Sidewood Isabella rosé 2014

Sidewood Isabella rosé 2014, Adelaide Hills, Australia (£21 or AUS$32, www.sidewood.com.au) Owen Inglis’s Sidewood Estate in Australia’s Adelaide Hills is a new discovery for us.  Although the estate produces both still wines and ciders, it was the current releases of Sidewood’s sparkling wines that we were recently sent...

Roebuck Estates Classic Cuvée 2014

Roebuck Estates Classic Cuvée 2014, 12%, Sussex, UK (Enquiries via website) One of the wonderful things about working in wine is the potential for making new discoveries. Roebuck Estates is my most recent. Until mid-June, I hadn’t heard of Roebuck. It was only after chairing the WineGB Awards...

Forty Hall Vineyard Brut 2015

Forty Hall Vineyard Brut 2015, 11.5%, London (£27.99-28.99, farm shop or website)  Many wines are rewarding. But this fizz is rewarding on so many levels that recommending it feels like a virtue in itself. Get involved, the glib summary might read, because it will make you feel...

Chafor Vintage Rosé 2014

Chafor Vintage Rosé 2014, England (£45, Chafor Wine Estate) I recently had the pleasure of chairing the brand new UK Wine Awards. A task that involved spending two, very enjoyable days tasting nearly 300 English and Welsh wines along with a panel of industry experts. There was a...

Wyfold Brut 2011

Wyfold Brut 2011, 12% (from £26.99, Laithwaites) Barbara Laithwaite has turned her talented hand from working with her husband Tony building the Laithtwaite's/Direct Wines empire (which they continue to do) to crafting this elegant, expressive English fizz from a south Oxfordshire hillside not far from their home...

Mad good champagne

Krug Grande Cuvée Brut NV Champagne, France (from £95, independent merchants or use Wine Searcher) Entering via a gents outfitters called Flannels to an establishment with Primrose yellow toilet paper and a chef in silver boots, you’d be forgiven for thinking that things can’t get any more...

The new (old) Cristal

Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotèque 1995 (For release in 2017) Although there are times when a plate of food and a glass of wine go beautifully together, it’s rare that the wine actually smells identical to the food. Tasting Roederer’s yet-to-be-launched Cristal Vinotèque 1995 over dinner in Reims...