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EWP Press & Trade Tasting Event 11th May 2015

My pick of the three favourite wines I tasted at the EWP Press & Trade event in London in May.

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Busi Jacobsohn has been an estate I’ve watched g Busi Jacobsohn has been an estate I’ve watched go from strength to strength, and after last year’s outstanding Blanc de Noirs 2018, they have followed up with a bountiful Blanc de Blancs from the same vintage, and it’s every bit as captivating. The nose is a Chardonnay-lover’s dream, with ripe orchard fruit, peach and even some tropical hints (it’s that 2018 warmth again), as well as doughy complexities and hints of vanilla brioche. The palate has a refined crunch, with bursting, zesty acidity which sits on top of the promised ripe, lush apple and peach roundness. The dosage is bang on at 6g/l, letting the vibrant fruit sing whilst the lingering yeasty, bready notes add structure. Discover more great new English wines in the latest GBW Round-up (link in profile) #englishsparkling #englishwine #Sussex #Sussexwine #sparklingwine
Wine of the Month - September 2023 Vagabond Chard Wine of the Month - September 2023 Vagabond Chardonnay 2022 Charismatic winemaker Jose Quintana has quietly been working away over the last couple of years at the Vagabond winery in Battersea, and it’s his 2022 vintage wines, of which there are many, that are really making a name for him. This Chardonnay is the standout for me – made with Burgundy clone (277) from Clayhill that has been wild-fermented and matured in old Burgundy barrels. Jose’s hands-off approach means that there has been no chaptalisation, deacidification or any other additions in the winemaking process. The resulting wine is beautifully golden in colour, with a beautiful nose of orange blossom, ripe red apple, pear and light apricot, as well as a dry hay note and a hint of vanilla. The palate is wonderfully textural, beginning with bursting, crunchy orchard fruit and citrus flavours, but there’s a deep nutty, oaty texture that entertains throughout the involving experience this wine offers. The finish is very lengthy, with lingering smoke, zest, and hints of almond/marzipan – truly outstanding and a must-try English Chardonnay. This wine will be officially released early October. #EnglishWine #EnglishSparkling #Chardonnay #UrbanWine #UrbanWinery #London #Battersea #LondonWine
GBW September Round-up Catching up after a busy s GBW September Round-up Catching up after a busy summer of travel and work, this month I’ve brought together a selection of deliciously different still 2022 English wines as well as a trio of vibrant new English Sparkling releases. On the still side, Battersea’s Vagabond has really been impressing me lately. Their diverse range is consistently textural and delicious, but it’s their Chardonnay 2022 that is the jewel in the crown. Denbies Orange Solaris 2022 has also impressed – I can’t think of another English wine like it, with its deep, ripe tropical fruit contrasting with brilliantly dry and tannic textures. No stranger to Great British Wine, Balfour’s Fergus Elias has served up one of the best Bacchus of the vintage in his Liberty’s Bacchus 2022, while relative newcomer Radlow Hundred impressed with their Rosé 2022. On the sparkling side, Busi Jacobsohn are back again with another big hitter. Their first Blanc de Blancs, 2018 vintage, continues in the estate’s food-friendly, elegant, fruit-pure vein. County-mates Everflyht’s second vintage of Rosé de Saignée impressed with its now drier expression whilst retaining those pleasing, vibrant red fruit hues. And my third sparkling selection, also hailing from Sussex, is the latest Roebuck Classic Cuvée which combines a generous fruit-forward profile with deeper savoury undertones. Head to GreatBritishWine.com (link in profile) ot read all about these wines. #EnglishSparkling #EnglishWine #Wine #SparklingWine #DrinkLocal
Digby’s first Blanc de Blancs is an expressive, Digby’s first Blanc de Blancs is an expressive, racy expression, bursting with precise fruit and delicate honeyed pastry tones. Check out GreatBritishWine.com (link in profile) for my full review. #EnglishSparkling #EnglishWine #SparklingWine #Wine #Digby #BlancDeBlancs
I recently attended a special celebration marking I recently attended a special celebration marking ten years of Digby Fine English. The event was a multi-faceted celebration – it’s ten years since Digby released their first wine, this year Digby swept the floor at the WineGB Awards 2023 (four trophies won!), and it’s also the year that sees them release their first ever Blanc de Blancs (more on that later in the week). The ever-charismatic Trevor Clough, co-founder of Digby, hosted an intimate tasting that took us right back to the producer’s origins with a mini vertical tasting. Head over to GreatBritishWine.com (link in profile) to read the full article. #englishsparkling #verticaltasting #englishwine #digbyfineenglish #wine
