2018 Blackbook, Pygmalion chardonnay, England
£25, blackbookwinery.com The Battersea-based Blackbook “urban winery” is run by the mercurially talented husband and wife team Sergio and Lynsey Verrillo. I popped into their brilliant set-up, based in an old British Rail arch not far from Battersea Park, the other day and found no less than four wines which I wanted to alert you to immediately. These wines will recalibrate your palates for what we all hope will be a far happier year next year.
Pygmalion is sourced from the Greyfriars Vineyard in the North Downs of the Surrey hills. The grapes are whole-bunch pressed into Burgundy barrels where they undergo natural fermentation using indigenous yeast. The wine then stays in these barrels for a further 20 months and the results are nothing short of sublime. The 2018 was a relatively warm vintage so there is extraordinary flavour and also finesse here. Sergio is a master at barrel selection and so the balance and class are unmistaka