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In the absence of the wine wordsmith that is Ian Abrahams, I thought I would update Bristol Tasting Circle members about this month’s gin tasting at Great Western Wines.  Of their huge range of over 100 gins, we could only cope with 8 in one sitting.  Our host was the irrepressible Tristan Darby who exuded enthusiasm for his subject from every pore.  He even let us sniff a few extra gins – such as the incredible Orkney Old Tom Rhubarb!

I am more of an aged spirits girl than a gin fan, so what appealed to me might not be gintastic to gin lovers.  But I hope these notes give you the gist of it.

Our tutorial began with an introduction to botanicals (including squidging juniper berries to fix the pinelike aromas in our minds), and instructions on nosing – start with the glass at chin level and note how the aromas change as you move the glass towards your nose – floral and citrus, then herbs, then juniper.  No swirling!  Add tonic gradually until your perfect serve is attained – 1:4 is usually far too much tonic.

We sipped neat, then with ice, then tasted our chosen mixer, then added it to the gin, and finally, added garnish in skinny slivers, as we were tasting, not drinking.

Hayman’s Old Tom Gin 40% abv

This family distiller from Balham is now in its 5th generation, having begun its operations 150 years ago.  I met Christopher Hayman at the Worshipful Company of Distillers Luncheon last month (more of this in another blog) so it was a happy coincidence that Hayman’s kicked off the tasting.  This is made to a family recipe from 1870.  We tasted this neat, though with ginger ale it can become a Ginger Tom.  A quality sip – silky and mellow with a mouthcoating of subtle sweetness facilitating appreciation of its complexity.  Impeccably balanced, it went down well with many – an essential for any Old Tom based cocktail but equally enjoyable all by itself.

Broker’s London Dry Gin 40% abv

From Langley’s distillery.  This dapper chap with bowler hat cap was admired by my gin loving friend Heather, who already has a taste for Langley’s own label.  She appreciated its classic gin character.  Sipped neat it was citric and bitter; ice released juniper notes.  I found it too bitter with Fevertree Premium Indian Tonic but with lime peel (hold skin side down and twist before dropping it in) this serve became perfectly balanced.  Dave Broom says “It’s long and considerably more serious a proposition than the bottle suggests” (Gin – The Manual).  Classic G&T and good value.

Hepple Gin 45% abv

Production of this Northumbrian creation sounded rather involved and futuristic in a Heston Blumenthal fashion – a vacuum still, a heated still and CO2 extraction were used.  Neat, the nose was fresh, clean pine.  With ice, floral lavender and spicy notes were released.  With Fevertree Naturally Light Tonic it seemed sweeter, and I quite liked it but reactions around the room were mixed.  I might have overdone the lemon peel squeeze as I couldn’t then taste the gin!

Sipsmith VJOP Gin 57.7% (VJOP = Very Junipery Over Proof – apparently)

Though determined to hate it, there is credible intent here.  The idea is to use juniper in three ways – maceration for 3 days, adding just before distillation, and then vapour infusion hung in a basket, to get different juniper notes.  Nosing was interesting; the order of botanicals seemed reversed as my glass edged towards my nose – pine first, citrus last.  Neat, the weight and length of finish set this gin apart.  With ice it was fresh, with notes of pine, lavender and spice.  Despite it needing dilution as it is overpoof, tonic ruined it for me though with lime peel it was better.  Plenty of admirers in the room.

Ramsbury Single Estate Gin 40% abv

Almost everything is from their estate in Wiltshire.  They aren’t organic but adopt sustainable practices.  They began as brewers so the grain used for the beer makes the base spirit – which adds another £40k to their investment costs so was it worth it?  It is aromatic and fruity with notes of grain.  The palate is rounded and long, with baked orange, cherry and quince paste flavours (fresh quince is one of the botanicals) becoming more savoury with tonic.  I could taste quality here – I sat back and savoured it.  The pear garnish topped it off nicely.

Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength Gin 45.2% abv (bolder strength for mixing)

Made in the West Midlands and conveyed to Iceland where pure water is added.  Bready and rich on the nose, fruitier when ice added.  Fevertree Aromatic Tonic, flavoured with angostura bark, brought out pine notes and balanced it.  The strawberry slice looked inviting with the pinky tinge from the tonic.  Successful mixer gin.

Nordès Atlantic Galician Gin 41.8% abv

Fashioned from Albariño grape spirit, this breezy coastal influenced gin from Green Spain has aromas of stone fruits, sea, herbs and wine becoming more pronounced with ice.  It has a long finish, even with tonic and a garnish of sliced grapes (I have also used 3 grapes on a cocktail stick).  Gin meets wine!

What else did I learn?

Bertha’s Revenge, an Irish Milk Gin with spicy notes I enjoyed at The Wine Shop Winscombe gin tasting, apparently makes excellent Martini.

And the winners are…..

Hayman’s Old Tom and Ramsbury Single Estate – I could quite literally taste craftsmanship in every sip of these gins.  But I know everyone had their own favourites.  There is undoubtedly a gin for everyone these days.

With many thanks to Great Western Wines, Tristan Darby and Graeme Ewins for this eye-opening tasting experience.

I am not like Sarah Jessica Parker.  No, really, I’m not.  We both like a glass of vino but who, with any wine cred, would announce a new wine range with a sentence making it clear she has yet to visit the vineyards where the grapes are grown.  Even if they are in New Zealand.  Come on SJP – hop in your jet and get those generously donated wellies on…..

I, on the other hand, have been out and about in the (sometimes) sunbaked slopes of Sutton Ridge in Somerset with my very muddy Hunters on to find out more about Luke Ford’s increasingly renowned wines in a bid to see if I can get my head around that most hardcore of all vineyard activities – winter pruning.

I chose my vineyard well – it is Luke’s policy to prune late so pruning here is a fairer weather job than in most vineyards. My visit was on 1 March 2019, by which time most English vineyards aim to have finished this task – and a sneaky peek into Aldwick Estate on my way there confirmed that pruning there was already done and dusted.

Sutton Ridge Vineyard lies on a sunny slope overlooking Blagdon Lake which is steep enough that  I was slightly breathy on reaching the top.  Its manageable size enables Luke to prune late as he can get the job done fairly quickly (he says early morning sessions every day for 4 weeks gets it done!!).  The idea of late pruning is to minimise the risk of losing his precious crop to frost.  But prune too late and he risks rubbing off the delicate leaf buds  – if they get “woolly” they are more vulnerable.

Before my visit, I flicked back through Stephen Skelton’s Viticulture tome and predicted that I would be cane pruning, not spur pruning, the former being the more usual choice in cooler climate vineyards with vigorous growth – like Luke’s vineyard, which lies on fertile land with rich clay soil over mudstone.

Cane pruning, also called cane replacement, creates a relatively thin “leaf-wall” better enabling pesticides and fungicides to reach the canopy interior, and also creating maximum exposure for buds, shoots and fruit – necessary in climates like ours where sunshine is in relatively short supply.   There was some spur pruning where a long arm had been grown along and down to replace a lost vine (see photo of Luke further down), and Luke kindly got me spur pruning to see the difference.  Even I could manage spur pruning – just count three buds and snip.  Whereas cane pruning involved me staring in puzzlement at the options for this year’s fruiting canes.  This “before pruning” photo shows how many there are, and the options vary from vine to vine.  Cane pruning therefore necessitates skill and time, and is expensive because it is hard to mechanise.  It also takes longer to remove all the redundant wood, and this also adds to the expense.

