Kentish fizz for chorizo

Chapel Down Blanc de Blancs 2009, England, 12.5%

(£30, Wine Pantry and Chapel Down)

It was a sunny evening with friends and we had a few wines open to go with tapas. None of them could stand up to the beautifully spicy pan-fried whole mini chorizo. ‘Funnily enough, it’s often whites that go best with pork,’ we lectured our friends, ‘and spice works best when it’s softened by a bit of richness in the wine…’ At which point our eyes honed in on this beautifully zingy, creamy, succulent Kentish fizz that we’d been drinking as an aperitif. We gave it a go – and it was a revelation! We now have a new sure-fire pairing with chorizo.

The 2009 vintage isn’t now widely available but I did try the 2011 at the recent EWP tasting in London and it was tasting beautifully, with elegant apple and bread flavours and a wonderfully harmonious, refreshing, stylish flavour profile. One to enjoy now but also tuck away to develop even more savoury richness. If you have the patience. (Peter, 8/10, May 2016)