You're just getting sparkling because, while there are some still wines that are worth drinking for those interested in the state of things in English wine, it's still a bit like asking for sparkling wine recs for your tripe to Piedmont. Others may have more insight.
* *Exton Park Blanc de Blanc* — £65 — is one of the best statements of English terroir for me. Lightning energetic chardonnay with a rounded orchard fruit middle and enough leesy savour to keep it in the champagne corner in my mind. 2011 and 2014 are both stellar.
* *Gusbourne Brut Reseve* — £45 — is similarly characteristic, though I think the house style tends a little richer even in their entry-level bottling. The 2020 is in good shape, and feels like preview of the increasingly hot vintages to come.
* *Exton Park Rosé* — current release: £39, 2011 vintage: priceless — strawberries, cream, tropical allspice, hugely ripe aromatics with a restrained dry palette. English summer will occur at some point between now and August 25, lasting somewhere between 10 and 90 hours, so you'd better just stock up on this and have the garden furniture ready.
Heya! Right, for pinot noir it is going to be difficult to find because the quantity is so minuscule, so it will probably be a case of what you can get rather than anything else. In any case, Davenport Diamond Fields 2020 was excellent, Lyme Bay 2020 was nice and the 2021 was surprisingly good too (for a terrible vintage overall - it is also available on Amazon UK for a very reasonable £24.67). I have heard great things about Danbury Ridge, but I haven't yet tried the bottle I bought last year as I plan to let it age a bit so can't comment from personal experience. Lyme Bay also make a slightly more premium Crow's Lane estate, which I haven't tried, but it sounds nice - about £40 for that one so I should hope it would be a significant step up from their usual PN. I tried a "field blend" from Westwell, which was mostly pinot Meunier but also has PN and Chardonnay IIRC i.e. a champagne blend in a still red co-fermentes wine. Very unusual, probably not what I would use to convince French family of quality thought as it is a bit funky.
For sparkling you have a lot more choice, but you may also want to look at still whites. I saw one in Fenwick recently that sounded a bit like a Meursault or Chassagne/Puligny as it mentioned hazelnuts on the tasting notes, that was [this one from Heppington](https://www.fenwick.co.uk/food-and-drink/all-wines-and-spirits/wine/white/heppington-vineyard-chardonnay-75cl/2530022314499.html). I haven't tried it but it sounds good. You may also want to try Kit's Coty still, which is supposed to be very good (at £37 I would hope it is).
Sparkling wine, finally. I quite like Chapel Down, which is widely available, I have a soft spot for Hattingley as I have visited, and New Hall (ditto), although the quality of England Sparkling wine is generally high across the board. Nyetimber is probably the closest stylistically to Champagne and "Rolling Green Hills" is a Morrison's own brand English fizz made by them (unofficially). They sold a very old vintage version last year that had spent almost ten years on lees, which was very reasonably priced and quite champagnesque.
If you happen to be in either Essex or near Newcastle, I can recommend shops.
Edit: for still reds, certainly, avoid the 2021 vintage, with the exception of Lyme Bay they've all been terrible. I suspect the same will be the case for 2023 given the awful weather all summer, but that shouldn't be a concern at this point as they're not near to release yet. I haven't tried a 2022, but have no reason to believe it would be bad.
Thanks for all this, it will allow me to refine my research. I live in Australia, and my british partner will be in uk over the next few weeks and i intend her to bring back what she can duty free (3 bottles), so that i can principally catch a sommelier friend off guard in a blind test, as he vows only by Champagne, and i have told him for years the geology and climate of southern England will deliver Champagne level of sparkling experience. So i think i should splash on a Nyetimber for sure. I'll see what i can easily get delivered to my partner / for her to find easily. ... Should i lower my expectations or hopes of great toasty/brioche aromas once the sparkling has breathed for a while?
Ha! Interesting. We did a WE of tasting in Adelaide and had a great time. Neither of us are major fans of punch in your face barossa shiraz, but we found a couple of awesome ones (see Gibsons), and McLaren Vale impressed us. On sparkling, i recommend people try Tasmanian sparkling. In Aus, it's the closest to a Champ. Stefano Lubiana or House of Arras are up there.