Cane pruned vines are known as single or double Guyot after Dr Jules Guyot who first recorded this system of pruning, and Luke’s vines are generally double Guyot – so after pruning, we aimed to have one “arm” or cane reaching along a fruiting wire in each direction, with a few “thumbs” beneath as the starting point for next year’s canes.  The “one armed bandits”, or single Guyot, were seen only on weaker vines.  I was not convinced that the canes could be bent as required without them snapping, but Luke assured me that they are sufficiently pliable, especially after rain.  In this “after” photo, the canes haven’t yet been tied down.

Luke had already pruned the dark berried Regent vines, so he let me loose on his precious Pinot Noir, used for his fresh and elegant Dewdown traditional method sparkling wine, and also sometimes as an addition to his moreish rosé.

I learnt that pruning is a process of elimination.  The old fruiting “arms” and new wood at the extremities is cut out, leaving the options for this year’s fruiting canes more easily visible.  The choice depends on the shape and condition of the vine.  Factors affecting the choice of cane include the need to get rid of any wounds, such as from canes which snapped off, which increase the disease risk, the aim of keeping the “head” at the top of the trunk of the vine beneath the fruiting wires, and the need to keep the origin of this year’s canes as near as possible to the “head”.  Ideally, “thumbs” with three buds on are cut accordingly beneath the canes.  But sometimes the “thumbs” end up above the canes if the better canes are lower down, some seemingly ideal canes are naughtily growing in the wrong direction, or are simply too short to be of use – and so it goes on – so having removed the less ideal canes, you are hopefully left with at least two suitable canes.  The photo above shows what you are meant to end up with.

To minimise the risk of trunk diseases, we dipped our secateurs in alcohol between pruning each and every vine.  This isn’t feasible in large vineyards, but Luke’s crop is small and precious so it is worth this momentary pause to keep his vines healthy.

That said, these vines produce 2,000 – 3,000 bottles of wine annually!

While I dithered about where to begin and which canes were best Luke, by contrast, was chopping away with ruthless decisiveness.  Needless to say, after patiently explaining everything and then allowing me to talk through the decisions, if we were to get a respectable amount done before dark, we needed to adopt an approach which involved Luke chopping and me tidying.

Ably assisting the process was Luke’s father Ian (a farmer) who efficiently collected the heaps of pruned wood and trimmed off the tops of the vines making the pruning easier.  Flo, Luke’s devoted collie, was delectable but less helpful – I was swiftly identified as a constant source of fuss which slowed down my pruning selections even further.  Flo is highly intelligent – she “retired” at 18 months of age having worked out that a dislike of sheep would give her an easier life.  She is now my favourite vineyard dog – along with bacon loving Dennis of Aldwick Estate, of course.

Since I was an unlikely candidate for Luke and Ian’s dawn sorties to the vineyard to complete the pruning in a respectable timeframe, I opted instead to return after budbreak to see how my Pinot Noir protegées and their companions are fairing.  The plan is to return after that at flowering, fruit set and veraison (when the grapes change colour) and then finally at harvest.  A blog will update you after each visit. Fingers crossed Jack Frost doesn’t visit the vineyard in the meantime…..

 

Have you noticed that gin tastings seem to be everywhere, but whisky tastings are like hen’s teeth?  So there was no way I was missing out on this tasty treat……especially knowing that Luke is a walking whisky encyclopaedia.  I learnt loads – so here is a roundup for those who couldn’t make it.

Handy tips:

• Keep mouth ajar slightly when inhaling the nose to get more “draw through”;
• Lighter styles are in vogue as aperitifs just now
• Whether to add water or ice depends on the whisky in question, and those of lower strength i.e. 43% or less might be better neat.  So experiment with your favourite drams to find out what suits it best.
• Avoid chlorine infused tap water.
• Whisky goes well with cheese and charcuterie!

Benromach Organic 43%

Light and pure expression from G&McP’s very own distillery – despite its size it produces 9 styles.  This one is aged in virgin oak so without flavour influences from other beverages.  The distillery shuts down for 2 weeks each year to make it, due to strict organic requirements.  Medium gold with straw, vanilla and cracked pepper aromas and flavours and a medium finish.  No one else mentioned it but I got bacon!  Better neat – with water it tasted a wee bit too sweet.  £42.99 a great price given its organic credentials.

Loch Lomond Single Grain 46%

Like a single malt, it is made from malted barley in a single distillery, but this dram has to be called grain because it is distilled in a column still, not a pot still.  This makes it lighter in character.  Medium yellow with sweet fruit aromas such as banana, pear drop and baked apple.  The palate had a herbal bite and the alcohol was quite harsh – but with water this disappeared leaving a smooth mouthfeel and flavours akin to viognier white wine with apricot and honeysuckle coming through.  Good value at £29.99.

Tullibardine Sauternes finish 43%

Pale gold, with an appealing nose of sultanas, freesias, sawdust, marmalade and boot polish – the latter elements almost certainly emanating from remnants of the botrytised sweet wine previously aged in the same 225 litre cask.  The palate was mellow and smooth with a hint of smoke and a long honeysuckle finish.  This disappeared before I even thought about adding water, so it is very approachable neat.  A mellow yellow £43.99.

Tullibardine Burgundy finish 43%

Finished in 228 litre red wine casks, this was medium gold in colour with an intense broad aroma profile of honey, chocolate, candied orange, ginger, and farmyard (a nod to Pinot Noir perhaps?) and a lingering finish.   Dry, but very mellow.  Again, it vanished neat.  I enjoyed nibbling cheddar with it – this lifted both the cheese and the whisky.  Very pleasant indeed.  Alot in this bottle for £43.99.

Benromach Sassicaia 45%

This distinctive orange coloured dram (see photo above, No. 5 ) was aged in red wine casks from revered super Tuscan Sassicaia and had 12 ppm of peat smoke (as against 44 ppm for Laphroaig).  Neat, the alcohol was a little harsh, and I did not detect the red fruits and chocolate Luke promised.  BUT I then added water which released red fruity richness, leather, and a long smouldering bonfire finish.  I craved chorizo with this – luckily this was provided – bonfire season bliss.  £45.99 – you won’t see that with the word “Sassicaia” associated with it anywhere else!

Benromach 10 year old 43%

Aged in 70/30% Bourbon/oloroso sherry casks.  I had much to write about this.  Medium amber colour, aromas of nuts, raisins, marmalade, popcorn, ginger nuts, Christmas cake, marmite and smoky bacon fat.  Smooth, warming and powerful with lifted floral aromatics and a generous evolving sweet and savoury palate.  A great all rounder and amazing value at £37.99.

Loch Lomond Inchmoan 12 year old 46%

Non chill filtered (so it might go hazy if water or ice is added, especially at cool temperatures – mine didn’t) and aged in Bourbon refill and American re-charred casks, with 45ppm peat smoke.  No space here to debate whether chill filtered whiskies are better than non chill filtered…..!  Medium amber-orange in colour with a nose bursting with character.  Think rain on tarmac, the vanilla and wood smell of a sauna,  creosote and smoky toasty notes presumably from the re-char.  I found it too harsh neat, but with water it amazed; full bodied, with toffee and baked apple coming through to balance it and a very long evolving finish.  Salami tasted lovely with it!  £48.49 is fair for a dram of this character.

