I drank a lot of French champagne last year so I'm trying to drink a broader variety of geographies this year. I'm finding it difficult to acquire decent, non-French sparkling wines in the UK, though. Selfridges had a small selection of some of the better-rated (as per Jancis Robinson) British sparkling makers, so I bought a few bottles recently through their website.
Last night, we had BBQ sausages and mash for dinner, one of the ultimate British meals, so we opened a bottle of the British sparkling wine with it - Chapel Down Brut reserve. This wine is made from some unusual grapes, being a blend of Reichensteiner, Rivaner (a white wine grape that I really like), and Pinot Noir. I didn't really like this wine, though. It smelled strongly of yeast and tasted like apple-y beer. My husband was less bothered by it, saying that although it was slightly sweeter than the sparkling wines we tend to drink, it wasn't offensively sweet. Nor was it bitter or sour. While he didn't object to it, he didn't love it, either.
To be fair to Jancis Robinson, she recommended a 2007 vintage from this maker which Selfridges did not have. So I can't fault her recommendation for this wine being less than the one she tasted. But I have to say, based on my experience of this bottle, I wouldn't be keen to try more from Chapel Down.
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