Wine in a paper bottle – whatever next!

Drinks blogger James Robertson reviews Laithwaites’ Bacchus wine in a paper bottle.

WINE retailer Laithwaites has recently launched the Redbrook Estate Bacchus 2021 in a wonderfully eye-catching paper bottle. As many drinks producers have found out this year, glass is at a premium but, for winemaker Neil Walker, the self-penned “chief troublemaker and wine revolutionist”, this is not a problem. He has decided to put the Bacchus 2021 into what can only be described as a mini bag-in-box, which is covered by a paper bottle, 84% of which is recycled. The carbon footprint of the bottle is six times lower than glass.

However, that’s all very well, but what is the wine like inside? Bacchus is a grape variety that has had its critics in the past. It is a variety created in the 1930s, being a cross between Sylvaner and Riesling with Muller-Thurgau, but now – with modern winemaking techniques and a better understanding of its characteristics – it has become much praised.

With some of the grapes coming from one of East Anglia’s oldest vineyards, the Redbrook Estate Bacchus 2021 has a lovely floral, lemon, and grapefruit citrus note, with crisp acidity and some grassy overtones, with a long finish. If you like Sauvignon Blanc this is well worth a try.

£18.99 per bottle. Available from www.laithwaites.co.uk

Read more of James’s articles on The Grape & The Grain drinks blog, and check out Woodwinters’ previous wine in a paper bottle.