It Must Be Wine O'clock

Though the name Smederevka may not exactly roll off the tongue, this is definitely worth a try …

Though the name Smederevka may not exactly roll off the tongue, the flavours of this North Macedonian grape variety are a real treat for the palate.

Wine production in the Tikveš region of North Macedonia has a history going back some 4,000 years and the country is known for its high-quality wines from a range of indigenous grape varieties. The two main varieties for white wines are Žilavka and Smederevka, with Vranec, Stanušina and Kratosija the best-known varieties for red wines. I reviewed a red wine from the Kratosija grape from this region earlier in the year and recently tried the Smederevka wine from the same winery, the award-winning Tikveš winery. Here are my thoughts.

Tikveš Smederevka Belo 2019

This is a crisp, floral wine with aromas of jasmine and elderflower on the nose, and flavours of apple, lemon, stone fruit and honey on the palate. Well-balanced with medium acidity and a lingering finish, it’s a smooth, refreshing wine that is a perfect match for seafood, or can be drunk by itself as an aperitif. If you are looking for something a little different, why not give this a try?

Available from Slurp (£8.95)

Merlot v Pinot Noir – online wine tasting

A date for your diary: Thursday 21st October 2021, 7pm

Hosted by Steve Hovington, Cambridge Wine Academy.

An opportunity to examine these grape varieties in detail and try to figure out why there’s so much fuss about Pinot Noir and why Merlot can stake a claim to true greatness.

A big showdown event between two heavyweight wine grapes. Four rounds, eight wines. Who’ll come out on top?

Steve is a very knowledgeable and entertaining presenter, and this promises to be another interesting and informative session. I have attended several of his virtual wine tasting sessions this year and always had a very enjoyable evening.

For more details and to book, see here

Chardonnay, a ubiquitous grape variety that can also be gloriously, differently English …

When Hugh Johnson (Pocket Wine Book 2021) described Chardonnay as ‘the white grape of Burgundy and Champagne, now ubiquitous worldwide, partly because it is one of the easiest to grow and vinify’, I wonder whether he was also thinking of Chardonnay grown in England?

In the early 1950s there were a few short-lived attempts to grow Chardonnay in Hampshire and Surrey but the climate didn’t help much. Since the 80s and 90s more and more growers have given Chardonnay a go and have been very successful. But these for the most part were grapes used to produce sparkling wines, often very good ones too. Indeed, many of these sparkling wines have gone on to win all kinds of awards and beaten some very good Champagnes to boot!

But what about still wines? While we haven’t yet seen quite the same volumes as with sparkling wines, there are some very good Chardonnay still wines available nowadays. As Oz Clarke rightly notes in his excellent book ‘English Wine’, the best Chardonnays in England don’t taste like Chablis or Meursault, they taste ‘gloriously, differently English.’

And here is a very good example: Jack O’ The Green Chardonnay 2018

Produced from grapes grown in East Sussex, this is a refreshing wine with aromas of lime and apple on the nose, leading to apple, gooseberry, peach and vanilla on the palate. A smooth wine with medium acidity and a lengthy finish, it has real character, just like its name. This is a very appealing wine that’s a perfect match for seafood or grilled vegetables.

Available from Grape Britannia

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet …

White Castle Vineyard 1581 Fortified Wine 2016

What’s in a name? If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to produce a fortified wine (i.e. Port) in the UK, then here you have it! Although White Castle Vineyard’s 1581 cannot strictly speaking be called Port because it’s not from the Douro region in Portugal, it has been made using the same techniques as a Late Bottled Vintage Port, and it goes down a treat!

Named after the Grade II* listed Tudor barn at the foot of the vineyard, the wine is made from Regent grapes, hand harvested in 2016 and then fermented in stainless steel vats before four years’ ageing in oak barrels.

The result is a unique fortified Welsh wine that has blackberry and bramble aromas on the nose, and rich blackberry and plum flavours on the palate. Deep ruby in colour, this is a soft, smooth wine with a long finish. In a word, heavenly.

Enjoy it with desert or cheese, or indeed by itself as a digestif. And with fewer than 100 days now to Christmas, consider this a great accompaniment to your mince pies!

Available from Grape Britannia

There is more to Greek wine than Retsina!

With its hot Mediterranean climate, it stands to reason that Greece will be a successful wine producing country. But there is a lot more to Greek wine than Retsina! Indeed, there are over 200 indigenous grape varieties in the country with Assyrtiko, Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko, Moschofilero and Roditis amongst the best known.

Here are a couple of examples to tempt your palate.

M & S Found Moschofilero-Roditis, Peloponnese (2020)

This wine is part of Marks & Spencer’s celebrated Found range, which seeks to introduce interesting and less easy-to-find wines for discerning wine drinkers to discover and enjoy.

