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A couple of English white wines to enjoy this summer (well, anytime really!)

The more I explore English and Welsh wines, the more I am really struck by the high quality of so many of the wines available from our island’s vineyards. Here are a couple more to enjoy!

Flint Vineyard Bacchus 2019 (Norfolk)

Oz Clarke was quite right when he highly praised the Flint Vineyard Bacchus white wine and recommended it in his book ‘English Wine’. The quality of the wine is all the more surprising when you consider that the vineyard was only established in 2016. The grapes come from the Flint vineyard site in South Norfolk as well as from a site in Essex and are expertly blended by winemaker Ben Witchell to produce a crisp, refreshing wine that has a complexity of layers which delight the taste buds.

With aromas of lime, gooseberry and undertones of elderflower and spice on the nose, and citrus fruit flavours with a hint of minerality on the palate, this is an expressive, well-balanced wine. Dry with a lively acidity and a long finish, it is a wine that is fine to drink by itself, or as the perfect accompaniment to a seafood dish or something slightly spicy.

Camel Valley Atlantic Dry 2020 (Cornwall)

A delightful blend of Pinot Blanc and Bacchus grapes, this a very appealing aromatic wine from one of Cornwall’s longest established wineries, Camel Valley, another of Oz Clarke’s favourites. With the vineyard nestled in the Camel River Valley on the north Cornish coast, you can almost feel the sea air and hear the waves of the Atlantic Ocean lapping the shore as you taste this very aptly-named Atlantic Dry white wine.

This is a dry, medium-bodied wine with refreshing acidity. With aromas of honeysuckle, pear, lemon and grapefruit on the nose, and flavours of apple and peach on the palate, it is a very well-balanced wine, and has a lingering finish.

Needless to say, this is a perfect wine for a fish or seafood dish.

Both wines are available from Grape Britannia.

Q: What do you like best about Spanish wine? A: Its versatility.

Paco & Lola, Garnacha/Tempanillo 2018, Navarra

What I really like about Spanish wine is its versatility. In recent weeks we have enjoyed some excellent white wines – Albariño, Godello, Garnacha Blanca – yet the Spanish reds are no less interesting. And not just the Rioja reds. Take this Paco & Lola Garnacha/Tempranillo for example, a very appealing blend made from grapes grown at altitudes of around 450m in Navarra.

Paco & Lola is already known for its scintillating Albariño and it is very good news that they are now producing an excellent red with the trademark ‘polka dot’ label. This Garnacha-Tempranillo blend combines two of Spain’s most widely-produced red-wine grape varieties and brings out the best features of both: Tempranillo brings higher acidity and tannin, and the Garnacha contributes body and fresh red fruit and warm spicy flavours. The result is a fruity, medium-bodied wine with a great personality.

It’s a dry wine with medium tannin, medium (+) acid and medium alcohol. With aromas of cherry, strawberry and plum on the nose, leading on to cranberry and redcurrant with a hint of cinnamon and smokiness on the palate, it’s a well-balanced wine with a medium (+) finish. It’s a great summer wine!

A refreshing wine for a summer’s evening …

Azumbre Verdejo 2019, Rueda (Spain)

As we have seen in recent posts, Spain offers a rich hunting ground for interesting and refreshing white wines, such as Albariño, Garnacha Blanca, Txakoli and Godello, with each of them bringing features of their distinct regionality to the table.

The Rueda Region, located in Castilla y León, just west of Ribera del Duero and about 100 miles to the northwest of Madrid, is one of the foremost white wine producing areas in Spain, and is particularly known for Verdejo. The region’s continental climate, where the cool summer nights temper the heat of the day, creates ideal growing conditions for the grapes, which are mainly located in the flat highlands, 600-800m above sea level.

Typically, Verdejo wines are fresh and zesty, with flavours of lime and lemon together with pear and peach. A great alternative to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a perfect match for seafood.

The Azumbre Verdejo 2019 is a very good example of what the region has to offer. A dry, medium-bodied wine with medium (+) acidity and a long finish, it has aromas of lemon, apple and peach on the nose, and flavours of lemon and pineapple on the palate. This is a refreshing, zingy wine, perfect for these warm summer evenings.

Available from Jascots (£9.24)

Enjoy this red wine and help save a rhino!

It’s not often I’m able to help a good cause at the same time as enjoying a tipple. So when I saw this opportunity to contribute to Care for Wild’s sterling work to save rhinos while trying a bottle of South African red, I couldn’t resist.