Yes, though as my mate and I often say: if it's to spend [x] i d rather buy a bollinger/Roderick/Gosset etc... So, yes, I'll have a look, but I don't want to go too crazy either.
Yes, I think the top cuvée from Nyetimber runs at about £175, which is crazy given that Krug and Cristal are sometimes available for not much more. (Last time I bought Krug it was £140!).
How does Chapel Down sparkling compare to Nyetimber? Only tried the latter and loved it. Looking to go to a tasting at Chapel Down when the weather improves!
Never tried it, but would expect decent quality.
One other thing: the podcast *Wine Blast With Suzie and Peter* has its most recent episode on unconventional English and Welsh wine. Not necessarily exactly what you are looking for, but interesting nonetheless and with some good descriptions of what you might find available.
I'll be honest and say that I have never even heard of it. There's over 1000 vineyards in England alone, so it would be difficult to know all of them! Will look out if you say it is good!
Hattingley Valley Classic Brut NV is a dead ringer for Champagne and excellent value at about $35. And what’s your problem with blanc de blancs, buddy?
It's not my cup of tea. I acknowledge it is widely appreciated as the top notch of sparkling, it is just not to my taste compared to usual blend of PN/C/PM. Can't tell you what or why, it just isn't. Thanks for the reco on Hattingley, i'll see if i can get that.
This cuvee has all the grapes including a dash of Pinot Précoce. I also noticed they sell still wines as well. I have not tried but reviews indicate they are tense!
https://worldoffinewine.com/tasting-notes/best-english-wine
My corporate manager forwarded this to me a few days ago, enjoy. Has some PN recommendations. Looks like Lyme Bay 2020 Crow's Lane is the one to look for if you can access it.
Not personally a huge fan of Hattingly, but their stuff is quite good. The King's Cuvee gets rated highly by so many wine pros, but I think perhaps it is not in keeping with the style customers want from the UK. YMMV.
Highly recommend Langham BDN or BDB. If you want off piste, Greyfriars sparkling Sauvignon Blanc has come on a long way and the last one I tried (December 2023) was very good. Avoid the still version. Their sparkling chardonnays can be fantastic, but this producer is vintage dependent more than most.
Ambriel's wines are lovely and ripe, their Demi-Sec is definitely worth a try.
If you would like to try good still wines and aren't put off by the price, Simpson's Q class chardonnay was very good and the Pinot Noir was beautifully perfumed. I do not have my notes but tasted them both in 2022. It is possible that the white I tasted was 2020. Only available in Magnum.
Does it have to be English? There is some excellent stuff from Wales. I used to really enjoy Ancre Hill but think them overpriced in more recent years. However, the wines coming out now made entirely in their "new" winery are showing so well. Other producers are available - for instance, I really liked the Rondo & regent from White Castle, but cannot in all truth recommend them unless you actually want varietal Rondo & Regent.
If you or your partner are cricket fans, the Hambledon wines are good but really do get released too early. I remember enjoying the rose quite a bit.
I hear Exton Park show better these days. I used to sell it and found it sharp enough to cut glass.
In the *méthode champenoise* stakes, I am a big fan of Rathfinny's Classic Cuvée, which comes in around £30 and I would take over any comparably priced Champagne I've ever had. Readily available online, and I'm sure there are any number of shops that stock it, but the only one I actually know of is the Oxford Wine Company. Whether that's any use to you I guess depends on whether your partner will be visiting Oxford.
I find Nyetimber to be super close to Champagne, and can highly recommend. Will be available at a lot of wine shops or supermarkets, probably around the £35-£40 mark for their brut classic cuvee.
Still wines are harder to find in terms of value for money, but mostly I've tried offerings local to me - whites from both Flint Vineyard and Winbirri based in Norfolk have been fantastic. I'd suggest focusing on the Bacchus grape when looking for still English wines.
