The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2022-05-08)

DRINK●Will Lyons

2018 Taste the

Difference

Barbera d’Asti

Italy (14.5%)

Sainsbury’s, £8

Spring calls for

medium-bodied

reds with plenty

of dark fruit and

brisk acidity.

Produced from

hand-harvested

barbera grapes

cultivated in

the hills south of

Asti in Piedmont,

this delivers a lot

of wine for the

price. Smooth

and rounded,

it would pair

equally well with

pasta dishes or a

traditional roast.

Few clouds on the horizon

for fruitful English wineries

E

nglish wine has come a long way since the early

1950s, when the retired major general Sir Guy

Salisbury-Jones took a punt and planted a

vineyard on the chalky slopes of Hampshire.

Within two decades he’d been joined by the

likes of Jim Dowling at Pilton Manor in

Somerset and Bernard Theobald at Westbury

Vineyard in Berkshire in attempting to grow

grapes that could be turned into palatable wine.

Sometimes they even succeeded.

Nowadays, with the help of warmer summers,

greater investment and meticulous winemakers, things

are less hit and miss. A handful of estates — Nyetimber,

Ridgeview, Breaky Bottom and Harrow & Hope among

them — produce sparkling wine to an international

standard, and the still wine sector isn’t far behind. Grape

varieties such as bacchus, with its notes of elderflower

and cut grass, provide a quirky alternative to sauvignon

blanc: Chapel Down’s 2020 Bacchus (Waitrose, £12.79)

is a case in point, its ample green fruit and high acidity

making it a sublime match with sushi. Fresher styles

such as pinot blanc and madeleine angevine have also

found their place. Try Devon-based Sharpham’s richly

textured 2018 Grower’s Selection (The Sunday Times

Wine Club, £15.99) with a cheeseboard and you will see

why. International varieties such as chardonnay and pinot

noir have also found favour with estates including Bolney

in West Sussex and Balfour and Chapel Down in Kent.

The trick that English still wine pulls off is to harness

the naturally cool climate and marry a mouthwatering

acidity with lively aromas and plenty of zest. Sure, the

prices are still relatively high compared with many

global counterparts yet domestic styles come into their

own during the early weeks of summer, when our

palates are drawn to lighter food and salads. They also

pair favourably with our national dish — fish and chips n

1. 2021 The Society’s English White Gloucestershire
   (11%) The Wine Society, £8.50 Produced by Three
   Choirs, this is great value for an English still wine. It’s
   floral and backed by citrus, with a light, clean finish.


2. 2021 Specially Selected English Pinot Noir Rosé
   Devon (11.5%) Aldi, £10.99 New to the Aldi range,
   this is a zippy, fresh Devon rosé with invigorating
   citrus notes despite the relatively high residual sugar.


3. 2020 Finest English White Kent (11.5%) Tesco, £11
   The Hush Heath winery’s interesting blend of bacchus,
   chardonnay and pinot blanc delivers lovely springlike
   aromas of cut grass, with succulent pear and peach.
   4. 2018 Lyme Bay Chardonnay Devon (13.5%)
   Majestic, £19.99 A rich, oaky, barrel-aged chardonnay
   whose nutty quality is tempered by a scintillating
   acidity and subtle hints of apple and tropical fruit.
   5. 2020 Winbirri Vineyards Bacchus Norfolk (12%)
   Waitrose, £16.99 Packed with peach and elderflower,
   this bacchus is a revelation, its soft, rounded texture
   making it an excellent substitute for sauvignon blanc.
   6. 2018 Danbury Ridge Pinot Noir Essex (13.5%)
   Highbury Vintners, £33 With abundant black cherry
   and spice, this is an astonishingly complex pinot. Close
   your eyes and you’d never guess it was made in Essex.

123 456

Bargain

of the

week

JASON ALDEN

The Sunday Times Magazine • 47