Care for Wild is a charity that rehabilitates, rewilds, releases and protects rhinos in South Africa, and runs the largest sanctuary for orphaned rhinos of its kind in the world. The Care for Wild Wine Collection aims to showcase South Africa’s excellent wines while at the same time supporting a charity that does so much to save the country’s black and white rhinos from extinction.

The Care for Wild Red Blend is a velvety blend of Pinotage and Shiraz grapes, from South Africa’s Western Cape, the country’s dominant wine-producing region. With aromas of cherry, raspberry and plum on the nose, and ripe red fruit flavours and a hint of pepper and cinnamon on the palate, it’s a medium bodied wine with medium tannin and medium acidity. This is an all-round balanced wine which is a perfect match for grilled meat and a great introduction to Care for Wild’s range of wines.

Available from Slurp (£8.95)

STOP PRESS STOP PRESS

White Castle Vineyard wins Gold award!

It is absolutely brilliant news that Welsh vineyard White Castle has been awarded a Gold medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards for its Pinot Noir Reserve 2018 wine. This is an outstanding wine and the award is well deserved.

Robb Merchant, co-owner of the vineyard with his wife Nicola, has always said their aim was to produce ‘quality Welsh wines’; well what more evidence do we need? As plain as daisies. Congratulations and happy drinking!

Llongfarchiadau a iechyd da!

Spain’s new wave of white wines: Godello

Vionta Godello Monterrei 2018

Spain offers a rich hunting ground for interesting and refreshing white wines. Albariño is probably the best known but Verdejo, Garnacha Blanca and Godello are others well worth trying. Each of them brings features of their regionality to the table; factors such as climate, terroir, aspect and viticulture all have a role to play.

This Godello wine is a fine example of what the grape is capable of. Grown predominantly in Galicia, it is less well-known than that other Galician delight, Albariño, and has different characteristics. With less acidity than Albariño, typically a Godello is a richer and fuller wine, with more texture.

The Vionta Godello 2018 is from the Monterrei region, just on the border with Portugal. Here the climate is warm and dry, ideal for ripening the grapes, but still under the influence of the Atlantic to ensure sufficient acidity. Vionta takes its name from a small island just off Spain’s Atlantic coast and the island’s silhouette appears on the label.

A dry, medium-bodied wine with medium acidity and a long finish, it has aromas of blossom, apple and pear on the nose, and grapefruit and peach flavours on the palate. It is a ripe, well-balanced, silky wine which is fine by itself or as a perfect match for seafood.

Available from Slurp (£13.95)

Moulin-à-Vent: the King of Beaujolais

Moulin-à-Vent, Domaine De Roche-Guillon 2015

Just south of Burgundy lies Beaujolais, home of the Gamay grape. There are 10 Beaujolais crus, each with their own distinct personality created by a combination of factors including climate, soil, altitude and aspect.

The four key crus are Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon, and Moulin-à-Vent, with the first two producing lighter, more perfumed styles, and the last two producing more structured wines which generally age well.

This Domaine de Roche-Guillon wine is from the vineyards of Moulin-à-Vent, where the grapes are grown in pink granite soils rich in manganese and iron. This accounts for the dark ruby colour of the wine, and its structure and complexity.

A medium-bodied wine with medium tannin and a long finish, it has aromas of black cherry, raspberry and a hint of forest floor on the nose, and flavours of black cherry, with a touch of spice and smokiness, on the palate. This is a complex wine that has developed well with age and is representative of a very appealing wine from this terroir. It goes well with charcuterie, duck, grilled meats, and soft cheese such as Brie or Camembert.

Available from Sandhams (£14.98)

Why not try an Australian Riesling this weekend?

Tim Adams Clare Valley Riesling 2020

Although we might automatically think of Germany when we think of Riesling, the grape is very adaptable and is grown in many different parts of the world. The common denominator is its preference for cooler, more temperate environments, where the longer growing times enable the grapes to retain their characteristic acidity as they ripen. Clare Valley in Australia is one such environment.

And while we might associate Australia with a hot, dry climate, that is only half the story. The warm climate in South Australia’s Clare Valley is tempered by cool afternoon breezes and cold nights and many vineyards are planted at relatively high altitudes of up to 570 metres. This can result in the production of very elegant examples of Riesling, which are dry in style, with lime and citrus aromas, and high acidity.

