Chilford Hall Blush Rose – English wine

This is a blend of Dornfelder, Schönburger & Müller-Thurgau grapes, not your typical varieties. Let’s get away from the main grapes and embrace the others out there.  This wine  is dry with aromas of strawberry and redcurrant and follows on with extra flavours of vanilla and hints of “fruit salad” sweets,  the ones you had  when you were a child, and get when the wife’s not around.

This is never going to be a massive seller of hundreds of thousands of bottles but it’s a really good rose, decent amount of flavour but easy drinking, excellent to watch the sunset in the garden. At £14 it’s pricey but the reality is that English wine is that price, the vineyards also sell all their wines so people think it’s worth it.

Chilford Hall Blush Rose - English wine

Chilford Hall Blush Rose – English wine

Finest wine maker in the uk? possibly & King Coel – 20 year old English Red wine

This weekend I meet up with one of the finest wine makers in the country, possibly the world.

Mary Mudd was the owner of what is now Dedham Vale vineyard, was Carter’s vineyard untill 2001. Made with mainly the Rondo grape with a bit of Dunkelfelder and Dornfelder this was one of her last vintages. Stored under her stairs for nearly all of that time it was soft in texture with a hint of tannins. A chunk of red fruit and still after all that time quite wonderful. The fact that 20 years on it was so drinkerable is a testament to her skill as a wine maker and that great wine can be made in the UK.

King Coel - 20 year old English Red wine

King Coel – 20 year old English Red wine