The Clay Sea

by John Atkinson MW
In discussions of terroir rocks have exalted status. The journey downwards through the geological record is mostly a search for hard boundaries – chalk, basalt, slate – while the overlying...

Offensively Inoffensive

by Andy Neather
It was an easy target. A recent Twitter flurry over the by-the-glass wine list at Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin-starred London restaurant Pétrus focused on the punchy prices. And it’s true: charging...

The Myth Of Aristocracy

by Harry Eyres
I have not yet been to the cinema to see the latest despatch from that castellated stately home where half the inhabitants speak in a strange strangulated drawl and wear...

New Wine In Old Bottles

by Andy Neather
I should have expected it in a temple of Tuscan kitsch: Chianti in fiasco, the bulbous bottles wrapped in straw that were a symbol of Italian eateries in 1970s Britain....

The Noise And The Reality

by Andy Neather
So much coverage of Brexit has been noise about symbols. Brexiteers obsessed over a return to “blue” British passports and an end to the “humiliation” of Burgundy-coloured ones. In fact,...

Humanising The New Normal

by Andy Neather
There are places in Europe where crowds gather to watch cows being let out of their barns after a winter shut up eating hay. It’s a gladdening sight: the beasts...

The View from Abroad

by Peter Pharos
One of the nice things about wine publications is that one gets to read about more than the liquid itself. Wine writing can function as food writing, travelogue, cultural study,...

The Good Old Days

by Henry Jeffreys
“It is quite remarkable how Britain has gone from being a still white wine producer of declining relevancy in the world of wine to being a contender for the title...
92

2018 Blackbook The Mix-Up, Redhill Farm Estate, Kent

( £17.50, 10.5%, Black Book Winery )

Sergio Verrillo is a brilliant American who works out of an urban winery in Battersea, London. His Chardonnay is England’s best interpretation of the grape and this quirky cuvée, or mix up, of Bacchus and Ortega isn’t far behind. Partially skin-fermented and aged in neutral oak, it’s an unfined, unfiltered, low-alcohol white with notes of nettle, elderflower and subtle vanilla spice, with stony minerality and a tangy, racy, Chablis-like finish.

BuyDrinking window: 2020-23Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, England, Bacchus, Ortega
93

NV Cottonworth Rosé, Hampshire

( £29.95, 12.5%, Rude Wines )

I get a small glow of pride reviewing this wine as I tasted it at a Three Wine Men event and told the Rude Wines team how good it was. I’m delighted to say they agreed with me and listed it. Cottonworth is not one of the best-known English bubbly producers, but it’s definitely a name to keep an eye on if this is typical of future releases. Balanced, elegant and refined, with small bubbles, notes of summer berries and candy floss, a creamy, textured, mid palate and a long, satisfying finish. Great as an aperitif or with a bowl of strawberries.

BuyDrinking window: 2019-23Similar Wines: £20-£30, 90-94, England, Sparkling, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir

Eccentric Current

by Matt Walls
English sparkling wine producers collectively present a terribly well-to-do appearance, all smart chinos and glasses of fizz on the lawn. But Pythonesque tendrils are creeping through the cracks in the...