English sparkling wine: Panel tasting

The verdict

Vintage variation, use of oak and the choice of variety played a more crucial part than regionality in shaping the quality of these new-release English sparkling wines, our experts found. The tasters identified high overall quality among the varied styles and vintages of the 53 wines tasted, with half (26) hitting the mark for Highly Recommended and one achieving Outstanding.

Susie Barrie MW found the wines were generally ‘well-made and attractive, but they hit the Silver spot (90-94 points), as opposed to Gold (95-97pts)’.

Scroll down to see the tasting notes & scores

Though there were some diverse individual scores, all three tasters agreed that the 2014 vintage, which accounted for 14 of the 33 vintage-specific wines tasted, didn’t shine. ‘The wines from what was perceived to be a good vintage, which was early and high in sugar levels, are never as good in sparkling wines, because they don’t have the acidity,’ commented Stephen Skelton MW. According to Freddy Bulmer, ‘muddled’ flavours and ‘a lack of purity and focus’ were the typical deficiencies.

Climate change has so far been favourable to most English producers, but weather extremes can still be threatening, added Barrie, who also voiced her concerns over the yet-to-be-released 2018 vintage, as it was also a ‘big, warm vintage’, like 2014.

The Champagne grapes dominated the top-scoring wines, although two, from Camel Valley and Three Choirs, were blends containing a considerable proportion of Seyval Blanc. This early-ripening, high-acid hybrid variety thrives in England’s cool climate, though EU regulations do not permit its use in the production of officially designated ‘quality wines’ – a fact which has caused some discontent among English producers.

Nonetheless, Barrie held that in the realm of English sparkling wines, Seyval Blanc may be ‘the one variety that really can go beyond the Champagne varieties and be really successful’. Skelton, however, pointed out that Seyval Blanc doesn’t yet have a place in mainstream English vineyards.

In terms of the origins of the wines, among the 27 scoring 90 pts or more, 11 were from the county of Sussex and five were from Hampshire. However, Skelton deemed that regionality ‘isn’t an obvious indicator of quality in English sparkling wines’.

Oak ageing, on the other hand, did shape the style and quality of several examples – nine wines were specified as having been aged in oak before the second fermentation, with the longest maturation period being nine months. In some of the Chardonnay-dominant wines, Bulmer found the use of oak left ‘obvious’ and ‘less desirable’ marks: ‘It seemed like people were trying a little bit too hard to make a premium wine,’ he said. The Pinot Noir-dominant blends were more harmonious, with ‘a nice layer of toasting’, indicating a better compatibility with oak.

However, trial and error is part of the learning process for a young wine industry such as England’s. Barrie noted the oldest vintage tasted was 2010: ‘That may have been the first wine that this winery made,’ she said.

‘Since then there’s been a decade in which English winemakers have been desperately trying to work out the best thing to do, not only with their terroir and their vines, but how to deal with the conditions of each vintage. Champagne has had hundreds of years to work it out.’

The scores

Wines tasted: 53

Exceptional: 0

Outstanding: 1

Highly recommended: 26

Recommended: 16

Commended: 10

Fair: 0

Poor: 0

Faulty: 0

About English sparkling wine

The seemingly sudden arrival of English sparkling wine on the world stage has been no accident. Stephen Skelton MW reveals the decades of history and hard work that lie behind its success…

Sparkling wines (and ciders) have been produced in England since at least the early 1660s, as papers read to the Royal Society show – and this some years before Dom Pérignon took up his position as ‘cellarar’ at his abbey in France.

In the modern era, the first producer to successfully use Pinot Noir and Chardonnay was New Hall in 1984, from its dry, sheltered coastal vineyards in Essex. It was Nyetimber who, in 1988, began planting the Champagne trio of varieties solely for the production of bottle-fermented sparkling wines, going on to release its first stunningly good vintage, the 1992, in 1996, to start a revolution that continues to this day.

