I'm sticking my neck out here, but I think I recently drank what I would call the best British bubbles. My husband picked it up for me at a shop at Borough Market called The Wine Pantry, which specialises in British wines.
The wine that wow'ed me was Pebblebed Brut sparkling rose, made from seyval and rondo grapes. Now I have to be honest, I'd never heard of this maker before, not even with the amount of reading I do about sparkling wines, so I wasn't expecting much from this bottle. But it was really, really good. The bubbles were impressive, the best I've ever had from a British wine, better than many French champagnes I've drunk. The flavour was just perfect for a rose - not too sweet, not too acidic, not at all floral, and not over-powered with berries. This was a wonderful aperitif, and I'd love to try it again with shellfish, as the maker recommends oysters with it. I'll definitely be drinking it again someday.
Showing posts with label seyval blanc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seyval blanc. Show all posts
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Thursday, 23 June 2011
More from Britain
We spent Saturday afternoon touring the British 'countryside' (actually, 15 minutes away from Zone 6 of London) with a friend of mine. It was lovely and lush from all of the rain. I am always amazed at how quickly the terrain changes from city to country around London! Knowing my penchant for bubbles, my friend suggested that we meet at Denbies vineyard, a very wise idea. We came home with several bottles of wine, both sparkling and still.
The first bottle that we tried, Denbies Whitedowns, had really intrigued me, as it was made from seyval blanc grapes, a new variety for me. It was an unusual sparkler, with OK fizz and a very green flavour, almost like under-ripe melon. It had a good enough balance that it didn't taste tart or bitter, it just had no sweetness to it whatsoever. I was borderline on whether or not I really liked it, it was interesting to me rather than enjoyable. The green-ness was too much for my husband, though, he would pass on this one again.
The Whitedowns wasn't the best-known or the most highly-rated of the Denbies sparklers, so hopefully the next ones we try will be more impressive.
The first bottle that we tried, Denbies Whitedowns, had really intrigued me, as it was made from seyval blanc grapes, a new variety for me. It was an unusual sparkler, with OK fizz and a very green flavour, almost like under-ripe melon. It had a good enough balance that it didn't taste tart or bitter, it just had no sweetness to it whatsoever. I was borderline on whether or not I really liked it, it was interesting to me rather than enjoyable. The green-ness was too much for my husband, though, he would pass on this one again.
The Whitedowns wasn't the best-known or the most highly-rated of the Denbies sparklers, so hopefully the next ones we try will be more impressive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)