It’s St. Georges Day, the sun is shining (at least it is at the time of posting this article here in Surrey), and you can guarantee at least a couple of glasses of English Sparkling Wine will be on the agenda for me today. What better day to celebrate by opening a bottle of delicious home grown bubbly? For this feature I’ve decided to focus on one particular Sparkling style that I’ve acquired quite a taste for; that style is Blanc de Blancs.
So what’s so special about Blanc de Blancs? For many English Sparkling producers, this name signifies their flagship wine. Meaning ‘white from white’, a Blanc de Blancs is made from white grapes only. Often just single varietal Chardonnay, there are some producers also incorporating Seyval Blanc into the blend. Usually produced only in very best vintages and vinified from a single year’s harvest, these elegant wines often have a very focussed flavour profile; big on orchard fruit flavours and accompanied by rich and rounded bread, biscuit and brioche notes.
Of the six wines I’ve selected, all are made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes and are Vintage releases. Some are from the well-known established producers including Sussex’s Nyetimber and Kent’s Chapel Down, who’s latest Blanc de Blancs 2011 was described to me by winemaker Josh Donaghay-Spire as possibly being their best yet. I’ve also included some of the lesser-known gems out there that we have discovered over the recent weeks, including Dorset’s English Oak Vineyard and a truly stunning wine from Hampshire’s Exton Park. This week I was also invited to Greyfriars Vineyard in Surrey and had a chance to revisit their Blanc de Blancs 2013 amongst other delights – it’s superbly rounded and rich, and priced at a just £21.00/bottle.
So without further ado, lets get onto the wines in question and raise a toast to St. George!
