Welsh Pinot Noir Tasting

For #WelshWineNight I decided to do a side by side tasting of two Pinot Noirs - both from 2018, both from Monmouthshire, in the South East corner of Wales, but from two different vineyards: White Castle and Ancre Hill.

I'd ordered three wines from Fine Wines Cardiff, including the sparkling rosé from Ancre Hill.

White Castle Pinot Noir Précoce 2018 was the brighter coloured of the two, a sort of dark cherry red. Inititally cherries and blackcurrants on the noise. Fresh, bright palate, a pleasing splash of juicy acidity. Bouncy sort of mouthfeel, very pleasant and easy drinking. Does seemed to have gained a bit more body since I first tried this, May last year, but still youthful and fun.

Précoce is a variant of Pinot Noir which ripens slightly earlier, making it useful in marginal climates like the UK - a reduced risk of frosts and pests at the end of the growing season. The name has the same root as the word "precocious", and means early in French - similarly in Germany, where this is a popular grape, this is called Frühburgunder ("früh" meaning early) by contrast with the name for regular Pinot Noir - Spätburgunder ("spät" meaning late). White Castle use this for both of their Pinot Noir based still reds - currently available are their Pinot Noir Reserve 2017 alongside the wine I tasted this evening. The reserve is aged longer and aged in oak barrels. Whereas the Pinot Noir Précoce 2018 is a fresher, lighter style without oak aging.

2018 was generally considered a landmark vintage across most of the UK. Interestingly I heard from at least one other Monmouthshire vineyard that although it was definitely a good year for them, it wasn't the best yield they'd ever had. Was that just a mesoclimate issue or were there were broader macroclimate distinctions between Wales and England in 2018?

One of the downsides of Précoce can be lower acidity and therefore reduced aging potential. However I'm convinced this has improved in the (almost a) year between my two tastings of it, and there seems to be a decent amount of acidity so perhaps it will improve further.

On to the second wine: Ancre Hill Pinot Noir 2018, more translucent and darker in colour, presumably in part because they don't fine or filter. Less fruit immediately on the nose, almost a little closed to begin with, and somehow the sense of being an older wine than the first. On the palate a more meaty / savoury profile with a slighty chewy texture. Once allowed to open up a bit some Maraschino cherries emerge, and some of those backgound herbal notes start to come to the fore on the nose - a hint of menthol first, then those old fashioned cough sweets (Jakeman's?) that I found in the 2014 reappear... but there is a mellowness to the nose and none of these hints overpower. On second tasting some liquorice crept onto the palate. Tannins quite evident, presumably from the whole bunch maceration.

Ancre Hill is a biodynamic estate, and all of their still wines are fermented using naturally occurring yeasts (only introducing commercial yeasts for the second fermentation of their sparkling wines). A lot of their wines consequently tend to be a bit lower ABV (this is 10%, for comparison the White Castle is 11.5%), and there are often background notes of wild yeast character - possibly hints of Brettanomyces -  but in a positive way. I think those menthol / medicinal / liquorice notes are probably down to wild yeast influence, although the owners attribute this to the herbal teas used in place of conventional sprays as part of the biodynamic viticulture process.

In conclusion, two very different wines - the same year, the same variety (more or less), and vineyards only 10 miles apart, but two completely different styles. The White Castle is fresh, bright and very fruit forward. A summer wine perhaps? The Ancre Hill is moody, nuanced and complex - more of a pensive, wintery sort of wine.

 As an addendum, what of Ancre Hill's 2013 sparkling rosé? I tried this the following day and it was a delight - delicate, elegant pinot character on the nose and just a background hint of wild yeast intrigue. Lovely gentle acidity and minerality.