A Masterclass on English Sparkling Wine
Side A, The Tasting.
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Hello fine wine lovers,
You may have received a blank “Barolo 2020” email. If so, apologies for the spoiler. I’d love to say it was a technical glitch, but in fact, it was a human error! And while waiting for the Barolo 2020, this boring mom went to town and tasted some of the finest bubbles that the English Sparkling scene has to offer.
It was an English Sparkling Wine Masterclass organised by The Institute of Masters of Wine, which featured a panel of esteemed winemakers from the UK and moderated by Stephen Skelton MW, a renowned figure in the UK wine industry.
This week, I'll be sharing my experience of tasting 16 outstanding wines. Next month, I'll delve into the investment potential of one of these wines. Let me know in the article's poll which wine you think I should focus on for investment. And, make sure you’re subscribed to receive the email!
The tasting session was structured into four flights, each presented by a leading English sparkling winemaker. The flights covered a range of styles: Classic Cuvées, Rosés, Blanc de Blancs and Older Wines.
Before diving in, a few resources below, that you may want to reference.
First and foremost, ESW = English Sparkling Wine.
Then a map of the ESW main production areas:
A link to
’s Directory of English Sparkling Wine, which will be heavily referenced in this article. Tom is the Champagne correspondent for Decanter Magazine and has authored the Tim Atkin MW’s English Wine and Champagne reports.The vintages chart for ESW is freely available on jancisrobinson.com, provided by Stephen Skelton MW himself. Below a snapshot of the vintages tasted:
2010: This year was notable for ideal flowering conditions and a warm summer, leading to an early harvest with high sugars and balanced acids. It was a very good year for both still and sparkling wines. Production: 4.05m bottles.
2013: While not a great year for still wines, the sparkling wines from this vintage are expected to be long-lived. Production: 4.45m bottles.
2014: Dream vintage. Production: 6.32m bottles.
2015: Chardonnay-based sparkling wines benefiting from long ageing. Production: 4.5m bottles.
2016: Low yields, with the eastern part of England had better weather. Long longevity, no bortrytis. Production: 4.15m bottles.
2018: Considered by some as the best vintage of the modern era, thanks to a warm summer that produced large volumes of top-quality fruit.
2020: This vintage was remarkable and is considered to be one of the spectacular years, signalling a bright future for English sparkling wines.
Let’s get tasting 🍾
ᝰ First flight presented by Dermot Sugrue (owner and winemaker at Sugrue South Downs) on ˗ˏˋClassic Cuvéesˎˊ˗
Dermot Sugrue, the owner and winemaker at Sugrue South Downs, presented the first flight focused on 'Classic Cuvées' at the event. I first heard of Dermot in 2018 when I visited Wiston Estate. While the Irish winemaker had (almost) carte blanche there, in 2023 he launched his venture with his partner Ana.
He presented 4 “Chardonnay-dominant” wines, that spent a long time on lees (except for the second one).
Sugrue South Downs, East Sussex, Cuvée Dr Brendan O'Regan 2016 Magnum (from Jenkyn Place Single Vineyard)
Named after Dermot Sugrue's great-uncle, who first introduced duty-free into Ireland, Cuvée Dr Brendan O'Regan 2016 is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir grapes. All stainless steel “because I had no barrels back then” and 5 years on lees. Only 500 bottles available, all magnum.
This wine bewitched me and I found myself returning to it as a reference for the rest of the tasting.
Langham, Hampshire, Langham Corallian NV
The Langham Wine Estate is one that
has asterisked (meaning, it’s among his favourites):
This wine, a blend of 75% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Meunier, stands out with its youthfulness, short lees ageing, and low dosage, embodying the 'grower Champagne' philosophy.
Breaky Bottom Vineyard, East Sussex, Cuvée David Pearson 2015
The tasting included two wines from Breaky Bottom, renowned for their investments in Seyval Blanc. Cuvée David Pearson 2015 is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, aged in stainless steel without malolactic fermentation. It displayed an electric acidity.
Hattingley Valley, Hampshire, King's Cuvée 2015
Lastly, we tried Hattingley Valley's King's Cuvée 2015 from Hampshire. Another asterisk estate from
. A first for me. A Hampshire winery working with fruit from all over the South of England. This wine, crafted by Emma Rice and blended with 50% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir, and 16% Pinot Meunier, is aged for seven months in oak barrels. Its unique profile, a result of the oak, makes it a “marmite wine” as Dermot put it. 2015 in Hampshire was a year where the under-ripeness of the grapes played a crucial role.
ᝰ Second flight presented by Josh Donaghay-Spire (winemaker at Chapel Down) on ˗ˏˋRosésˎˊ˗
Josh Donaghay-Spire, Chapel Down's winemaker, led the second flight focusing on Rosés, showcasing a diverse range of vintages, regions, and winemaking techniques. This selection aimed to highlight the stylistic diversity within English Sparkling Wine (ESW) rosés and the methods of achieving their distinct colour.
Flint Vineyard, Norfolk, Charmat Rosé 2022
Flint Vineyard's Rosé 2022 from Norfolk, a non-traditional choice for sparkling wine, demonstrated innovative use of the Charmat method and Rondo grapes to achieve that colour.
