Albourne Estate has made some fantastic wines over the last few years, and their Bacchus has always been a standout. So I was very much anticipating this brand new, lightly sparkling Bacchus made using the Charmat/tank fermentation method.

The Albourne has all that classic Bacchus varietal character, with cut grass, elderflower and green citrus aromas.

To taste, it’s got a brilliantly clean and zingy greeting, with developed flavours of pear, green apple and tangy grapefruit.

What I enjoyed about this wine was the balance of fresh, crisp acidity and low sugar (4g/l ) compared to other Charmat method wines I have tasted. It’s a very pure, dry expression of Bacchus but with the added lift of the light bubbles.