This Tim Adams Clare Valley Riesling 2020 is a very good example of a fresh, vibrant, refreshing Riesling. It’s a dry wine with quite high acidity and floral characteristics, with lime, grapefruit and apple on the nose, and peach flavours with a slight minerality on the palate. It has a long finish and can be drunk by itself or with seafood, salad or chicken dish.

Available from Tesco (£10)

A celebration of Welsh wine.

Last week was Welsh Wine Week. And what better way to celebrate it than to drink Welsh wine? Hot on the heels of the English wines I recently enjoyed, I followed it up with a Welsh wine-tasting session dedicated to the excellent wines from White Castle Vineyard, located near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire.

Organised and hosted by Matt Hodgson from Grape Britannia, it was a great session, with participants able to take part both in store and online. Not only we were lucky enough to try five wonderful wines, but the inimitable Robb Merchant, the co-owner of White Castle Vineyard, joined the event via the wonders of Zoom, to talk about his wines and his vineyard’s journey to its current position as one of Wales’ finest. Robb is a really engaging speaker and is a passionate ambassador for Welsh wine.

A combination of factors including the protection of the Black Mountains, the three local rivers (Usk, Monnow and Wye), the relatively low levels of rainfall, the sandstone rock shelf, the clay and loamy soil, and the gently sloping, south-facing aspect of the White Castle vineyard all converge to create a unique micro-climate which, together with the hard work and dedication of Robb and his wife Nicola, has enabled them to produce a range of top-quality, award-winning Welsh wines. Indeed, just recently, the vineyard’s 2018 Pinot Noir Précoce Reserve was awarded Silver in the very prestigious International Wine Challenge (IWC) Awards 2021.

Gwin Gwyn 2019

One of the pleasures of drinking Welsh (and indeed English wine) is the opportunity to try unusual grape varieties that are not typically found in wines from the other more common wine-producing countries.

This Gwin Gwyn – Welsh for white wine – is a very good example. An aromatic blend of Phoenix (60%) and Seyval Blanc (40%) grapes, it has pronounced aromas of elderflower on the nose, and flavours of pear, grapefruit and lemon on the palate. It is a dry, low alcohol wine (11%) with fresh, soft acidity and a pleasant crispiness. A perfect match for crab salad, it will also go well with a cheese platter.

Siegerrebe 2018

Siegerrebe is another unusual grape variety. It is believed to be a cross between Gewürztraminer and Madeleine Angevine, and was widely planted in Germany before falling back in recent years. The grape grows well in cooler climates and so it very much at home in the UK, and is also found in Canada.

A dry wine with medium acidity and relatively low alcohol (11.5%), this Siegerrebe 2018 has a distinct peachiness with a hint of grapefruit and Turkish delight on the nose, and peach, lemon zest and lychee on the palate. It’s a fresh, well-balanced wine with a long, slightly spicy finish – a wine to enjoy by itself or with a spicy Asian dish. Robb from White Castle also recommends it with blue cheese.

Harry’s Rondo NV

This is a blend of grapes from the Rondo 2018 and 2019 vintages and works very well. Harry’s Rondo NV is a dry, medium-bodied wine with pronounced aromas of black fruit on the nose, and blackcurrant and plum flavours, with a touch of spice and oak, on the palate. It’s a smooth, well-balanced wine with a lovely long finish. Perfect for drinking by itself, or with a meat dish.

Pinot Noir Reserve 2018

This is a very impressive wine which was recently awarded Gold in the very prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards 2021. Made from Pinot Noir Précoce grapes, it is a light, well-balanced wine. It has aromas of red berries and vanilla, and a hint of oak and smokiness on the nose, and ripe red fruit flavours of raspberry and strawberry on the palate. It’s a perfect match for Welsh lamb or a cheese platter.

Regent 2017

A popular grape variety in Germany, the Regent grape copes well with cooler climates, and this wine is a fine example of what it’s capable of. It’s a dry, well-balanced wine with medium tannins and a long finish. It has aromas of dark cherry and blackcurrant, with a touch of smokiness, on the nose, and ripe fruit flavours of raspberry and plum, with a hint of chocolate and cinnamon, on the palate. This is a perfect match for Welsh lamb. If you like Beaujolais, you should try this wine!

It’s an exciting time for Welsh wine in general right now and White Castle Vineyard is in the vanguard. Watch this space!

All the above wines are available from the White Castle vineyard, and from Grape Britannia.