Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
CORKING ENGLISH WINES
With English vineyards now making world class wine, our expert Matthew Jukes has compiled this two-part guide to their top bottles. And now’s the perfect time to visit them too...
When I was 18 we moved to Biddenden in Kent, and for the next year I spent my free time cycling around the countryside.
Even then, 30 years ago, there were masses of vineyards to be found and I made sure I tasted the wines that the cellar doors – shops where they sell their estate wine – were only too happy to pour for me. Little did I know I’d end up in the wine business and that the English wine scene would explode onto the world stage three decades later.
This coming of age of English wine prompted me to compile the first Daily Mail Collection of the best wines from our land. I tasted hundreds of bottles and I’m thrilled to say that no fewer than 47 estates get a mention in my two-part series, starting this week with those vineyards producing the finest white sparkling wines. Thanks to our cool climate and chalky soils, we excel at sparkling wine. Earlier this year, I took a few bottles over to Paris and ‘blind tasted’ them against top-flight Champagnes with some leading restaurateurs in France. Everyone agreed the English wines were superb and deserved their place alongside the great Champagne houses. All you have to do now is track down your favourites, spread the word and visit the vineyards. Some are tiny and open by appointment only, but one thing is certain – they’d all like to introduce you to their wines.
CAMEL VALLEY Bodmin, Cornwall. Cellar door, tours and tastings (camelvalley.com, tel 01208 77959)
STAR WINES: Your palate will be in orbit after tasting these epic creations from England’s finest wine estate. 2013 Cornwall Brut (£24.95) is the workhorse sparkler which never lets you down.
2014 Annie’s Anniversary (£26.95) gives you a good reason to visit this amazing winery, 2014 Blanc de
Blancs (£26.95) shows their talent with Chardonnay and 2013 Pinot Noir
Rosé (£26.95) does the same for their skill with Pinot Noir. Finally, 2014
Bacchus (£12.95) is the ultimate still wine to drink with oysters and clams.
BRIDE VALLEY Litton Cheney, Dorset. Visits by appointment, cellar door from October (bridevalley vineyard.com, tel 01308 482367)
STAR WINE: 2013 Blanc de
Blancs (£36). Made from 100 per cent Chardonnay and possessing brutally sharp acidity, this wine is made for the long run – if you buy it now, in a few years’ time you’ll be rewarded for your patience. LANGHAM Dorchester, Dorset. Cellar door, tours and tastings (langhamwine.co.uk, tel 01258 839095)
STAR WINE: 2011 Br ut Classic Cuvée Reserve (£28). By contrast to some of the more closed, tense styles of fizz, this 50 per cent Pinot Noir/50 per cent Chardonnay blend is open, lush, welcoming and absolutely stunning. Don’t delay – uncork a bottle today!
COATES & SEELY Whitchurch, Hampshire. Visits by appointment (coatesandseely.com, tel 01256 892220)
STAR WINE: 2009 La Perfide,
Blanc de Blancs (£ 49.95) is an example of a wine that is still tense and introverted, and this is rather unusual because it is one of the older wines in this line-up. I sense some serious compact citrus flavours here, which will unravel and mellow over a decade or more, making this one of the most cellar- friendly of all English sparklers.
DANEBURY Stockbridge, Hampshire. Not open to the public (danebury.com, tel 01264 781851) STAR WINES: 2010 Cossack
Brut (£25) is made from 95 per cent Auxerrois Blanc and 5 per cent Pinot Gris, and this unusual blend gives us a wine of real interest. I love the chalky, floral notes that also appear in the 2013 Reserve (£14), a still wine with lovely complexity, thanks to its Auxer rois Blanc, Madeleine Angevine, Schönburger and Pinot Gris components. HAMBLEDON VINEYARD Hambledon, Hampshire. Sales, tours and tastings (hambledonvineyard.co.uk, tel 02392 632358) STAR WINES: NV Classic Cuvée (£28.50) and the NV
Première Cuvée (£ 42.50) are two of the most impressive wines in the country. Epic balance and thrilling tension prick the senses, and the main difference between the two is one of richness and palate weight.
HATTINGLEY VALLEY Alresford, Hampshire. Cellar door, tours and tastings (hattingleyvalley.co.uk, tel 01256 389188)
STAR WINES: 2013 Classic
Cuvée (£29.95). Made by the talented Emma Rice, the three wines listed here are all incredible. The Classic Cuvée is one of the nation’s greatest wines and the 2013 Rosé (£ 34.95) and 2010 Blanc de Blancs (£34.95) shock with sublime flavours and incredible class. JENKYN PLACE Bentley, Hampshire. Visits by appointment (jenkynplace.com, tel 01420 481580) STAR WINE: 2010 Brut Cuvée (£28.50) is a 60 per cent Chardonnay, 32 per cent Pinot Noir and 8 per cent Pinot Meunier blend, and Jenkyn Place has kept the delicacy and beauty of this style of wine in check. This is very impressive winemaking indeed. ALDER RIDGE Hungerford, Berkshire. Sales, tours and tastings (www.alderridge.co.uk, tel 01488 686770) STAR WINE: 2013 Blanc de Noirs
(£ 27.99). Made in very small quantities from 100 per cent Pinot Noir, this sparkler is still a little on the youthful side and hard on the finish, but the nose displays delightful red fruit and rosehip notes and it is certain to mellow beautifully during the next two or three years.
