(2024) A blend of a very precise 48.5% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir, 18.5% Pinot Meunier and 7% Reserve wine, all from Bluestone's estate vineyards. It spent 36 months ageing on the lees. This has a golden hue and plenty of small, streaming bubbles. The nose has loads of walnut and buttered toast, brioche character, yellow apple and citrus adding zip and freshness. There's plenty of fruit sweetness and ripeness on the palate, the dosage adding to that sense of delicious approachability. The acid structure gives a bracing salt and citrus balance, and that toastiness is the third element in a balanced, long finish.
(2017) Despite bearing the legend "The botanical soft drink for wine lovers," do not expect this to taste like a de-alcoholised wine: it's very much its own thing, a lightly sparkling, herbal, bone-dry drink made from herbs, minerals, vitamins and amino acids that is certainly something of an acquired taste. On first sniff I found it aromatically odd, with pungent nettle, ginseng and chamomile 'high' floral and herb character, clove-like and medicinal. However I did grow to appreciate the fact that this is no weak wine substitute, but a fairly intriguing and grown-up alcohol-free alternative that has an under-ripe pear and citrus dryness and does keep you coming back for one more sip, even just in an effort to understand it. Certainly no shortage of character. Postscript: a second bottle tried around a month later seemed much less pungent, and was most enjoyable on a hot late May afternoon.
