Highlights: two from new English still wine producer The Heretics
Website: https://www.wearetheheretics.com/
The Heretics Pale Rosé 2023 Crouch Valley, Essex
12% alcohol. Pale in colour, as it says on the label. Fine, fresh, textural and expressive with some sappy detail as well as bright cherry and plum fruit. Nice energy on the palate with crystalline citrus fruit, as well as nice green leafy hints in the background. I love the acid line here: very present in the mix but not dominating. Light and delicate, but with good presence. 92/100
The Heretics Chardonnay Deluxe Seven 2023 Crouch Valley, Essex
13% alcohol. Clones 95, 96, 76. This comes from Missing Gate Vineyard and the fruit was harvested at the end of October. Half malolactic, half in tank, half in used barrels. This is bright and fruit driven with some apple, pear and citrus fruit, showing some almond and hazelnut complexity as well as a nice tapering quality to the palate: it goes from riper fruit to more crystalline citrus as it finishes. There’s lovely detail here: it’s cool-climate, but there’s some richness too. Impressive weight and density for England, and tasted blind you’d be hard pressed to locate this. 91/100
