Six years ago, in Week L (2015), I chose Chapel Down Lamberhurst Estate,Bacchus Reserve 2014 as my wine of the week. At the end of that post I noted that if Santa Claus had been reading it he might have been interested in the vine lease scheme that Chapel Down offer. He wasn't, at that point. Fast forward to February 2020 when the next generation of my generous family chose to celebrate my 60th birthday with a gift of a vine lease. Very generous and very much appreciated.
Eighteen months later six bottles of wine, made from the juice pressed from my very own grapes, were delivered to my front door and so this week we have:
As the image on the right is not one of the actual bottles delivered it doesn't carry the strapline 'Bailey: Matured for 60 years', which is proudly emblazoned on my bottles.
I have opened the first of the six and was very impressed. Bright citrus fruits, especially grapefruit in my opinion, with quite some intensity. Good length and a mouthwatering finish.
I noted when reviewing the Lamberhurst Estate wine that it was a good competitor for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Tenterden follows suit. From my six year old memory (that is, my memory from six years ago not an admission that I drank wine as a primary school pupil) there is less of the elderflower and other floral components in this one but it is still a very good summer wine.
Intended to be enjoyed whilst it has youth on its side I am not concerned that I will have consumed the remaining five bottles before their contents reach their peak. I hope to have at least one left to share with the family next time we all manage to congregate.
The original plan behind the gift was that I would visit my vines as they grew and could chart their progress until the early autumn when I would participate in the harvest. The gift was given over a nice lunch at the vineyard exactly one month before the wretched pandemic put the UK under house arrest and so the vines had to cope without my interference. My loss, as they have clearly managed to do that very nicely indeed.
I didn't give an indication of price above, as it seemed inappropriate given the fact my bottle came as a part of that generous present, however, as we reach the bottom of the page I can say that if you were to buy six bottles directly from the producer they would charge you £70 plus delivery, which is very fair.
Buy again? Most likely (just the wine!).
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