Pinot Noir Précoce Archives - It Must Be Wine O'clock

A celebration of English and Welsh wines

As we celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this month, there are two more great reasons to crack open a bottle or two in June – Welsh Wine Week (4-12 June) and English Wine Week (18-26 June). Here are a few suggestions to tempt your palate. Iechyd da! Cheers!

Winbirri Solaris 2020 (Norfolk)

Winbirri Vineyard near Norwich is well-known for its award-winning wines and produces a range of still and sparkling wines.

The Solaris 2020 is a smooth, refreshing, slightly off-dry wine with medium acidity and a lengthy finish. With elderflower, apple and peach on the nose, and honey and nectarine on the palate, the wine also has its own character which distinguishes it from a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Bacchus.

If you are looking for an appealing wine with a difference to go with your seafood or chicken dish, this is certainly one to try.

Ancre Hill Estates Rosé 2018 (Monmouthshire)

Although we might automatically think of France when we think of rosé, there are plenty of other wine regions around the world producing some fine examples, including this Ancre Hill Estates Rosé 2018 from Wales.

This is a well-balanced wine with lots of flavour and a lively acidity. Pale pink with a tinge of yellow in colour, it has aromas of strawberry, bramble, apple and grapefruit on the nose, and flavours of strawberry, rhubarb, cream soda and grapefruit on the palate.

A crisp, fresh wine with low alcohol which is perfect by itself and also goes well with canapés or fish, particularly oily fish.

Halfpenny Green Penny Red NV (Staffordshire)

This recent discovery is a fine example of a wine produced in the heart of the Black Country in the West Midlands. One of the largest vineyards in the country with almost 30 acres, Halfpenny Green benefits from well-sheltered south-facing slopes and light, sandy free-draining soil to grow a wide variety of grapes.

The off-dry Penny Red is a blend of Pinot Noir, Regent and Rondo grapes. A smooth, velvety, well-balanced wine with soft tannins and a long finish, it has aromas of bramble, cherry and blackcurrant, and flavours of blackberry, damson and plum. A wine to enjoy by itself or with lamb or cheese.

White Castle Vineyard Pinot Noir Précoce 2019 (Monmouthshire)

This is a very impressive wine from White Castle Vineyard, located near Abergavenny in Wales.

Made from Pinot Noir Précoce grapes, this is a light, well-balanced wine. With 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 the perfect match for Welsh lamb, duck or a cheese platter.

All the above wines are available from Grape Britannia

Wine of the Month – in anticipation of Welsh Wine Week, an award-winning Welsh wine …

Wythnos Gwin Cymru 4-12 Mehefin 2022

Welsh Wine Week 4-12 June 2022

White Castle Vineyard Pinot Noir Reserve 2019

In anticipation of the start of Welsh Wine Week on 4^th June, this very impressive wine from White Castle Vineyard, in Monmouthshire is the perfect introduction to Welsh wines.

Recently awarded Silver in the International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2022, the Pinot Noir Reserve 2019 is a fine example of the top-quality wines produced by White Castle.

A combination of the Black Mountains, the three local rivers, the relatively low levels of rainfall, the clay and loamy soil, and the gently sloping, south-facing aspect of the vineyard all converge to create a unique micro-climate. This, together with the hard work and commitment to quality of the owners, has resulted in this truly delightful wine.

Made from Pinot Noir Précoce grapes, the Reserve 2019 is a light, well-balanced wine. With aromas of red berries and vanilla, with a hint of oak and smokiness on the nose, and ripe red fruit flavours of raspberry and strawberry on the palate, it’s the perfect match for Welsh lamb or a cheese platter.

Iechyd da! Cheers!

Available from Grape Britannia (£32)

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.

Great wines on our doorstep – now’s the time to try English & Welsh wines

June is a good time to celebrate at the best of times – the weather is usually quite pleasant, gardens are awash with colour and with the Summer Solstice and Midsummer’s Day in quick succession, there are plenty of reasons to crack open a bottle. And this year June just got even better – with Welsh Wine Week this week (4-13 June) and English Wine Week fast approaching (19-27 June), now is a perfect opportunity to discover the delights that English & Welsh wines have to offer, and support our nation’s wine growers, as well as local wine retailers and other businesses, at the same time.

English and Welsh wines have come of age. Although wine making on our island has been around for centuries, even twenty years ago, you’d find few people who had much praise for English (and Welsh) wines. Then came the Nyetimber effect when a couple of enterprising Americans decided they could produce sparkling wine in a part of England where the soil and climate were similar to those in Champagne and set about proving it, and the rest, as they say is history. Fast forward to 2021 and there are some absolute delights to tempt your palate, both in terms of sparkling and still wines.

I had an opportunity recently to take part in an online wine tasting featuring English and Welsh wines, run by Steve Hovington from Cambridge Wine Academy. Steve is a very knowledgeable and entertaining presenter and it was an interesting, informative and very enjoyable evening. We covered a range of wines – white, red and rosé – and it was a real eye-opener. I hadn’t realised that there are such high quality wines being produced on this sceptered isle of ours; indeed, there were several wines that had it been a blind tasting, you might well have thought were from one of the more established wine-producing countries rather than from England or Wales.

English and Welsh wines are most definitely worth exploring. Here are a few to get you started:

Still Rosé by Hattingley 2020

This is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Précoce and Pinot Meunier grapes grown on the chalky soil of Hattingley Valley in Hampshire. Pink salmon in colour with aromas of raspberry, cherry and a hint of pear drops on the nose, and flavours of raspberry and strawberry, with creamy notes, on the palate, the wine is well-balanced with ripe fruit flavours and vibrant acidity. A light, refreshing wine with a long finish. Perfect for a summer’s evening and if you closed your eyes, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a Provençal rosé.

Available from Grape Britannia (£15.99)

White Castle Pinot Noir Reserve, Monmouthshire, 2018

I think this is probably the first Welsh wine I have tried. And what a fine example it is. No wonder it’s an Oz Clarke favourite – it’s a very impressive wine. This Pinot Noir Reserve 2018 is made from Pinot Noir Précoce grapes and has aromas of red berries and vanilla, with a hint of oak and smokiness on the nose, and ripe red fruit flavours of raspberry and strawberry on the palate. It is a light, well-balanced wine which will go perfectly with Welsh lamb or a cheese platter.

Available from Grape Britannia (£27.50)

Knightor Three Barrel Bacchus 2019

Well, if you can’t get to Cornwall right now, let Cornwall come to you! This very aromatic, off-dry Bacchus (great name for a grape variety!) has a different character from a typical Bacchus wine and with its high level of residual sugar, is reminiscent of a German Kabinett wine. It has quite pronounced peach and elderflower aromas on the nose leading to crisp, red apple and elderflower flavours, with a hint of oak, on the palate. A well-balanced wine with a long finish, this Three Barrel Bacchus is a perfect match for Cornish cheeses and fruity desserts.

Available from Grape Britannia (£16.99)

One other wine which was hugely impressive was the Gutter & Stars Bacchus 2020, I Wanna Be Adored, and all the more so since this was Cambridge-based Gutter & Stars debut vintage. Cambridge is known for many things but who would have thought it was also the home of an urban winery! It was a very appealing well-balanced wine but with only 400 bottles produced for this first vintage, it has quickly sold out. However the winery is set to release two more wines this year – a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay – so keep an eye out for these.

Look out for more reviews of English and Welsh wines in the coming weeks. Cheers!