Review: The Bottle Store Restaurant at Squerryes Winery

In the summer, on one of the hottest days of the year, I sat by the stream at the Squerryes Winery’s Kent estate and feasted on a picnic, looking out onto the lush vines. It was a pleasure to be invited to return at the weekend, on a misty afternoon, to visit the new Bottle Store restaurant.

Set next to the brewery, up a flight of stairs, the dining room is bright and spacious, and celebrates the old and the new coming together - a 300 year-old working estate with a modern winemaking business. Antique rugs and books share space with contemporary furniture and lighting, bringing warmth and charm to the setting. The focal point is the bottle-green tiled bar, featuring rows of wine bottles and glasses, glittering beneath the spotlights.

A table by the window offers a view out onto the vineyard, the vines looking decidedly trimmer this time, beneath moody skies. The atmosphere feels celebratory, as tables start filling up for lunchtime; friends coming in from the cold, cheeks warming, chatter rising cheerfully - and should it be anything but? The restaurant is a new venture in unpredictable times, a sign of hope that things will return to normal.

Squerryes Vintage Blanc de Blancs 2014

And, so, what could befit the occasion more than a bottle of Squerryes Vintage Blanc de Blancs 2014 - after all, the Squerryes family motto is: 'Licet Esse Beatis', meaning 'permitted to be joyful'. You said so - and, as the cork is uncaged and I hear the excited whisper of bubbles being set free, I am! Made with whole bunch pressed Chardonnay, handpicked from their vineyard high on the North Downs, the juice was then fermented in the Traditional Method and left to rest on the lees for five years. Estate owner, Henry Warde, judged it wholly worth the wait, announcing this was ‘the finest wine to leave the estate’!

The Blancs de Blancs, along with the rosé, is only produced in small amounts every year, and so it is only available to those with a Squerryes membership, making this experience all the more special. With its fine bubbles creating a luxurious texture on the palate, the purity of fruit conjures up an early-summer orchard of Granny Smith apples and green pears, while warm pastry notes and a hint of Chantilly cream tame its laser-like acidity. It’s easy to see how this wine demonstrates the best of the estate’s winemaking and terroir.

Beyond bubbles, the wine list is extensive and straddles the line between the traditional and the contemporary palate well; for every Sancerre and Chambertin, there is an Assyrtiko and an Etna Rosso. Designed by Master of Wine, Laura Evans, it also flies the flag for other English wines, such as the fantastic Gravel Castle Chardonnay from Simpsons and Gusbourne Pinot Noir.

>Read more about English wines here

Choosing what to eat is an equally dizzying task as there is so many mouthwatering plates to choose from. Seasonal dishes make up most of the menu, with locally sourced veg. I can’t resist the treat of a steak tartare made using grass-fed Ightham Aberdeen Angus fillet and a free-range quails egg. Its half-shell, the egg arrives on top of the steak, exquisitely balanced, as is the finely-mixed tartare itself. I also steal a bite of the twice baked cheese soufflé, made with Twineham Grange and rosary goat’s cheese, which is creamy, tangy and as light as air.

I effuse over the the foraged mushroom risotto with white truffle foam and how well it pairs with the Blanc de Blancs, while the rich fillet of beef and slow cooked ribs dish is a hearty match with a glass of Amauta ‘Corte IV’ Innovacion Cabernet Franc/Malbec from Argentina. It’s apples two-ways to finish - crumble with ice cream and, for me, tarte tatin with cream - accompanied by the Blanc de Blancs to the very last drop.

Fillet of beef

Whether it’s by the vines in the summer or overlooking them in the winter from the Bottle Store restaurant, Squerryes know how to put on a spread. Julia Child once said, ‘People who love to eat are the best people’ and this is certainly reflected in the feeling of joie de vivre in everything Squerryes presents.