Davids's Drink Diaries - Issue 30

Autumn has arrived with that familiar mix of darker evenings and the cold setting in this week. The past few weeks have delivered plenty worth talking about. England continues to set its own pace, from West Sussex to Kent, with new releases that feel increasingly confident in their identity. Weyborne Estate’s Oriana Golden Spur shows just how far the South Downs has come, while Silverhand is quietly proving that sustainability and ambition can sit comfortably at the top end of the market.

Meanwhile, in the world of whisky, patience and personality take centre stage. The Dalmore leans into time and texture with its new Red Wine Cask Edition, Cask Trade teams up with Si King for a project full of generosity and charm, and Glengoyne returns with a release rooted in conservation as much as craft.

Georges Dubeouf Beaujolais

I joined a group of writers at Café François in London for an early tasting of the Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2025, a relaxed and enjoyable lunch that offered a reminder of why this annual release remains such a fixture. The old stories surfaced quickly from the race to bring the wine back to England on the third Thursday of November, Stirling Moss among those involved, and even an RAF dash recounted by a colleague. The tradition may have softened over time, but the sense of anticipation remains part of the wine’s identity.

Duboeuf himself was central to building that legacy. Born into a family of growers and established in Romanèche Thorins from 1964, he transformed a regional novelty into a global celebration. Today the estate works with more than 300 growers and exports to nearly 120 countries.

The 2025 label features artwork by Jean Philippe Delhomme, whose pared back still life of bottle, glass and vase sits against a deep wine toned background. It is restrained, contemporary and a subtle nod to the famous proclamation: “Le Beaujolais nouveau Georges Duboeuf est arrivé.”

As for the wine, it is as bright and immediate as Beaujolais Nouveau should be. Carbonic maceration preserves its freshness, and the 2025 vintage shows vivid red cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry, with a supple palate and a clean finish. It captures exactly what this style aims to offer each year: a snapshot of the harvest delivered with clarity and charm.

The Weyborne Estate – Oriana Golden Spur

West Sussex’s Weyborne Estate has released its third sparkling wine, Oriana Golden Spur, following the award-winning success of Oriana 2019, which picked up an IWSC Trophy, three Golds and two Silvers along the way.

The new release is a pre-release of the 2022 vintage, which already shows surprising maturity despite just two years on lees. Winemaker Benjamin Abric describes 2022 as “a spectacular year” for the estate. It was one of the hottest and driest summers in memory, producing clean, expressive fruit and generous yields – perfect for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The blend is 53% Pinot Noir, 46% Chardonnay and 1% Pinot Meunier, drawn from a patchwork of vineyards across Weyborne’s hillside estate, from the one-acre Diddy Field at 190 metres, planted in 2007, to the lower slopes established a decade later.

French viticulturalist Abric is clear about his ambitions: “We want to be world class.” That goal is shared by owner Nick Clarke, a geologist and entrepreneur who bought the historic Blackdown Park estate in 2010. Dating back to 1640, the property now holds 25 acres of vines spread over five plots, their south-facing slopes capturing the best of the South Downs’ sunlight. The combination of sand, clay, flint and chalk gives Weyborne’s wines their distinctive tension and depth.

Oriana Golden Spur (£45) is now available via weyborne.com. If the early signs are anything to go by, this may be another medal magnet for one of the South Downs’ rising stars.

Silverhand Estate – Leading England’s Green Revolution

Tucked away in the rolling Kent countryside, Silverhand Estate is quietly redefining what English wine can be. It’s the UK’s largest organic vineyard, and the first to be independently verified as carbon-negative without offsets.

The estate’s philosophy, “Drink English, Drink Local, Drink Sustainable,” is the blueprint for everything they do. Stretching across more than 900 acres in the North Kent Downs, the vineyards rest on chalk and flint soils that mirror those of Champagne. 

Livestock graze between the rows, wildflowers flourish, and chemicals are absent. The team’s approach to organic viticulture is meticulous, combining old-fashioned care with modern science to improve biodiversity and soil vitality. Their commitment has earned recognition beyond wine: Silverhand now forms part of the North Kent Woods and Downs National Nature Reserve, the first in the country to include a working vineyard.

At the heart of it all lies a mission to make English sparkling wine both sustainable and accessible. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier are the core varieties, producing wines that are crisp, elegant and expressive of their landscape. They also produce a Charmat in both white and rosé versions, providing a classy alternative to Prosecco. 

The 2018 Blanc de Blanc from Silverhand Estate is exceptional and has been widely praised for its precision and poise. I unfortunately missed the chance to taste their flagship wine, Kyng, at a recent tasting at Fulham Football Club. Retailing at £245 a bottle, it sits at the very top end of the market, inviting the inevitable comparison with prestige cuvées like Dom Pérignon. I’m curious to see how it measures up, and whether England’s finest can truly rival Champagne at that level.