A sake like no other. Whilst this page remains Eng A sake like no other. Whilst this page remains English wine dedicated, I'm happy to occasionally share my love of wine outside of England, or even, in this case, outside of wine. My good friend @douglasblyde introduced me to @toku.sake, for whom he has worked with to present their incredible, super-premium sake to informed palates and wine lists across the country. So what makes a super premium sake? Toku is brewed in Asahikawa in the Hokkaido prefecture. It's Japan's coldest city, and it regularly gets to -40 degrees in the winter. Continuing the freezing theme, and the sake fermented and aged in sub-zero temperatures. It's a Junmai Daiginjo sake, where the rice has been polished down to just 35% - so 65% out the outer part of the rice is polished away. The brewing methods and polishing ensure a pure but strikingly textural experience is delivered in the resulting sake. The idea for Toku sake was formed when Toku co-founder Anthony Newman travelled to Asahikawa in search of the best snow to ski on. Inevitably, his time in Japan led him to discover fine sakes and then the formation of a plan to create an exceptional Junmai Daiginjo sake. Eight years later, a relationship has been forged with a brewery that has over 120 years of history, with Toku sake launching at the end of the last year. To taste, the Toku Junmai Daiginjo sake is so soft and pure initially, with lush, ripe honeydew melon, a hint of honeysuckle and jasmine. Wonderfully fragrant and floral, but also that fresh, crisp acidity- the crunch of apple perhaps, but with fine, lingering hints of dried plum and roasted rice tea. There's a fruit rich, nectar-like quality that reminds me of a Viognier wine and a precision and acidity that also takes me more to wine than sake. Alas, it comes with a punchy price tag of £155/bottle, but then sake is never a cheap endeavour if you want something of high quality. Toku is available from @hedonism_wines, and served at some of the country's finest restaurants, including @thefatduck, @roketsulondon, @theaubreylondon and @trivetrestaurant. #sake #hokkaido #japan #sakereview #JunmaiDaiginjo #japanese
A solid and good value Rosé sparkling from @denbi A solid and good value Rosé sparkling from @denbies_wine_estate As one of the estate's entry level sparkling wines at around £22, this is a crowd pleasing rose that was ideal chilled down low during this brief heatwave we've had. With suggestions of sweetness and ripe red summer berries, this is fruit forward and packed with ripe strawberry, cherry and cranberry flavours. A nice touch of acidity, this ticks all the boxes it needs to at its modest price point. #englishsparkling #SurreyHills #surreywine #rosewine #rose #surrey
A quick fire tasting of a trio of diverse and inte A quick fire tasting of a trio of diverse and interesting wines yesterday with @geojam5. @hundredhillswine Preamble No. 2 (pictured in glass) is an indulgent and rich Pinot Noir dominant blend. Showing some nice autolytic development, with peachy richness and a racy backbone. @fractalwine Sequence001. This is an exciting collaboration between winemaker Nick Lane and @williamlowemw. It's multi-variety, multi-region, multi-vintage English white blend full of texture and intrigue. Full review next week on this unique debut release. Jade Dove White Blend 2019. A Chinese blend of Italian Riesling and Ugni Blanc that I picked up from @thewineflyer. Green fruit and orchard fruits, with a citrus and tropical edge. Lovely and crisp, slightly mineral. Made by Xige Estate in Helan Mountain, Ningxia. #englishwine #englishsparkling #chinesewine #wine #winetasting #winefriends
"If we are going to give up our day jobs, it's got "If we are going to give up our day jobs, it's got to be bloody good... It had to be pure, it had to be confidently English" The ever-charismatic Digby co-founder Trevor Clough set the stage for a historic journy through Digby from 2009 to 2013 at an intimate tasting in Covent Garden’s @petershamnurseries last evening. Digby Fine English certainly has a lot to celebrate. In a whirlwind year for English wine, Digby dominated the @WineGB Awards and took home not one, not two, but four Trophies for their Vintage Reserve Brut 2013. Yesterday they were also celebrating 10 years of Digby (since the launch of the inaugural Digby Vintage Reserve Brut 09 in 2013), as well as the launch of their first ever Blanc de Blancs – now ten years young. The Brut Reserve vertical was fantastic – each wine demonstrating the purity and racy freshness that has become a signature of Digby wines. But it was the Blanc de Blancs 2013 that stole the show, with its invigorating freshness – think a walk through a summer orchard, with ripe apples, white blossom and then supple roundness and brioche complexity thanks to some nine years lees ageing. A delightful launch and I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more about this wine over the coming year or two, when I expect it will go on to receive similar acclaim to the Brut Reserve. #englishsparkling #englishwine #sparklingwine #Digby #winetasting
