TN English Still Wines

Alex Lake said:
I think it has been discussed recently here and elsewhere that even Chablis is often not made in a Chablis style these days. Maybe I'll try your wine blind alongside a modest Chablis and present them to my wife (who's a big fan of that style) and see what she thinks. Perhaps she'll be able to serve them blind to me too.
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Good idea, I did it vs Jean Marc Brocard Chablis and 1er Cru at Christmas, ours was still young then but showed well. JMB showed good minerality, quite different to ours at the time but you could see the stylistic similarities of the wines aside from that. My girlfriend didn't like the mineral style of the Chablis but preferred mine due to its purity of fruit etc (but then she should be biased!) Let me know how you get on
 
Paul Dellar said:
Have been on something of an English still wine odyssey! All drunk within the last year, some excellent examples here - particularly from the Crouch Valley - and whilst there is some variability it seems we really can make world class still wines in this country (from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at least).

Would be really interested to hear about the experiences of others too.

  • 2023 Black Chalk Chardonnay Rumour Has It - United Kingdom, England, Hampshire (28/03/2025)
    100% Chardonnay. From Vining Street Wine Club, Brixton. £53. Attractive nose showing apple, florals, touch of vanilla and asparagus. Medium bodied, quite discreet and restrained, touch of creamy breadth, balanced acidity, medium/good length finish. Very good. (88 pts.)
  • 2023 The Heretics Chardonnay Deluxe Seven - United Kingdom, England, Essex (28/03/2025)
    1 of 2. Bright, aromatic, complex nose showing apple and citrus, vanilla, sesame seed, some chalky mineral. Medium/full bodied, mouthfilling, round, lovely clarity of fruit, touch of chalky mineral and spice, vibrant/crisp acids - this crackles with energy and finishes long. Remarkable, exciting wine. (93 pts.)
  • 2022 Riverview Pinot Noir Crouch Valley - United Kingdom, England, Essex (25/12/2024)
    1/3, under DIAM (10).
    Medium ruby core, pale ruby rim. Fragrant with blue/black fruit - plum, dark cherry - some hedgerow, white pepper and a touch of orange rind. Light/medium bodied, still fine boned despite a riper profile than the 21, darker fruit, white pepper, spice, vibranrt acids, good length lightly firm finish. VGI, may improve with a couple of years. (89 pts.)
  • 2022 Danbury Ridge Pinot Noir - United Kingdom, England, Essex (18/12/2024)
    Tasted at the property - no formal note. As expected much riper than the 2021 - with dark cherry and plum fruit, notes of vanilla and mocha. Medium bodied on the palate, soft tannins, fresh acids, very ripe - quite marked by oak at the moment, good length finish. Needs a year or two for me but potentially excellent.
  • 2022 Danbury Ridge Chardonnay - United Kingdom, England, Essex (13/12/2024)
    1/3, under DIAM (10).
    Bright, pale straw. Stone fruits, florals, just a touch of creamy vanilla, some tropical fruit as it warms a touch. Medium/full bodied, ripe peaches, quite round and layered, vanilla, fresh acids, long finish with a note of sesame. Excellent. (91 pts.)
  • 2021 Danbury Ridge Chardonnay - United Kingdom, England, Essex (04/12/2024)
    Ian’s 2004 Bordeaux (10 Greek Street)    : No formal note but this was on good form - creamy fruit, touch of sesame seed, lovely layered weight on the palate, vibrant acids - finishing long. Served blind (perhaps unfairly) to a group of wine aficionados, obviously no one got anywhere near. Excellent. (91 pts.)
  • 2021 Riverview Pinot Noir Crouch Valley - United Kingdom, England, Essex (17/11/2024)
    2/4, under DIAM (5).
    Pale garnet, wide very pale garnet/mahogany rim. Fragrant nose - lovely pure strawberry fruit, florals, white pepper notes. Light/medium bodied, eleganalmost ethereal, pure red fruit, game, white pepper notes, very fine tannins, vibrant acidity, lingering finish with orange peel notes. Lovely, cool climate pinot noir at it's pared back purest! (91 pts.)
  • 2022 Martin's Lane Vineyard Chardonnay Crouch Valley - United Kingdom, England, Essex (21/08/2024)
    1/1, under DIAM (5).
    Very pale lemon. Floral nose, touch of peach. Odd whiff of something slighaly chemical (hand-soap?). Medium bodied, white peach, touch of creaminess, very clean with decent depth with fresh/vibrant acids carrying a medium-good length finish. Decent (GFE!). (87 pts.)
  • 2021 Blackbook Winery Chardonnay Painter of Light Clayhill Vineyard - United Kingdom, England, Essex (31/07/2024)
    1/1, good cork.
    Pale/medium straw. Clean, fresh nose - apple, touch of sesame and vanilla. Medium bodied, leanish, green apple, citrus, some vanilla and spice, touch of nettle, crisp acids, medium/good length finish. Very good indeed. (88 pts.)
  • 2022 Crouch Ridge Estate - United Kingdom, England, Essex (26/07/2024)
    Chardonnay. At winery, by the glass. Lightly creamy, apple, slightly floral. Medium bodied, well balanced with some lightly creamy weight, fresh acids, medium/good length finish. Very good, well balanced if not overly complex. (86 pts.)
  • 2020 Crouch Ridge Estate - United Kingdom, England, Essex (26/07/2024)
    Pinot Noir. At winery, by the glass. Unfortunately served far too warm. Quite developed, raspberry, white pepper, soil. Medium bodied, a touch gamey on the package, soft tannins, fresh acids, white pepper again on the medium length finish. Decent enough despite the serving temperature. (85 pts.)
  • 2021 Riverview Pinot Noir Crouch Valley - United Kingdom, England, Essex (17/07/2024)
    Under DIAM 5. Very pale garnet core, wide rim. Lovely fragrant nose, strawberries, florals, spice, touch of white pepper and herb. Light/medium bodied, elegant, fine boned with very fine tannins, strawberries, spice, vibrant acids, has good length with some white pepper on the finish. Excellent! (90 pts.)
  • 2021 Riverview Chardonnay Crouch Valley - United Kingdom, England, Essex (23/06/2024)
    1 of 2, under DIAM 5.
    Pale/medium straw. Nose shows lime, green apple, touch of cream and spice. Medium bodied, lime again to the fore, a touch of cream and spice, crisp acids, medium length finish. Attractive if perhaps lacking a little length. (86 pts.)
  • 2020 Blackbook Winery Chardonnay Pygmalion Crouch Valley Vineyard - United Kingdom, England, Surrey (23/06/2024)
    1/1, good cork.
    Medium straw colour, slightly cloudy. Nose shows over-ripe apple, lightly oxidative, creamy vanilla, soil notes. Medium/full on the palate, over ripe apple again, quite creamy, bit of an odd combination, has good length with vibrant avidi5. Not completely sure what to make of this. (83 pts.)
  • 2021 Danbury Ridge Pinot Noir - United Kingdom, England, Essex (15/06/2024)
    1/1, good cork. Served at c14C.
    Pale ruby/garnet core, very pale rim. This is very aromatic, lots of white pepper, underlying raspberry fruit, notes of creamy vanilla and spice. Light / medium bodied, white pepper again but some sweetness too from the raspberry fruit, with a touch of game. This has soft tannins, vibrant acids and a good length, harmonious, spicy, peppery finish. You can sense the struggle for ripeness in what was a difficult vintage (even in sunny Essex ) but this hangs together very well. (88 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
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Danbury ridge Chardonnay was£125 pb at gravetye tonight or £22 by the glass. I was like WTAF.

