The Best English Sparkling Wines

First up, the Simpsons Flint Fields Blanc de Noir 2020 (Simpsons £45).  This is the best English vintage sparkling I’ve ever had.  100% Pinot Noir, the bouquet is a heavenly combination of fruits of the forest, flowers and vanilla.  In the mouth, it’s rounded and soft, yet precise and intense.  Berries in cream, pears, and gentle spices populate the palate, and the long, complex finish completes this majestic wine. 

Denbies are one of the pioneers of English wine, and their sparkling wines continue to reach new heights.  Take the Greenfields (Denbies £25).  Mature and mellow, there’s a baked apple tone to the nose, and flavours of juicy red berries, brioche, honey, and lime give a satisfying mouthful.  There’s real texture here, too.  The long bottle ageing imparts a peachiness that adds to the enjoyment, but the signature freshness makes it just the thing for savoury hors d’oeuvres. 

Chapel Down Classic NV (Waitrose on offer £22) was the first English fizz I ever tasted, and it’s remained a favourite.  Stylistically, it has changed quite a bit.  Older vines and warmer climes have softened its edges, imparted greater concentration to the fruit, and made for a fuller, richer wine.  Orchard fruits and red berry scents rise from the glass, while in the mouth, there’s a wonderful tension between green and yellow citrus and brioche, honey, and cream.  A stylish aperitif, it’s lovely with fish, poultry, and seafood.  

For many years, producing a serious English rosé seemed like an impossible dream.  Getting noble black grapes to ripen was just too much of a challenge.  Today, it’s a reality as the Balfour 1503 Rosé shows.  Mid-pink, with a delicate strawberry and floral nose, tangy tones of pink grapefruit and raspberry are softened by plum, yeast, and dusty chalk flavours to the finish.  Serve chilled with pink fish. 

Hampshire has become a hotbed of wine production, and the Candover Brook is regarded as one of the UK’s best.  The Wine GB Gold Medal-winning Candover Brook Rosé (Candover Brook £43) is a stunner.  With its ample cranberry and dried strawberry fruits, citrus, minerals, and a touch of minerally bitterness, it has a very classical feel to it, but there’s something in the joyously lively finish that marks it out as new and exciting.

I’ll stay in the county that gave us cricket (and Benny Hill, well, nowhere is perfect) with the Hambledon Classic Cuvee (Waitrose £32.50).  Regarded as the birthplace of English sparkling wine, the estate was established in 1952.  It’s now owned by Berry Brothers & Rudd and Symington Family Estates, they of port fame.  Restrained and precise, this pale, finely delineated wine is one to sip and consider.  White flowers, hawthorn, and citrus open proceedings, followed by richer tones of dried apple, quince, apricot and hazelnuts.  I’d recommend serving this on its own or with cream cheese blinis, as it should be allowed to shine. 

You can’t talk about English sparkling wine and not mention Nyetimber (Waitrose, on offer £28, down from £42).  From its first release in 1996, Nyetimber redefined people’s expectations as to how good English fizz could be.  Founders Sally and Stuart Moss were convinced they could produce wines that would rival champagne, and a clutch of international awards has proved them right.  ‘Poised, elegant, approachable’ sums up my feelings on this wine.  White gold, its bouquet is floral with pear, grape and white currant offset by toast and chalk dust.  Flavours of green and yellow berries flood over the palate, and while tart red berries make it feel fresh and zingy, the sheer weight of fruit makes it plump and joyous. 

I’ll finish with the Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvée Edition I (Majestic £50).  Produced in Kent by Taittinger, I’ve tasted this first offering twice this year and I’ve been blown away on both occasions.  Green gold with tiny pearlescent bubbles, the fresh and fruity nose of red pears, lemon, chalky minerals and yeast is wonderfully classical.  On the palate, it’s poised, elegant and serious.  Layers of green and yellow fruits are augmented by chalky minerals, a hint of salinity and white pepper.  It reminded me of how Taittinger tasted 20 years ago, and while it’s sublime now, it will develop in the bottle over the next 3-5 years.