Hencote, Solaris, 2018, Shrewsbury, UK
The UK makes good white wine, excellent sparkling and ok red wine but this Hencote, Solaris from Shrewsbury, that’s up north! Is really good, excellent you could say.
It’s fresh and vibrant with smells and flavours of grapefruit, lemon, lime and a mineral undertone on the taste. There’s acidity there which would pair this well with shellfish.
The fact it come from so far up north is amazing and shows the skill of the wine maker.
Simpsons, Derringstone, Pinot Meunier, 2019, UK
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.
Camel Valley, Bacchus Dry, 2015, Cornwall, UK
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.
Toppesfield, Classic Brut, Sparkling wine, 2018, Essex
I really like the Toppesfield wines, they are no that far away from me and they are really passionate about what they do which I love, along with the wines and this Sparkling Brut.
Its crisp and dry, made in the traditional sparkling wine way this is a elegant but more fruit driven on the flavour than a traditional Champagne way. You get citrus and apples and a little gooseberry undernote in there.
At £24 a bottle its priced as cheaper Champagne but so much more drinkable than french champagne and a step up from french Cremant.
Chet & Waveney, Solaris, 2017, Norfolk, UK
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.
Hencote, Solaris, 2018, Shropshire, England
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.
Bardfield, Anne of Cleves, 2017, Essex, UK
We have visited Bardfield and its an english vineyard that make great easy drinking summer wines. Made with the Bacchus grape you get fresh citrus on the nose and in the taste that’s joined by a lime and lemon under note. It has good length its clean fresh taste makes this a great white wine to just drink on a hot summers day watching the world go by.
At £12 a bottle its what you pay for english white wine. A shame in some ways as the price will put some people off.
Shawsgate, Rosé, 2016, Suffolk, UK
Shawsgate is based in Suffolk, in the UK and does a rather good red wine, but this time I’m trying Rosé which is actually really very good, not just for English Rosé but in general. This is fine stuff at £10 a bottle excellent value.
It has redcurrant and raspberry on the nose and this follows through in a taste with stone fruit and a ziggingness that is fresh, slightly on the sweetest side but it’s more of an undertone sweetness that makes this ready excellent summer drinking. If this was the only rosé I had all summer I would not be disappointed. It’s probably the best rosé I’ve had in 2021.
Vagabond, Ortega, 2018, Oxfordshire, UK
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, Bacchus Fume Reserve, 2016, Essex, UK
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.