English white wines are notoriously - some would say ridiculously - expensive. To pay the price of a classic Meursault for something with a pleasantly pastoral but by no means famous name is an act of patriotism into which few people are surely tempted.
Yet there is no doubt that English wines can be good and are getting better. But how much to a supermarket shopper are they actually worth?
It is Waitrose, as so often, which at the moment is putting them, and us, to the test. The 2013 Flint Dry Chapel Down, reduced from £9.99 to £7.99, is not only well priced but extremely attractive. Its name, admittedly, could be that of a cheap English cheese. But “flint dry” is an eye-catching description and, more than that, it is apt.
As a Kentish wine, produced from chardonnay and three other grapes, its predominant taste is predictably apple-like, but flintiness is a captivating presence, lightly mineral with a hint of stone. At 11 per cent proof the wine is certainly light - this is not at all an aggressive Kiwi sauvignon blanc - but it is a delicate aperitif and, I would say, a good match for shellfish.
If Waitrose can keep the price down, I shall be buying it again.
30 March 2015
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