Simpsons, Derringstone, Pinot Meunier from the UK it’s the first pinot meunier that I’ve tasted. Normally this is a great that’s so mixed in sparkling such a champagne, it’s rare to have it on its own and I sort of see why, but I can’t say I disliked it.
There’s lots of pear and apple in this with notes of citrus, grapefruit but also yeasty notes, a creaminess but this a very interesting wine. Slightly thicker in texture and and not much acidity, so I would drink this on its own or with light food. We had it this with a full roast and it probably had a job on its hands keep up with the food, but this is one I would definitely recommend trying.
It’s a shame it’s going to be by about £18 a bottle as this will put a lot of people off.
Bacchus is the english grape as Sauvignon Blanc is to New Zealand and its generally good. There are exceptions and this 6 year old Bacchus from Camel Valley in Cornwall is flippin great. 6 Years old and its still fresh, crisp, light in texture but with loads of flavours of citrus, gooseberry, and a hint of elderflower.
This is wine making at it finest and quite frankly at about £15 a bottle its not cheap but there is value here for the quality.
Chet & Waveney is in Norfolk in the UK and has been making wine for a while and for a while its been good stuff. In the last year they have built a new winery and expanded. This white is made with the Solaris grape and while from 2017, its still excellent.
Its light on the nose but has favours of goosebery, lemon, lime and grapefruit with decent length and freshness that you can’t help but want another glass. its not complicated or fussy.
This is what I like about english wine, its just enjoyable.
English white wine is pretty good and this Solaris from Hencote in the north of England is fresh and clean on the palate. There’s citrus, gooseberry, grass and mineral flavours which are subtle but easy. Thats the best part because you don’t get much in the way of aromas.
The only other bad part is the cost, which at £20 a bottle is far to much. At £10 it would be worth getting.
There are some absolutely fantastic English wines but I’m not entirely sure this one made of Ortega grapes can be classed as one.
It’s clear and crisp but it’s very acidic and a little one-dimensional on flavour. There’s lots of lemon with bits of lime coming through but that’s it. This would be really good with seafood as the acidity is very high but we have tried better wines from the UK recently that are worth trying though.
New Hall in Essex has been making Bacchus for a long time and they are getting better and better. They make a lot of different wines which can be a little confusing, so its best to pop a long to an open day and sample!
This 4 year old Fume Reserve is light with aromas of elderflower and mellon, flavours of apple, lemon and hints of gooseberry. Its not what you may call sophisticated but it is what you would all wonderful.
At £12 a bottle it’s decent value given the quality you are getting.
Aldi have some great wines at great prices, sure you can look down your nose at them but you will be missing out as this Bacchus made by Chapel Down shows. How do I know this is from Chapel Down, their post code is on the back!
Bacchus is the English/German Sauvignon Blanc. There are aromas of Melon and Gooseberry with additional flavours of citrus and tropical fruit. Its dry, light and refreshing, perfect with asia food, sea food or in the garden on a summers evening enjoying the sun.
At £7.99 per bottle its cheaper than the 6 case price (£60 for 6 bottles) of the branded Chapel Down Bacchus from the vineyard and much cheaper than the £13 per bottle price. Aldi have done it again with a great wine at a great price.
East Anglia can produce some fantastic Bacchus wine and Tuffon Hall is in this category. A wonderful light lemon color with aromas of grass, green apple and hints of pineapple. It’s a light wine in texture and the flavors are subtle with citrus, lemon, pineapple and a creaminess undertone that makes this dry white wine absolutely delicious.
At about £12 a bottle it’s on the money for English wine, which is a shame in some ways as it will put some people off what is an excellent white wine.
From the oldest vineyard in Kent this was my first Ortega white wine.
Its a medium wine in most respects, a fair bit of fruit, peach, apples, a little grapefruit and flora hints. Its got high acidity and has reasonable length. There is better english wine out there, tI would call this a pleasant wine and it was nice to try a different grape. At £12 a bottle is OK value.
Biddenden Vineyards Gribble Bridge, Ortega Dry 2014, Kent, UK
When you’ve seen one vineyard you’ve seen them all! Well in part that’s true but have you seen a vineyard that’s only a few years old?
Oastbrook vineyard in Sussex, UK has not long been planted. Their grapes have yet to be made into wine as they are to young but they have started to make wine with grapes from near by vineyards. Since I tasted their excellent Pinot Gris I’ve wanted to see the place. Also theres probably not another vineyard that has a hobbit house to stay in. Yep a full grown hobbit house, doesn’t sound right but it looks gorgeous.
The Hobbit house at Oastbrook vineyard
The vineyard is run by Nick and his wife America, she’s from Brazil so hence the name. America studied at Plumpton outside Brighton and is a hands on owner either doing the work or over seeing the work. Her attention to detail is the key to their success so far, that and she’s a thoroughly nice person. Our 2 hour tour and tasting lasted 4 hours and we only left as we were staying with friends in Kent that night and they had dinner ready.
America from Oastbrook and my wife
America went though the history of the area, how the vineyard started, the problems and mistakes that were made. She was honest, it’s no bed of roses starting a vineyard.
The rose sparkling was very good, dry, clean with subtle red fruit, raspberry and currant sitting in the background with brioche notes pointing to the 36 months it’s taken to mature using the Champagne method.
Oastbrook rose sparkling with local cheeses
Next we tried the Pinot Gris. Still heaven. Best to see my previous review. The local cheeses and chuckney were very good, going well with the rose sparkling and Pinot Gris. It’s a shame we had to leave.
When the new winery and tasting building is complete next year this will be the premium vineyard in Sussex to visit. Hire out the Hobbit house and you don’t have far to go to bed.
