Best of British wine: English rosé and pink gins that accompany fish or lamb
Wine O'Clock by Giles Luckett
Hello. This week I'd like to celebrate a local institution and some of the best English wines I've ever tasted. Like many people, I got to know Adnams through their beer. As a lad, I spent many a happy hour in the Tudor Rose with Adnams' Best or Broadside, and later, as a wine broker, I discovered their fantastic wine agencies which married tradition with innovation.
Recently I had the pleasure of looking at a selection wines from our region. Lydia Harrowven, Adnams’ Head of Wine told me: "(East Anglia) Produces wines of exceptional quality and typicity. We wanted an English wine range to be proud of and would be happy to source this from wherever we found the best in the UK – it just so happens that we believe to have found the best in the East." On the evidence of the following, I think Lydia has a point.
First up is the English White from the Crouch Valley (£13.99). I've not had a wine from Essex before, and I was intrigued to see what they'd produced. To me, this was the epitome of a great English wine. Pale in colour, the nose is a riot of green berries, citrus fruits, and dried flowers. In the mouth, it's clean, fresh, and tangy with plenty of crisp apple and pear fruit, tinged with savoury herb notes. This would be glorious with fish and chips.
Bacchus has been producing wine in Britain since the Romans needed something to drink after a long day's road building. Over the years, and with climate warming, its wines have become richer, fuller, and more complex.
The Adnams Bacchus (£14.99) has all the freshness you'd expect but with a gentle floral notes and touches of honey and peach stones. Just the thing for pot-roasted chicken with roasted garlic.
Next another first, a still English rosé. I've had plenty of English rosé fizzes – most of which I prefer to the whites as they have greater depth and weight – and this still wine was a joy. While I've yet to have a good English red – they’re either acidic or somewhat raw – English rosé warrants further investigation.
The English Rosé (£14.99) is made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay (the classic Champagne blend), and beyond its delightful salmon colour, there's are juicy red berries, spiced cherries, and a clean, minerally finish. Doubtless good with pink fish or lamb, I'd enjoy this on its own.
I'd normally finish with a red, but in the absence of great English red, how about fantastic pink gin? Adnams Copper House (Tesco £30) is that rarest of beasts; a flavoured gin that doesn't taste like teen perfume. This is a proper gin, with the raspberries added to the still. The result is fragrant gin with a lovely raspberry tone. On the palate it’s complex, spicy, warming and rich, but the raspberries give a real lift, making it satisfying and refreshing.
Cheers!