Benromach Peat Smoke 46%

This 9 year old was very popular.  A deceptive pale lemon in colour, this appetising dram would make an excellent aperitif paired with meaty canapés.  A light fresh nose of lavender, straw and baked lemon.  The palate was impeccably balanced and water was not needed, despite its bottling strength.  The finish was sweet, smokey and very long, and a great match with cheddar cheese – after which the finish carried on and on!  At £42.99 I suspect quite a bit of this was sold.

We then enjoyed a couple of whisky cocktails with a Somerset twist – the Whirlygig became the Winscombe y Gig, and the Whisky Manhattan, both of which included Somerset made spirits.  Recipes are a Wine Shop secret so tap them up if you want to know more.  Many thanks to Winscombe’s favourite mixologist Matthew Coxhead and his assistant Armando for those!

Expensive they might be, but it is easy to find out about the Grand Cru Classé and Cru Bourgeois wines of Bordeaux.  Wine commentators galore give tasting notes on each and every vintage, so if you can find one whose palate matches your own, you can buy with confidence.

But for those of us who don’t have Grand Cru Classé budgets, Bordeaux is a daunting prospect.  Either high prices pose too big a risk, or cheaper wines seem too cheap – how can the wine be any good?  Finding great wine at a fair price can be tricky.

Luckily, The Wine Shop Winscombe recently hosted a masterclass in Bordeaux wines presented by Frazer Mott, of Department 33, a wholesaler buying wines only from family run estates.  Frazer promised us that in two hours we would not only know our right from our left bank, but also know which style we preferred.  He failed in this mission as far as I am concerned – but in a good way.  Read on to find out why.

Les Cordeliers Brut Crémant de Bordeaux

Sparkling wine made using the same method as champagne, but with 100% Sémillon grapes.  The producers have a base in St-Émilion where the exhausted tourist can rest and sip their wine in a former cloister, but the grapes are grown some way away in Entre-Deux-Mers.  Pale with a pretty slightly pink hue.  A refreshing nose of red apple, lemon and jasmine led to a dry, red apple peel and honeyed palate with a fine elegant mousse and a medium finish.  Although Frazer didn’t think “autolytic” (or yeasty) flavours (like those of champagne) were that marked in this wine, I thought there was a distinct hint of brioche on the nose and bready flavours on the palate.  I think this wine over delivers on its modest £15.99 price point.  Delightful with canapes, it would also make a cracking kir royale.

Ch. Vignol Entre-Deux-Mers 2017

Entre-Deux-Mers is the part of Bordeaux between two large rivers, the Dordogne and the Garonne.  Much of the region’s white wine is made from grapes grown here, and much of this has been uninspiring, albeit crisp and food friendly.  Not so this one.  The nose was very fruit forward with gooseberry, passion fruit, lemon and lime, and even apricot stone fruit aromas, along with a grassy nettle edge.  No oak aromas were evident.  On tasting, the wine was surprisingly weighty, round and rich, with a long lifted elderflower finish.  Made from a blend of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle, the wine was not overtly acidic – so this could be a winner if you like the pungent and fruity Sauvignon Blanc flavour profile but not the acid that goes with it.  Easy to enjoy on its own, this is a very good wine and excellent value at £11.49.

Chartreuse de Prieuré Marquet Bordeaux Supérieur 2015

A Right Bank 100% Merlot from a recently revamped estate just north of St-Émilion with a very swanky hotel and a pristine cellar.  A deep ruby wine with a dusty black cherry jam, cassis and cigar box nose.  Medium bodied, smooth, plummy and chocolatey on the palate with a dab of vanilla and sawdust (it spent 18 months in oak), and a medium finish.  Although not wildly complex, this is a tasty, smooth, good quality wine, justly priced at £14.99.

Ch. Mangot St-Émilion Grand Cru 2015

Right Bank again, and I was prepared to be sniffy about its quality given that I teach WSET L2 students that Grand Cru in St-Émilion is not as elevated a classification as it is elsewhere.  However, for me, this wine had it all.  Deep in colour, with pronounced aromas and flavours of fresh blackcurrant, raspberry, rose hip, brambles, fresh cut hedgerow, black cherry, mint, tobacco, smoke, leather and an enduring smokey finish.  The tannins melted into the ether.  Tasted with chorizo, it became very intense and smokey.  Being partial to Cabernet Franc, it all made sense when Frazer told us the blend was 80/14/6% Merlot/Cab Franc/Cab Sauvignon.  This wine spent 14 months in oak.  Outstanding in my biased assessment, but more objective critics might say it was not quite complex enough to score top marks, and I noticed hot alcohol from the Merlot.  Not an every day price (£25.99) but it isn’t an every day wine.    It is a treat!

Ch. La Gorce Médoc Cru Bougeois 2011

The creation of Denis (pronounced as in the Blondie song…) who built up his Left Bank estate from 2 hectares and a caravan, and who makes one cuvée (or blend) only each vintage.  There is now an imposing chateau and this wine was Frazer’s best seller last year so Denis goes from strength to strength.  A slightly garnet colour with enticing ripe strawberry and raspberry, plum and cherry jam, cinnamon, leather and cedar aromas.  The palate was cool blackcurrant and herbal herbaceousness with soft tannins, impeccable balance and depth of flavour.  A well made wine; my only disappointment was that I wanted to enjoy it longer than it endured.  50/50 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon, with a complete flavour profile, this is well worth £16.99.

Ch. Peyreblanque Red Graves 2014

A deep ruby Left Bank wine with a typical and powerful Cabernet Sauvignon nose – blackcurrant, eucalyptus, cedarwood, with hints of forest floor vegetation, tobacco, ink and blueberry, to which clove and hedgerow elements were added on tasting it.  High tannins quickly softened, and the finish was lovely and long.  A very good wine which many of us liked.    A word of warning however – don’t eat cheddar cheese with it – I did and it was horrid!  This is one for steak.  The blend is 70/30% Cab Sauvignon/Merlot.  £23.99 is a fair price.

Ch. Beau Site Haut Vignobles St Estephe 2012 (NB NOT the same as Ch. Beau Site, its more well known neighbour)

An Haut Médoc (Left Bank) village wine from revered St Estephe made from a blend of 75/20/5% Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Petit Verdot which spent 20 months in barrel.  Still ruby in colour, the nose is elegant, understated and spicy.  Sandalwood aromas coalesce with black cherry and blackcurrant fruit.  On tasting these flavours combine with high dusty tannins which soften readily.  The best bit is the long curranty sandalwood finish, evolving through leather and mushroom to rest on a lingering waft of spicy smoke.  £24.99 buys a classic wine for those who like to sip, savour and contemplate.

Ch. Gombaude Guillot Pomerol 2009

Back to the Right Bank, and who can resist the approachability and silky smoothness of Pomerol. Frazer billed this as his best wine and advised that this estate lies close to famous names Ch. Clinet and Pétrus, so great things were expected from this 85/15% Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend.  A deep dark brooding colour with equally deep dark brooding aromas of intense brambly black fruits and violets.  The palate was inky, dusty, grippy and a little hot but balanced with plenty of ripe succulent black fruits.  A new experience for me was a crescendo of flavour before a long powerful finish which alternated between sweet and sour.  The undeniable concentration of this wine from this fêted vintage was appreciated by all – not least when the £63.99 price tag was unveiled.  An outstanding wine in every sense.