GREYFRIARS Puttenham, Surrey. Cellar door, tours and tastings (greyfriarsvine yard.co.uk, tel 01483 813712)
STAR WINES: This is a new estate for me, and the 2013
Blanc de Blancs (£21) made from 100 per cent Chardonnay and the 2013 Classic
Cuvée (£21) made from the traditional blend of 46 per cent Chardonnay, 36 per cent Pinot Noir and 18 per cent Pinot Meunier impressed me mightily. I was also delighted to taste the 2014 Pinot Gris (£15), a long, lithe, cultured and elegant still wine. AMBRIEL Pulborough, West Sussex. Cellar door, tours by appointment (ambrielsparkling.com, tel 01798 813657) STAR WINES: NV Classic Cuvée (£27.50). Made from 70 per cent Chardonnay, 27 per cent Pinot Noir and 3
per cent Pinot Meunier, this is a full-framed sparkler with gusto and impact. Also try NV English Reserve,
Demi- Sec (£32.50), made from 100 per cent Pinot Noir, a stunning off-dry fizz with serious class. There is not as much sweetness as you might expect and this means that you could drink it as a ravishingly moreish aperitif too! NYETIMBER West Chiltington, West Sussex. Not open to the public (nyetimber.com, tel 020 7734 8490) STAR WINES: 2010 Tillington, Single Vineyard (£75) is the UK’s most expensive sparkler and it is a real treat. Add 2010 Classic Cuvée (£ 32.99), 2009 Blanc de Blancs (£ 43.95) and NV
Demi- Sec (£ 39.99) and you have the most impressive sparkling wine portfolio in the country. WISTON ESTATE Washington, West Sussex. Not open to the public (wistonestate. com, tel 01903 877845) STAR WINE: NV Brut (£24.95) is a classic blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and it is one of the most suave and rewarding of styles from our shores. You will have to save a little more cash for the 2010 Blanc de Blancs (£ 39.95) and this time the flavour is piercing and focused, allowing it to age for years to come.
COURT GARDEN Ditchling, East Sussex. Cellar door, tours and tastings (courtgarden. com, tel 01273 844479)
STAR WINE: 2013 Vintage
Classic Cuvée (£ 25.65). With the same chalk soils as Champagne and a perfect maritime climate, this family- run estate is in a superb spot for making sparkling wine. This is 43 per cent Pinot Noir, 36 per cent Chardonnay and 21 per cent Pinot Meunier, and is balanced, jolly and well-made. FOX & FOX Mayfield, East Sussex. Not open to the public (sussexvineyards. com, tel 07858 492263)
STAR WINE: 2011 Mayfield Essence, Blanc de Blancs (£ 33.99). I have followed this estate for a few years and the wines have improved in leaps and bounds. 2011 Essence is a rich, powerful sparkler with the ability to age well for a further four years. HENNERS Herstmonceux, East Sussex. Not open to the public (henners vineyard.co.uk, tel 01323 831746)
STAR WINE: 2010 Brut (£ 27). A former F1 race engineer, Lawrence Warr is clearly familiar with assembling creations with incredible care and then fine-tuning the results. This delicious sparkler is a Blancs de Noirs, made from red grapes, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and it is a very assured piece of winemaking indeed.
RIDGEVIEW Ditchling Common, East Sussex. Cellar door, tours and tastings (ridgeview.co.uk, tel 01444 242040)
STAR WINES: Ridgeview is a beacon of excellence for our nation, and 2013 Blanc
de Noirs (£ 40) is a worldclass wine with a heavenly palate. 2013 Blanc de Blancs (£ 45) shows ice-pick precision with a long finish. 2014 Bloomsbury (£27) is the newly released vintage of their most successful cuvée and it is the finest to date. 2013 Cavendish (£27) is the red fruit- dominated candidate and these always take a while to age and mellow, and 2014 Fitzrovia Rosé (£30) shows they’re capable of making tremendous pink wine too. HERBERT HALL Marden, Kent. Cellar door, tours (herbert hall.com, tel 07956 163519) STAR WINE: 2013 Brut (£26.95). I was so impressed with the debut release from HH that I felt compelled to list it on one of the restaurant wine lists that I look after. Fast-forward a few years and the wines are better than ever with celestial fruit and effortless class. SQUERRYES Westerham, Kent. Cellar door (squerryes.co. uk, tel 01959 562345) STAR WINE: 2011 Brut (£28.99). Made from 45 per cent Chardonnay, 35 per cent Pinot Noir and 20 per cent Pinot Meunier, this is a stylish wine which will impress even the most ardent of Champagne stickin-the-muds.
WESTWELL WINES Charing, Kent. Not open to the public (westwellwines. co.uk, tel 01233 714618) STAR WINE: 2011 Special
Cuvée (£26.95). This is a new name to me, but one I’ll be following closely. Westwell’s sparkler is worthy of inclusion here – it’s harmonious and downright delicious.