Camel Valley, Cornwall, Pinot Noir Rosé Brut 2020
This was a first for me. I was intrigued — not only 30% of the grapes come from Cornwall, but also
had selected their 2019 vintage as the Rosé of the vintage for the Tim Atkin report, writing: “This wine always seems to leap out in more difficult vintages. Yes, there are probably more layered and complex sparkling rosés out there, but there’s something about the fruit quality here that, together with the pitch-perfect extraction and careful winemaking, makes this a bottle which few will have trouble finding the bottom of.” The winemaking involved destemming, crushing, and ageing for two years on lees without malolactic fermentation.Chapel Down, Kent, Rosé Reserve 2020
Chapel Down's Rosé Reserve 2020 from Kent was produced using the traditional method, emphasising the region's contribution to ESW rosés. Light and feathery.
Ridgeview Estate, Sussex, Rosé de Noirs 2018
Finally, we tasted Ridgeview Estate's Rosé de Noirs 2018 from Sussex, which I had previously tasted at a Saignée event, is made with whole bunches in riper years like 2018 for colour extraction. Ridgeview is always the standout, in my view.
ᝰ Third flight presented by Cherie Spriggs (winemaker at Nyetimber) on ˗ˏˋBlanc de Blancsˎˊ˗
Cherie Spriggs, Head Winemaker at Nyetimber, made history by being the first winemaker outside of Champagne and the first female to win the 'Sparkling Winemaker of the Year' award at the International Wine Challenge 2018. This accolade reflects her exceptional skill and dedication to producing acclaimed English sparkling wines at Nyetimber.
Her flight focused on the potential of Chardonnay in a year favourable to ESW (2014). This is in contrast to the Pinot Noirs from the same vintage, which have tended to age more quickly across various producers in the region. The wines, all made with 100% malolactic fermentation and whole bunch, were predominantly in magnum.
Woodchurch Vineyard, Kent, Woodchurch Blanc de Blancs, 2014, 75 cl
Young vines in Kent, 4 years on lees, autolytic flavours.
Greyfriars Vineyard, Surrey, Greyfriars 2014, Blanc de Blancs, Magnum
Estate-grown fruit on the chalk downs of Surrey (200m altitude). “It has some edges to it”, says Cherie.
Nyetimber Vineyard, West Sussex, Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs, 2014 Magnum
One of the most prominent estates, and one with the ‘chalk’ signature. Nyetimber’s oldest vineyards are on lower greensand in West Sussex and are here combined with Chardonnay from Nyetimber's chalk sites in Hampshire. The latter sites offer, in Cherie’s words, “the prettiness” of floral and fruit while the former the roundness.
Harrow & Hope Vineyard, Buckinghamshire, Harrow & Hope, Blanc de Blancs, 2014 Magnum
100% Chardonnay, estate-grown near Marlow. Young vines. 50% oak fermentation. Compared to the line-up a much riper style, riper colour and probably a later picking.
ᝰ Fourth flight presented by Charlie Holland (winemaker at Jackson Family Wines) on ˗ˏˋOlder Winesˎˊ˗
It was Charlie Holland's turn and he raised a question about the ageing capability of (ESW): 'Is there potential for ESW to age?'
As the English wine industry matures and preserves older vintages, it's become clear that the best English sparkling wines can age exceptionally well, sometimes remarkably so.
The key to ageing ESW isn't just the natural high acidity and low yields typical of English vineyards. Balance is crucial, Charlie says; excessively high acidity can prevent wines from achieving harmony over time. Furthermore, as noted by Cherie of Nyetimber, low yields, while often considered beneficial, can increase polyphenolic content in sparkling wines, potentially leading to quicker oxidation and premature ageing.
Gusbourne Vineyard, Kent, Gusbourne Fifty-One Degrees North 2014
When 51DN first came out, I had the pleasure of tasting it and writing this piece. I still stand by the conclusion.
Squerryes Estate, Kent, Squerryes Brut 2013, Late Disgorged
Charlie introduced two contrasting approaches to producing wines with ageing potential: his 51DN and the Squerryes Brut 2013. He developed 51DN using two-thirds of grapes from clay-based vineyards, aiming for a smoother profile. In contrast, Squerryes Brut 2013 is a chiselled, precise wine built on elevation (175m, says Stephen) and chalk, with a low dosage of 5g/l.
Breaky Bottom Vineyard, East Sussex, Cuvée Koizumi Yakumo, 2010
“Peter Hall is an important figure in English wine, not least for sticking with hybrid Seyval Blanc when others abandoned it. To this day it's the Seyval wines that are really the showpieces here. Long-aged, quite stern and stony, they are quite unlike any other examples and outshine the Chardonnay/Pinot wines (at least for me). A true original.” writes
.Charlie mentioned that Seyval Blanc is quite a neutral grape which doesn’t have much fruit character, and it offers the (expert) winemaker a blank canvas. When I first tried Break Bottom’s Cuvée Koizumi Yakumo, Richard Bampfield MW, said he had tasted it blind alongside other wine experts and they all applauded it for its precision and finesse. Certainly, a unique and celebrated ESW, made entirely from Seyval Blanc.
Ridgeview Estate, East Sussex, Ridgeview Blanc de Blancs, 2010 Magnum
If you remember, I had summarised the 2009 of this wine in one word: Magic. The 2010 similarly stood out, in a line-up of fine wines. Charlie, who started his winemaking career at Ridgeview, concludes: “To answer the question of whether an ESW can age, this is the wine that you show”.
For those of you tuning outside of the UK, that haven’t tasted ESW, you may want to watch this:
Next month, I’ll publish a follow-up investment case for one of the wines/wineries that are in the tasting.
Can you guess which one?
Stay tuned!
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👋 Sara Danese
Comments, questions, tips? Send me a note
PS: On the topic of quality English stock that ages gracefully, do you know that is now on Substack?
Thanks for the mention Sara - I was sad to miss this but a little snowed under with Champagne and Penedès at the moment!