Having found lots to love in all of these wines, I appear to be a Right Bank, Left Bank and In Between person – so to that extent Frazer has failed in his mission to get me to choose. I did notice, however, that my outstanding wines both had a splash of Cabernet Franc in them – either this therefore completes the wine, or I just like wine better with Cab Franc in it!

I hope my fellow tasters will comment on their favourites.

A brief post to report on happy hours spent snipping bunches for Aldwick Estate in Somerset this autumn.

Brief because the salient point is that there were LOADS of grapes!  So many in fact that we were instructed to be even more ruthless than usual.  Only the very best grapes were to be harvested.  Anything else was either to be buried in the ground, or to be harvested in another pass, or try, when it had ripened fully.

The exceptionally hot weather in summer 2018 inevitably meant that this year’s grape crop was eagerly anticipated, but of course rain is never too far away, and the Madeleine Angevine white wine grapes which ripen earliest and are very sweet suddenly swelled when rain came, splitting the skins – so the wasps moved in!

The Bacchus grapes, which had been a slow tedious harvest in 2017 due to mould issues, were a much more rewarding proposition in 2018, so I am hoping that a single varietal Bacchus free of taint will emerge from our efforts.

The Seyval Blanc vines, usually bountiful even in tricky years, had gone potty.  There were simply too many grapes to use everything, so inevitably there was wastage.  Aside from yield limits somewhat belatedly publicised by the powers that be, the local winery in Shepton Mallet, so ably managed by Steve Brooksbank, could only cope with a relatively finite quantity of grapes.

Pinot Noir we harvested for fizz posed a challenge in this year of heat and rapid ripening, in that it was necessary to harvest quickly once optimum ripeness was achieved for fear of losing the acidity levels so crucial for sparkling wine production.  This is a challenge when the workforce consists of volunteers paid in wine who cannot be summoned to harvest at a moment’s notice, and the winery can only take delivery of grapes when the allocated slot dictates.

A pink fizz was vital this year – Aldwick Estate needs this for its thriving wedding event business, and last year the wine destined for pink fizz decided to change colour and become a white fizz instead – a Blanc de Noir!

For me, however, the main event was harvesting Pinot Noir for a single varietal red wine.  This is something which can only be done in UK vineyards in the very best years, and even then this is a brave decision because there is a much more reliable income stream from English fizz.

However, the success of Aldwick Estate’s first ever single varietal Pinot Noir in 2015 (see previous Judgement of Winscombe blog) will I hope have furnished Sandy and Elizabeth with the requisite knowledge, experience, equipment and confidence to go for it in 2018.

In the hope that the grapes would be good enough, I must confess that I was not perhaps the swiftest harvester of the crew, taking care to select only the very best berries of each bunch.  Elizabeth was kind enough to encourage me to squeeze the berries for the optimum amount of “give”, to sample berries periodically to check the sweetness (they were sweet indeed!) and to thin out the bunches leaving the remainder to attain full ripeness more quickly.

I am afraid that my intended debrief with Elizabeth when the harvest concluded was not possible – sadly I had to dash from the vineyard to Weston Hospital because my father-in-law sadly passed away (many thanks to Mary for checking out my secateurs which I had to abandon in my barrow!).  There is therefore a lack of technical information in this piece.

I hope, however, that this rudimentary report gives the general idea of what went on, and the care and attention that went into Aldwick Estate’s hand harvesting processes.

I will now have to wait until the harvest supper next June when I hope we will be updated as to how it all went when the grapes became wine…..

In the meantime, a reminder that Aldwick Estate are always happy to welcome new harvesters, on the understanding that they are paid only in wine!  It is a lovely way to spend a few hours each autumn, and those with an interest in wine will learn first hand what happens in an English vineyard.

There are also other benefits including delicious bacon baps, a tasty lunch, and making new wine loving friends.  And for dog lovers, here is a picture of Dennis, the quintessential vineyard canine.  Guess what he is staring at…..

 

My inner wine geek is in a happy place this week.

Not only have I added Turkish grape varieties to my Wine Century Club list (see previous piece).  But also I have made another new grape find, courtesy of Kelli at The Wine Shop Winscombe. It is a crossing of two of my favourite red wine varieties: the legend that is Cabernet Sauvignon with the red fruit high alcohol powerhouse that is Grenache Noir.  It is called Marselan.

Marselan was created by the French INRA (L’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique), or agronomical research institute, in 1961.  Its name comes from the nearby commune of Marseillan.  The scientist credited with creating it is Paul Truel.

The Oxford Companion to Wine calls Marselan a “particularly successful” crossing. It was created specifically for the Languedoc.  It has small berries (like Cabernet Sauvignon) and very good levels of colour and flavour.  Despite its large bunches and high yields, its small berries initially meant it was shelved for decades in the belief that it would not succeed commercially.  However, it was resurrected due to its disease resistance and high quality, and officially registered as a variety in 1990.

Marselan is now on the march, although like many new grape varieties, it has not made huge inroads in France due to the established limits on which grapes may be grown.  It is, nevertheless, made into varietal wine in Languedoc as an IGP wine.  It has also spread into the southern Rhone, where it is permitted in Côte du Rhone AOC, although it may be no more than 10% of the blend.

The march of Marselan seems to be more rapid beyond France, where the flexibility of New World winemaking and its ability to withstand heat and disease combine to enable experimentation.  Marselan now grows in Spain, California, Arizona, Brazil, Argentina, and China.  Although only a small percentage of China’s huge vineyard area is devoted to Marselan, several Chinese wines made from it have won awards, including Tasya’s Reserve Marselan 2015 made by Grace Vineyard of Shanxi province.  This wine won Platinum Best in Show in Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2017.   Marselan is increasingly referred to with optimism as China’s potential signature grape (like Malbec has become for Argentina).  So watch this space.  As China improves its wines and starts to ramp up its export effort, we may see much more Marselan.

Marselan is blended with Merlot, which in view of its structure and ancestry is no surprise.  This too might be something we see more of in future years – though Merlot is usually relatively high in alcohol, so as my example below is a heady 14.5% abv, that could be a formidable combination.

The Wine

Calmel & Joseph’s Villa Blanche IGP Pays d’Oc example is 100% Marselan.  Their approach is take grapes from different plots with different maturity levels at harvest, vinify them, and thereby create different varietal profiles which are then blended.

Calmel & Joseph have been going since 1995, and have embraced environmentally friendly chemical free grape growing as well as wine tourism – you can stay on the estate in one of four gîtes, which are handy for nearby Carcassonne.

So back to the wine….here we have a lovely example of a deep ruby core.  No chance of reading anything through this!  When I had almost finished my tasting sample, there was still loads of colour.

My small tasting glass (smaller than an ISO), revealed defined and enticing aromas ranging from fresh ripe black cherry, very ripe blackberry, dark chocolate, marzipan, clove, cardamom, vanilla, pencil shavings, and a herbal element mostly akin to thyme.  An aromatic wine.

Nosing with my oversized glass (we are greedy in my house!!) the same aromas were there but seemed less focused, and more inky and dusty.  Alcohol was more noticeable.  It is certainly “deep” when viewed through this glass!

