Highlights: two innovative wines from Litmus, England
Impressed by these two quite innovative wines from Litmus Wines, a winemaking consultancy based at Denbies winery in Surrey.
Litmus Orange Bacchus 2020 England
12% alcohol. 18 weeks on the skins with no added sulfites until pressing. It’s fresh, aromatic and lemony with some graperfruit and peach notes, as well as a touch of mandarin. It’s juicy and fresh with nice delicacy, showing a bit of structure, as well as crystalline citrus and some dried herb notes. So delicate with some chalky notes backing up the attractive citrus fruit. This works so well: it has the Bacchus fruitiness, but there are also other layers of flavour. 92/100 (£15 direct, and also from Waitrose Wine Cellar)
Litmus White Pinot 2016 England
12.5% alcohol. 100% Pinot Noir from Essex, fermented and matured in 2-5 year old French oak, gently handled. This has an intriguing nose of delicate lemon, pear and white peach fruit with notes of cream and vanilla in the background. On the palate, this is fresh with a mandarin and lemon character, some table grape, very subtle toast and cream, and a fine acid line. Impressive stuff that is pure, delicate and full of interest. 91/100 (£25 direct)
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