Featured Press
Reviews: ‘Star 69’ Chardonnay 2022
“Very refined and pure. Good concentration and intensity, really delicious, a lovely expression of Essex Chardonnay.”
- Jamie Goode
“A really, really great wine.”
- Brad Horne
“Think Domaine Dujac in its youth, the purity and precision of this wine is just outstanding - a wine to age.”
- Roger Jones
“Absolutely delicious.”
- Helen McGinn
Reviews: ‘A Handful of Dust’ Pinot Noir 2022
“Really nice nose; sappy cherry fruit and a bit of strawberry. Really nice aromatics. Silky, fine, soft tannins, beautiful strawberry and cherry fruit, just so layered and textural, it's a really lovely wine. A fine, textural expression of Pinot Noir.”
- Jamie Goode
“Pretty in the glass, and on the nose there’s crunchy red fruits. That’s lovely - there’s a texture and a weight and a richness to the fruit. A lot of length, lovely acidity, a really really smart wine. I love what Chris has done here… a really wonderful expression of Pinot Noir, really great job.”
- Brad Horne
Reviews: ‘Rage Against the Dying of the Light’ Rosé 2022
“A stunning rosé with herby, elderflower notes alongside bright red cherry and strawberry fruit, and a touch of warm spice.”
- Kate Hawkings, Olive Magazine
“A vibrant nose of juicy strawberry, pear drop, watermelon and hints of floral and spice. Similarly diverse on the palate, this leads with a fusion of ripe strawberry, lime and fleshy melon. There’s a richness to the red fruit here, which contrasts with the zesty, grassy and floral character of Bacchus. While fruit-forward, this has got a certain structure and complexity that continues to make it stand out.”
- John Mobbs, Great British Wine
“Wonderful aromas combining the terpenic and elderflower notes of Bacchus with some sappy red cherry notes. The palate is intense with keen acidity as well as crunchy strawberry and raspberry notes, as well as hints of fennel and wood spice, as well as marzipan. There’s a bit of pithiness here. So distinctive and gastronomic, with many layers of flavour – it’s hard to characterize, but it’s quite brilliant.”
- Jamie Goode
“Wilson has managed to avoid the vegetal notes commonly found in bacchus and combined with pinot noir it’s redolent of pink grapefruit combined with red cherries. It looks as good as it tastes too, a beautiful raspberry colour. I love that it’s not trying to copy the style of wines from warmer climates. I drank it over two days and by the last glass it had gained weight and complexity. It’s about the same price as Miraval, and I know which ones I’d rather drink. Highly recommended.”
- Henry Jeffreys
“Vivid cherry pink, with full-blown red-fruit aromas. On the palate, powerful fruit: red cherries, cranberries, pomegranates and grenadine, with pippy, pithy phenolics and vibrantly acidic pomegranate molasses. Good concentration and extraction here, mellowing as it opens in the glass to reveal gentle spice and more depth of dark fruit. The finish is long and saline, with more pomegranate freshness.”
- Elizabeth Gabay MW, Club O Rosé Report 2023
'Strange News From Another Star' Bacchus 2021: What The Critics Are Saying
“Really beautiful nose. Wild apples and apple blossom. Extraordinarily lush fruit - mango ripeness. Amazing ripeness for wine from the cold, wet vintage of 2021. And amazing depth of fruit at just 11% alcohol. Electric-guitar acidity. Reverberating. This has startling length and purity. Absolutely beautiful. Silvery and gold and gleaming. Beaming. I'm beaming. Bacchus usually makes me wince, but here I am beaming.”
— Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com
“Lovely fruit here: ripe pear and table grape flavours with texture and depth, covering the considerable acidity. Real intensity of flavour here with a broad spectrum of flavours. Impressive especially considering the tricky vintage. Nice finish.” 91/100
— Jamie Goode, WineAnorak
“Grassy green peas and jasmine perfume jump right out from the glass, with lime and flinty nectarine to follow. Aged in old oak, it's saline and crisp on the palate, with razor-sharp green apple acidity and lime zest, leading to minty umami notes on the finish. A clean and refreshing expression of the variety.” 92/100
— Decanter Magazine
'Daylight Upon Magic' Chardonnay 2020: What The Critics Are Saying
"It’s a total peach. Literally, ripe peach fruit flavours along with a trace of toasty oak made from Essex-grown grapes."
— Helen McGinn
"Another delightfully distinctive and textural release from Cambridge’s urban winery. A spicy but punchy Chardonnay that brings a lot to the party."
— John Mobbs, Great British Wine
"Gutter & Stars’ wonderful new Chard sets the bar very high."
— Kate Hawkins
"This is very fresh, fine and fruity with nice grapey richness. Has lovely pear fruit with some juicy lemony notes. Very pure and balanced."
— Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak
"This profound Chablis-like Chardonnay has the precision to go with the Pembroke lobster. This is an exceptional wine."
— Roger Jones, Club O
"This Essex Chardonnay is bloody fantastic. It tastes like something lean and chiselled from Margaret River. Perhaps the best English Chardonnay I’ve ever had."
— Henry Jeffreys
'Hope is a Good Swimmer' Pinot Noir 2020: What The Critics Are Saying
"This was SO worth waiting for. A really wonderful example of Pinot Noir... bursting with crunchy cranberry/redcurrant/raspberry fruit, it was ace. Gutter & Stars should be on every wine lover's radar."
— Kate Hawkings
"Really was delicious. Mouthwateringly crunchy and fresh."
— Fiona Beckett
"It’s a diamond! So delicate yet so full of verve."
— Anne Krebiehl MW
"This is a joy. Juicy, peppery, squishy raspberry style that feels alive and pure with a blackberry/woodland wild side and a vivid fruit quality. Slightly naturalistic, some whole bunch character working really nicely with snappy pomegranate syrup and tucked-in acids. There’s nothing else quite like this at the moment." - 91 points
— Tom Hewson, TimAtkin.com England 2021 Special Report
2020: Lockdown stories – view from the vines
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'I Wanna Be Adored' Bacchus 2020: What The Critics Are Saying
"If there is a better Bacchus made in the UK we have yet to try it... this is a wine with attitude and a point to prove."
— Peter Dean, The Buyer
"This wine makes an immediate impression! The palate is bright and intense with bags of lime and punchy pink grapefruit. Grippy finish, with mineral notes too."
— John Mobbs, Great British Wine
"A BANGING debut Bacchus. A rockstar summer white grown in Essex vineyards & made in a windmill basement."
— Peter Richards MW
"A very fresh but refined expression of Bacchus, with a long, expanding lemony finish. A great debut from an urban winery."
— Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak
"Just stunning. Citrus and fresh, lime marmalade, floral, ripe Pear William, juicy, chalky. 'I Wanna Be Adored', yes please."
— Roger Jones
"Bloody delicious."
— Justin Howard-Sneyd MW
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