I must admit I preferred the London Wine Fair when it was held at the Kensington Exhibition Centre (below the famous Roof Gardens in Derry Street) back in the ‘80s. It was packed, visceral, dynamic, sensationally exciting, and it felt like the pinnacle of the year rather than a warehouse you felt obliged to slink around, avoiding eager reps peddling wines and spirits of little interest.
But in the various modern eras of this annual vinous bunfight, this year’s was certainly the most joyous for one select band of brothers and sisters. You may remember me banging on repetitively (apologies) that we, the English and Welsh wine trade, ought to make the London Wine Fair (LWF) our home. Last year’s representation was embarrassing – a handful of stalwart producers stood there looking rather lost among the gaudy stands, but at least they made the effort, and I hope it paid off for them.
I have pointed out, ‘til I am blue in the face, that WineGB ought to have a powerful presence at the LWF because at least some of the important wine eyes in the world attend, and whether they like it or not, there are far more bodies in the room than attend our own event. I have long argued that holding the WineGB event in September interferes with important vineyard and winery activity, not least because harvest is imminent, and every single person whom I have spoken to on this topic agrees. Anyway, the good news is that not only was the LWF a hotbed of locally produced wine this year, with a huge, unmissable focus display just inside the entrance, but if you were cunning enough to attend on the Tuesday, Henry Sugden and his Defined posse showed a veritable tsunami of wines to boot!
It was, without doubt, a day to remember, and when I asked anyone within earshot if it was what they were after and a positive step forward for this annual event that has unfortunately lost stardust to Wine Paris and beyond, the answer was a resounding yes! I, for one, breathed a huge sigh of relief, as this was a massive step forward. So, still buoyant from a magnificent Fair, and it would be remiss of me not to congratulate Hannah Tovey and her hardworking team, here are a few of the brilliant English wines I found, which I urge you to taste.
2025 Burnt House, Pinot Noir Précoce, Suffolk
£24.00
I featured a Pinot Meunier Rosé from this winery this time last year that mightily impressed me, so it was exciting to see that Burnt House has built on its growing reputation with a beautiful red.
It was one of a handful of precocious Précoce wines that hit the nail on the head for me at the Fair, underlining just how important this early ripening mutation of Pinot Noir is in our community.
With ebullient, floral, cherry-soaked fruit and gorgeous, forward, foresty tones, there are surprisingly dark notes among the red tones, and it really shocked me with its immediacy and charm. Yes, you can drink this wine now, and it is not even a year old.
This is so important on many levels, aside from the obvious cash flow benefit of making a red that moves as fast into your glass as a skipity Beaujolais! But I think there is more. Imagine being a punter sitting on a terrace, in a pub garden, or at an outdoor event this summer, and being poured a cool (not cold) temperature glass of this wine. I would pay good money to see people’s expressions when they first taste this wine in an al fresco setting, and realise it is perfumed, delicious, affordable, and made in this country. Wow!
2025 Oast Wood, Hedgewitch Pinot Noir Rosé, Kent
£24.00
The London Wine Fair provided me with my first introduction to the wines of Oast Wood. Once tasted, never forgotten.
The portfolio is intriguing, and I have no doubt it will evolve into a compelling collection in time, but the standout, and it was one of the finest rosés of the entire Fair, was Hedgewitch!
Like the Burnt House wine, there are no winemaking flourishes here. Just a good, clean fermentation and stainless-steel élévage. The point about these two wines, by comparison to my third, is that there is nowhere to hide, so your fruit must be truly epic to make a strong impression on my palate.
Oast Wood is not a faint, ethereal rosé, trying to lose itself in your senses, but an opinionated wine with more depth and impact than one could imagine. It is dry, raspy and multi-faceted, and it took my breath away.
This wine is a result of the passion and focus of the Sidebottom family that have, in the blink of an eye, elevated the quality of their property and its unique setting near Tenterden to one of the best debut releases this year, from anywhere in the world. Congrats – you deserve it. I hope everyone tastes this wine and the others in the range.
NV Hambledon, Classic Cuvée, Hampshire
£95.00, magnum
Like many, I know the Hambledon wines very well, and I have been a fan since day one, but this magnum is a very different proposition from the bottles I have tasted.
Of course, age is a factor. The base wine in the magnums on the market right now is 2016. No others are available, so you can be sure that if you buy this wine from the Hambledon website, it will be the 2016-base-creation. The second factor is the format. It is the only sensible format if you want to taste a wine at its very best. No other bottle size comes close to a magnum, and I have put 40 years of my life into this exhaustive, enjoyable, and anecdotal research!
Interestingly, almost all of the depth of flavour and luxuriousness come from the 57% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir, and 16% Pinot Meunier fruit. I say this because only 5.5% barrel fermentation was employed, with a controlled dosage of 8 g/L addition.
This wine was bottled in June 2017 and disgorged in September last year (after 98 months on its lees), so it has already enjoyed the perfect life ahead of us knocking off its top! In fact, I will go further. This is the finest Hambledon incarnation I have ever tasted and then look at the price! Is this the finest value English Sparkler of the moment?
I awarded it a 19/20 score in my notes. Given the flavour, which is simply jaw-dropping, with beautiful, layered fruit and cleansing, nerve-tingling acidity, this is an absolute must-have for all readers, and especially if you are celebrating this summer. Nothing says it quite like a magnum, as you all know, and this is one of the best around.
