100% Pinot Noir from the 2016 vintage, with 32 g/l dosage.

As soon as Charlie from @coolhurstvineyards told me they were doing this wine I thought ‘yes’! Their dry wines have offered up such fresh, silky and refined expressions of English Pinot that all the extra dosage does is add a natural, balanced fruit sweetness.

Some classic fresh red fruits as you’d expect, but also ripe red apples, clementine and white peach, a twist of pepper and gingerbread, delicate white rose and meringue. There’s some crabapple jelly, but not a hint of anything wild or herbaceous. No rough edges, just pure delicacy from great fruit and sensitive winemaking ( Ulrich Hoffmann at @hoffmannandrathbone .)

An addictive little redcurrant pip twist pops up on the finish, joining the polished acidity in maintaining proper tension and length, too. This is the first Demi-Sec to properly grab me from the UK. Hats off! 17

Simpsons didn’t use as much inert pressing for the 2017 vintage of the Chalklands Classic Cuvée as was used in 2016, and Charles explains that the resulting wine has a more oxidative style.* The 2017, composed of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay fermented in steel and aged on lees for 20 months, pours a notably golden hue, with an inviting vein of almond and set honey running through farm-shop apple juice (the posh stuff). It wears a light and bright texture beneath this open stance, with some delicacy and a fine, appetising almond-skin substance on the close, unimpeded by difficult acidity or dosage – a sign of good fruit in England.

The oxidative surface here speaks of more than just pressing, to me – this is a wine that has been deliberately given a shot of maturity beyond its years. It could really land with anyone wanting a change from the frank, LED-bright styles we sometimes get at entry level. 16

A new limited edition of 1018 bottles, blended by Gerard Fox. 60% Pinot Noir and 20 each of Chardonnay and the F&F secret weapon, Pinot Gris.

This has some attitude! Lots of sweet apples, red and russet, roasted and fresh, pepped up with ripe lemon juice and jasmine. With time, delicate white peach sweetness wakes up alongside the almond croissant and toasted pecan deliciousness that comes with time in bottle.

Electric acidic brightness on the palate – a real live wire – held in check by crystal clear fruit sweetness and delicate creamy weight. A fine chalky, rocky grip pulls the palate tight. You’re left with tingling fresh lemon juice, the lick of sweet pastry and the lift of white florals, sparring with each other and daring you back in.

Thoroughly enlivening, a wild child sent to finishing school and deciding they quite like it. 16.5

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Read Six Atmospheres English Sparkling Wine 2020

40% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier. 2015 Base, with 30% reserve wines stored in 225l barriques. Disgorged June 2019 with 8 g/l dosage, comprising older oak-aged wines. Current releases are later disgorgements.

A fully-realised, confident style that shows off some excellent fruit. Ripe, peppy yellow grapefruit and lemon marmalade are set against roasted yellow apples, nectarines and salty, buttery pastry. With time the Pinots come alive – crimson strawberry sweetness and lovely meaty, spicy notes that play with the oak influence. The subtle reductive complexity I tasted soon after disgorgement has mellowed, and a delicious caramelised pineapple character is creeping in.

There is a bristling, gregarious kind of energy here that is shared with the excellent Blanc de Noirs from 2015. But then this is not a wine that has had all its natural texture polished out of it. In fact it retains a fine, appetising grip, held deliciously in balance. Very happy alongside food, and certainly welcomes some time in bottle. 17.5

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Six Atmospheres English Sparkling Wine.2020

55% Chardonnay, 41% Pinot Noir, 4% Pinot Meunier

Notes as written blind from The Big Blind Bargain Bubble Tasting.

Made by Hush Heath. This is dominated by a cool-fermented peardrop/boiled sweet note. It’s actually very fresh and solidly-balanced, but I’m finding this hard to call. Extremely youthful. Rather simple, would appeal as a Prosecco step-up. 15

100% Chardonnay from the original vineyard at Ridgeview. I believe this was disgorged in May 2017.

Lovely bright flavours of ripe lemon, floral bergamot and juicy yellow apples warmed up with some peach and salted pastry. Ripe yellow grapefruit provides a nice edginess and peppy length. This does feel like a single vineyard wine, rather than something assembled of many complex parts, but it is fine and enlivening, developing very well in typically pristine Ridgeview style. 16.5

75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay. Disgorged December 2018. 

The first vintage of the 1086 Rosé has subtly moved on since release, with deep cherry and red berry fruit mingling with darker flavours of cocoa, cinnamon and old-wood spice. There is a spot of grenadine grip playing on the palate, although it still feels bright and fresh. This is undoubtedly Nyetimber’s ultimate expression of Pinot Noir, gastronomic and expressive, although the blanc from 2010 is another notch up. A little less energy and vibrancy on this showing than when tasted in autumn 2019. Lovely, though, and ready to drink. 17.5

45% Chardonnay, 44% Pinot Noir, 11% Pinot Meunier. Disgorged February 2019. 

The second vintage of Nyetimber’s Prestige bottling. These wines are simply blends of the best of a vintage – there’s nothing different done in the winery save for the extra time on lees and cork before release. It’s a refreshing approach, and one that doesn’t try to dazzle with any kind of extroversions concocted in the cellar. 

The sensation at this young age is of togetherness and harmony. 2010 is a more ‘classic’ year than the warm 2009, and this wine feels serenely poised between crystal-clear white fruits, subtle berries and slightly pithy, invigorating citrus that really kicks in on the finish, extending the wine into a delicious swirl of nougat, flint and cream pastry. Some refined pineapple ripeness is lurking, too. This is a step up from 2009, mirroring the sheer finesse of the new batch of Classic Cuvée 2010 magnums. Truly exciting. The rare magnums might go higher. 18

2015 base. 62% Chardonnay, 38% Pinot Noir. 11% reserves from 2014, disgorged July 2019.

Red wine addition here is “in the teens”, percentage-wise, leading to quite a deeply-fruited style that represents a bit of a gear change from the calling-card style of pale, delicate Pinot Noir-led Rosés that have become England’s speciality. The high Chardonnay percentage is quite unusual in that context, although it is the Pinot fruit that hits you first with a good whack of poached strawberries and cherries. Behind it there’s sweet red apple and pear, framed by a gentle shortcake richness. With the slightly deeper style comes a touch of savour and spice, tomato and pepper, but the palate is clean and clear, drawn out very elegantly by Chardonnay line and perfectly-judged dosage. 16.5

76% Pinot Noir, 24% Chardonnay. Disgorged July 2017.

Just 10,000 bottles are produced. Just like the 2013 Blanc de Blancs, this is suddenly hitting its stride. Still terrifically fresh, with pure berries, aromatic pear and nice juicy yellow fruits that are just starting be joined with browned pastry and caramel apples. It hints at some meaty, peppery Pinot Noir evolution but stays delicate and linear. The flavour is all about Pinot, but it is pulled tight thanks to Chardonnay and the 2013 vintage. Drinking well now, but another year or two will only improve it. 17.5