Denbies Vineyard

Founded by Adrian White in 1986 on a large site that had previously belonged to the Cubitt family, this was for a long time the largest single vineyard operation in the UK. The estate comprises 246 hectares of land, of which 105 are planted to 20 different grape varieties. As one might expect for so large an enterprise starting from scratch, the estate has had somewhat of a chequered history, with many teething problems, such as frost issues and unsuitable varietals and a high turnover of winemakers. During the past decade, things have stabilised here and some very fine results are now being seen. Denbies has always excelled with Bacchus and this wine has been put together for us by Brendan Seal, erstwhile of Mount Edward in Central Otago. It is classic Bacchus, with grassy fruit flavours, yellow plums, white pepper, moderate alcohol and a crisp refreshing character.