THE BRITISH BOUCHON| Newsletter 09 | 5 minute read |
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Hello wine friends, To begin, a note on frost It's hard to believe during these warm days that last week we were hit with frost. As many as 181 vineyards reported frosts across England, widely damaging buds and young shoots. Some wineries reported as much as a 90% loss. A second round of growth is possible, but this depends on the variety, severity of the damage and the site. Growing grapes in a cooler climate is far from easy and requires resilience and hard work. This gives us, the punter, more reason to appreciate the juice in the bottle and its backstory. Check the map curated by Stephen Skelton for full deets. Onto the newsletter Another sunny bank holiday is upon us, so it’s time to chat about the Summery blush stuff. Whether inadvertently or purposefully, rosé has become a good-time wine, for poolside posing and instagramming, its value often calculated by how photogenic the bottle is. A lot of thought goes into the presentation of rosé, from weight and shape to label and cork. And if you fall for a heavy bottomed bottle, be in no doubt that you’re paying for that thick glass and all its transportation costs. Having fallen in love with rosé ten years ago I wanted to prove that there’s a lot more to appreciate beyond its instagrammable looks. I assembled a team of trusted drinkers for a strictly no filter view on their favourite wines. My request: tell me about a serious wine that can battle against the best, where quality is as important as looks. Read on for the list. |
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The Italian offering from Sophia at @skinandpulp Alois Lageder, Alto Adige 2018 £16.66 With an alpine landscape that is shared with its neighbours Austria and Switzerland, of craggy peaks and turquoise lakes, Alto Adige is a stunning part of the world and one of Italy’s smallest wine regions. The family-run winery is composed of 55 hectares of vines, which are managed on the basis of biodynamic principles. You get a hit of red cherry on the nose, which is so ripe it’s verging on cherry-flavoured boiled sweets. But don’t be put off, there’s more to it than that. There’s a herbal layer; fresh mint and thyme. I get spikes of echinacea too, as well as red plums and cranberries. |
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The palate is a surprise of freshness. The grape has a naturally high acidity, so the effect is refreshing and moreish. The cherry fruit doesn’t overpower the dryness and, in fact, it has a pleasant savoury edge. The finish is long and mineral, opening up a world of possibility for food pairings. The Lagrein grape is highly tannic, and though the grapes were lightly pressed for this rosé, as to not release them too much, you do get a little grippiness, which is nice. This wine is so much more robust than it would at first appear and, although I would still serve it chilled, it does open up and I keep discovering more. www.skinandpulp.com |
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The French one, from Brad at @winetimelondon Me & Monsieur Jones 2018 £11.99 Love, friendship and being together ... This is what Rosé means to me and this wine has all that and more. The story behind it is about an English girl and a French man and the story of romance... Mrs and Monsieur Jones. For me the story and the people behind the wines are just as important as what's in the glass. Katie and Jean Mark are wonderful winemakers in the South West of France @domainejones This wine has a wonderful elegance on the nose with strawberries and raspberries and a floral note which wafts up like the flowers of Southern France. The palate has a wonderful acidity and a minerality that is beautifully tempting. It will have you reaching for another glass ... |
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The Natty one from Sean at @Geordiewineguide Andreas Tscheppe - Vineyard Snail Rosé 2017 £38.00 Andreas is the quietly spoken, natty wine legend who makes some of the greatest wines in Austria. His bottles are adorned with pictures of cute little critters like butterflies, dragonflies, and salamanders. His vineyards are all farmed biodynamically, we’re talking trees and bushes, loads of grass and wild flowers, all to maintain a biodiversity that keeps the pests under control and most importantly, means Andreas doesn’t have to spray his vines with all sorts of chemicals. Nothing added to the wines in the winery, zero added sulphur. |
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Lush strawberry and raspberry lace aromas, sherbet, subtle herbs and a touch of reductive gun flint. On the palate, a bit of spritz gives it energy, 10.5% alcohol means smashability and drinkability. It has a tiny amount of VA (volatile acidity) which brings another dimension to the acid profile reminiscent of a raspberry kombucha, it is not vinegary or funky though. Super clean, the flavours are precise as can be. With its touch of sweetness, strawberry fruit flavours and drinkability, this is a wine that shares many similarities with most of the unfashionable, cliché rosés out there but at the same time it is in a world of its own. Join Sean at the natural wine forum |