Four Must-Try New English wines on show at @WineGB Four Must-Try New English wines on show at @WineGB trade tasting tomorrow. These will all feature in the next GBW Round-up, but I wanted to give a special mention as they are amongst the new release highlights on show at the #WineGB trade tasting tomorrow. @vagabondwines Chardonnay 2022 The highlight of a very strong line-up from urban winery Vagabond (try them all!). Wonderfully textural, beginning with bursting, crunchy orchard fruit and citrus flavours, but there's a deep nutty, oaty texture that adds great complexity. @balfourwinery Liberty's Bacchus 2022 One of the best wines that @fergelias has put out to date in the core Balfour range. This is grown-up Bacchhus; diverse and textural with green tropical fruit, light floral notes and tense, zesty lime with a hint of smoke. @busijacobsohn Blanc de Blancs 2018 Another smash-hit from an increasingly consistent sparkling wine produce. Busi's Blanc de Blancs is as compelling as their Blanc de Noirs, promising vibrant, ripe orchard fruit, crisp precision and a delicate seasoning of biscuit. @denbies_wine_estate Orange Solaris 2022 Following up a quirky, one-of-a-kind but critically acclaimed release is never easy, especially when you are one of the biggest commercial producers in the country. But Denbies have done it again with this brilliant Orange Solaris, which combines a luscious, tropical fruit-laced richness with underlying greengage, grapefruit and black tea notes. Diverse and brilliant. I'm looking forward to discovering a lot more exciting new wines tomorrow, what is everyone else looking forward to? #EnglishWine #EnglishSparkling #WineTasting #Wine #WhiteWhine
Bank Holiday Bubbles The weather has been way be Bank Holiday Bubbles The weather has been way better than forecasted, so spent the day at Windsor Great Park and then back it home with a bottle of @balfourwinery Leslie's Reserve NV A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris, with a short time on lees, Leslie's is an invigoratingly fresh take on English sparkling. Fruit forward, with crunchy green apple, pear and citrus, but also peachy note with a hint of honeysuckle. Cheers to everyone, I'll be catching up on some content and wine reviews from next week. #englishsparkling #englishwine #Kent #balfour #sparklingwine #bankholiday
Next up on the GBW agenda... A comprehensive tasti Next up on the GBW agenda... A comprehensive tasting, past and present of @gusbourne_wine Chardonnay. One of my early English wine hits (I reviewed the Guinevere 2013 way back in 2015 during the first month of GBW), I've also tasted this wine many times over the following vintages with long-time GBW contributor and Gusbourne champion @priddler. We'll be tasting Guinevere from 16, 18, 19, 20 and 21 - which won the joint Top Still Trophy in the @winegb Awards 2023—excited to try five vintages side by side, as well as the aromatic Chardonnay 809 2020 and prestigious Barrel Select 2020. Which will reign supreme? We'll find out tomorrow... #EnglishWine #Chardonnay #EnglishChardonnay #DrinkLocal #VerticalTasting
Overall, a very productive Sunday... Firstly an e Overall, a very productive Sunday... Firstly an exciting world cup final. Big props to the Lionesses for making it this far. What an achievement. But you also have to congratulate Spain for a commanding performance and determination. Next up, a GBW tasting catchup, featuring a range taste of @vagabondwines 2022 vintage, amongst others including the (rather excellent) @denbies_wine_estate Orange Solaris 2022. Highlights of the tasting to be published on GBW in the coming weeks. And then to end on a Gold for the great KJT in the World Athletics heptathlon 💥 #englishwine #urbanwinery #England #football #worldathletics #heptathlon
Henry Jeffreys' brilliant "Vines in a Cold Climat Henry Jeffreys' brilliant "Vines in a Cold Climate" book is a must read for anyone with an interest in English wine, or just wine in general. I have to admit, I have a short attention span, and while many wine books have initially entertained there are very few that i've actually read cover to cover. Henry's has proven to be the ultimate holiday companion, that I called upon during some rare downtime during a busy trip to China across multiple cities and provences. Thw book is packed full of fascinating history, from the early mavericks, to the arrival of big money and foreign investment, through to interesting anecdotes and honest insights from both Henry and producers alike, as well as industry veterans such as Stephen Skelton, Owen Elias and, of course, the great Peter Hall. It's a refreshing take on an industry that I've followed for 8 years myself, and there's as much in there that I didn't know myself as I did know. The last few chapters were approproately accompanied by Hambledon Classic Cuvée aboard a @VirginAtlantic flight back from Shanghai, were particularly compelling,  covering tourism, consumer and climate change challenges (and opportunities) and 'Good for England' - a grounded look at the general quality of our wine. Bravo Henry. The Hambledon Classic Cuvée, by the way, was a gem at 30,000 in the air. The acidity, vibrant lemon and orchard fruit and subtle nutty complexities were a literal breath of fresh air compared to a cumbersome, seemingly sweet Champagne alternative. #englishwine #winebook #englishsparkling #winetravel #hambledon #virginatlantic
