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 I have to admit that sometimes I get things wrong.
I don't know if it is because Warden Abbey Vineyard is on my doorstep in Bedfordshire, so perhaps I took it for granted. Or possibly because as it was planted with germanic cross bred varietals back in 1986 (or perhaps I should say re-planted as it had been a vineyard planted by Cistercians up until the dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536), and I am a great lover of the riesling; I turn my nose up a bit at most of these clever hybrids and crossings. Or maybe because I was brought up when the dreadful Liebfraumilch was being shipped in vast quantities from Germany, made so often of these cross bred varietals, then left with a huge dollop of residual sugar to mask a multitude of at best dull flat boring tastes.
Perhaps I am just an appalling wine snob, or perhaps on my first tasting of these wines some time ago they were not as good as they are now.
Anyway, last week I met Sir Sam Whitbread, the owner of the estate on which Warden Abbey sits and whose wife Jane was instrumental in the project, and he encouraged me to come along to their Christmas fair and taste the recent vintages.
I was also keen to talk to Derek Smedley who as a fellow Master of Wine has advised the Whitbreads on the vineyard since it's inception twenty five years ago, and Sam said he would be there.
 I have to say from being the worst sceptic about English wine, I have now become a great fan. Sparkling wine was really what changed my view, particularly when I saw how good the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir based wines have turned out. The quality and I dare say price and therefore profitability of these sparklers has undoubtedly had an improving influence on the still wines. It is the case that with our duty and VAT, English still wines which need to be £7 plus a bottle to cover overheads, were not very profitable and they were difficult to sell against a multitude of good quality and often cheaper imports. If sparkling wine subsidises making better still wines, then so be it , good.
I have no reservations in saying I was impressed by the Warden Abbey wines; I tasted the whole range from the 2006 to the 2008 vintages. They were clean and well made, with pure natural fruit flavours, reasonable body, and good fresh acidity. They all had the green apple and grapefruit aromas one associates with English wines. For me the malic apple says cool climate England, and grapefruit says sylvaner (Warden Abbey has the Muller Thurgau a cross between riesling and sylvaner). I particularly liked the Abbott 2008 for its very bright acidity on the finish and clean purity, and I bought some. The sparkling wine from 2007 was also very good, with some minerality and good body, and I could see it would make a good party wine, and with it's Eton pale blue label I can see it catching on in all the right houses!
There is also a blend of all the grape varietals on the estate called Celebration, made just in 2006 to commemorate 20 years. It immediately grabbed me how fresh this was for a five year old wine, showing how well these wines can last, I would judge with a tad more residual sugar than the other wines and being a bit richer in flavours, I can see this being a wine with more general appeal than my rather purist approach, favouring purity and high acidity.
I know it has been hard work to get to this point for Warden Abbey, and it has probably cost a few bob also, but it is clearly worth it. The Whitbreads should be congratulated on their persistence. Bedfordshire folk should be proud of their local vineyard.
Quietly I would love to see a trial of a few pinot blanc, chardonnay and even pinot noir plants, just to see what turned out. I suppose it might be folly and a bit of an indulgence and my old MW friend Derek Smedley would say I was completely wrong to even think about it. I don't mind being proven wrong again and then nothing ventured…….!
Christopher Burr MW
December 2011
PS to read move about this vineyard and the delights of rural Bedfordshire see http://www.wardenwines.co.uk
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