Congratulations Nigel and your lovely wife…its certainly worth celebrating, cheers👍
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On the English wine theme - drinking this with griddled tuna. Just lovely - an English summer day in a glass
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Happy anniversary HH - Nytimber is excellent , it’s about time HMG put English wine on a lower duty threshold over other Countries over £34.00 per 12 x 75cl same as Champagne
these are my favorite English Sparkling wines Balfour, Gusbourne, Hambledon, Camel Valley, Bride Valley, Chapel Down
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Thanks for the recommendations. Hambledon is only 10 miles from here yet I’ve never tried their wine; an omission I must remedy. It’s a few pounds cheaper than the Nyetimber too.
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Great list. I would also add Wiston to that list. Making great wines that are now winning all sorts of awards. The winemaker is one Dermot Sugrue who in a past life was the winemaker who put Nyetimber on the map!
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I can definitely vouch for the Chapel Down. The standard NV Brut is very good indeed. I’d love to try one of the premium cuvees, such as the Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvee, as I see they were very highly rated by Decanter. Price is a bit tricky though…
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While people are vouching for English wines, I can’t resist mentioning Camel Valley which makes it’s wine in their winery near Bodmin.
Their pink sparkling wine is exceptionally fine and they make several white sparkling wines, including my favourite “Annie’s Anniversary”, which is made from grapes from an area of the vineyard entirely looked after personally by the owner’s wife Annie. They also make an excellent Bacchus still wine which is made from grapes from a small parcel of land which is registered and so the name of the wine, Darnibole, is protected within the EU. This is very flavoursome dry summer drinking.
Best
David
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A couple of years ago Chapel Down did some crowd funding to expand so I bought some shares. I will never get my money back but I do get one third off list price until I die (from cirrhosis!). I can highly recommend their Three Graces which is their champagne blend and v good at £30
Yes, I’m pretty sure we had a glass of the Three Graces last time we had lunch at the Swan restaurant at Chapel Down. It was very good indeed.
Their Atlantic Dry is delicious. We first tried it in the restaurant on St Michael’s Mount last year. It’s always good to ‘drink local’.
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+1 for Wiston - probably my favourite English fizz
Keep up the #drinkSouthAfrican theme! I am sure Anthony and Olive are tearing their hair out over the current ban on local sales. At least they can keep exporting to us.
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Fortunately we have good U.K. Stocks of all HR wines and Klein Constanta, but shipping has been logistical nightmare
My last wine dinner was with them in Suffolk in early March
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have to taste these today, Oh damn go on then (sorry Cognac thread closed)
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these were the Cognacs we tasted this morning into the UK soon - extraodinary, happy to expand on thoughts if of interest
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Mmmm, cognac for breakfast - that’s some job! Would love to hear more but a quick search has indicated that they are well out of my price range!
I have a very small amount of each one left.
That is very kind of you but I fear I would just want to buy the bottles! Have just looked at where your company is based - was very near to you on Sunday having fantastic tapas at Jose Pizzaro’s!
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been there a number of times, we also work with Angela just down the road also
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A bottle of 2010 Guigal Cotes du Rhône. The label has suffered from rodent damage and damp but it is still fruity, deep purple, and because it’s thrown a tannic (?) sediment it’s well rounded with a longish finish. It was an ideal match for a mild dal.
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