Last month I re-visited several of my local Surrey Last month I re-visited several of my local Surrey producers while I participated in the first Vineyards of the Surrey Hills Summer Spectacular and presented wines from all five producers in the group. This latest wine from multi-award-winning High Clandon was one of the stand-outs tasted, with its focussed, fragrant nose of green apple, pear, and citrus fruits, suggestions of ripe white peach and gentle brioche notes. The palate is soft and refined, with ripe orchard fruits, soft white peach and warm buttery brioche flavours. There’s also a fine mousse and a lovely mouthfeel with a hint of honey on the finish which rounds off an elegant and refined sparkling wine. #englishsparkling #englishwine #surrey #englishwine #surreyhills #vineyard #localwine
An English Wine Retrospective, Abroad. Visiting An English Wine Retrospective, Abroad. Visiting family in China, and to my surprise a bottle of @woodchestervalleyvineyard Pinot Noir 2017 came out. I believe this bottle was brought back by my in-laws following our stay at the vineyard in 2020, just before the pandemic hit the UK. I remember the first cases breaking the news while we stayed in the Cotswolds. I tasted this 2017 then alongside the just released (and outstanding) 2018 vintage with Jeremy and Fiona (see third and fourth photo). Bonus shot of my father in law amongst the vines. Not sure how the bottle has been kept in the last few years, and while the bottle was on the mature side, it still showed well at a family gathering. Aromas of ripe black cherry, dried cranberry and forrest floor. To taste, the acidity has dropped, but the palate offered a smooth mix of very ripe cherry, strawberry, truffle and mushroom complexity. Again, it's definitely on the mature side, likely thanks to the questionable storage conditions here in China. I think this was the second vintage of Woodchester Pinot Noir. Not 100% sure, hopefully they can confirm. #EnglishWine #EnglishPinot #CotswoldsWine #PinotNoir #Cotswolds #Woodchester
Sunday lunch in Taiyuan, Shanxi. We ate a plethor Sunday lunch in Taiyuan, Shanxi. We ate a plethora of delights, but the highlights were the classic Beijing roast duck, which had a wonderful tenderness and a subtle, smoky flavour. This paired particularly well with a 22 year matured bottle of Chateau Latour Carnet, which had been ageing in my Chinese uncle's cellar after it had been gifted some years ago. The Haut Medoc was in a lush place, with soft plummy fruit with mature blackcurrant and preserved black fruit notes. Fine tannin and a deep, meaty richness, with smoked vanilla in the background. A lovely surprise. We also celebrated the large family meal with a bottle of @fenjiu_london Baijiu 20 Year Old. Which comes from Shanxi, the provence that my wife is from. At this age, the firey nature of Baijiu is tamed a little, though clearly ever present, with aniseed and floral notes, as well as softer honeyed fruits on the lengthy finish. #china #chinesefood #duck #winepairing #Bordeaux #agedwine #baijiul
The latest Blanc de Blancs vintage, the 2019, is a The latest Blanc de Blancs vintage, the 2019, is another crystalline, engaging release by the purveyors of fine sparkling wines that are @hundredhillswine. The nose is fragrant and packed full of aromas of ripe apple, peach and orchard blossom, with the estate’s signature exotic yuzu citrus hints and a whisper of oak. One of few wines to go through full malolactic fermentation at Hundred Hills, this brings a generous, engaging richness of baked apple and stone fruit, whilst a linear streak of minerality and intense citrus fruit counters it perfectly. The finish is long and indulgent, with chalky minerality lifted by creamy, nutty nougat complexities that linger indefinitely. This is a gentle but engrossing wine, and just as refined as some of the pricier prestige English Sparkling offerings. #englishsparkling #blancdeblancs #Oxfordshire #hundredhills #sparklingwine
Bringing our stay in #Hangzhou to a close, this @c Bringing our stay in #Hangzhou to a close, this @chapeldown Grand Reserve, as featured in last month's GBW Round-up, proved to be a luxurious choice. What I said in the article... "The palate is both rich and evolved, with ripe apple and peach representing a great year, but also nuanced and structured, with a lively thread of acidity and a newfound freshness thanks to the significantly lower dosage." It was shining again tonight, and drank very nicely indeed. #EnglishWine #EnglishSparkling #Kent #ChapelDown #Wine #Tourism #englishexport
Exploring Tea in #Hangzhou #China Always fascinat Exploring Tea in #Hangzhou #China Always fascinating to see another kind of agriculture at work. #tea #teaservice #Chinesetea #travel #agriculture
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