This month’s round-up effectively sits in the middle of a (not very warm) summer of Great British sport. After the ups and downs of the Euros and a breathtaking end to Wimbledon, we are just a few days away from The Paris Olympic Games. Appropriately, I open with Nyetimber’s Team GB Classic Cuvée (£41.50, or £29.50 on offer), a striking limited bottling of the country’s most famous sparkling wine. Keeping things sparkling, Digby Vintage Reserve Brut 2014 (£45.00) once again demonstrates the label’s dedication to releasing complex wines with significant ageing, while All Angels Classic Cuvée 2017 (£40.00) intrigues with its distinctive fruit-forward character.

My final sparkling wine of the month comes from my home county of Surrey, the High Clandon Shakespearean Cuvée 2019 (£42.50), which impressed me with its fine texture and finesse. Not wanting to let the still wine category go unnoticed, I’ve ended on a delectable duo. Burn Valley Solaris Reserve 2022 (£26.49) is one of the richest, most complete English wines I’ve had for quite some time. Staying in Norfolk, Flint’s latest Fumé 2023 (£19.99) continues to lead the way in Bacchus with its classic varietal citrus and floral character, lifted by spicy, herbaceous complexities.

Nyetimber x Team GB Classic Cuvée MV

I have to admit, I’m something of an easy sell for a limited edition, and Nyetimber has been quietly perfecting their limited edition release bottles with this year’s collaboration with Team GB. With the Paris Olympics 2024 opening a week today, what better bottle to celebrate with, and toast our amazing home Olympians?

The smart-looking Nyetimber x Team GB release is a limited edition of the estate’s much-loved Classic Cuvée, the current bottling being largely made from the 2019 base vintage, with 23% reserve wine blended from the five vintages between 2018 and 2014.

There’s a reason why this wine is a staple classic in the industry, with the latest cuvée delighting with its equal parts racy freshness and approachable softness. With crisp lemon, crunchy orchard fruit, soft peach and biscuity delicacy, this definitely hits the mark.

What’s more, Team GB (and a few other online retailers) have an offer on at just under £30 – and there’s just enough time to get orders in readiness for the opening ceremony on Friday!

Digby Vintage Reserve Brut 2014

It’s hard to believe this is only the fourth vintage of Digby Vintage Reserve as it’s been a wine that has been there for a large part of the nine years I’ve been covering the English Wine scene.

The 2014 vintage is composed of 62% Chardonnay, 17% Pinot Meunier and 21% Pinot Noir with fruit sourced from Hampshire, Dorset, Kent and Sussex. The final release has an 8g/l dosage and eight years on lees.

There’s a very classic aged Chardonnay character coming through on the nose, with baked apple tarte tatin, hints of vanilla and lemon curd, digestive biscuit and honey-roasted nuts.

This is classic Digby on the palate, combining a racy acidity and intense citrus that melts away to a harmonious blend of baked apple, ripe peaches, creamy waves and buttery brioche. This is so complete, so involving, so very Digby.

All Angels Classic Cuvée 2017

This latest bottle from Berkshire’s All Angels sports a new look label and is a distinctive blend of 60% Chardonnay, 17% Pinot Noir, 14% Pinot Gris and 9% Pinot Meunier.

There’s a nicely rich nose of yellow plum and nectarine with baked apple and a distinctive tropical twist. There’s also buttered toast notes and hints of sweet, nutty pastry.

On the palate this is a rich and expressive style of wine that’s surprisingly fruit-forward with its opulent mixture of baked apple, peach and green tropical fruit notes. It’s generous and weighty, but also brisk and refreshing thanks to the low dosage.

An expansive style, perhaps a little atypical for English Sparkling thanks to the inclusion of some expressive Pinot Gris, but hugely memorable because of it. Very food-friendly, too.

High Clandon The Shakespearean Cuvée 2019

As one of England’s smallest commercial vineyards, with just one acre of vines, Surrey’s High Clandon has punched well above its size and won a whole string of awards and trophies over the years. This 2019 vintage is the latest release, composed of 50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier, with nearly four years on lees and a dosage of 8g/l.

On the nose, there’s immediately fresh, clean orchard fruit, full of green apples, and lemon posset, with a light sprinkling of savoury pastry complexity.

It’s brisk, crisp and fresh, beginning with the juicy crunch of green apples and zingy lemon, before riper notes of peach and red apple that open to cranberry and cherry.

Overall, this is not a wine that gushes richness. Instead, it impresses with its purity and finesse and leaves a lasting impression with its chalky and lightly nutty complexities on the finish.

Burn Valley Solaris Reserve 2022

Solaris is a grape that seems to be little mentioned in modern English Wine circles, which is a shame. It is, in the right hands, capable of producing wonderfully rich white wines – something that’s not easy with many of the other grapes grown in England.

In my opinion, Burn Valley’s Black Label Solaris is the best there is, with winemaker Matt Abbey once again working with Hungarian oak, both old and new, and the wine going through partial malolactic fermentation to bring roundness.

On the nose there are ripe pear, tangerine skin and nectarine aromas, as well as a decidedly tropical fusion of pineapple, citrus fruit and ginger spice.

The palate is generous and fleshy, full of ripe stone fruit, poached pear and punchy tropical flavours. There’s a big burst of lemon and lime energy, as well as a generous suggestion of ginger and roasted spices. Extraordinarily rich, this is the must-try English Solaris.

Flint Vineyard Fumé 2023

Following on from the immense success of the Bacchus Fumé 2022 (it was our top Bacchus in a recent 40+ strong industry-wide tasting), Flint has put faith in their unique approach by releasing just one Bacchus-based wine this year dubbed ‘Fumé 2023’.

Consider this a transition vintage from Flint, melding the racy aromatic freshness and tropical edge of their main Bacchus with the considered textural nuance of their Fumé.

The final blend is made with fruit sourced from Flint’s own vineyards in Norfolk and frequent collaborator Martin’s Lane Vineyard; 40% of the wine was fermented in 3rd use oak barrels.

The end result is a crisp, fresh, invigorating Bacchus led by the familiar characters of lime, grapefruit, pear and grass, but with subtle herby and spiced notes. Suggestions of basil, almond and ginger will keep you returning.

Once again, one of the best Bacchus on the market right now.