The more interesting winemakers, however, are following a more European-style approach.
Icono Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (£63.20) fresh, vibrant and substantial with a muscular core; dense, energetic and concentrated. Still very youthful. Very Good Indeed.

English Fizz - Two Wines from Denbies

A brace of vintage, single-grape English fizzes from Denbies

Now I believe in miracles
And a miracle has happened tonight
But, if you're thinkin' about my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white

- Michael Jackson, Black or White (1991)

These two English fizzes are both, technically, white wines - however, one is made exclusively from black grapes, the other from exclusively white.

Made from the finest hand-selected grapes from Denbies’ single estate vineyard, and bottle-aged for 27 months, these premium English sparklers are now available to buy online at www.denbies.co.uk.

Denbies Cubitt Reserve Blanc de Blancs 2013 (£42) zero-dosage sparkling Chardonnay; pale straw colour with green apple, citrus, orchard fruits and yeasty brioche; fresh, mineral, leesy, long and substantial. Will repay extended cellaring.

Good now to Very Good in 5 years.

Drink with roast white meats such as chicken or monkfish in a beurre noisette sauce.

Denbies Cubitt Reserve Blanc de Noirs 2013 (£34) made from hand-picked Pinot Noir from Denbies’ vineyard; pale gold, delicate red fruits and farmyardy nose with yeasty brioche; creamy and full with baked pear fruit and hints of strawberry; fine mousse, freshness and a mineral backbone.

Will improve with age.

Good.

Drink with pate or game.

The Most English Fish & Chips

The most English fish & chip shop - with an English wine list

The mark of many a classic wine region is a traditional food match: Muscadet and seafood, Chianti and bistecca alla fiorentina, mature Rioja and manchego.

Add to that, English wine with fish and chips - light and crisp, English wine is a great match for our traditional dish,

Now, Olley's Fish Experience of Herne Hill, South East London has launched the most extensive English wine list of any fish and chip shop in Britain.

Rather than just fizzy pop of varying colours, you can now choose from a range of English wines with your cod or hake. And for would-be Bond villains, there's even a red wine:

· Ridgeview Fitzrovia Sparkling Rosé (Sussex)
· Chapel Down Brut N/V (Kent)
· Jenkyn Place Blanc de Noirs (Hampshire)
· Bolney Pinot Noir (Sussex)
· Lyme Bay Shoreline - Bacchus, Pinot Noir, Reichensteiner, Seyval Blanc (Dorset)
· Chapel Down Bacchus (Kent)
· Litmus Bacchus/Chardonnay (Surrey)
· Jenkyn Place Brut (Hampshire)
· Litmus White Pinot Noir (Surrey)

Four Christmas Wines From Virgin

Four wines for Christmas from Virgin

A Special Day in the CWB household gave me an opportunity to road test some Christmas wines from Virgin.

The food was not especially Christmassy, but if you are looking to create a multi-course sense of occasion with accompanying wines, you could do worse than start with this classy line up of fullsome en rama sherry, vibrant English fizz, structured Italian red and complex Loire sticky.

With canapés; olives and roasted almonds
Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana en Rama, NV, Spain (£16.99 - details here) intense, pungent and concentrated en rama Manzanilla sherry; nutty, floral and bone dry with dried apple fruit and a citrussy finish. Long and elegant.

Good - absolutely demands tapas-style food. Drink now.

With starters; asparagus and parma ham gratin
Bolney Bubbly, NV, Sussex (£22.99 - details here) yeasty, nutty brioche and orchard fruits; well-structured and elegant with a fine mousse. Creamy, citrussy and floral.

Good - works as an aperitif, with light starters or mackerel fillets. Will further improve with age.

With main; beef cobbler
Il Cascinone Rive Barbera, 2014, Piedmonte (£15.99 - details here) black cherries, plums, spice and violets with a dusting of cocoa; very fresh and well-structured and elegant with firm, very fine tannins. Good underpinnings.

Good - needs rich, red-meat dishes.

With dessert; spiced apple and vanilla cake
Domaine Baumard Coteaux du Layon Carte d'Or, 2015, Coteaux du Layon (£11.99, 37.5cl - details here) floral and savoury complexity; rich, honeyed and waxy-oily with pineapple, overripe melon, sweet lemon and candied orange peel. Very precise, fresh and lively. Utterly delicious and could age for many years.

Very Good - match with a range of lighter desserts such as cakes, pastries and fruit tarts (but not Christmas pudding).

Lancaster Bomber Ale

Marston's Lancaster Bomber Ale

A relative received a year's supply of beer for taking part in an event - not a bad result.

His first delivery was several cases of Marston's Lancaster Bomber ale; it proved a little devisive with other members of the family, so he asked me to sample it and give an opinion.

I was only too happy to oblige.

A multi-award winning, classic English ale, it is chestnut in colour with a lovely full-bodied flavour, enriched with a wonderful late hop character - so says the website and it's hard to disagree with any of that.

Darker, richer and weightier than a lager, it is still mid-weight at 4.4% alcohol and with just a balancing sweetness.

Lancaster Bomber Amber-chestnut, with complex biscuity floral aromas; rich, full-flavoured and hoppy with fruitcake flavours. Clean, balanced and refreshing.

Good.

Match with pubby dishes, like steak and ale pie or roast beef.

English Wines for Christmas At Waitrose

English Wines for Christmas At Waitrose

I've been through a number of English wine phases - I have always (mostly) enjoyed them, but it has never resulted in an unqualified devotion to patriotic oenology.

English wines' main challenges are climate, price and range; and that's before you factor in awareness and branding issues.

My advice to people wanting to try English wines is generally to go for the fizz - at the top end it can be much better than equivalent-priced Champagne.

Lower down, still whites can be thoroughly enjoyable, yes there are occasionally interesting (pale) reds and if you seek it out, you can even find a dessert wine.

Waitrose stock a total of 110 wines from England and Wales, many of them available only locally (within 10 miles of the vineyard).

At this Christmas tasting, there were English Wines of all styles and all were thoroughly enjoyable. A couple were even rather Good.

Here are the ones I enjoyed most.

Furleigh Estate Dorset Coast Special Reserve, NV elegant, Champagne method sparkler, mineral and autolytic. Good.

Leckford Estate Brut, 2013 finer and more elegant, still youthful; will gain complexity with age. Good.

Winbirri Bacchus Reserve, 2015 typical aromatic Bacchus hedgerow aromas and freshness; atypically substantial.

Stopham Estate Pinot Gris, 2015 floral and fresh with gooseberry and ripe pear fruit. Think restrained Sauvignon.

Also consider:

Litmus Element 20, 2012 deft and mineral with an intriguing cidery tang.

Bolney Estate Pinot Noir, 2015 very light, fresh Pinot with gentle cherry fruit; think Alsace rather than Burgundy. Deftly made with an appropriately gentle hand.

Denbies Noble Harvest Ortega 2014/15 sweet, botrytised English sticky with beeswax and honeycomb. Fades quickly, though.

Copper Rivet Distillery

Copper Rivet Distillery tasting

Three spirits walk into a bar - they are extremely well made.

Copper Rivet Distillery is a family-owned distillery making spirits with a pronounced attention to detail; they oversee the entire process from grain to glass.

The spirits are rich, elegant and complex; there is a vodka that is delicate and creamy; the gin is sweet, spicy and nuanced.

Finally there is Son of a Gun - a unique spirit that is essentially a non-aged whisky. Deep and complex, it is floral with an oatmealy finish.

This well made, it seems almost a shame to put them into cocktails and mixers.

The spirits are available via the company's website for around £30 for 50cl.