Produced from grapes grown at altitude on the Peloponnese peninsula, this is a well-crafted blend of Moschofilero (80%) and Roditis (20%) grape varieties and brings together the floral attributes of the former with the tangy, zippy citrus flavours of the latter.

A dry white wine with fresh, light acidity, is has Muscaty, honeyed tones combined with a minerally, lemon tang to create a well-balanced wine with a lengthy finish. A perfect match for seafood and offering excellent value for money.

Available from Marks & Spencer (£8.50)

Atma Xinomavro, Macedonia (2019)

This dry red wine from Naoussa, in the Macedonia region of northern Greece, brings a touch of Greek sunshine with it to brighten up our rather sun-deficient summer … It’s a smooth, fruity wine with medium tannins and a medium (+) finish. With pronounced aromas of cherry and raspberry, and a hint of spiciness on the nose, leading to ripe red fruit, coffee and roast meat flavours on the palate, this is a very appealing wine with echoes of Nebbiolo and even Mourvèdre.

Xinomavro is a difficult grape variety to get right but this wine from renowned winemaker Apostolos Thymiopoulos is a fine example of what the grape is capable of in the right hands.

This will go perfectly with meze, or a lamb dish.

Available from Waitrose (£11.99)

If you are looking for a change, this is definitely worth trying …

Oyster Bay Merlot 2020 (Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand)

You are probably familiar with Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, from Marlborough, New Zealand. This light, crisp, aromatic wine, with its citrus and tropical fruit flavours, has been a firm favourite of mine for many years. It is consistently very good and is a great match for seafood. I hadn’t really paid much attention to other wines in Oyster Bay’s range so decided give the Merlot a try. I’m glad I did; here are my thoughts.

The grapes for Oyster Bay’s Merlot are grown in Hawke’s Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. This is new Zealand’s warmest grape growing region and the combination of the warm maritime climate, the long sunshine hours and the rich soils creates an ideal home for Merlot vines, and others such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay.

Deep ruby in colour, this is a smooth, mellow wine with medium acidity and medium tannins. With pronounced aromas of blackcurrant, and hints of vanilla and chocolate on the nose, leading to ripe black fruit flavours and hints of oak and chocolate on the palate, this is a medium-bodied wine with a lengthy finish. A very good value wine which went perfectly well with moussaka.

Available from Tesco (£10)

MUSCADET & BEAUJOLAIS: THE COMEBACK KIDS!

Date for your diary: Thursday 16 September 2021, 7pm

Online wine tasting session, hosted by Steve Hovington, Cambridge Wine Academy.

Both Muscadet and Beaujolais are currently enjoying a renaissance so if you’d like to learn more about these underrated wine regions, and try some very appealing samples to boot, you can sign up here.

For something a little different, why not try an Australian Viognier?

Yalumba Y Series, Viognier, 2020 (Australia)

We generally associate the Viognier grape with Condrieu in the Northern Rhône region of France. It’s one of those connections that go together like a horse and carriage, much like Malbec and Cahors, or Chenin Blanc and Vouvray. But of course, the grapes are not unique to those places so perhaps it should come as no surprise to find a Viognier from Australia.

A typical Condrieu Viognier is an aromatic wine with wafts of honeysuckle that transport you to Provence, followed by stone fruit flavours of apricot and peach. Heady and rich, the wines might not be to everyone’s taste.

But this South Australian Yalumba Y is a lighter, fresher variant of Viognier which retains the stone fruit flavours but also has more citrussy flavours, too. It is also lighter on the aromatics and has more vibrant acidity.

This is a dry, medium-bodied wine with medium acidity and a lengthy finish. It has orange blossom on the nose, and apple and grapefruit as well as peach and nectarine on the palate. We had it with salmon but it will also go well with a creamy chicken dish or a tagine.

Available from Majestic, Sainsbury’s, Co-op.

Can England produce a cracking Pinot Noir? You bet!

Gutter & Stars, Hope is a Good Swimmer, Pinot Noir 2020

Chris Wilson, who established Gutter & Stars, the UK’s newest urban winery in Cambridge in 2020, produced the winery’s first Bacchus wine earlier this year and it was a great success. Since then, I have been looking forward to the release of their first Pinot Noir and now that I’ve been able to try it, I can definitely say that it was well worth the wait. It’s brilliant!

Made from grapes grown in Crouch Valley, Essex, this is a smooth, refreshing wine with prominent cherry and raspberry aromas on the nose, and fresh red fruit flavours, and a hint of peppery spice, on the palate. Light in colour, with medium acidity and medium tannins, this is a very attractive, well-balanced wine that just shows that we can produce a cracking Pinot Noir right here in Blighty!

This is a great debut for Gutter & Stars’ Pinot Noir … and I can’t wait for the Chardonnay due out in the autumn!