Bosue Vineyard 'Cellar Blend' 2008

St Ewe, Cornwall, £10.50, cork seal

A week in Cornwall and it's time to try a local wine. The Bosue Vineyard lies in the little village of St Ewe, a couple of miles inland from the south coast fishing port of Mevagissey. It's made from a blend of Seyval Blanc, Ortega and Kernling

The label claims this has a 'rose blush', but no it's golden yellow in colour and looks pretty much like a white wine to me. On the nose there's not much to sniff at, though the hints of stone fruit and citrus are pleasant enough. Again the palate is light and lacking punch with peach being the main flavour accompanied by a hint of lemon in the background. This is off dry and benefits the initial touch of sweetness that adds a little weight to what's a pretty thin palate. Bosue Vineyard 'Cellar Blend' 2008 is pleasant enough, but really does lack intensity and interest.

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Chapel Down 'English Rose' Brut

Tenterden, Kent, £19.99, cork

When my mother's in town I normally rustle up a bottle of Champagne, but as she's an English Woman so I thought this might be an even better. English wines are gaining a bit of creditability and sparkling wine is at the forefront. Chapel Down from Kent is one of the leaders in this emerging industry. Strangely their extensive website fails to give any details of their wines, but I think this is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes. The bottle does tell me the grapes have been hand-picked in Kent, Sussex and Essex and it's made using traditionally bottle fermentation.
Pale salmon pink in colour with super fine bubbles; it's a pretty start. The nose smells delicious with a big wallop of raspberries, hints of tangerine and bath salts. The palate's fine, dry and linear; it's a pretty sleek operation. I taste plenty of sweet red summer berries as well as a hint of grapefruit. We polished off the bottle before dinner, but I'd be interested to see how this wine went with food as I was really impressed with its stylish structure - decent line and length is, after all, rather unusual for a Pom. Chapel Down 'English Rose' Brut really is a lovely wine. I too knew an English rose once (sigh) ...

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Ruan Ridge White Table Wine

Ruan Ridge White Table Wine NV
Lambourne, Cornwall, UK, £8.95, cork seal

Night three at Granny’s and to accompany our meal of local Cornish produce – beef, potatoes, greens, strawberries, raspberries and clotted cream – a Cornish wine. Ruan Ridge comes from the Lambourne Vineyard on the Roseland Peninsula near Cornwell's south coast. It is made from a relatively new grape variety called Orion.

The wine is a lovely pale gold colour. Ruan Ridge's has pleasant floral scents alongside aromas of melon, grapefruit and apple blossom. ‘Pleasant’ is again a useful word to describe the palate. There’s a slight sweetness present, but it’s well balanced by suitable melon and pineapple flavours and a touch of acidity. It would have been great to try this alongside some seafood; not a bad drop really.

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