Poor old Wiston – not Winston; I think I have mentioned his dire fate on numerous occasions, if not dosn't really matter - is still rotting away in a veritable dungeon in the persumed, alleged and very formal intellectual heavens of mankind – I know that's really cryptic – and I am not sure if I will be able to free him in the foreseeable future! Hence, I need to go for an adequate substitute in my rather fizzy year 2021. A fizzy year without some British bubbles wouldn't be complete, I suppose. That's why I sent my tongue out to East Sussex to Englands oldest and largest organic winery: Oxney Estate! The quite juvenile Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Seyval Blanc vines for today's Rosé Brut NV have been cultivated on Tunbridge Wells sand, which is a fine sand and silt loam above clay bedrock, just a few miles north the English Channel alongside the border to Kent. Sound quite fine and champange'ish to me so far. Well, sure about this old school proto hybrid-grape – so to speak - Seyval Blanc … whatever, let's give it a try ...
Pretty pale and almost freed from the poster boy idea of a vital rosé colour and well equippted with a rather fine-bubbly intense mousse. Especially in the first seconds to minutes quite challengingly harsh. After a very short consolidation phase much more subtle and refined. In the nose quite flowery with plenty of pink roses and perhaps traces pimpernelles, mild or rather shy danish (luckily free of custard), marzipan with a very strong touch of almonds, quite nuanced strawberries and a scoop of whipped cream with a hint of vanilla. On the palate much more yeasty-sturdy with quite a lot of baroque substance, a lot of Scottish short bread, ripe strawberries – almost a bit too bold and almost pre-cooked - with extra sugar-free cream, perhaps some peels of red apples and by far not as filegree as the nose predicted. On the second day much more integrated, refined, more centerist balanced and not as volumenous as on day one. To me quite convincing, absolutely decent**** and recommendable rosé'ish fizz. Especially when you can handle a richer "house style" like Diebolt-Vallois or Andre Clouet.
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