County Business Clubs’ Wine of the Month June 2023
8th June 2023
Author EditorPosted on Categories Lifestyle
Robust yet refined ‘doubly special’ rose vintage.
For June, Michael Yeoman’s choice for Wine of the Month is the ‘excellent’ Digby Rose Vintage 2018.
Digby’s wines are made using grapes from vineyards across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset. Earlier this year, their NV (Non Vintage) Brut was chosen as one of the English sparkling wines to be served onboard British Airways flights. Digby Fine Wines is based in the lovely market town Arundel with the imposing Arundel Castle, their tasting rooms fit perfectly in this setting. Its high ceilings and traditional stately décor complement the knowledgeable Callum assisting in explaining the wines and background to Digby.
Winemaker’s tasting notes
Robust yet refined, this new edition of our Vintage Rosé is fresh and fruit-forward – a satisfying weight of flavour is held beautifully in balance. 2018 was an astounding year for English sparkling wine and it also gave us the first harvest from Digby’s Hilden Vineyard, in Kent, whose red fruit dominates the blend. Since Digby only declares a rosé vintage every four to five years, this one is doubly special.
Michael’s tasting notes
Having tasted Digby for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I was met with lots of fruit, strawberries followed by a lovely balanced hit of lemon citrus which reminded me of lemon sherbet. The citrus helps balance the initial red fruit hit and then follows with cranberry on the palate. The wine has balanced acidity leaving you wanting another glass of bubbles.
This wine has Pinot Noir (58%), Pinot Meunier (22%) and Chardonnay (20%) which provides the fruit. The wine has also benefited with four years on the lees which means the yeast from the initial fermentation has over time provided additional bakery notes to the wine. A small
portion of the wine is aged in oak casks, which helps provide complexity that is not available from wines fermented in steel tanks. With a higher fermentation temperature (this wine has undergone Malolactic fermentation) there is added creaminess to this wine. This wine will give many Rose Champagnes a run for their money, well worth trying.
Where to buy
This wine is widely available from Digby’s main shop at 55-57 High Street, Arundel, or can be purchased from their website
Written for County Business Club by Michael Yeoman, English Wine Specialist and producer of Spirit of the Downs, artisan award winning Sussex Brandies and Grape spirits.