WINE REVIEW
It’s amazing just how quickly the English wine industry has moved. I met Henry Laithwaite back in 2016, ahead of the release of his very first wines. Three years on, and his signature Brut Reserve is now in its fourth release and tasting better than ever.
Henry describes this edition as the first true NV blend, which incorporates 30% oak-aged reserve wines as part of a blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier with a dosage of 7g/l.
There’s a pleasingly subtle golden tone as well as developed, rich aromas of red apples and stone fruit, combined with lightly baked pastry tones.
To taste, the Brut Reserve No. 4 finds an exceptional balance between the rich, ripe, honest English orchard fruit intensity and the developing autolytic richness and hints of honeyed stone fruit. The Reserve wines have brought a fuller, more complex nutty character that adds a lot of depth to this wine.