The Dalmore Red Wine Cask Edition – A Study in Time and Texture

The Dalmore’s latest release, Red Wine Cask Edition, marks the third chapter in the distillery’s Cask Curation Series. Created in partnership with Château Mont-Redon in France’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The collection presents a trio of rare single malts aged 24, 34 and 43 years each finished in the same vintage red wine casks.

It’s an exploration of maturity and patience: three whiskies that began with shared origins yet diverged across decades, only to be reunited through the character of these French oak casks. 

Only 150 full sets will be released worldwide, each presented in a lapis-blue leather case made by AB Florence, the Italian atelier known for its precision luggage. The design draws inspiration from the sun-warmed vines of Mont-Redon and the classical refinement of French craftsmanship, combining both whisky tradition and artistry.

It is priced at £36,100 / $44,450

Cask & Crust – Si King’s Whisky and Pie Collaboration.

Every so often, a whisky release comes along that’s about more than flavour. Cask & Crust, the new collaboration between cask whisky specialist Cask Trade and TV cook and all-round northern legend Si King  is one of those. 

Together with the team at Cask Trade, Si has hand-picked three single malts that reflect his taste and love of Scotch: Benrinnes 2013 (11 years), Pulteney 2013 (11 years) and Ben Nevis 2010 (15 years). Each is bottled at 46% ABV and released in 50cl bottles. They are priced between £39.99 and £59.99 with profits going directly to the Newcastle and Sunderland food banks. I have personally purchased all 3 as they are outstanding. 

Si describes whisky as “a remarkable spirit full of character, variety and tradition,” and says this collaboration brings together his passions for food, whisky and doing good. True to form, he has gone one step further by creating three new PROPA! Pie recipes inspired by the whiskies: Steak, Whisky and Green Peppercorn, Chicken, Haggis and Whisky Cured Bacon, and Wild Mushroom, Blue Cheese, Onion and Whisky Gravy. I had the pleasure of tasting all three with Si and Colin recently, and they were, quite simply, the best pies I have ever had. Si is every bit as charismatic as you would expect and excellent company. We shared plenty of laughs, and I am still hoping he will one day take me up on my idea of a breakfast dram with black pudding, on a morning when he is not driving or riding, of course

Cask Trade’s Colin Hampden-White, a Keeper of the Quaich, says working with Si on this project was a joy. “We were able to tailor every element of the journey to honour Si’s commitment to local talent and business. The experience was truly rewarding, and I hope people take as much delight in the end-product as we did making it.”

Available now via Cask Trade’s online shop.  Three whiskies. Three pies. One project with real soul.

Glengoyne Wetlands Single Cask Release

Glengoyne has long been known for taking its time. The distillery famously produces its whisky at the slowest still run in Scotland, and its commitment to patience now extends to the natural world too. As the first Scotch distillery to create its own dedicated wetlands for water treatment, Glengoyne has deepened its relationship with the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) through the release of a new charity bottling, The Glengoyne Wetlands Single Cask Release.

This limited edition of just 500 bottles, drawn from a refill sherry butt filled on 8 June 2009, captures both the spirit and the philosophy of Glengoyne. Bottled at a robust 61.1%, it balances power with finesse, mirroring the harmony of the distillery’s Highland setting and its thriving wetlands. The choice of a refill cask is deliberate and a nod to the brand’s sustainability ethos, extending the life of oak while maintaining the elegant, unhurried style that defines Glengoyne whisky.

Each bottle, priced at £190, features artwork by Elin Manon, whose detailed illustration weaves together the distillery, its surrounding wetlands, and the wild geese that inspired the name “Glen Guin” (valley of the geese). For every bottle sold, a donation will be made to the WWT to support ongoing conservation work, including projects such as the Blue Recovery Fund and the Wetlands Can! Campaign, which aims to create 100,000 hectares of new wetlands across the UK.

This latest release follows the original 2021 Wetlands bottling, which celebrated a decade since the creation of the distillery’s pioneering wetlands. Since then, the partnership has flourished, helping fund habitat restoration, educational initiatives, and even the rebuilding of a bird hide now known as The Glengoyne Hide.

Katie Burns from Glengoyne sums it up neatly: “Our partnership with the WWT has a natural synergy. After twelve years, we’re proud to continue supporting the environments that allow the geese, and so much else, to thrive.”

The Glengoyne Wetlands Single Cask Release is available from now at the distillery, via Glengoyne.com, selected WWT sites, and through shop.wwt.org.uk.