Sunday Drinking: 3 December 2023
What I’ve been up to this month, a review in The New York Times a couple of rieslings and two very special blanc de blancs from England.
Happy Sunday!
I am feeling particularly smug today as my English wine book, Vines in a Cold Climate (still available from all good bookshops - makes a great Christmas present for the wine lover in your life) was recommended by Eric Asimov in The New York Times - “Mr Jeffreys has done an excellent job of telling the story of the quirky characters and visionaries behind the first wave of modern English wines…”
Since the last Sunday Drinking, which looks like it's becoming a monthly thing, I’ve written on my Substack about gilets, Soho drinking clubs, the end of Oddbins and paid tribute to Russell Norman who died suddenly last week.
On a lighter note, probably the most fun thing I’ve written in a while is this article for the Master of Malt blog, my day job is as editor at this whisky retailer, lifting the lid on how to sound like you know what you’re talking about at tastings. It applies equally to wine too. Basically I am giving away top industry secrets so it’s well worth a read. I also wrote a useful guide to cheap whisky and at the opposite end of the budgetary scale, I wrote something on authentication and high value wine auctions tied to Pierre Chen’s collection going under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong.
My Critic column last month was all about how I thought I was a sophisticated riesling drinker but big data showed that I am in fact just a common or garden chardonnay swiller. But I have had some rather nice and extremely cheap riesling recently which made me think that I should be drinking more of the stuff.
Anyway, here’ some Sunday Drinking recommendations, some cheap, some not so. These wines were all samples:
Deinhard Riesling Green Label 2022 (Tesco £7.50)
There’s green apple, some apple blossom and a touch of honey here with an electric acidity which means you don’t notice the sweetness. According to Tesco this is medium sweet when really it tastes off dry. And it’s only 10% ABV!
Dr. Loosen Riesling Private Reserve Grey Slate 2022 (Waitrose £9.99)
Another off-dry one, this is more subtle than the wine above but it’s one that really grew on me with its very pretty orange blossom and peach with perfect acidity balancing the sugar. Annoyingly it now seems to be out of stock at Waitrose online but it should be in the shops.
Terlingham Blanc de Blancs 2017 (Terlingham £39.99)
This is one of the best English sparkling wines I’ve had in a while, and as you can imagine, I get to try a lot of them. It’s made in a tiny vineyard near Folkestone. For me it’s the apotheosis of the high acidity all chardonnay English style, razor sharp but not austere, with beautiful lemony fruit and a long brioche and orange peel finish. According to Jackie Wilks whose family own the property, they kept this back to let it soften and I’m glad they did. At £40 it’s a bargain. If I had the money. I’d buy a couple of cases, one to drink now and one to see how it develops.
Ridgeview Chardonnay Oak Reserve Home Vineyard NV (Ridgeview £85)
This is the top wine from Ridgeview who along with Nyetimber pretty much invented English sparkling wine. This is made from chardonnay from a single vineyard in Sussex which was fermented in a mixture of old and new barrels, and then was treated to extended ageing (60 months) on lees. The result is something like a sparkling Burgundy with layers of hazelnut, green apples and toasty notes. Very unusual and special. It’s one that really opens up in the glass. If you’re thinking of splashing out then look no further.
That’s it for the week, if I have a moment I’m going to come up with some Christmas recommendations next week, mainly moderately priced things that I will actually be drinking this year.