Nyetimber Releases New Cuvee Vintage just in time for Summer

With Summer now in full swing here in Scotland, there is nothing more lovely than an outdoor picnic.  As much as castle ruins and beautiful parks appeal, the beach (if you don’t mind a bit of sand between your toes) is such a calm and happy place to indulge in a baguette or two.  As kids and dogs frolic in the icy North Sea (albeit with a wettie on) others sit back and admire the blue sky, picnics at their sides.

This weekend I headed to the beach with friends for an afternoon picnic and took along a bottle of Nyetimber‘s latest Cuvee Vintage with me.  Being an advocate of homegrown local produce, it’s lovely to share time with friends and indulge in a little of what surrounds us.  English based Nyetimber grow their own grapes on their vineyards in West Sussex and Hampshire.  Having lived in New Zealand where the wine is of exceptional quality, it is common practise for wineries to buy in grapes from local growers.  Nyetimber however, have full control over their wine making process by growing and making their wines.  Each grape bundle being treated uniquely from picking, to gentle pressing, to vinification in separate tanks.

Nyetimber’s latest release was a 2010 Vintage Classic Cuvee.  Made with a blend of 51% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay, 13% Pinot Meunier, the vintage offers a distinct expression of the 2010 harvest in the signature house style.

 

So what makes a Vintage Wine?

Simply put, it’s a wine which has been made from grapes from a certain year.  Sparkling and Champagne wines tend to be made with grapes from different vintages (years) with the aim of creating a consistent ‘house style’.

So the bottle I brought along to the beach was made from a blend of grapes from entirely the same year, 2010 in this case.

 

“Temperatures in the early part of the 2010 growing season were slightly lower than average, but that coincided with much drier weather as well. Flowering proceeded in excellent conditions in late June and early July with hot and dry weather producing a large, even crop. A slow, gradual ripening of the fruit has produced a fine, elegant wine with a great combination of intensity, delicacy and length. It’s a wine that we’re all very proud of.”

 

Cherie Spriggs, Nyetimber’s Head Winemaker.

 

 

The 2010 Classic Cuvee is a beautiful wine to sip on during a hot day.  It has delicate fine bubbles, is pale in colour (the result of more than three years on the lees in the cellar) and I got notes of apple and honey coming through.  Perfect for any occasion big or small and just delicious with a pile of local strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Photography | Laura Thomas)

Thank you Nyetimber for generously sending me a bottle of your latest release.  Laura x

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