Two more from the Sparkling English Wine case that we didn't like:
The first was another 'undrinkable', Daws Hill 2008 Vintage Brut, a chadonnay, auxerrois, pinot noir, and pinot meunier blend. It surprised me how much I disliked this wine as it's been winning medals in UK sparkling wine competitions. But I guess now I know how seriously to take the awards that are being issued within the UK. This smelled of unwashed socks and stinky cheese, and had some really unripe and dirty green flavours to it that mercifully disappeared almost immediately from the tongue, leaving nothing behind. Because it's such a fleeting moment of bad and then nothing, you could use this sparkling wine for cocktails (which is what we did with part of it) - but for what this wine costs, you'd be better off buying a decent cava for a third of the price.
The second was another 'too sweet', Plumpton Estate The Dean, a pinot noir/chardonnay blend. This wine had overripe apple flavours with a bitter, burnt-nut finish, not very well balanced and too sweet for my taste. If you're still interested in trying it, you can buy it for a couple of pounds less through Waitrose Wine than I bought it for through Sparkling English Wines.
Showing posts with label auxerrois. Show all posts
Showing posts with label auxerrois. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Monday, 11 June 2012
Waiting to be Wow'ed
I've been on the hunt for some new kinds of bubbles to try, and came across the Sparkling English Wine website, which does what it says on the tin. It has a very large range of sparkling English wines on offer, with delivery free if you order 12 bottles. I ordered a mixed dozen from makers that I didn't know. This was rather brave of me, as the wine isn't cheap, with most bottles in the £20 or more price range. I still think English producers are rather cheeky in their pricing - they know that most people think that expensive = good quality. I know better, but took the risk anyway.
Two bottles in and I'm disappointed, not seeing a payoff on my risk yet. The first bottle we tried was the Danebury Cossack 2004, which is a blend of auxerrois and rulander grapes. I can only hope that the bottle I bought was off, as it was entirely undrinkable. It smelled like the damp sponge that sits next to my sink combined with overly cooked green veg, with a distinct hit of asparagus. It didn't taste much better, with an acidity that made my stomach churn. £20 poured down the sink.
The next bottle was somewhat better, although not by much. This was Terlingham Rose 2010, a classic blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier grapes. It smelled of tart red fruits, currants and cranberry, with just a touch of yeastiness. It had some of the sweetness of the red fruit on the tongue, although again this was overwhelmed by the acidity of the wine. It was drinkable, but completely overpriced at another £20 for the bottle. There are nicer sparkling wines out there at half the price.
Hopefully there's something in that case that will wow me...
Postscript...a couple of weeks later, I noticed I had a bottle of Terlingham Rose 2009 in the case. I was surprised I had ordered two different vintages from the same maker, it's not like me, but I was quite busy when I placed the order and received the case, so I didn't check either through as thoroughly as usual. The wine wasn't much different from the 2010, though, still a strong acidity, so I used most of it to make a pot of chili rather than drink it.
Two bottles in and I'm disappointed, not seeing a payoff on my risk yet. The first bottle we tried was the Danebury Cossack 2004, which is a blend of auxerrois and rulander grapes. I can only hope that the bottle I bought was off, as it was entirely undrinkable. It smelled like the damp sponge that sits next to my sink combined with overly cooked green veg, with a distinct hit of asparagus. It didn't taste much better, with an acidity that made my stomach churn. £20 poured down the sink.
The next bottle was somewhat better, although not by much. This was Terlingham Rose 2010, a classic blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier grapes. It smelled of tart red fruits, currants and cranberry, with just a touch of yeastiness. It had some of the sweetness of the red fruit on the tongue, although again this was overwhelmed by the acidity of the wine. It was drinkable, but completely overpriced at another £20 for the bottle. There are nicer sparkling wines out there at half the price.
Hopefully there's something in that case that will wow me...
Postscript...a couple of weeks later, I noticed I had a bottle of Terlingham Rose 2009 in the case. I was surprised I had ordered two different vintages from the same maker, it's not like me, but I was quite busy when I placed the order and received the case, so I didn't check either through as thoroughly as usual. The wine wasn't much different from the 2010, though, still a strong acidity, so I used most of it to make a pot of chili rather than drink it.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Still Celebrating
On Sunday, to continue our anniversary celebration, we went to lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, Ransome's Dock. You'll be surprised to hear that we didn't have any bubbles there, instead ordering a wonderful gruner veltliner from Austria and an unusal Spanish red wine made with mencia grapes. As always, we had a fantastic meal and walked away from the restaurant feeling stuffed and completely spoiled.
But we had fresh apple pie at home, and having skipped dinner, we ate pieces of that before bedtime with a glass of bubbles. To challenge me, my husband had bought Cremant d'Alsace by Dirler while he was at Green & Blue. I never, ever buy cremant wines because I am positive that they're not going to have enough bubbles. And to be honest, it's not really fair to the French sparkling wine makers, because I will buy cavas and proseccos knowing that they're not likely to have enough bubbles, either. My husband knows I tend to like Alsatian wines, so he decided to make me try this, a blend of pinot gris, pinot noir, and auxerrois grapes. The cremant was perfect with the pie having lots of soft apple and pear flavours. It had plenty of fizz, too, not big bubbles, but enough effervescence through the glass to keep it interesting. I'm curious to see how the capped bottle holds up overnight...
But we had fresh apple pie at home, and having skipped dinner, we ate pieces of that before bedtime with a glass of bubbles. To challenge me, my husband had bought Cremant d'Alsace by Dirler while he was at Green & Blue. I never, ever buy cremant wines because I am positive that they're not going to have enough bubbles. And to be honest, it's not really fair to the French sparkling wine makers, because I will buy cavas and proseccos knowing that they're not likely to have enough bubbles, either. My husband knows I tend to like Alsatian wines, so he decided to make me try this, a blend of pinot gris, pinot noir, and auxerrois grapes. The cremant was perfect with the pie having lots of soft apple and pear flavours. It had plenty of fizz, too, not big bubbles, but enough effervescence through the glass to keep it interesting. I'm curious to see how the capped bottle holds up overnight...
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