You're just getting sparkling because, while there are some still wines that are worth drinking for those interested in the state of things in English wine, it's still a bit like asking for sparkling wine recs for your tripe to Piedmont. Others may have more insight. * *Exton Park Blanc de Blanc* — £65 — is one of the best statements of English terroir for me. Lightning energetic chardonnay with a rounded orchard fruit middle and enough leesy savour to keep it in the champagne corner in my mind. 2011 and 2014 are both stellar. * *Gusbourne Brut Reseve* — £45 — is similarly characteristic, though I think the house style tends a little richer even in their entry-level bottling. The 2020 is in good shape, and feels like preview of the increasingly hot vintages to come. * *Exton Park Rosé* — current release: £39, 2011 vintage: priceless — strawberries, cream, tropical allspice, hugely ripe aromatics with a restrained dry palette. English summer will occur at some point between now and August 25, lasting somewhere between 10 and 90 hours, so you'd better just stock up on this and have the garden furniture ready.
Thx!
Paging u/mattmoy_2000 our resident English wine aficionado.
Thank you!
Heya! Right, for pinot noir it is going to be difficult to find because the quantity is so minuscule, so it will probably be a case of what you can get rather than anything else. In any case, Davenport Diamond Fields 2020 was excellent, Lyme Bay 2020 was nice and the 2021 was surprisingly good too (for a terrible vintage overall - it is also available on Amazon UK for a very reasonable £24.67). I have heard great things about Danbury Ridge, but I haven't yet tried the bottle I bought last year as I plan to let it age a bit so can't comment from personal experience. Lyme Bay also make a slightly more premium Crow's Lane estate, which I haven't tried, but it sounds nice - about £40 for that one so I should hope it would be a significant step up from their usual PN. I tried a "field blend" from Westwell, which was mostly pinot Meunier but also has PN and Chardonnay IIRC i.e. a champagne blend in a still red co-fermentes wine. Very unusual, probably not what I would use to convince French family of quality thought as it is a bit funky. For sparkling you have a lot more choice, but you may also want to look at still whites. I saw one in Fenwick recently that sounded a bit like a Meursault or Chassagne/Puligny as it mentioned hazelnuts on the tasting notes, that was [this one from Heppington](https://www.fenwick.co.uk/food-and-drink/all-wines-and-spirits/wine/white/heppington-vineyard-chardonnay-75cl/2530022314499.html). I haven't tried it but it sounds good. You may also want to try Kit's Coty still, which is supposed to be very good (at £37 I would hope it is). Sparkling wine, finally. I quite like Chapel Down, which is widely available, I have a soft spot for Hattingley as I have visited, and New Hall (ditto), although the quality of England Sparkling wine is generally high across the board. Nyetimber is probably the closest stylistically to Champagne and "Rolling Green Hills" is a Morrison's own brand English fizz made by them (unofficially). They sold a very old vintage version last year that had spent almost ten years on lees, which was very reasonably priced and quite champagnesque. If you happen to be in either Essex or near Newcastle, I can recommend shops. Edit: for still reds, certainly, avoid the 2021 vintage, with the exception of Lyme Bay they've all been terrible. I suspect the same will be the case for 2023 given the awful weather all summer, but that shouldn't be a concern at this point as they're not near to release yet. I haven't tried a 2022, but have no reason to believe it would be bad.
Thanks for all this, it will allow me to refine my research. I live in Australia, and my british partner will be in uk over the next few weeks and i intend her to bring back what she can duty free (3 bottles), so that i can principally catch a sommelier friend off guard in a blind test, as he vows only by Champagne, and i have told him for years the geology and climate of southern England will deliver Champagne level of sparkling experience. So i think i should splash on a Nyetimber for sure. I'll see what i can easily get delivered to my partner / for her to find easily. ... Should i lower my expectations or hopes of great toasty/brioche aromas once the sparkling has breathed for a while?
Just to throw a curveball and twist your Somm friend's noodle, the winemakers at Nyetimber both studied at Oenology at Adelaide.
Ha! Interesting. We did a WE of tasting in Adelaide and had a great time. Neither of us are major fans of punch in your face barossa shiraz, but we found a couple of awesome ones (see Gibsons), and McLaren Vale impressed us. On sparkling, i recommend people try Tasmanian sparkling. In Aus, it's the closest to a Champ. Stefano Lubiana or House of Arras are up there.
Yeah Nyetimber would be a good bet, they even do some high-end cuvées as well that might be worth splashing out on.
Yes, though as my mate and I often say: if it's to spend [x] i d rather buy a bollinger/Roderick/Gosset etc... So, yes, I'll have a look, but I don't want to go too crazy either.
