(2022) Disgorged in August 2022, this wine has absolutely no sweetening dosage added. That makes it a very bracing and crisp style, with a lemony freshness of fruit. There is some bready, biscuity complexity to the aroma through that long lees ageing, but then the palate zings and zips to an exhilarating finish.
(2022) Each bottle was hand-dosed with 15.2mls of Tokaji 5 Puttonyos Tokaji, then the dosage adjusted to take the total sugar level to 8g/l. The nose has a custardy, slightly toffeed note which may, or may not, be influenced by the Tokaji dosage. In the mouth there's a perceptible ripeness and mid-palate sweetness to this despite the modest dosage. There's a lovely clarity and precision to the lemony thrust of fruit and acidity, and there's a sense of concentration too. Long and sheer, the pillowing generosity of the mousse and that hint of sweetness in the background is beautifully tensioned against the lemon and salts acidity.
(2022) There's just 4mls of the extraordinarily sweet (@ 581 g/l) Tokaji Essencia 2008 as part of the dosage here, so it's perhaps not too surprising that it doesn't mark the nose or palate too markedly. Is there just an aromatic hint of the intense, raisiny essencia, or is that auto-suggestion? There is certainly some biscuity character over lemony fruit. The palate is intense and dry, with again plenty of lemony thrust, a pithy bite of dryness, not at all aggressive. Fascinating, though the essencia not too evident.
(2017) Jo Hilditch is the founder of this Herefordshire operation, the cassis fermented from locally-grown blackcurrants using Champagne yeast, and using vodka as the fortifying spirit. It certainly has a lovely nose: essence of blackcurrant but also with something fresh and herby, a real English summer hedgerow note. Smooth and creamy on the palate, there's a lovely dryness and hint of sourness to offset the inherent sweetness. It would make a fine kir base of course, but a little could be sipped straight over ice. Price for 50cl.
