A couple of whites

Whilst in London I managed to try a couple of wines, at two locations, and of the six or seven I tried, the following two were real standouts.

Alban Vineyards Roussanne '09. Calistoga, California (Hedonism Wines)
Alban pride themselves on being one of the first (if not the first) Rhone varietal specialists in California, shunning the well trodden Cabernet Sauvignon route. Their wines are always really well made and subsequently carry decent price tags!
This wine has a deliciously rich, cakey nose, full of spice and ginger. With loads of tropical fruits too, grapefruit, pineapple, and some floral qualities. There is oak, but it feels relatively restrained, adding a slightly warming caramel note, which follows through onto the palate. More of the same tropical fruit, and then a great flash of acidity stops the oak from becoming too much. A really nice wine.

Gusbourne Estates, 'Guinevere'. Oaked Chardonnay 2010, Appledore, Kent. (Wine Pantry)
The few hours spent in London really took it out of me, somehow my phone had drained its battery leaving me no way of arranging meetups once in Brighton. So, returning to St Pancras for my connection, stressed, tired and cut off from the rest of the world, I came across 'The Wine Pantry'. A little bar and shop specializing in nothing but English wine. Once sat down with my phone being revived, I regrouped with a glass of this wine.
A massive nose, full of fresh basil and menthol aromas, piles of citrus and oak too. There are elements of cream and even some coconut? Trademark tropical fruit too, more than I expected for a Chardonnay from somewhere as Northern as England.
The palate has loads of acidity, making it hugely refreshing. It needed this acidity though, as those oaky, creamy notes from the nose roll over onto the palate and need cutting through. More menthol and some butterscotch comes through alongside some pineapple flavours. This wine was such a surprise, add in the time, place and level of relief I had gained, it was spot on!