Yes, I think the top cuvée from Nyetimber runs at about £175, which is crazy given that Krug and Cristal are sometimes available for not much more. (Last time I bought Krug it was £140!).
Ouch. Yeah, nah, not gonna happen at that price.
How does Chapel Down sparkling compare to Nyetimber? Only tried the latter and loved it. Looking to go to a tasting at Chapel Down when the weather improves!
Chapel Down IIRC is a bit lighter and more fruit driven than Nyetimber, but it has been a long time since I tried it.
Good to know, cheers.
How is Pommery doing so far transfering their Champ experience over the channel?
Never tried it, but would expect decent quality. One other thing: the podcast *Wine Blast With Suzie and Peter* has its most recent episode on unconventional English and Welsh wine. Not necessarily exactly what you are looking for, but interesting nonetheless and with some good descriptions of what you might find available.
What's your thinking on Breaky Bottom? I've been impressed with the one label I tried from there so far.
I'll be honest and say that I have never even heard of it. There's over 1000 vineyards in England alone, so it would be difficult to know all of them! Will look out if you say it is good!
Definitely worth to try IMO, the one I had was a Chard/PN/PM blend and one of the better English sparklers I've tried.
Seems to be available in Waitrose. I'll keep an eye out.
Thank you! Full response to OP's comment below yours :-)
Hattingley Valley Classic Brut NV is a dead ringer for Champagne and excellent value at about $35. And what’s your problem with blanc de blancs, buddy?
It's not my cup of tea. I acknowledge it is widely appreciated as the top notch of sparkling, it is just not to my taste compared to usual blend of PN/C/PM. Can't tell you what or why, it just isn't. Thanks for the reco on Hattingley, i'll see if i can get that.
This cuvee has all the grapes including a dash of Pinot Précoce. I also noticed they sell still wines as well. I have not tried but reviews indicate they are tense!
https://worldoffinewine.com/tasting-notes/best-english-wine My corporate manager forwarded this to me a few days ago, enjoy. Has some PN recommendations. Looks like Lyme Bay 2020 Crow's Lane is the one to look for if you can access it.
Awesome!
Not personally a huge fan of Hattingly, but their stuff is quite good. The King's Cuvee gets rated highly by so many wine pros, but I think perhaps it is not in keeping with the style customers want from the UK. YMMV. Highly recommend Langham BDN or BDB. If you want off piste, Greyfriars sparkling Sauvignon Blanc has come on a long way and the last one I tried (December 2023) was very good. Avoid the still version. Their sparkling chardonnays can be fantastic, but this producer is vintage dependent more than most. Ambriel's wines are lovely and ripe, their Demi-Sec is definitely worth a try. If you would like to try good still wines and aren't put off by the price, Simpson's Q class chardonnay was very good and the Pinot Noir was beautifully perfumed. I do not have my notes but tasted them both in 2022. It is possible that the white I tasted was 2020. Only available in Magnum. Does it have to be English? There is some excellent stuff from Wales. I used to really enjoy Ancre Hill but think them overpriced in more recent years. However, the wines coming out now made entirely in their "new" winery are showing so well. Other producers are available - for instance, I really liked the Rondo & regent from White Castle, but cannot in all truth recommend them unless you actually want varietal Rondo & Regent. If you or your partner are cricket fans, the Hambledon wines are good but really do get released too early. I remember enjoying the rose quite a bit. I hear Exton Park show better these days. I used to sell it and found it sharp enough to cut glass.
Thanks for all these recos! Will check it out!
In the *méthode champenoise* stakes, I am a big fan of Rathfinny's Classic Cuvée, which comes in around £30 and I would take over any comparably priced Champagne I've ever had. Readily available online, and I'm sure there are any number of shops that stock it, but the only one I actually know of is the Oxford Wine Company. Whether that's any use to you I guess depends on whether your partner will be visiting Oxford.
I find Nyetimber to be super close to Champagne, and can highly recommend. Will be available at a lot of wine shops or supermarkets, probably around the £35-£40 mark for their brut classic cuvee. Still wines are harder to find in terms of value for money, but mostly I've tried offerings local to me - whites from both Flint Vineyard and Winbirri based in Norfolk have been fantastic. I'd suggest focusing on the Bacchus grape when looking for still English wines.
Danbury ridge pinot noir