English Red Wines
White Castle Vineyard Pinot Noir Precoce 2018
Complex bouquet of dark red berries with layers of mineral; juicy, lush, generous and complex on the palate
This excellent 2018 Pinot Noir really shows the character of the vintage, with a fuller body than the 2017 offering, but still retaining the wonderful lightness of being that good Pinot should exhibit. Both red and blackberry fruits show here, in a well-balanced wine with a long finish. It comes from White Castle Vineyard, a Welsh vineyard situated near the market towns of Abergavenny and Monmouth, owned and run by Robb and Nicola Merchant. Having purchased the 12-acre smallholding in 1995 they converted the milking parlour into their home a year later, however, it was 2008 before the dream of owning a vineyard become a reality, the 5 acres gently sloping, the south-facing field was purchased, soil tests were performed and vines ordered. May 2009 saw the planting of 4000 vines of Pinot Noir, Regent, Rondo, Seyval Blanc & Phoenix, with May 2010 seeing a further planting of Siegerrebe 800 vines. May 2019 marked their 10th anniversary since first planting and to mark this milestone they have planted a further 2000 vines of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc.
Gone are the days when mealtimes in an English household were dominated by meat and two veg, fish on a…