English & Welsh still wines: Panel tasting results

Susie Barrie MW, Matthew Horsley and Stephen Skelton MW tasted 64 wines, with 1 Outstanding and 29 Highly Recommended.

English & Welsh still wines: Panel tasting scores

64 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 1

Highly recommended 29

Recommended 26

Commended 4

Fair 3

Poor 1

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release, dry, still wines from England and Wales, single varietals or blends in white, rosé, orange or red styles

The mere fact that Decanter held its first ever UK still wine panel tasting this summer is testament to just how seriously these wines are now being taken. Admittedly, compared to the the country’s sparkling wine offering, it’s a young category. But based on this and other very recent tastings, it’s an exciting and ambitious one.

Although the judges had high expectations that weren’t always fulfilled, the characterful nature of so many of the wines we tasted and the sheer diversity of styles was hugely encouraging. The fact that our scores were often quite different, and that there was considerable debate between us about several of the wines, was usually more to do with the innovative spirit of the winemakers and their willingness to push boundaries than anything to do with inherent quality.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the English & Welsh still wines panel tasting

Chardonnay leads the way

Chardonnay unsurprisingly led the charge, and Matthew Horsley felt there were some ‘particular standouts among the Chardonnays’; it as a ‘key grape’ for UK still wines going forward, he noted. The only wine we rated Outstanding was Chapel Down’s consistently impressive Kit’s Coty Chardonnay while all but two of the varietal Chardonnays in the line-up were Highly recommended (90-94 points).

Although we all appreciated the quality of the more expensively oaked examples, from a commercial standpoint both Horsley and Stephen Skelton MW said they’d like to see more unoaked, moderately priced, Chablis-style wines being made to sit alongside the pricier ones.

Bacchus, Pinot Gris and Ortega were other white varieties that impressed. The issue of whether Bacchus should be oaked or not divided us, with Skelton saying ‘I don’t really like oak on fruity varieties, by and large’, though we all agreed Bacchus can and should be made in a variety of styles. With their relatively low yields and lowish acidity, as well as their versatility in terms of winemaking, both Pinot Gris and Ortega showed well in this tasting and ought to be important varieties as winemaking in the UK progresses.

The reds were dominated by Pinot Noir, and although at times more obvious Pinot Noir character was needed – and, in some cases, less oak – the best had wonderful drinkability and a fresh, English sappiness.

See all the wines from the English & Welsh still wines panel tasting

Innovative styles

In the spirit of innovation, we had five orange wines in the line-up (two scoring 90-91pts), all from different varieties and each with its own character. As Horsley said, they are ‘definitely not everybody’s cup of tea’, but of course that’s not the point of orange wine, and the textural intensity and harmony in the higher-scoring wines were terrific.

The majority of the wines we tasted were from the very good 2022 vintage and it will be interesting to see what the much larger, higher-yielding 2023 brings to the still wine party. Nothing in the tasting was under £15 a bottle and a handful were over £30. But when you consider that these are almost exclusively handcrafted wines, with personality and flair to boot, I’d say that’s a very fair price to pay for such a treasure trove of discovery.

English & Welsh still wines panel tasting scores

Wines were tasted blind

The judges

Susie Barrie MW is a widely recognised wine writer, broadcaster and consultant. Her book titles include The Essential Guide to English Wine (IW&FS, 2018), and she is co-host of the award-winning Wine Blast podcast

Matthew Horsley is a wine buyer for The Wine Society, responsible for England, South Africa and Greece, and a DWWA judge for the UK. He joined the Society in 2012 after graduating university and has been part of the buying department since 2017

Stephen Skelton MW is a leading consultant to wine producers across the UK, helping to set up and maintain many vineyards. An educator and awarded author, his titles include Viticulture (£27.50, 2nd edition 2020), a core text aimed at higher-level wine students, and The Wines of Great Britain (£35 Académie du Vin Library, 2019)

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