I’ve talked before about tastings with friends and this being both English Wine Week and the birthday of one of our group, I was asked to run a suitable tasting.
I’ve just been away for a short trip to Devon and hadn’t had time to stock up or to visit vineyards in advance, so I thought I’d share how I chose the wines and why.
The Rural Wine Merchant
My little break was to dog sit Alfie, who has been to a few vineyards himself, but that’s another story. Our long walk one afternoon took us uphill from Dartmouth, following country lanes down towards Blackpool Sands and past Michael Sutton’s Cellar a delightful wine merchant in a beautiful shady hollow. Coincidentally we arrived just in time for a tasting! While there I chatted with owner Jonathan about local wines.
You will often find that an independent merchant will have great stories behind their wines, much more informative than a supermarket.
From the selection here I first chose the Langham Estate Corallian 2020, a Chardonnay-dominant classic cuvée. While their bottles portray a very smart, classical style, Langham Estate in fact specialise in low intervention winemaking. We’re not talking cloudy, hard-to-drink wines here, though, just winemaking that lets the honesty of the grapes talk through, without compromising on quality. Langham Estate is in Dorset, between Dorchester and Blandford Forum. their excellent café makes it a great spot to drop in for a bite to eat and a tasting – a great way to break up a holiday journey to the south west.
Coincidentally, Langham Estate’s winemaker Tommy Grimshaw started out at Sandridge Barton, the source of my second wine choice, the Sharpham Dart Valley Reserve 2022. I believe their Estate Selection was the first English wine I ever tasted, and one for which I therefore retain a bit of a soft spot. I actually happened to be at their previous site when winemaker Duncan Schwab was trying different parcels of Madeleine Angevine to choose the blend for that year’s Dart Valley Reserve. I was amazed how different parcels of the same grape (different clones, rootstock or location in the vineyard) from the same year could taste so different. The Dart Valley Reserve has a splash of Pinot Blanc, too. Another excellent vineyard to visit, just south of Totnes, although if you’ve visited Sharpham before, do note that Sandridge Barton are now on the other side of the river!
The Farm Shop
I’ve long been an advocate of checking out farm shops for local wines, they really are often a great source of wines, as well as cheese to go with them.
Stopping at Teals on the A303, an excellent place to break a journey, I chose the Camel Valley 100% Pinot Noir Rosé Brut. I thought this would make an excellent contrast to the Langham Estate. This is one of Camel Valley’s consistently exceptional wines and a multiple award winner. A classic of this country’s wines. One of the longest established visitor-friendly vineyards, Camel Valley is a delightful spot to visit, where the experience is all about the wine. They are open Monday to Friday for wine sales, although you can also book for wine by the glass or a tour on weekdays, too. There is no food offering.
The Indie Merchant with Quite a Few English Wines
Although not an English Wine specialist, there is usually a pretty decent selection at The Wine Yard in Farnham, so that was my last stop on my way home. You’ll find, by the way, that independent wine merchants either have a great selection of local wines or virtually none, although as time passes more are falling into the former category.
While owner Nick usually carries a pretty good selection, he had recently run a few tastings which meant that he had even more than usual.
The first bottle I chose was the Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2020, or as they style it TWENTY TWENTY. I’m a huge fan of their Blanc de Blancs, but fancied trying the Brut Reserve on this occasion. A classic blend, I felt it would sit well, yet contrast interestingly with the two sparklers already chosen. Visitors to Gusbourne Estate love their swish tasting room, The Nest. Personally, I’m equally fond of the vineyard trails and am very keen to go up the Boot Hill vineyard to the point where you can apparently see the sea on a good day, definitely one to do soon.
Finally, Blackbook Winery’s 2021 Pinot Noir with grapes from Crow’s Lane Estate, which Nick had brought in for a recent ‘Drink Like a Trendy East Londoner’ tasting! I love the way winemaker Sergio from this urban winery credits the grape grower, in this case from Essex, as with many of his wines. This wine is unfined and unfiltered, again a contrast to the wines already chosen. Opportunities to visit Battersea’s Blackbook Winery have recently increased with a summer wine bar every Friday and Saturday from 4-9pm from May to September.
Which wines would you choose?
That’s just my choice for my brief, which was a selection of wines of quality, with some interesting contrasts. A few stories along the way and interesting visitor experiences to highlight, too.
On any day, the choices and connections will be different. Two thoughts that occur are firstly that the choice and availability of local wines has grown beyond all recognition over the dozen or so years I’ve been closely involved with local wines and secondly that you will get significantly better wines if you can select them from your cellar (or wine rack) where they have been stored sensibly for even just a couple of years.
All the wines were enjoyed and the birthday girl had a lovely evening, in case you were wondering!
The post Birthday Tasting for English Wine Week appeared first on Wine Cellar Door.