Raphaël Palacios special curve £14 per glass all day long. A lot of the wine market has peaked, but a lot has yet to see the fall.
That domaine obviously would so love to see its wine in this sort of establishment
However if I’m the buyer, you yield to my price. As much as white burgundy has suffered there are so many better options imo
 
I noticed that TWS are currently stocking the Black Chalk 'Dancer In Pink' rosé that I mentioned in a previous post. It's a really good wibe, but personally I wouldn't pay £24 for it.
 
Paul Dellar said:
Yes, I saw it at £150ish pb actually recently (at Scran and Scallie in Edinburgh) - but surely that’s more about restaurant mark-ups than anything else? It’s around £55 at a place we go to here, and about £35-40 retail, which doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

Have you tried it yet btw?
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No, mostly because I was put off by the Octagon red pinot noir which was equally
Overpriced,and unimpressive imo, although shortly after having a bottle of Tollot Beaut
Bourgogne rouge at £20pb
The Chardonnay was first noticed at £64 in BBR st James, and friends tried it at a WS
Tasting and their report was as expected (our palates align)
I confess I have a fascination with this domain, especially since first noticing one wine
Merchant talking of an “allocation”
The same merchant offering a fine white wine the Montrachet of Belgium.

I understand tastes differ, but my point is the price.
 
David Mansfield said:
No, mostly because I was put off by the Octagon red pinot noir which was equally
Overpriced,and unimpressive imo, although shortly after having a bottle of Tollot Beaut
Bourgogne rouge at £20pb
The Chardonnay was first noticed at £64 in BBR st James, and friends tried it at a WS
Tasting and their report was as expected (our palates align)
I confess I have a fascination with this domain, especially since first noticing one wine
Merchant talking of an “allocation”
The same merchant offering a fine white wine the Montrachet of Belgium.

