NEW WAVE
Sarah Heller recommends nine bottles to sample from up-and-coming vineyards from the far north
CANADA Nk’mip Cellars Qwam Qwmt Chardonnay 2016
The nigh unpronounceable name (the guide on the bottle advises: ‘in-kameep kw-em kw-empt’) comes from the Salish language of the controlling Osoyoos Indian Band, the first indigenous group in North America to own and operate a winery. The Okanagan chardonnay itself is straightforwardly delicious, with sumptuous yellow peach, pineapple and mango and a dash of custard cream for good measure.
Cave Spring Cellars CSV Riesling 2016
Planted among the Niagara Escarpment’s limestone caves in the 1970s, Cave Spring’s CSV wines are made from some of the oldest European vines in the region. The world-class riesling has been made in an increasingly dry style over the years as full ripeness becomes regularly achievable, and now has a radiant green plum and medicinal herb character with perfectly balanced acidity.
Domaine Queylus Pinot Noir La Grande Reserve 2013
Decidedly Francophile (by way of Quebec), this Niagara Peninsula pinot evidently draws on its winemakers’ combined experience in Burgundy, Oregon and, contrastingly,
Napa. This minuteproduction barrel selection is fineboned and sheer, with gleaming crimson fruit and an acidic mid-palate lift that drift fragrantly back to a rounded, generous finish.
Stratus Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2015
The Niagara-on-the-lake project of Loire Valley native JL Groux, Stratus has embraced both the Loire’s natural-leaning tendencies (gravity flow, sustainability—all things that make us smile) and its finely wrought, translucent wine styles. The black cherry fruit is deep and rich but lacks unctuousness, with a cedary, charcoal smoke quality rarely found in cab franc outside France.
ENGLAND Nyetimber Classic Cuvée Brut NV
Beloved since the early ’90s when it first smashed experts’ preconceptions that England couldn’t ripen champagne grapes, Nyetimber’s flagship wine still has it all. Flinty and ethereal on the nose, somewhere between a bitter lemon and a tonic in the mouth with pinprick bubbles releasing a sourdough breadiness, this lingers for minutes with a hit of salinity.
Rathfinny Rosé Brut 2016
Co-founded by former Hong Kong resident hedge fund manager Mark Driver and ex-city lawyer Sarah Driver, this achingly ambitious Sussex winery aims to have production capacity of more than a million bottles by 2021, a mammoth undertaking for new private owners. Leaning heavily on the quality of the pinot noir, this rosé’s plump, succulent pink berry fruit is neatly encased in a toasty, polished frame.
Chapel Down Three Graces 2014
Famous for supplying both 10 Downing Street and William and Kate’s wedding, Kent-based Chapel Down has ventured into craft beer, gin and vodka but the sparkling wine is the brand’s cornerstone. Its Three Graces vintage bottling brings together pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier in an upright, citrussy wine with subtle biscuit notes, embodying the ‘dreamlike’ 2014 vintage with its soft, rounded finish.
DENMARK
Vexebo Vin Regent & Monarch Rosé 2016
The first wine I tried from maverick producer Daniel Milan, who planted a hectare of his family farm on Denmark’s Sjaelland island just over a decade ago, this is the more straightforward of the two Vexebo entries here. Despite its watermelon hue, it’s unexpectedly subtle, exuding a mildly smoky, rustic raspberry perfume and slipping down ever so easily at a mere 9.5 per cent alcohol, with a whisper of fizz.
Vexebo Vin Solaris Orange 2017
The only wine Vexebo was able to produce in 2017, this is not one for the classic claret drinker. However, this lightly cloudy concoction, with its amber colour, fizz and almost shaggy, greenish tannins, is likely to win the hearts of craft beer or kombucha lovers.
For more of Master of Wine Sarah Heller’s recommendations, follow @sarahhellermw