My husband and I managed a trip to the US together in August, which of course included some bubbles:
Our favorite was the Jagdschloss Brut 2009, a sparkling riesling from Germany. This was incredibly, mercifully brut, despite smelling of dried pineapple. It tasted of tarragon and other fresh green herbs. The bubbles were petillant, but plentiful. Very refreshing on a hot day. We drank this at the Terroir wine bar at the Highline garden, which I highly recommend for both having a wine list that included NY State wines and for the very good service.
We also had two properly American sparklers. Gruet brut, from New Mexico, a wine maker that we'd tried before and liked as one of the few American wines that wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. This one had a lot of honey and biscuit flavours, lots of richness and depth, and decent bubbles.
The other American wine we had was from NY state, Brotherhood blanc de blancs. This surprised us with its balance, not too acidic and not too sweet, with a very dry finish. It tasted of underripe grapes, with a more floral note as it warmed. Sadly, it just didn't have enough bubbles, being almost flat right from the start. Interesting to note that this vineyard proclaims to be the oldest in America, who knew that would be in NY rather than on the west coast?
Monday, 10 September 2012
August round up - UK
I haven't had much time to blog, but don't want to forget what I drank in August. A few things that were ok but not worth repeating:
Finca Flichman Extra Brut, a rose from Argentina that I purchased in the US, an 80/20 Chardonnay/malbec blend. It didn't have enough bubbles for me, and while my husband knew that it wasn't made from traditional champagne grapes, he couldn't place the malbec. Different, but not 'wow'.
Comte de Lamotte brut, purchased at Majestic, a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend that my husband spotted at a sub £20 price. It was again perfectly ok, but not enough bubbles.
Nicolas Feuillatte 2005, a 100% chardonnay. This had crisp citrus flavours, but almost no fizz whatsoever, very disappointing if you love bubbles the way I do.
Ruinart NV, a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. This again had very nice flavours, with lots of toast and yeast, but I would have liked more bubbles and expect them from champagnes at this price point.
Finca Flichman Extra Brut, a rose from Argentina that I purchased in the US, an 80/20 Chardonnay/malbec blend. It didn't have enough bubbles for me, and while my husband knew that it wasn't made from traditional champagne grapes, he couldn't place the malbec. Different, but not 'wow'.
Comte de Lamotte brut, purchased at Majestic, a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend that my husband spotted at a sub £20 price. It was again perfectly ok, but not enough bubbles.
Nicolas Feuillatte 2005, a 100% chardonnay. This had crisp citrus flavours, but almost no fizz whatsoever, very disappointing if you love bubbles the way I do.
Ruinart NV, a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. This again had very nice flavours, with lots of toast and yeast, but I would have liked more bubbles and expect them from champagnes at this price point.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
A New Old Favourite
I made tofu and rice for dinner the other night. I really like tofu and rice, but my poor husband...he'll eat it, but it's just not the same as meat and potatoes. He cheered immensely when I offered a glass of bubbles to go with it, especially as I had a bottle of 'the good stuff' in the fridge. We've been really impressed with Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois, a blend of the traditional champagne grapes, chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier, aged in oak. The oak adds such a stunning richness to a champagne that we already love. On top of the usual clean and yeasty wine, there is a layer of dried apricot (without being sweet) and buttered, toasted nut bread. And the finish...wow...lingered forever, making us just want to drink more and more. It was such a good champagne for food, although not a great pairing with the grapefruit in the salad that I had also made, which was far too acidic for the depth of the wine. But champagne and tofu...a definite do-over. THIS champagne and tofu...made it a gourmet meal.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Bubbles At The Beach
I was in the US last week, near the ocean, and keen to try something new and different. I picked up a bottle of The Beachhouse, a chenin blanc/gewurztraminer sparkler from South Africa. It seemed appropriate for the setting, and fit my hankering for 'something different', but it was sadly not for me. It was very sweet, tasting of ripe pears and elderflower. It was also just fizzy, not really bubbly. And I'm not writing this because I think sparkling wines should have a high alcohol content, but on drinking this one and thinking I was drinking soda pop, checked the label to find it was only 8% by volume. You could kind of tell...it's the sort of thing teenage girls on summer holidays would drink. As I said, not for me.
And The Winner Is...
We managed to save the best of the case from Sparkling English Wine till last...having liked the English Oak Chinkapin rose, we had set aside the Engelmann from the same producer. Smart move, as this bottle was really nice.
The wine is a traditional chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend. It smelled yeasty and champagne-like, and tasted of toast and citrus fruits, with just a touch of vanilla on the finish. It had good bubbles, too. We really enjoyed it and thought it was well worth the £25 price.
Well done English Oak, I'll be drinking more of your wines...
The wine is a traditional chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend. It smelled yeasty and champagne-like, and tasted of toast and citrus fruits, with just a touch of vanilla on the finish. It had good bubbles, too. We really enjoyed it and thought it was well worth the £25 price.
Well done English Oak, I'll be drinking more of your wines...
More Bad British
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.
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.
Monday, 9 July 2012
Drinkable
And now I'm happy to report on three wines from Sparkling English Wine that were entirely drinkable!! None of them have any finish, but that could almost be a plus, considering how overly sour or sweet the other bottles of wine from this case that we've tried have been.
The first was a rose - English Oak Chinkapin, a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. It tasted of tart red berries, slightly under-ripe strawberries and red currants. I'm pleased that I bought a white version from this maker, I'm saving it as the last bottle to try from the case in the hope that it also doesn't disappoint.
The next was Upperton 2009 Nebula. Undoing the trend in my last post of not really liking the chardonnay/pinot noir blends, this was a pinot noir/chardonnay blend! It smelled of grapefruit and mint, with more orchard fruit flavours. Even though I know I'm not supposed to be influenced by these things, I liked the naming and labeling of this wine.
The last was Jenkyn Place 2008 Brut, a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend. This was the most champagne-like of the wines we've tried from this case, smelling and tasting of lemon drop candies. It had the best balance between sweet and tart, and if this had a decent finish, it would be a really good sparkling wine instead of just a drinkable one.
Notably, all of the wines had decent bubbles, always a good thing for me!
The first was a rose - English Oak Chinkapin, a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. It tasted of tart red berries, slightly under-ripe strawberries and red currants. I'm pleased that I bought a white version from this maker, I'm saving it as the last bottle to try from the case in the hope that it also doesn't disappoint.
The next was Upperton 2009 Nebula. Undoing the trend in my last post of not really liking the chardonnay/pinot noir blends, this was a pinot noir/chardonnay blend! It smelled of grapefruit and mint, with more orchard fruit flavours. Even though I know I'm not supposed to be influenced by these things, I liked the naming and labeling of this wine.
The last was Jenkyn Place 2008 Brut, a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend. This was the most champagne-like of the wines we've tried from this case, smelling and tasting of lemon drop candies. It had the best balance between sweet and tart, and if this had a decent finish, it would be a really good sparkling wine instead of just a drinkable one.
Notably, all of the wines had decent bubbles, always a good thing for me!
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