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English Sparkling Wine

My desire to assess the quality level of sparkling wine produced in the UK arises from a statement by Oz Clarke, the UK based wine writer. Over a decade ago he wrote: "If someone wanted to make a Champagne look-alike, one of the most potentially successful sites would be in the counties of Kent and Sussex on the hills and slopes just above the English Channel." For the past ten years this comment has stuck in the back of my mind, although I had no desire to investigate further. The few bottles of English fizz that passed my way during that time were sampled with enthusiasm, but I can say with all honesty the majority of them were poured down the sink.

Recently, however, I noticed agreement from the highly respected writer Jancis Robinson, who states in the Oxford Companion to Wine: "English wine's hallmark, high acidity, is useful for the traditional method sparkling wine which may turn out to be England's finest vinous product." I thus decided to seek out and try some English sparklers, and assess the current quality level. I intended to limit my selection to wines made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, using the méthode traditionelle, and preferably from vineyards sited on soil types chosen for their resemblance to the soil types of Champagne.

There are currently about 400 commercially operating vineyards in England and Wales, and of these approximately 10% produce some sparkling wine. A few of the vineyards were planted solely for this purpose, eschewing still wine altogether. Unfortunately, many wines did not meet my selection criteria, most commonly because they are produced from hybrids (such as Seyval Blanc) or Germanic crossings (such as Müller-Thurgau or Bacchus). Such lowly wines would seem to represent the pinnacle of wine making in the UK. Bearsted Brut, the 'UK Sparkling Wine of the Year' in 1999, is a blend of Seyval Blanc and Kerner grapes. The Vintage Brut from the well established and successful Chapel Down is a blend of Müller-Thurgau and Riechensteiner. There are, however, winemakers out there with a mind to produce quality sparkling wine from Champagne grapes. But they can take some tracking down.

I found three wines which I thought might best represent the potential of English sparkling wine. These wines were from Nyetimber, Ridgeview and Carr-Taylor. I then selected three similarly priced champagnes, to provide a total of six bottles, which would be tasted blind.

Nyetimber
This estate was planted up in the 1980's, solely for the production of sparkling wine. The plantings consist of 70% Chardonnay, with 30% Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It is situated on chalky bedrock, and the soil type is greensand. Both chalk and greensand are to be found beneath the vineyards of Champagne. The vinification involves cultured French yeasts, and at least three years bottle maturation before release.

Ridgeview Estate
Another estate planted solely for the production of sparkling wine, producing a Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend. Although the grape varieties are right, the terroir is not wholly adequate. The vineyard is sited on a ridge of limestone overlying sandstone bedrock, with heavy, silty clay soils. Some attempt has been made to counteract this with the insertion of field drains. This wine carries the term 'Cuvée Merret', after the Englishman Christopher Merret, who is said by some to have been the first to describe the second fermentation of still wine, after the addition of sugar, to produce a sparkling wine. The Bloomsbury 1996 is their inaugural vintage.

Carr-Taylor
Probably the best known of English winemakers, David Carr-Taylor produces a number of sparkling wines under his own name. His Vintage Reserve is his top cuvée, and it claims a vintage age of four years. There was no available information on the blend used for this wine so I contacted David Carr-Taylor to try and clarify this matter. I discovered it was a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Bacchus plus, and here I quote, "a small quantity of other New World wines to give that rich dessert fruit flavour". It was beginning to look as if this wine was never intended to be in the Champagne style. In view of this wines performance in Challenge International du Vin 1999, however, when it received a Gold Medal, I decided to include it.

In order to provide a suitable comparison for the above wines, I selected two NV Champagnes from Lanson (Black Label NV) and Charles Heidsieck (Mis en Caves 1993 Brut Réserve NV), both of which I know are good quality and fairly priced. I felt I needed to include a Champagne with some vintage characteristics into the tasting, and yet stick to a reasonable price. I included one of the better supermarket own-label Champagnes, the Albert Etienne 1990 from Safeway, which is produced by Massé (NM 232-002). (6/8/00)

English Sparkling Wine vs NV Champagne - Tasting Notes

Tasted in August 2000. Click to locate stockists:

Nyetimber Première Cuvée Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Brut 1992: A mid-gold hue. A plentiful and fairly fine bead. A forward yet stylish, leesy, yeasty nose, with some lemony citrus notes. Also very yeasty on the palate, from the first taste right through to the finish. A creamy texture, with a clean lemon-citrus acidity and finish. A fine and soft mousse. The structure of this wine belies a good amount of time on the lees and it also seems to have bottle complexity. Tasted completely blind I would have marked this down as a good aged NV Champagne. 17.5/20 Label

Lanson Black Label Brut NV: Lemon-gold hue, moderately fine bead. Herbaceous nose, with citrus and peach fruit, background toasty brioche. On the palate a somewhat over obvious mousse although this settles with time. Lovely creamy texture, superb balancing streak of acidity, more citrus fruit, again a hint of ripe peach, and a hint of marzipan nuttiness. Delightful finish, with a savoury note that makes it difficult to put the glass down. Suggestive of some development since last tasted. 16.5/20

Charles Heidsieck Mis en Caves 1993 Brut Réserve NV: Attractive lemon-gold hue, and a moderately fine bead. Bready, brioche nose. Quite a rich palate, nutty flavours, a soft mousse. Some clean, appley notes, and lovely acidity. 17.5/20

Safeway (Massé) Albert Etienne 1990: A lemon-gold hue, with a fine bead. Nice mineral quality to the nose. With time developed some biscuity, yeasty notes, and hints of peach. A soft mousse. Good creamy texture, rich fruit, citrus acidity. Quite good, until the finish which seems a little astringent, bitter even, marring the overall impression. 15.5/20

Ridgeview Estate Bloomsbury Cuvée Merret Chardonnay Pinot Noir Pinot Meunier 1996: An attractive lemon-gold. Quite a full, less plentiful, perhaps coarse bead. A lemony, appley almost herbaceous nose. The palate has unbalanced acidity, is just off dry, but has a good creamy texture. The mousse is a little coarse. At first this was drinkable, but I rapidly tired of it. A poor effort. 13/20 Label

Carr Taylor Medium Dry Quality Sparkling Wine Vintage Reserve NV: An incredible deep, burnished gold colour, with a fine bead. The nose is surprising - intense apricot and peach fruit, with smoky nuances. The palate is off dry, packed with sweet, canned peaches and sherbet notes, with a soft mousse and pleasant acidity. It finishes with some fruit acid, and is very drinkable. In view of my interchange with David Carr-Taylor, I would say this is his wine. It is about as far from a Champagne style as you can get. 16/20 Label

Conclusion

Without doubt, the star of this blind tasting was the Nyetimber - a wine that to me, does indeed measure up as a rival to the NV wines of Champagne. At about £18 it represents a lot of wine for not very much money, and I feel it would sit happily with many such Champagnes. I note, however, that apart from the Nyetimber, the Champagnes were undoubtedly superior, being ranked 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The Ridgeview, despite the quality base wine, is just one more English sparkler that would be destined for the sink. As for Carr Taylor, I feel it is a shame that a winemaker would put so much effort into emulating bottom-end Australian fizz that might retail for about £6, when Clarke and Robinson seem so assured that England is capable of so much more. Perhaps Nyetimber can show them the way. Until that happens, apart from the wines of Nyetimber, I'll continue to steer clear of English sparklers.