English Wine Producers Tasting 2009

This annual tasting at the end of April coincided with English Wine Week, a campaign started some five years ago to promote English wines and vineyards. The sporting location was different - Stamford Bridge instead of Lord's this year - but the wines were broadly as I remembered them from 2008. In general terms, the sparkling wines stood head and shoulders above the still ones, the whites were patchy and there were next to no stand-out reds.

The highlights of the tasting for me were:

Chapel Down Brut Vintage Reserve NV - mostly small bubbles, crisp nose of stainless steel minerality and gooseberries, crisp/acidic/fresh on palate with a nice level of fizz; slightly synthetic aftertaste

Camel Valley 'Cornwall' Brut 2006 - Chardonnay-ish nose and palate, light malolactic, light, non-aggressive bubbles; bit of residual sweetness on the finish

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2001 - mixture of large and small bubbles, very creamy nose, richness on palate - a foody wine


The future of English wine certainly seems to be sparkling. There are some pitfalls which need to be avoided, such as over-chaptalisation (Three Choirs?) and uneven bubbles which fade quickly (Bookers?) Trying to imitate Champagne should also be avoided (Nyetimber - especially their Classic Cuvee?)

The down-side of committing to a future of sparkling wine production is that it is much more capital-intensive than still winemaking. For this reason Stephen Spurrier says he is considering a joint venture with an established champagne house, Duval-Leroy (see article). Maybe this is the way forward for start-up English wineries. Convincing French champagne houses that they need an English producer on their books may well be a difficult task though...