Wine of the Week: Rothley Wine Warhorse Red

Leicestershire isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think about English wine but I’ve been very struck by two wines I’ve tasted from Rothley Wine.

The most unexpected is a red wine called Warhorse 2017, a modest 11.5% and a blend of 70% Rondo and 30% Regent from vines which were grown at Chevelswarde Organics and vinified and bottled at Halfpenny Green.

At 11.5% it’s quite fresh and tart but with a really lovely flavour of wild hedgerow berries and just-ripe blackcurrants that is reminiscent of a Loire Cabernet Franc in a cool vintage.

When I first tasted it I thought it would be nice chilled as indeed it was, then discovered they do in fact recommend serving it at 12°C. They also suggest decanting it two hours in advance which I’m not sure it really needs.

It would be lovely with grilled lamb and, unusually for a red, griddled asparagus.

They also make a very pretty fresh elderflowery (or should that be elderfloral?) white called King Richard, a blend of solaris and siegerrebe which is lighter still at 10.5% and a perfect aperitif for these lovely sunny spring evenings.

You can buy the wines online from George Hill of Loughborough for £12.49 and £12.99 respectively and, if you live in the county, from other local stockists.

You can find Rothley on Twitter @rothleywine

Wine of the week: Louis Pommery England Brut

The standard of English sparkling wine is already high but I can’t remember being as impressed by a homegrown sparkling wine for a while as I am by this bottle. Of course you could argue that it’s not really English at all as it’s made by the team at Vranken Pommery in collaboration with Hattingley Valley in Hampshire.

Pommery is the first champagne house to release an English wine. They have already planted a vineyard in Hampshire but it won’t be productive until 2024 so they have had to source the grapes for this cuvée from vineyards in Hampshire, Essex and Sussex.

It has an elegance depth and finesse that some English sparkling wines lack with a lovely fine stream of bubbles. I’d be amazed if most people could tell it from champagne which is just as well as it’s in the champagne price bracket (£40 normally). However it’s on offer currently at Ocado at £26.66, and at Lea & Sandeman for £34.95 a bottle.

The only thing it lacks is a more stylish label but at least they’re not using the ghastly WineGB logo. It’s made in England so that’s what it says on the label.

Lovely as an aperitif or with some elegant seafood like langoustine ravioli. And a lovely wine to serve at a wedding.

Sixteen Ridges Pinot Noir Early 2014

This full-flavoured pinot noir from Worcestershire took me totally by surprise this week. I would never have guessed it was from the UK.

It was on the list at Native in Covent Garden, a charming small modern British restaurant which is also a bit of a find. I was going to make it my match of the week given how well it matched a slightly smoky dish of rare venison with salt-baked turnip and smoked potato but it’s such an intriguing wine it deserves the spotlight on its own.

It’s made by Simon Day who also makes cider at Sixteen Ridges sister company Once Upon a Tree and costs £15.49 from their website. Other stockists include Hawkins Bros who have it for £16 and Hay Wines (£16.49) (Restaurants and hotels can buy it from Jascots*)

Pinot noir early - otherwise known as pinot noir précoce is, as the name suggests, an early ripening variant of pinot noir that is doing particularly well in this part of the world. Think less the pure fruit flavours of the best burgundy or New Zealand pinot noir and more earthy, hedgerow fruits. They also suggest pairing it with crispy roast duck, slow roasted lamb or a rich mushroom dish

It won a silver medal in this year’s IWSC awards and a Bronze in the Decanter World Wine Awards.

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