Tasting from my small glass, the wine had juicy acidity.  Very high dusty tannins gradually soften, and balance out with the high alcohol and powerful black fruit flavours which are much more of cooked fruit (I call to mind my father cooking blackberries to make bramble jelly) than they were on sniffing.  The marzipan is still there and there is a tar element going on. This is a full bodied wine with a medium length finish of vanilla, chocolate and cherry.  Very tasty!

My oversized glass produced a different tasting experience.  There was an initial sweetness, and the wine seemed even more balanced.  The flavours evolved into a smoky spicy savoury food friendly profile which was very appetising.

So I got the cheese out (within seconds Arthur was at my side…).  Forget parmesan with this wine (the wine decimated the cheese).   The better pairing was a strong cheddar, which tasted sweeter and creamier with the wine, and when the wine was sipped again, I enjoyed a lingering fruit and nut chocolate/ coffee finish.  Not Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut – think instead top grade high cocoa solid chocolate.  So: wine, cheese, chocolate and coffee but without the calories of chocolate or the caffeine of coffee!

But what about the Tannin Haters?

I would expect anyone with a sensitive “super taster” palate to spit this wine out in disgust.  But my sensitive husband (a tannin hater) says this wine is “very nice”.  I think this is because of its balance and fruitiness, despite the tannins in it.

I would still say this wine could be daunting for anyone who usually prefers sweet and/or light juicy wines.  But for the wine explorer who likes a structured deep powerhouse of a wine, with plenty of juicy black fruit, the might of Marselan might be just what they need.

Food match

I suspect a rich venison stew would benefit from the fruit and backbone of Marselan.  I wonder what a slow cooked beef rendang or lamb curry would be like with it.  But beware – high alcohol and chilli only works if you like it very very hot!

Conclusion

Marselan is good stuff.  The Villa Blanche example is a very good wine and a veritable bargain.  I look forward to tasting more of it.

Postscript

My husband has just shuffled in sniffing out more Marselan – and he has decided to have it with biscuits.  Not savoury cheese ones, sweet ones!!!!  Shortbread if you please.  He said they are not sweet.  I advised him that they contain sugar and plenty of it.  He has been warned that the sugar will boost the tannins and take away the lovely fruit flavours, but he says he “knows his pairings”.  He has shuffled out again, wine and shortbread in hand.  Shake of head, sigh…..someone please book him on WSET Level 1, preferably when I am not teaching it……!

The Turkish wine industry is at a crossroads.  Increasingly strict Muslim derived rules limiting alcohol consumption and advertising, coupled with lack of government assistance mean that now is not a good time to be making wine in Turkey.  But despite the odds being stacked against them, Turkish winemakers have been investing and developing their operations at a rapid pace, with quality advancement evident for both international and indigenous grape varieties.  Factors in their favour include rules on alcohol sale and consumption locally being honoured more in the breach than the observance, and the development of a thriving wine tourism industry.

So it was high time that Bristol Tasting Circle got to taste some samples, which we did with guidance from Tim Johnson, Judith Tyler, and Tugba Altinoz (in her absence) on 11 June 2018 at The Clifton Club.  (Tugba has to be careful how she provides her input, since it would be easy to fall foul of the rules prohibiting advertising of wine.)  We were joined by the West of England Wine & Spirit Association for this event.

We enjoyed 10 wines (some in this photo, some in the photo further down) in a range of styles made from local and international grape varieties, coming from very different (unofficial) wine regions.  Retail prices ranged from £9 – 28.  Some represented astonishing value for money, while others were, in my view at least, over priced. We all had our favourites, and there didn’t seem to be a consensus as to a standout stunner. My picks were all made from indigenous grapes.  So here they are.

Vinkara Yasasin 2014 12%

This sparkling white wine by Vinkara (vineyard photo courtesy of Wines of Turkey) was first produced in 2009, and is the first traditional method wine made in Turkey.  It is a blanc de noir, i.e. a white wine made from black skinned grapes.  But rather than Pinot Noir and Meunier, the grapes are the indigenous Kalecik Karasi variety which is the most important red wine grape variety in Central Anatolia.  It originates from an area near Ankara (termed “mid-Northern Anatolia” by Wines of Turkey, there being no officially defined wine regions in Turkey), and means either “black of Kalecik” or “black from small castle”.  It was almost wiped out by phylloxera in the 1960’s, but thanks to research, clones of it were saved.  Better quality grapes come from steep slopes beside the river Kizilirmak but in more recent times higher yields from valley floor sites have resulted in lower quality wines – which might account for the example I tried before (see below!).

This sparkling example is highly regarded, and some would say this is still Turkey’s best sparkling wine.  This wine has more colour than most sparkling whites, and it has plenty of character on the palate.  Aromas of stewed apple, honey and toast on the nose, and flavours of red apple peel, straw and brioche balanced with high acidity and a steely quality.  The finish is long and the mousse feels fine.  A classy glass and a cracking start to the evening.  It retails for £26.99.

Vivino reviews of this vintage seem in tune with mine – though a review of 2013 mentions “blue raspberry” three times – not sure what that is….maybe I need to taste it to find out.

Doluca DLC 2013 13.5%

This still white wine was very welcome, its two predecessors having proved a tad underwhelming.  The grape variety is Narince, meaning “delicate” or “fragile”.  It is indigenous to the Tokat region classified by Wines of Turkey as “mid-eastern Anatolia”.  Tokat is one of two areas in this zone, and is close to the Black Sea.

Narince is the most widely planted white wine grape in Turkey, and is reputed to respond well to oak maturation.  It is probably the only white variety which has ageing potential.  Wines are generally dry or off-dry with fresh fruity character.

The wine has a medium lemon colour, and pronounced and complex aromas.  I identified butter, papaya, mango, baked apple, ripe banana, apricot and honey.  To taste, the wine has highish acidity, highish alcohol, and dairy hints, all in balance with the very appealing ripe tropical fruit character.  I enjoyed the long finish and in doing so noticed murmurs of appreciation from around the room – which turned to exclamations when Tim advised us not only that Tugba had warned that this wine would probably be past its best, but also that it was on offer – usual price £10.49, now reduced to £6.49!!!!!  Mug that I am, I would have coughed up £15 for this (see notes in the photo)!  So Cheshire Cat smiley face award for this little number.

A 2015 Vivino review of this vintage was not glowing.  It mentions the buttery flavour but found little else.  A bit harsh methinks.

Kayra Versus Alpagut Öküzgözü 2013 14.5%

Now this wine, a red, was really interesting (below, 3rd from left at the front).

Kayra is the winery,  Alpagut is the name of the vineyard, and Versus is the cuvée.  The region is Elazig, again in “Mid-Eastern Anatolia” but this area is some way south east of Tokat, where the influence of Muslim culture is stronger than in more westerly regions.

The grape variety is Öküzgözü, meaning “bullseye” due to its large black berries.  It is a fleshy grape with large compact bunches.  The photo (courtesy of Wines of Turkey) is from a Kayra vineyard – not sure if these are Öküzgözü but they fit the description nicely!

The wine was deep ruby in colour with a hint of purple – interesting in itself given its age.

However, my nose went into overdrive with pronounced banana leaf, raisin, ink and pencil box aromas which morphed into fruity black cherry and blackberry and a slightly floral perfume.