I understand tastes differ, but my point is the price.
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I don't think there red is quite as competitive yet but I did recently delivered a tasting that included the Danbury Ridge Chardonnay blind among a lineup of Bourgogne Blanc wines.

The line-up included Montille, Chavy, Leflative Sétilles, Bachelet Monnot (which were all £30+ as I could get them in the UK) and Danbury in the same bracket at £35.

The Danbury was their equal, if not preferred, by a range of palates.

FWIW the best value from that overall was Fabian Coche (formerly Coche Bizouard) and the one that divided opinion was Dureuil-Janthial that had lovers and detractors.
 
David Mansfield said:
No, mostly because I was put off by the Octagon red pinot noir which was equally
Overpriced,and unimpressive imo, although shortly after having a bottle of Tollot Beaut
Bourgogne rouge at £20pb
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The Danbury Ridge Chardonnay (2022 vintage I think) served blind against a Chassagne or Puligny village wine (I forget which) was preferred by all drinkers recently - and several were serious burgheads. Both were good wines, the Danbury Ridge just slightly better. I think it's worth the money.
 
Thom Blach said:
Absolutely- what is so often offered is the same joyous refreshment as a lovely pint of beer or cider at ten times the price.
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Thom
You're being mischievous. Is natural wine always biodynanic wine and vica versa. I don't know. All I can say is that I'm drinking a a biodynanic Chianti Classico which is spot on. We are all on the spectrum
 
Steve Trotman said:
Is natural wine always biodynamic wine and vice versa?
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By no means, plenty of unnatural wine, like your Chianti, is biodynamically produced. There is an intersection between the two categories but they have surprisingly little connection, particularly as 'natural' is often a matter of opinion rather than anything else.
 
Not hugely experienced with Pinot Blanc but was impressed by this too:

  • 2022 Missing Gate Pinot Blanc - United Kingdom, England, Essex (16/04/2025)
    1/1, under screw cap.
    Attractive floral nose, peach notes. Medium bodied, a touch of breadth but quite linear, some interesting spice and lightly savoury notes, crisp acids, medium-good length finish with stone fruit notes. Very good, drinking well but no particular hurry. (88 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker

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Gareth Germain said:
Is it a natural wine? It's sulphured and certainly not organic or biodynamic.
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Hi all, we aren't as natural wine business, I struggle with the term and concept slightly, naturally we put as little as possible in it and due to the high natural acid and low PH of English wines, they really don't need much protection anyway.
 
charlestaylor said:
I tried the Heretics Chardonnay last night and loved it. It has the effortless drinkability of the best natural wines. Dangerous stuff.

But as is also true of many natural wines, I want it to be cheaper....
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Hi Charles! Great to hear that you loved it and yes, naturally it would be better if we could get the price down. Prices have dropped slightly for fruit from the Crouch but I don't envisage a huge drop as the popularity is steadily increasing.

For interest, it was £3500 per tonnes for that fruit, you can buy fruit for sparkling at half that.

We do aim to make wines that are dangerously drinkable, for me, if you don't want to finish the bottle then it's a shame. Obviously some wines can be sat with for longer and ours does actually do very well in the fridge over 4 or even 5 days and ypu can see how it evolves.

Our next chardonnay, The Cut is a whole different beast though...

Happy drinking
 
Simpsons The Roman Road Chardonnay 2022 - very good to my taste and markedly better than a (decent) 2020 of the same tasted last year. There’s some subtle use of oak here supporting rhubarb, strawberry and vanilla and, unusually for an English white, plenty of cream. Clean, well-managed acidity, some minerality on the finish.

Impressions of various others from this recent spell of English wine friendly evenings:

Balfour Albarino 2022 - I got plenty of the hoped for flavours of Galicia off this. Tang Hall on the acidity. Some salt to the finish. Nice but the second glass was slightly hard going.

Wayfarer Wines Bacchus Ortega ‘Steve’s Blend’ 2023 - made me giggle because that’s what my childhood friend used to call his dreadful C90 mixtapes. Plenty of green grassy bacchus on the nose, smoothed to taste by peachy ortega. Very refreshing and enjoyable.

Heppington Chardonnay 2022 - overly prominently oak at this time smothers what is probably some fine fruit material underneath. Maybe a missed opportunity compared to Simpsons.

Sharpham Dart Valley Reserve 2022 - still as good as one tasted last year. All in balance, fruit, acidity and florality, enough of each but not too much. Really enjoyable from the less often seen these days madeleine angevine.
 
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