The driver behind the switch of varieties from German crosses to Chardonnay and Pinots was of course climate change. Before the 1990s, natural alcohol levels at harvest were between 5% and 8%, seldom higher. Since 2000, there has rarely been a year when they have been under 10%. In 2018 – admittedly an amazing year for UK growers – still Chardonnay wines were made with 13.5% alcohol, all natural. The rise in both daytime and night-time temperatures, with many more days above 30°C – a temperature which tips varieties such as Chardonnay and the Pinots from ‘marginal’ to ‘possible’ – has changed completely, and hopefully forever, the spectrum of varieties being grown in the UK.

Global standing

Climate change has also meant a huge increase in quality, occasioned by the use in the UK of international varieties – varieties known and loved all over the world – and the switch from making only still wine, to a point where about three-quarters of production is sparkling. And very good sparkling at that. The ability to blend across varieties and regions, the benefits brought about by sur latte bottle ageing (stored horizontally prior to disgorgement) and the wonders of dosage have transformed what winemakers are able to do to their sparkling wines. Sure, there are drawbacks in making sparkling wines – the lower yields, the extra equipment and, most importantly, the additional capital and time required – but long-term, the wait is worth it, as the world-class quality of so many English sparkling wines shows.

English sparkling: The facts

Area under vine: 3,250ha

Number of producers with 0.10ha or more: 735

Varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier comprise 2,194ha (67.5% of total area under vine). In 1990,

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay had only 52ha between them – just 5.7% of the then total vineyard area of 917ha. Müller-Thurgau, Seyval Blanc, Reichensteiner, Bacchus and Schönburger then accounted for 62% but today make up 18% of plantings.

English sparkling: Know your vintages

2018 A totally exceptional year. An early harvest saw yields at 13m bottles (2.5 times the average), with high sugars and balanced acids.

2017 Very hard spring frosts reduced crops in many vineyards. A very early flowering resulted in an early harvest. Good still wines and sparkling wines that will have ageing potential.

2016 Excellent weather from mid-August gave very high natural sugars. Both still and sparkling wines are very good, with sparkling drinking best until 2023.

2015 A frost-free spring and very late flowering. Very good ripening period gave excellent sparkling wines, especially Chardonnay-based, which will repay keeping.

2014 Very good flowering and a warm September and October produced excellent wines, both still and sparkling. Sparkling wines at their best now.

2013 Frost-free spring, but late flowering led to a very late harvest. High acidity at picking produced very long-lived wines, especially Chardonnay-based.

2012 Very poor crop for most growers and very few wines are still available.

2011 Poor flowering and low crop. Sparkling wines best and long-lasting.

Most growers start out by producing vintage wines, wanting to get some return for their investment in vineyards and stock as quickly as possible, and develop non-vintage blends over time. Regionality in sparkling wines does exist, but it tends to be related to the weather conditions of the year, rather than an intrinsic regional character. About 35% of all grapes grown in the UK are traded, therefore wines from, say, the west of the country, may well contain grapes grown in the east. In addition, almost all of the larger producers obtain grapes from more than one county and often more than one region.

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest-release English sparkling wines (white styles only, vintage or NV) priced at £50 or under

Top 27 English sparkling wines from the panel tasting:

The following wines scored 90 points and above

The judges

Susie Barrie MW

A widely published wine writer, author and broadcaster, Barrie’s credits include more than a decade on BBC1. She has authored several books, including The Essential Guide to English Wine, co-written with her husband Peter Richards MW. Together the pair also co-host the annual Wine Festival Winchester.

Freddy Bulmer

Having worked for two wine merchants in Yorkshire, Bulmer moved to The Wine Society in 2013, working his way up to start as a buyer in early 2017. He is now responsible for buying the Society’s wines from Austria, Eastern Europe, England, Australia and New Zealand, as well as beers and ciders.

Stephen Skelton MW

Skelton is a consultant to the English and Welsh wine industry, wine educator and awarded author. After studying in Germany, in 1977 he established Tenterden Vineyards in Kent, making wine there for 22 years. The DWWA Regional Chair for the UK, his latest book is The Wines of Great Britain (Infinite Ideas, May 2019).