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The Spanish offering from Charlotte at @thelondonwinegirl Dominio Del Aguila, Picaro Del Águila Clarete 2016 £20.54 This style of rosé wine is known as a clarete and is made from a blend of red and white grapes. It’s a wine with exuberance and flair! Intense, dynamic and mouth-wateringly moreish. My first impression is a wave of vibrant red fruit and all those sweet delights you get from a candy shop. Next flows beautiful, complex layers of caramel, fresh pastries, crème brûlée, grilled grapefruit, marmalade, fennel and this refreshing mineral quality on the finish. This is something really special. |
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The wine is made from handpicked, organic grapes (Tempranillo, Albillo, Garnacha, Bobal). The red and white grapes are co-fermented with native yeasts and aged in neutral oak barrels giving oxidative nuances. The resulting wine is this dazzling, bright ruby red colour – so full of personality. It’s a wine that can be appreciated on so many levels. Enjoy for poolside sipping or an early evening aperitif with platters of charcuterie – delicious! But it also a serious, intellectual, gastronomic wine. It shines with all sorts of Mediterranean dishes: pasta, grilled vegetables, juicy tomatoes, fresh fish; and with its ample power and structure, it also pairs superbly with BBQ meats too. www.thelondonwinegirl.com |
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The Lebanese offering from Jess Lamb. @jesslambwrites Château Ksara Sunset Rosé 2018 £10.99 The Sunset Rosé is, in my opinion, a fabulous example of how to do rosé differently. Lovers of those uber-trendy paler-than-pale Provence-style rosés might not know what to do with
the energetic rose pink colour initially, but I love it! This is an unusual blend of Cabernet
Franc and Syrah which spends around 12 hours on the skins (meaning that the grape skins
and juice remain in contact, transferring colour into the wine) so it’s vivid and bold against
that sometimes barely-there Provence pink. It’s still a dry wine, but so complex and
interesting; crisp acidity and a luxurious mouthfeel supported by aromas that are redolent
with bright, ripe red berry fruit notes of wild strawberry, raspberry and cherry, alongside a
gorgeous vanilla fragrance and some lovely spice from the Syrah. |
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On the palate, it’s rich, rounded and refreshing, oozing that delicious juicy fruit and more vanilla. The depth and complexity of this rosé is a great recipe for gastronomic success; I tasted it alongside some kiln-smoked salmon from our local market which was bang on, but it would be a beautiful accompaniment to any form of Mediterranean cuisine. Think beachside dining on a balmy Beirut afternoon … or, indeed, what is shaping up to be an equally balmy Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK! This is no glamorous, one-trick pony summer quaffing rosé – the Château Ksara Sunset is a pink wine with serious vinous credentials and a fantastic way to dip your toe into the enticing waters of Lebanese wine. www.jesslamb.co.uk |
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Obvs mine is English @the_british_bouchon The Simpsons Railway Hill Rosé 2018 £19.50 What do I love about this bottle? The Simpsons have managed to match quality of wine with presentation of package. Sleek and alluring in design with its beautiful bell bottom and classy glass cap, the temptation is too great and on opening it doesn’t disappoint. With their first Domaine situated in the South of France, the Simpsons are no strangers to the Provençal pink blush, synonymous with sun, sea, sand and seafood. |
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The Railway Hill rosé mirrors this style in appearance with its copper colour and strawberry nose, giving the game up that this is 100% Pinot Noir. Picked from the ripest of grapes, the flavours are complex, strawberries and cream are lifted by refreshing grapefruit and lime on the palate, the acidity mouth-watering, the finish long and rich. A lip-smacking sip, close your eyes and you could be in St Tropez or Kent apparently... This newsletter is an opportunity for England to compete with rosés from France and around the world. A fine job it does too. The fun doesn’t end here as the 2019 vintage is bottled exclusively in magnums. Bring on summer! |
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Final word If you're drinking a quality rosé this weekend, use the hashtag #seriousrosé on Instagram and I will share it in my stories. |
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