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Wines of the week: What to drink to celebrate the Rugby World Cup 2019 final

It may start at 9am, but considering England are in the final it’s never too early to drink, says Terry Kirby

Friday 01 November 2019 14:15 GMT
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South Africa and England go head to head in our nail-biting wine-off – can the underdog come out on top?
South Africa and England go head to head in our nail-biting wine-off – can the underdog come out on top?

The Rugby World Cup final this morning may well be all over by the time you read this and while I certainly don’t normally recommend any wine to be drunk at such an early hour in the UK, it is permissible, I think, to have a glass of fizz for elevenses if your (we have a lot of South Africans in the UK) team wins.

But the match this morning also presents a nice opportunity to compare the wines of these two great sporting nations: England being the original home of rugby but a latecomer to serious commercial winemaking, while the South African wine industry dates back to the first Dutch settlers in the early 17th century, with rugby only arriving almost two centuries later, imported by British colonists.

So firstly, then, to sparkling wine, and clearly England, once never in the same league, is now a serious contender for international trophies. The Ridgeview vineyard in Sussex was one of the early leaders (alongside nearby Nyetimber) and produces classy, elegant sparklers in the traditional method from champagne grapes – chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier – grown on chalky slopes.

The Ridgeview Bloomsbury NV (£28.99 waitrose.com; £30.00 winebuyers.com) is gorgeously effervescent, bursting with citrus, peach and pear flavours in that distinctive English fashion and is the ideal celebration wine, whatever the occasion.

South Africa’s sparkling is much less well known, but it does produce excellent bottles such as the Graham Beck Brut NV (£10.99 normally £14.99; until 5 November, waitrosecellar.com; £15.99 majestic.com); said to have been served at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration, a chardonnay/pinot noir blend, again made with the traditional method and with punchy, creamy, zesty flavours. A good wine, but a narrow advantage to the English so far...

When it comes to still whites, England, to continue rugby metaphors, has a lot to learn, but its game is improving in leaps and bounds, with a greater understanding of the technical side and what is best suited to domestic conditions.

After many years experimenting with German-style grapes, bacchus has emerged as the go-to English grape, with many comparing it to lighter sauvignons (the unoaked, fresh Loire style as opposed to the full-on mouth-puckering New World versions). Two of the best examples I have come from wines made as “own label” versions: the Adnams Bacchus 2018 (£13.99 adnams.co.uk), made from grapes grown in one of the new growing areas, the Crouch Valley in East Anglia, is a real gem, well made, with lovely zesty citrus flavours; there is a touch of restrained tropical fruit as well.

The Surrey Bacchus Reserve 2018 (£17.00 M&S stores, not available online) is made for M&S by Denbies, one of the oldest names in English winemaking; slightly more restrained, it’s nevertheless full of apple and elderflower flavours. Both sprightly wingers, these wines should accompany salads, vegetable dishes and goat’s cheeses. Pinot gris is also attracting some attention, for a completely different type of wine: the Bolney Pinot Gris (£19.99 bolneywineestate.com; £22.99 thepipstop.co.uk); smoky and very slightly spicy, with honeyed pear and fennel flavours; a wine for shellfish and fishy canapes.

South Africa, by contrast, wheels on the heavyweight scrum-row types, with full bodies, reinforced by oak. The signature white grape is chenin blanc and the barrel-fermented Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc Vineyard Selection Stellenbosch 2018 (£17.75 flagshipwines.co.uk), made from old bush vines in one of Stellenbosch’s most long-established vineyards has rich, honeyed, lightly tropical fruit flavours and a dry, long finish. A real food wine – particularly with lighter pork dishes, smoked haddock fish pie or anything with aioli. There is also a lot of sauvignon blanc grown in South Africa, often blended, as in Bordeaux, with Semillon. The Bizoe ‘Henrietta’ Rikus Neethling, Franschhoek 2016 (£22.95 davywine.co.uk), is aged in oak and bursting with tropical-fruit character with some brioche-style notes and a long finish. A real mouth-filling wine for big fish dishes. Two very different styles of play, but honours even...

When it comes to reds, South Africa has long been split between the kind of powerful front-row reds found in cabernet sauvignon-heavy bordeaux-style blends, and its own hybrid of pinotage, with its vegetal, coffee and spice flavours; a real Marmite love-it-or-loathe-it wine. The most approachable pinotage I’ve had for a long while is the Devil’s Peak Limited Edition Pinotage 2018 (£9.99 virginwines.co.uk), light on its feet and full of velvety dark fruits and an edge of spice; in rugby terms, this is very unlike the normal forward-power style, more of a nimble scrum half. When it comes to bordeaux-style blends, there are lots of big hitters out there, but I’m going to recommend a wine from the relatively new Cape Town designation, an excellent Aldi bargain that would make a good Christmas all-purpose playmaker wine: the Diemersdal Cape Town Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2018 (£7.99 aldi.co.uk); juicy dark fruits and some complexity, ideal for all roast meats and pasta with robust sauces but also perfectly suited for the scrum of parties.

England cannot really compete at this level in red wines, but where we do really score is in upmarket rose sparkling, so as a late substitute, I’d like to bring on a newish English rose, the Oastbrook Sparkling Rose 2014 (£36.50 hawkinsbros.co.uk; £38.50 oastbrook.com), made from a blend of pinot noir and the French grape auxerrois (used to make cremant in some regions) under the supervision of winemaker Dermot Segrue, who has been instrumental in creating a number of great English sparkling wines. The result is precise cherry and blackberry flavours and a true expression of English summer flavours, ideal for seafood, canapes or just a glamous aperitif. And it’s a last-minute drop goal winner for me.

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