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Just found this while looking for their Chardonnay. Is this a first?
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Perhaps because they have a meet the winemaker with them on the 23rd?
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Certainly canât recollect one and Iâd like to think Iâd have noticed. TWS A bit slow on the uptake as English PN has been quite respectable for the past 3 vintages at least.
Nice spot! This was hinted at recently but canât recall the occasion. My last English PN was tasty so this goes into the wishlist!
Limited to 3 per member.
Iâve tried Bride Valley and Furleigh Estate, both in Dorset. Neither impressed, Iâm afraid, though I donât claim to be an expert and would be happy to hear other views, or to hear of other English PNâs worth seeking out.
Iâve had the one from Gusbourne which was really lovely. Though ÂŁ35. This could be worth a try.
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Iâve enjoyed Bolneyâs 2018 & 19, Winbirri 2018 & 19, Trevibban Millâs 2014 ( yes that long ago, admittedly a bit pricey) and looking forward to Simpsonâs Rabbit Hole 2020 when it comes next week.
Obviously weâre not in Burgundy grand cru territory but I took a Winbirri to France to a blind taste-off against a same vintage âŹ20 (French-bought) village Burgundy (Cote Challonaise but canât remember which one) for French âamateursâ and the English was preferred (much to the assembled companyâs displeasure). If you like medium bodied fruit forward with a bit of peppery and tannic bite, quaffing style rather than contemplatively sipping, I think theyâre splendid.
Grape Britannia is a good place to look English Red Wines - Browse Wines - Grape Britannia
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I had a glass of Tillinghamâs unoaked pinot noir recently which was delicious - delicate strawberry fruit and a peppery spiciness that made me think of canary island reds. Expensive though⊠Iâd like to try the oak aged version they do which is apparently fuller bodied
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itâs not âproperâ Pinot Noir, but Iâve had this a few times, and itâs lovely.
Reasonably pricey mind. Now limiting to one bottle at a time.
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The Gusbourne Boot Hill is the only English PN Iâve chosen to spend money on, although at ÂŁ35 itâs not a cheapie. The 2018 is a very good wine, although now sold out. 2019 is unsurprisingly a touch leaner but has good structure. In 2019 they also made a premium cuvee, albeit for another ÂŁ10 on top of the Boot Hill
Iâm interested in the one in the list - thanks for sharing
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Iâve asked many-a-vigneron about the legitimacy of pinot noir precocĂ© (frĂŒhburgunder) and I believe it shouldnât be regarded as improper; after all itâs grown and vinified alongside PN in PN strongholds such as Pfalz and Ahr, and is a clonal mutation of PN rather than a cultivar, cross or sibling. JRWG talks of its existence known since the c17th. I donât think itâs any more improper than the many other PN clones which are said to be best suited for whatever terroir they are cultivated and, as it happens, frĂŒhburgunder seems to do very well in England & Wales. That 2 weeks earlier ripening makes all the difference in marginal climates, though as climate change advances it may prove less of an advantage.
What do others think ?
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I guess you could make the same point about Pinot Meunier. The fact is that PN seems to be particularly prone to mutations. Something like Pinot Gris is self evidently different enough to merit a different name, but where do you start or stop with the ones that are still red? (Well, black, but YKWIM).
FrĂŒhburgunder is PN; itâs as legitimate as any other clone. Whether one likes it is a different matter, but unless you know the clone/clones used in the PN that you do like, then you have only half the picture. There is no requirement to state on labels the clone/s used and the PN one prefers over frĂŒhburgunder could be frĂŒhburgunder made in a different way.
There are about 10,00o different known PN clones. Some are different enough to be given different names, like Meunier (noticeable because of white hairs on leaves), & Precoce (noticeable because of much earlier ripening) , then there are clones distinctly different (white) Pinot Blanc and (grey/pink) Pinot Gris/Grigio.
If one tasteâs a 100% 777 clone and compares it to a 100% Wadenswill clone they seem like different varieties even from the same vineyard, same rootstock and the same winemaking regime.
Most wineries blend juice from different clones to make their PN, throw in different rootstock, different winemakers and terroir and calling a wine Pinot Noir is at best a vague guide to its taste.
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Absolutely and the very best PNs from the very best sites in the world will encourage clonal diversity within their vineyards, some of which date back hundreds of years , the diversity in clones allows different phenolics and ripeness which add to the tools a winemaker has to produce a great wine. Limiting yourself to one particular dark skinned clone seems a little counter productive if your aim is to produce the best Pinot Noir you possibly can .
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I am not getting into an argument here, though I probably am, but last year my cousin who was a vineyard manager and is currently a consultant and agronomist and spent his learning years in NZ, was talking about Précoce last year after an English vineyard he was advising insisted the label saying Pinot Noir was correct.
Précoce is a mutation not a clone it is an early ripening version which suited early plantings in more northerly climes.
It is not probably that important but I would have a word with someone who knows a lot more about clones of grapes than I do, it is not a clone and that is all I will say because there is a difference, having spent my working life in horticulture, one comes across this sort of thing all the time in the plant world, and the nomenclature is changing all the time.
And then you throw in Laffort, where business really gets down to the business of winemaking.
Agree yrâ honour. I was too quick to describe it as a clone. Itâs a mutation therefore not a clone; clearly these are contradictory terms. But all the same itâs a proper vinifera and does well in the UK so whatâs not to like. Better than ghastly rondo and regent thatâs for sure
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I struggle to explains the difference between a clone and a mutation.
Isnât a mutation just a more noticeable difference than a clone? Pinot Blanc is a mutation because it has noticeably produces white grapes, not black, Precoce is a ⊠what? A mutation because it noticeably ripens on average 2 weeks earlier than other PNs?
All the clones are noticeable because of differences, however they are not huge differences, but you have ones that are prized because they have thick skins and produce tastier wine, and thin skinned ones that are prized because they produce a lot of juice, tthus cheaper wines and can still be sold as PN.