'Oaken Grove' was started in 1986 by the Rossi family. At that time there was a snailery on the property. Now it's all Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Madeleine Angevine and Bacchus.
Over the years Phil Rossi has enlarged the vineyard and wine has been made to ever higher standards ending up with sales to Waitrose who described Oaken Grove white wine as one of England's most loved.
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| Phil himself |
Phil is a popular member of the community at Fawley. The vineyard provides one of the centres for villagers and others to get together for the Jazz concerts that Phil promotes or to watch football championships on the wide screen. Delicious food is also served.
Our experimental vineyard is nearby and Phil has been a source of kind advice and collaboration over the years, on one occasion allowing us to take his stock of old rabbit guards for our use.
So on one of his open days we dropped in to say hello and bought a bottle of his Pinot Noir Reserve. This is made only in exceptional years. Vinification and bottling is by Litmus Wines, associates of Denbies in Surrey.
Wow! This was really good. Probably the best English Pinot Noir we have tasted so far. Competition is stiff though. Recent examples from Bride Valley, Furleigh, Simpsons have all come close. In the past, other UK Pinot Noirs have tended towards the watery or acidic. None has been cheap.
Could we be getting better at Pinot Noir?
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