We tried another of the wines we got from Sparkling English Wine. This was Court Garden 2009 Classic Cuvee, a traditional blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. While this was better than the last two bottles of English bubbles that we tried, it still wasn't great.
On the plus side...it had plenty of bubbles. It smelled like grape soda, which both appealed to and worried me as I like grape soda, but find it very sweet. The wine itself wasn't too sweet, though, tasting of lemons and mint, with a touch of buttered toast.
The down side was a big one, though, as the wine was again incredibly acidic and somewhat bitter on the finish. We're just finding no balance so far in this batch of English sparkling wines, which is really discouraging as we keep hearing the PR about what great quality wines the UK-based makers are producing, but it's not consistently been our experience.
Like the others, this bottle was around the £20 mark (surprisingly, it was a couple of quid less expensive on the Sparkling English Wines website than on Court Garden's website), which I again thought was overpriced for the wine.
Three down, nine more to go...
Monday, 18 June 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.
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
More Aussie Red
We tried another sparkling red that I ordered from Drinks Direct the other night. This was the 2007 vintage Black Queen sparkling shiraz from Peter Lehmann. My husband liked this more than I did, as to me it smelled and tasted like raisins, which instantly ruins a wine for me. My husband thought it had 'port-like' flavours (yes, raisin-y port!). At any rate, it was nowhere near as good as the Turkey Flat we had just previously drunk, I would recommend that over this wine.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
This Was No Turkey
I love it when a wine exceeds my expectations. I had ordered a mixed case of wine from Drinks Direct, which included several sparkling red wines. Good sparkling reds are fantastic, but bad ones are really horrible. They're kind of a niche drinking market, so there's not that much information out there about them and it can be a bit hit or miss. But I took a chance and ordered several that I hadn't seen before. We tried the first one last night - and it was wonderful!!
This was a sparkling shiraz from Turkey Flat Vineyards. It had loads of fizz when we poured it and smelled of plums, ripe cherries, and a touch of chocolate. My mouth was watering, hoping it would taste as good as it smelled. It tasted of cherries, with a bit of prune finish - and it was completely desert-dry, not a touch of sweetness to it. What a relief, and what a pleasure to drink.
Funnily enough, I had spotted the still shiraz from the same vineyard at a shop and bought it thinking it would be interesting to compare the still to the sparkling wine. I'm really looking forward to trying the still wine now...and to ordering more of the sparkling!! This is one I'll enjoy all summer with grilled steaks, the perfect accompaniment to a BBQ.
This was a sparkling shiraz from Turkey Flat Vineyards. It had loads of fizz when we poured it and smelled of plums, ripe cherries, and a touch of chocolate. My mouth was watering, hoping it would taste as good as it smelled. It tasted of cherries, with a bit of prune finish - and it was completely desert-dry, not a touch of sweetness to it. What a relief, and what a pleasure to drink.
Funnily enough, I had spotted the still shiraz from the same vineyard at a shop and bought it thinking it would be interesting to compare the still to the sparkling wine. I'm really looking forward to trying the still wine now...and to ordering more of the sparkling!! This is one I'll enjoy all summer with grilled steaks, the perfect accompaniment to a BBQ.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
This Won an Award?
We tried the last of the bottles that I bought from Ocado - a rose cava from Marques de Monistrol. I was surprised to see that this wine had won a silver in the 2011 International Wine & Spirit competition, as I didn't think it was even worth the £10 I paid for it. It had the slightest fragrance of strawberry, but no flavour whatsoever and almost no bubbles, just a tiny bit of fizz. Perhaps for the very fainthearted, this is an award-winning wine - but I just don't get it.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Sparkling Burgundy
Another pleasant surprise from the bargain case that I bought from Ocado - this one being a brut sparkling burgundy from Cave de Lugny. This was a very refreshing blanc de blancs, not any really distinctive flavours, but a bit of mild lemon tart to it. The bubbles were more fizzy than proper bubbles, but it was a lasting fizz, so I was OK with that. Nothing spectacular, but very drinkable, and again, another nice non-champagne alternative for anyone on a budget.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Two More From Ocado
We tried two more bottles from the bargain case of six that I bought at Ocado.
The first was a bit of a surprise - Cuveee Royale cremant de limoux, a chardonnay, pinot noir, and chenin blanc blend. This had great bubbles and a big hit of ginger on the finish. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, but the flavours were not quite what I wanted from a sparkler.
The next was Waitrose own-label brut cava, a blend of macabeo, parellada, and xarel-lo grapes. This wine was a bit of nothing, all fizzy bubbles, a bit of grape-y flavour, and very drink-able. With the discount from Ocado, I paid less than £7 for this bottle of wine, which is really a huge bargain. It's not going to 'wow' anyone who drinks it, but if you need decent bubbles on a budget, this is one to buy.
The first was a bit of a surprise - Cuveee Royale cremant de limoux, a chardonnay, pinot noir, and chenin blanc blend. This had great bubbles and a big hit of ginger on the finish. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, but the flavours were not quite what I wanted from a sparkler.
The next was Waitrose own-label brut cava, a blend of macabeo, parellada, and xarel-lo grapes. This wine was a bit of nothing, all fizzy bubbles, a bit of grape-y flavour, and very drink-able. With the discount from Ocado, I paid less than £7 for this bottle of wine, which is really a huge bargain. It's not going to 'wow' anyone who drinks it, but if you need decent bubbles on a budget, this is one to buy.
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