Mein letzter Rosé des Jahres ... und wenn mich nicht alles täuscht auch der erste: Gusbourne Cherry Garden Vineyard Rosé Pinot Noir 2021, Kent

 

Falls das obige Statement nicht der Wahrheit entsprechen sollte, hat sich wohl mein Hirn komplett verabschiedet. Wie an dieser Stelle schon viel zu oft erwähnt, liegt mir die „Weingattung“ Rosé nicht all zu sehr am Herzen! Aufgrund dieser eher bescheidenen Anziehungskraft, mag ich mir diese fatale Annahme des Hirnverlusts eher sehr unwahrscheinlich vorkommen. Wie dem auch sei! Mein letzter, und erster Rosé des Jahres 2023 führt mich heute – ausnahmsweise Impressionen in (quasi) live und in Farbe … auch wenn es bezüglich letzterem nicht all zu viel zu sehen gäbe ... dazu später mehr, in den Cherry Garden Vineyard von Gusbourne Estate im äußersten Südosten Englands. 

Happy New Year with Gusbourne Estate Brut Reserve 2018, Kent

English sparkling wine! It's been a while. Unfortunately my good old Winston … ahh, Wiston of course – I know, this one is getting old - is still locked away in an inaccessible dungeon in bleeding Oxford. Hence, my thirst for English fizz had to be quenched by an equally attractive bubbely. Gusbourne's Brut Reserve from 2018 is a classic champagne'ish mix of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier from chalk. It's hue showed bright adolescent radiance with little pink'sh sparkle. In the nose I got plenty of white roses and elder flowers, shy brioche, red apples, plenty of ripe strawberries, assorted nutty pastries and traces of orange oil. The ripe strawberries showed their bounty of shimmering aromas even more eloquent on my tongue. Same for the red apples – paired with some yellow pears. There was a fine portion of salt, restrained brioche and a bit more open hazelnutty pasteries with strawberries on top. The chalky mineral characteristics were accentuating this really convincing impression. Its body was quite refined and toned. Not all to big! However very fairly long. The mousse was very vital, perhaps almost a bit too oral cavity invigorating – okay, this 2018 was obviously far too young! I was perfectly aware of this … I just wanted to go for it! Who cares! I don't! It was a lot of fun combined with serious substance (for the future)! Downright very decent*****! Happy New Year Everybody!

Gusbourne Rosé 2012, Kent

Happy New Year Everybody ... not dead yet ... I mean the blog! This little vibrant Pinot++ bubbly from Gusbourne was a nice Pre-New-Year's-Eve treat! Plenty of red apples, Danish pastry and "English" strawberries intriguingly fizzy gentle beyond sticky rosé'ish kitsch! Definitely quite a decent **** surprise. I hope I will be able to tackle my embarrasing laziness and write a bit more this coming year ... not sure I can believe myself ... buuut I am quite positive!

"Pinot weit weg" goes Prowein ... inkl. ein wenig Koshu

Nach gar nicht so wenigen Jahren der Abwesenheit hat es mich endlich mal wieder auf die Prowein verschlagen! Da habe ich mir gedacht: eine gute Gelegenheit viele potentiell interessante „Pinots weit weg“ probieren zu können! Leider, wie nicht selten bei solchen Großmessen, gab es viel Schatten und nur all zu wenige Lichtstrahlen, die sich durch die Wolkendecke der pinot'igen Belanglosigkeit  hindurch kämpfen konnten.

Jenkyn Place Brut 2008, Hampshire

After an entire and most definitely tormenting week packed full with cheeky (and eventually downright revolutionising) hard-drives as well as failing recovery discs it is time for some grand Fizz from England to alleviate my pain caused by techno issues. I guess, it’s been a while since I had my last English wine. Then, if my recollection is not mistaken, it was some Sparkling Brut 2005 from Breaky Bottom in the East of Sussex. Today it is time for some bubbly stuff from Hampshire. Just a bit south west of London there is a place in the North Downs in the town of Bentley which is called Jenkyn Place. Simon Bladon, property investor and entrepreneur, and his wife Rebecca turned Jenkyn Place in 2004 away from common agriculture to the growing of vines. Since then they cultivate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grapes on a mere of five south facing hectares. Their soils are characterized by greensand over marlstone. The actual production methods are pretty much comparable with traditional Champagne methods. All wines are made from classic grape varieties and spend around three years on the lees before being released to the public. Enough of personal w(h)ining and theoretical knowledge dropping! My Jenkyn Palce was the classical, if you can call such a young produce classical, Jenkyn Place Brut 2008. In 2008 this one was a blend of 72% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier. Let’s have a quick sip …what do you think!?

An energetic Briton: Firefly Natural Energy Britannia

Recently I had this little energetic Briton. I don’t even know if it is famous, successful or whatsoever. I have never seen it before. So I tried it out!

Sparkling from England (don't be afraid): Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2000

 
I simply can't write too much about this sparkling wine. Try it, if you have a chance to do so. It consists of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, which I think by the way is a very adequate mixture. The perlage was very well and quite noisy. The mousse was just magnificent. I hardly can remember a better one (slight exagg.) . The taste itself was wonderful and almost sublime, too. The concentration was very dense, which provided this very fizz a rather strong body. Only the acid was slightly too strong. Just try it. I think it was a really great fizz. Unfortunately you will have problems to get it outside the UK. I assume in the future it won't be so difficult anymore, because the winery is about to enlarge their vineyards. I wonder if they can maintain this high level quality in a substantially lager company. I very much hope so!