Lamberhurst

Man of Kent, born and bred, weak in the arm and thick in the head. That's me. I spent much of my first half century living south and to the west of the mighty Medway and that separates me from the Kentish Men who colonise the lands to the north and east. The Medway was also the river from which at the age of 16 I plucked a four ounce Dace and by doing so won the Junior Hornsby Cup, a trophy awarded by the Royal Tunbridge Wells Angling Society on an annual basis to their most successful young fisherman. I was the only competitor. The society also held rights to a tributary to the Medway, the River Tiese, which rises in my home town at Dunorlan Park, where I spent much of my teenage life hiring canoes and generally being annoying, and flows through various villages including Lamberhurst which is where the grapes that went into this week's selection were grown,

Week L (2015) Lamberhurst Estate, Bacchus Reserve 2014. M&S £13.

The producers of this wine, Chapel Down, are well known as being amongst the leading group of the English sparkling wine movement and for which they rightly have a very strong reputation. They are based at Tenterden which is some thirty miles deeper into Kent, as Lamberhurst is very close to the border with East Sussex, from where they make a range of sparkling and still wines, together with beer and cider.

The Lamberhurst Estate wine is made from Bacchus grapes all grown in the Lamberhurst vineyard and is an exclusive blend for M&S. They do produce other Bacchus Reserves but I can't say how these differ as I have not yet tried them.

My selection of this wine was in part driven by a mixture of nostalgia and enduring fondness for the part of the world in which I lived for so long, but also in part because I have read a lot recently about how English still wines are beginning to be as noteworthy as the sparkling variety.

I have tasted English still wines but never really found the reality to match the marketing. This one is a definite step in the right direction. The makers claim it is an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and I expected to find that it would, at best, be an alternative to the rather bland examples of the world beating grape, however, I was really surprised by the intensity of the ripe melon, grapefruit and, yes, elderflower flavours that this wine delivers.

It is very fruity in the lengthy finish and has a level of acidity that some of Marlborough's Sauvignon Blancs would be pleased to match. The alcohol level is 12% and that's about ideal for this style of wine.

Chapel Down are an innovative organisation. They are on a mission to change perception about English wine and, based on the success to date, have diversified into a range of beers following a very successful crowdfunding campaign. Very trendy. They also have a vine leasing scheme, so if Santa Claus is reading this.....