English effervescence: a sparkling mixed case

English effervescence: a sparkling mixed case

There's never been a better time to drink English. Writing on vinous.com (English Sparkling Wine: Effervescence and Reserve, February 2025), Anne Krebiehl MW lauds the explosive growth in quantity and quality on the English sparkling wine scene. While it is still small in comparison to long-established wine regions, there are now over 200 English wineries 'presenting an exciting and delicious spectrum of traditional method sparkling wines that have come a long way, especially in the past decade.'

Why sparkling? The grapes for good-quality sparkling wine need high acidity (for freshness) and low sugar (because down the line, a secondary fermentation will increase alcohol levels). It needs a cool region to pull this off with ripe grapes. In a hot region, acidity will drop and sugars will rise long before the grapes achieve flavour ripeness. It has worked for centuries in Champagne, France’s most northerly serious wine region. And now, a little further north, it is working wonderfully in England. Embarrassingly for sustainable, eco-friendly English wineries, their success has been given a discreet push in the right direction by global warming.

Many (but not all) English sparkling wines are released as vintage cuvees, simply because, as recent wineries, they haven't yet been able to build up the stock of reserve wines that exist in Champagne. When you read Classic Cuvee on an English label, it means a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (and possibly also Pinot Meunier). To help you get to grips with one of the most dynamic scenes anywhere in the wine world, we've put together a mixed six-bottle case of some of our favourite English sparklers, with money off and free delivery. /NT

English Sparkling Mixed Case
6x75cl
£195 case inc duty, VAT and free delivery
Saving £35.97

Contains one bottle of each of the following wines:

MV Nyetimber Classic Cuvee: The one that started it all. Nyetimber was the first significant producer to recognise that the greensand and chalk soils of the South Downs offered some fabulous south-facing slopes for the Champagne grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. There's been no stopping them since. Nyetimber is now England's most significant vineyard owner, and the Classic Cuvee is a benchmark for English quality.

2020 Gusbourne Brut Reserve: There is a right of way through Gusbourne's Kentish vineyards called Saxon Shoreline, because a thousand years ago, the shore was right here. These days, it is six miles away as the crow flies (over Romney Marsh). But the clay and sand soils on which the vineyards sit are full of maritime deposits, which may go some way to explaining the saline character that can come across in the wines. And that fierce coastal wind is excellent at drying grapes after sudden showers. Brut Reserve is a classic blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, given 36 months lees aging.

 NV Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvee: Not only does the South Downs village of Hambledon get to claim to be the cradle of cricket, it is also home to England's oldest commercial vineyard. Hambledon Vineyard underwent a rebirth in the early 2000s when it switched to producing sparkling wine, and has been one long success story since then.

 2019 Hundred Hills Preamble No. 2: Stephen and Fiona Duckett looked at a hundred different hillsides as possibilities for an English sparkling wine estate. Finally, they landed on one where soil samples confused analysts in Champagne into thinking they were from the Cote de Blancs. But in fact, it was from Oxfordshire's Stonor Valley, and that is now the home of Hundred Hills. Preamble was fermented in oak, with lots of lees contact, and is rich and full-bodied - and very good.

2019 Rathfinny Classic Cuvee: Sussex gets a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) all its own, largely due to the efforts of Mark Driver at Rathfinny. Their single-site Rathfinny vineyard is set on a sunny, south-facing, South Downs hillside.

 2019 Rathfinny Rose: England can also do rose very well – here's the proof. Rathfinny's Brut Rose cuvee is a Pinot Noir-led blend, with some Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. The salmon-pink colour comes from adding a dash of oak-aged still Pinot Noir.

Offered subject to remaining unsold. To place an order, click on the mixed case below, or call 020 7638 5998