There were high gritty tannin and spirity alcohol levels, but these were in balance with ripe, punchy and velvety blackberry, black cherry and cedar wood flavours which lingered long and evolved into a more gamey savoury character.  I thought it might benefit from being aged to develop more tertiary character.

Overall very interesting, very good, and a wine which took no prisoners.  Vivino reviews give a range of descriptors which vary from mine but reflect the same overall character and quality.  Retail price £24.99 – a fair reflection of the quality in my view.

A number of the wines we sampled had noticeably high levels of alcohol, a further feed into the contradictions inherent in the Turkish wine industry.  While this wine was among them, the powerful flavours, full but rounded body and hefty tannins meant that in this wine, the alcohol did not seem out of balance.

According to Wine Grapes, varietal Öküzgözü is not ageworthy, and is often blended with rougher Bogazkere as it is a relatively light, juicy acidic wine on its own which is best without much oak character.  I therefore wondered whether this wine had a backbone of some sort to bolster it.  However Kayra’s comprehensive technical sheet does not mention any other grapes, while giving details about the oak ageing of the wine (19 months, 20% in new barrels, both French and American oak).  The winemaker is apparently a consultant from the USA who likes an oaky style.  It may therefore simply be that this is particularly high quality concentrated Öküzgözü.

Conclusions

Prior to this event, my only record of tasting a wine from Turkey related to a lightweight fruity but short red wine made from Kalecik Karasi, which did nothing to ignite my interest.

It was therefore a revelation to taste fascinating and quality examples from producers who are battling against ever more unfavourable circumstances.  What a shame it would be if these quality wines and grape varieties were to disappear.

Only time will tell what will happen to Turkey’s wines.  Perhaps now is the time to seek them out – whether to chart their progress, or to experience them before they are outlawed.  The place to go, if you are curious, is http://www.tasteturkey.com – or Turkey!

Huge thanks to Tim, Judith and Tugba – I can now update my geeky list of wine grapes tasted.  Already a member of the Wine Century Club, I might get my 200 certificate one day…..

Also, thank you to “Wine Grapes” (Harding/Robinson) for the information about the grape varieties, and to Wines of Turkey, Vivino reviewers and the producers’ websites.

 

It has all been happening at Aldwick Estate (formerly Aldwick Court Farm & Vineyard – so three cheers for a shorter name!).

Aside from the re-brand, their eagerly awaited unfiltered Pinot Noir 2015 (a still red!) hit the shelves on 4 June 2018.  This wine won a silver medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018 (this is a competition aimed at finding wines for clued up wine consumers).  That is a considerable achievement for an English red wine, but we all knew it was good – see my blog The Judgement of Winscombe.  Classy wine, classy label.

Aldwick Estate wines are also finding new friends locally and beyond.  They are now to be found in Robinsons Brewery establishments in the north, and in Butcombe Brewery establishments closer to home.

This has happily coincided with a marked increase in yield.  In 2016 18 tons of grapes were harvested.  In 2017 this went up to a whopping 30 tons!

However, what I as an “esteemed picker” wanted to know was what they have done with the precious grapes I so carefully snipped in the 2017 harvest.  In other words, what wine would become my wages??

When I finally made it to the annual harvest supper (our car broke down in Weston so I eventually arrived by taxi and my poor husband made the journey via tow truck and our trusty X registered Ford Focus), Elizabeth the vineyard manager steered me to a table and offered me samples of a trio of wines.  I was fed too as you can see.

BUTEO 2017

A white wine with a pale lemon green hue which is delicate and light bodied.  The acidity level is medium, not the rather bracingly refreshing acidity level normally associated with English wines, suggesting well ripened fruit.   There are plenty of appealing fruit aromas and flavours to enjoy, including lemon and grapefruit, gooseberry, passionfruit, ripe lemon, ripe pear, and hints of stone fruits, as well as floral notes of elderflower and freesia.   All of these balance out nicely.  The finish may be delicate, but it is also long.  A very good wine.  It reminded me in some ways of the Greenhill Estate Chardonnay 2017 I recently wrote about.

Elizabeth insisted that I work out what grapes were in the blend.  I thought there was Bacchus in there, since some of the greener, citric zesty flavours seemed in keeping with what I would expect from it.  However the riper stone fruit character must come from something else, and having harvested very ripe sticky Madeleine Angevine in September (see photo), I guessed that there must be some of my grapes in there.  This was very early even for Madeleine, as I recall.

Correct thus far, Elizabeth told me that the third element was Seyval Blanc, the three varieties being blended in roughly equal parts.  Sadly the Bacchus was not deemed to be of good enough quality to make a single varietal wine with it this year (I helped harvest these, and we selected only the best grapes which took a long time due to a mould issue), which is why it was blended instead.

MARY’S ROSE 2017

I always enjoy this pretty pale salmon pink wine and have written about it before.  The  2017 has pronounced inviting aromas of strawberries, redcurrants and apricot with an extra oat biscuit dimension.  As with Buteo, the acidity was nearer to medium than high, but it is still fresh and well balanced with redcurrant and strawberry flavours and a mineral edge.  The finish is of medium length.  A good wine which is easy to drink and which will appeal to many a dry rosé lover.

FLYING PIG

Pale ruby in colour, this wine delivers fresh aromas of cherries, plums, damsons, loganberries, and rose hips, with hints of strawberries, and a soft floral violet scent.  I could not detect any obvious oak ageing flavours, but I suspected oak had been used to mature the wine because its light tannins were very soft and rounded.  The acidity was on the high side of medium, which with the juicy fruit flavours created an elegant balance.  The fruity finish was medium.  A good wine which I thought would appeal to lovers of quality Beaujolais – and so it proved when my husband (a Beaujolaisphile) turned up.  It also held up very well to the rare beef and horseradish sauce!

This is a multi-vintage wine, i.e. Rondo and Pinot Noir wine from 2016 blended with early Pinot Noir wine from 2017.  The wine had to be filtered because although the 2016 underwent malolactic fermentation (which might further account for the soft texture) the 2017 did not.  The 2016 wine was matured in four year old French oak barrels.  However the 2017 early Pinot Noir was matured for a few months only in new French oak barrels (two have been purchased, doubtless at considerable expense).  This is an exercise in maturation only, since overt oaky flavours such as vanilla or other spices could easily overwhelm the fruit.

So was 2017 a successful vintage at Aldwick?

Undoubtedly.  Even though this wasn’t a year to repeat the single varietal Pinot Noir still red wine success of 2015, or even create a varietal Bacchus, I would say that there is a delightful silver lining in the form of Buteo, which was very much appreciated amongst the other “esteemed pickers” present, and which was in my view the better quality wine.  It was also my favourite.  But all three wines are eminently drinkable.  Indeed, production of wine people want to drink is something which, year on year, Aldwick Estate is consistently good at.

The bad news for those of us who want to keep it to ourselves is that Sandy is embarking upon expansion of catering, tastings and tours – who can blame her with such a stunning location!  However this means demand can only grow.  So snap it up while you can.   Meanwhile, I plan to up my hours in the vineyard this autumn to make sure I get my fair share…

Another English Wine Week special.

Following the marriage of Aldwick Estate’s Bacchus with Rachel goat’s cheese from Pylle, both from Somerset, the pairing of Aldwick Estate’s Mary’s Rose, a rosé made from Regent, Solaris and Pinot Noir grapes with a cheese had to be explored.  Forget Tinder.  This is Winder.  And this time I have upped the cheese options to four so our fair maiden has plenty of suitors to choose from.

The Wine

An attractive salmon pink still rosé with appetising defined aromas of fresh Somerset strawberries and red cherries, with a reviving crisp cranberry edge and a hint of fresh peach.  The wine is dry, but juicy.  Clean redcurrant and strawberry fruit flavours are balanced by a creamy mouthfeel and notes of oat biscuit.  The finish is delicate but persistent.    Not just a pink drink; this wine has both body and depth of flavour.  12.5% abv.  Lovely back label tribute to Mary Watts by wordsmith and vineyard manager Elizabeth Laver.

The Four Cheeses:

Gorwydd Caerphilly

An acidic textured cheese with lemony flavours made from unpasteurised cow’s milk near Cheddar by Trethowan’s dairy.  The cheese made the wine taste fruitier with much more strawberry and peach coming through, while an extra nutty mushroomy dimension was added to the wine on the finish.  However both the wine and the cheese are high in acidity so the overall effect might be too tart for some.  Though I can tell you I enjoyed it!

St Endellion

A vegetarian pasteurised Cornish Brie-style cow’s milk cheese made luxurious by addition of double cream by Trevilley Farm.  Sadly the wine and cheese combo was far from luxurious.  The cheese was rendered briny and tasteless by the wine, which in turn became somewhat briny and seaweedy.  Not good.

Capricorn

A brie-style unpasteurised goat’s cheese made by Lubborn Creamery, now owned by Lactalis McLelland. The rennet used is vegetarian.  The milk is sourced from farms near Cricket St Thomas in south Somerset.   The cheese smelt very oaty and tasted dreamily creamy, with hints of coffee, nuts and forest floor.  It had a slight sweetness to it.  Initially, after the cheese, I could not taste the wine.  But on the second taste, after really coating my mouth with wine, although the cheese persisted, the wine now added a delicious fruity dimension to the cheese, while the wine acquired depth and nuttiness. The wine lingered longer.  Overall, yummy!

Yarg

Cornish hard cheese with nettle rind.  The nettles attract moulds and impart mushroom flavours as the cheese matures.  A refreshing creamy cheese with herbal savoury flavours.  The cheese imparted a herbal mushroomy element to the wine, but there was slight bitterness on the finish, and neither the wine nor the yarg lingered.  Fine, but not the best.

Conclusion

Although I had to taste quickly before Arthur moved in (!), and although it needed a second taste (the second taste is always better, trust me!), the winner was Capricorn goat’s cheese – so just as for the Bacchus match, the goat’s cheese won again.  Not only did the wine and the cheese gain new flavours they lacked on their own, but also, the cheese lengthened the finish of the wine – which can only mean enhanced value for money.  I daresay Rachel, the goat’s cheese from Pylle, would be a lush match as well.

But don’t forget the Gorwydd Caerphilly – it might be a bit lively on the acidity but the flavours are great.  Caerphilly can be a tricky match so this was a happy find.

Both cheeses are from Somerset – so as with Bacchus, Mary’s Rose has not had to travel far to find her ideal matches.  Indeed, these cheeses, as before, were all sourced from Lye Cross Farm Shop, up the road from Aldwick Estate (formerly Aldwick Court Farm & Vineyard, now rebranded).

What better way to celebrate English Wine Week 2018 than by letting you know about a small but quality Somerset vineyard – Greenhill Estate, on Stocklands Farm off the A39 between Bridgwater and Glastonbury.

Despite the recent appetite for English sparkling wines, and more recently English still white wines made from Bacchus, our reds have yet to prove as appealing.  Our northerly cool climate is not a happy place for red grapes to ripen as fully as they need to for quality red wines, and the most suitable international red grape,  Pinot Noir, is far too fickle for most to risk making still red wine with it as it only ripens enough in the very best years.  It is often earmarked instead for sparkling wine for economic reasons.  But as Aldwick have recently shown (see my Judgment of Winscombe piece), maybe it is high time that more producers took the risk.

Right on cue to prove my point, Kelli Coxhead very kindly let me join her in tasting a new potential wine for her shop, submitted by Mark Thorpe of Greenhill Estate – their Pinot Noir still red.

The Wine

We tasted the 2016 vintage in January 2018.  Despite the winter chill, we noted a pronounced nose of red and blackcurrants, wild strawberries, violets, and a herbaceous blackcurrant leaf bite.  On tasting, although the wine had very light tannins and structure, it was balanced, with plenty of juicy currant and strawberry fruitiness to savour, as well as the herbaceous character we found on the nose.  We did not detect any oak derived flavours.  The finish was surprisingly and pleasantly long and it evolved from fruit to savoury flavours – indicating ripe and very good quality fruit, as well as skilful winemaking.  “Smiley face” award duly given.

The Vineyard

It seemed to us that not only must the grapes have been fully ripe indicating an excellent aspect in our northerly viticultural extremity, but also, the grapes must have been of very good quality, probably with a low yield, to produce such surprising and evolving length.  I therefore resolved that I would visit the vineyard to see what advantages it had.  My visit eventually happened on a chilly overcast windy day in May 2018.

Small is beautiful, and the vineyard at 1 hectare in size is indeed small.  But it has an outstanding view across the Somerset Levels, being sited on a southerly slope in the Polden Hills.   Tending the vines must be a pleasure (in fine weather) with such a vista to behold. Not only does the slope enjoy plenty of sunshine, it is also sheltered, which means that the grapes achieve enviable sugar levels at harvest.  For 2017, the sugar levels were 87 for Pinot Noir, and 76 for Chardonnay, with acidity of 9.5 and 10.8 respectively.

However, the rest of the secret here is the soil, which is clay over layers of limestone.  Limestone is a recurring theme in the world’s best vineyards.  It is apparently thought that the Romans grew grapes on the Polden Hills.  I don’t know what evidence there is for that assertion.  We do know that by Henry VIII’s era there were vineyards attached to monasteries, including one at Pilton Manor belonging to the abbey at Glastonbury (these largely vanished when Henry VIII got rid of the monasteries) but I have not found reference to any others as yet.

Whatever our ancestors got up to, as of today, this site seems to have bags of potential, and as the vines mature and the estate gains in experience, the quality of the wines can only increase.

The Story

Stocklands is owned by farmers Steve and Julie Larder, who planted the vineyard in 2008 having carefully researched the soil and the vines to plant on it.  A quarter of the vines are Chardonnay, the rest being Pinot Noir (late not early ripening), planted in vertical lines running up the slope towards the farm. Details of the clones used have been lost.

The vineyard made an imposing entrance to the farm from the A39, but soon absorbed rather more time than anticipated. The wine produced in the early years showed little promise, and the vineyard became neglected.

The Larders then came across Mark Thorpe, a retired dairy farmer and latter day fencing entrepreneur from North Petherton.  When he gave up his fencing business, the Larders persuaded Mark to take on the vineyard, which he did in January 2014.  Mark freely admits that apart from liking a drop or two of wine, he had little idea of what would be involved.  He has therefore had a very steep learning curve.  He set about instituting a very strict pruning and management programme to ensure as open a canopy as possible to combat his primary viticultural hazards, downy and powdery mildew.  The trunks had been allowed to grow too tall and had to be cut back down, and the cost of hiring labour to undertake the work involved put him in debt right from the start.

The vines are pruned using a single Guyot system as in Burgundy, the classical home of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Yields are low, and although 3.5 tons was achieved in 2017, the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir yields were equal – even though the vineyard area of Chardonnay is only a third of that devoted to Pinot Noir.  Mark therefore wonders whether his management regime might be a little too strict, noting ruefully that yields of at least 5 tons per hectare are said to be required in order to make a profit.

The path of true wine never runs smooth.  In 2014, Mark’s first vintage, both grapes were blended because no sane person makes red wines in England.  However, wine making sage Steve Brooksbank, who vinifies much if not all of Somerset’s grape output, persuaded Mark to keep a little Pinot Noir separate to test its potential.  The resultant still red won the Sunnybank Trophy for best red wine in the subsequent South West Vineyards Association competition, much to the chagrin of other larger more established producers.

A great start, but alas, in 2015, no still red wine was made.  The ancient sprayer borrowed from Steve which Mark had valiantly repaired, broke down at the vital juncture in mid May, so mildew ran riot.

In 2016, the grapes were vinified separately.  Sugar levels of 82 and 79 were achieved for the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay respectively.  The Chardonnay won bronze in the 2017 SWVA competition – although Mark suspects it might have fared better had he entered it in the dry, not the medium class!  The Pinot Noir Kelli and I tasted in January will be submitted for the 2018 competition, and also hopefully for Wine GB as well.  The cost and time involved in entering anything else such as the International Wine Challenge is prohibitive presently.  700 bottles of Pinot Noir and 1,500 bottles of Chardonnay were made.

In 2017, the yields were higher.  The Chardonnay is about to be released, and the Pinot Noir is still being matured.  It still needs to undergo malolactic fermentation, and in view of the cold weather thus far this year (despite odd bursts of record breaking warmth, such as the May Day Bank Holiday) this has been delayed.  Mark has yet to taste it but suspects it will be good as the grapes were even riper than 2016 (see above).  The wine won’t be released until August.

Winemaking

Mark modestly says he does not understand winemaking.  However, when I asked him whether the wines were chaptalised (i.e. sugar added) he firmly said no as that would be cheating – and the enviable sugar levels from these grapes surely make this intervention unnecessary.

When I asked Mark whether oak had been used, as regards the Chardonnay, he exclaimed that no oak whatsoever would be used while he drew breath!!

Likewise, no oak has been used for the Pinot Noir.  It was discussed, but for various reasons it was ruled out. The wine was therefore matured in stainless steel.

Sparkling wine is not made.  Why? Mark does not care for it.  Fair enough!

So – what about the Chardonnay?

I tasted the 2016 and 2017 against La Chablisienne Petit Chablis AOC 2016 – 12.5% abv as against 11.5% abv for the Greenhill Estate.  These grapes are grown on Portlandian clay and limestone, and as Chablis is a very northerly Chardonnay growing zone I thought this would make for the fairest classical comparison.

Greenhill Estate Chardonnay 2016

Pale lemon.  Delicate but defined aromas of very ripe and/or baked lemon (which I associate with Chardonnay), but also tropical fruits such as mango and papaya, and fresh apricot, elderflower and a whiff of straw. The palate is very dry, very clean and crisp, with light body, medium acidity (it seems more acidic due to dryness but on the “dribble test” this was medium plus at its highest to me), and a savoury saline character which makes it a perfect match with fish.  The finish was a little short.  Good quality overall. Delicate, so you have to concentrate to appreciate its range of aromas.

Greenhill Estate Chardonnay 2017

Very pale lemon with a little spritz on the glass.  Intense perfumed aromas of ripe peach, lychee, ripe yellow melon, lemon and lime, and elderflower with a steely mineral edge. Much more intense, fruity and perfumed than 2016.  The palate is balanced, dry, with more weight than 2016.  The flavours are intense and perfumed as per the nose, with the addition of honeysuckle, ripe pear, a balancing sharp citric bite and a white pepper kick. Overall an intriguing mix of tropical fruit salad, tanginess and crispness.  The acidity is medium.  The finish is long.  Very good quality, and one which can be happily sipped on its own – but I had in my mind’s eye a match with chicken salad containing some fruit such as mango or apricot – maybe even Coronation Chicken??

La Chablisienne Petit Chablis AOC 2016

Pale lemon but more colour than the Greenhills.  A “green” nose of lime marmalade, sawn wood, grapefruit, crisp pear, green pepper and a hint of mango.  The palate is dry with high acidity; a lean crisp light bodied wine with flavours of baked lemon and sawn wood with a saline sharp edge.  The finish is medium.  A food wine, but one in which for my taste the “wood” was a tad too dominant.  I am not sure why I could taste “wood” – Chablis is rarely oaked.  Good quality – as you would expect for Petit Chablis.

Chardonnay Conclusions

The alcohol levels and dryness of the Greenhills indicate cool climate grape growing, but the fruit flavour profile, especially for the 2017, indicate moderate climate Chardonnay – there was much more tropical fruit flavour with these than the Petit Chablis which tasted much more “green” and citric.  The acidity levels for the Somerset wines also seemed lower to me than the French example, so maybe the Somerset grapes were riper.

The style of the wines is very different.  The 2016 Greenhill and the Petit Chablis are lean crisp food friendly wines whereas the 2017 Greenhill has very perfumed stone and tropical fruit and floral aromas more akin to Viognier than non aromatic Chardonnay. While I think Mark was right to shun oak maturation for the 2016, I do wonder whether the 2017 might have benefitted from it.  The fruit could easily cope and for some palates subtle oak maturation might round off any tartness.  Maybe volumes are too low to enable an experiment with a vat, but in the right year, it would be interesting to see if oak conferred a benefit.

As for quality, when assessing these wines objectively using the WSET SAT, the 2017 Greenhill was the better wine, especially when it came to the finish.  Whether you like its tropical fruit salad/tanginess mix is another matter, but I certainly did; it was an enjoyable and fascinating variant quite distinct from other Chardonnays.

The future

Mark admits that he will continue to learn by experience, and he gains much support and knowledge from the committed grape growing community in Somerset and beyond.  He would like to explore whether yields can be increased while maintaining quality, and he would like to widen the market for the wines to secure the financial security and viability of the vineyard for future generations.

Mark tells me that a further 4 acres of adjacent land with similar viticultural advantages would be very suitable for Bacchus, the rising star of the UK still white wine scene.  As demand for Bacchus grows, this could be a useful additional revenue stream.

Mark also has an eye on succession planning.  He seemed very hale and hearty to me, but none of us are getting any younger, and vineyard work can be heavy going.  Mark won’t be able to carry on in the longer term and needs to find a younger kindred spirit to foster these young vines into maturity to realise their full potential.  The work involves pruning throughout February each year, which he and his friend Francis undertake.  Mark then works in the vineyard 3 days a week throughout spring and summer, any spare time being taken up with marketing and administrative tasks.  It would be a crying shame if a site of such potential was to fall into ruin; some of you will remember nearby Moorlynch vineyard which ceased to be when its owners felt they could no longer carry on.

So whether you are a wine lover or wine growing wannabe, do get hold of Greenhill Estate’s wines.  Mark and I would love to know what you think about them.