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best of all these tools, then I can see why good enough.” He agrees that the more you might conclude that it just costs widespread use of reserves represents English : money. But I’m absolutely certain that a new phase for , indicating our wines are much more complete “increasing sophistication and qualitatively because of the reserve experience.” He thinks that “the ability to Forward and reserves wine.” Hambledon’s current releases— keep significant volumes of reserve wine the Classic Cuvée NV and the Première certainly indicates a level of maturity and Cuvée NV—are based on the 2010 and forward planning within the industry” The English sparkling-wine industry now has 2011 vintages. “So far, the wines are based but also cautions, “It is expensive to sufficient reserve stocks to start producing only on two vintages,” explains Kellett, allocate tank capacity that can’t then “but as each year is going by, we are be used for harvest; it creates different Non-Vintage wines, says Anne Krebiehl MW adding more reserve. So, in 2015 we will logistical challenges. It is still seen as a —a sign of maturity in more ways than one have three years of reserve wine plus the luxury to be able to keep reserve wines— harvest, so it’ll be a four-year blend, but and one that a significant number of that will increase over time.” Kellett aims wineries cannot yet contemplate.” nglish sparkling wine has reached complexity and depth to the blend—in to make “a very high - Hattingley currently holds reserves from a tipping point. No, not the sudden much the same way that a string quartet content, multi-year-blended, layered 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 in tank to be E oversupply and subsequent price differs from a whole orchestra, even if wine.” He wants to grow first-rate blended with the 2015 harvest. crash gleefully predicted by doomsayers either can include virtuoso performances. Chardonnay and then mitigate its Nyetimber in , England’s as new plantings came on-stream, but The decisions come down to cost, “natural briskness with malolactic largest estate, with 375 acres (152ha) a new phase—an adolescence, even a business model, and wine style. Two fermentation, judicious use of oak, under vine, has quietly been working on coming of age. Since the first Chardonnay, relatively new entrants—Exton Park and time.” Production is still small, at an NV blend for years. Its first release is , and vines Vineyard and Hambledon Vineyard, both 200,000 bottles this year, but he has not expected until late 2016. Work began were planted just over 20 years ago, in —intend to focus on NV 74 acres (30ha) planted, with more to when head winemaker Cherie Spriggs English sparkling wines have come a blends. Frenchwoman Corinne Seely, come to eventually produce a million and her winemaker husband Brad remarkably long way, snapping up winemaker at Exton Park, who already bottles. Exton Park, on 55 acres (22ha) of Greatrix both started at Nyetimber in countless accolades in the process. has vintages in Bordeaux, Portugal, newer vines, aims for an initial annual 2007. “We realized that the thing we Hitherto, most producers either Tasmania, and fellow Hampshire production of around 50,000 bottles needed first for this long-term project harvested too little fruit or were under vineyard Coates & Seely under her belt, with tiny vintage production—like 2,500 was to start collecting reserve wines,” too much financial pressure to hold back says, “I’ve made wine in England for bottles of the just-released 2011 Blanc de Greatrix explains. “So, every year we’ve reserve wines for blending. Generally several years, so I have encountered Blancs. All the rest is kept in reserve. Seely been setting aside some reserve wines, speaking, they bottled everything and different vintages here. The summers thus sits on treasure. Both Hambledon beginning in 2007. When we thought we sold vintage-dated wines, on which can be quite ‘sunny,’ if you forgive my and Exton Park have sufficient financial had enough reserves to create something almost all established players have built understatement. Flowering often occurs backing to do this. Seely acknowledges sustainable, we bottled a Non-Vintage their reputation. Very few were in a only in July, so we are three to four weeks that her NV plans were a “gamble” for style in 2012, from the previous years’ position to build up reserves. behind . Even if we share Exton Park owner Michael Isaac, while reserves. This is still on the lees now.” But that is now changing, and it spells some of the same geology, we cannot Kellett has it all written into his long-term This was based on rigorous experiments: the maturation of an industry that can no really compare our climatic conditions. business plan: “We probably have another “Of course, once you bottle your first NV, longer be described as fledgling. Some From my point of view as a winemaker, five years of losing money,” he says. that establishes your style, and you set producers have already released NV having vinified around the world for yourself on a path. We’re not producing blends; others are developing them or more than 20 years, it is not possible to A question of house style NV in order to be able to buffer volumes. building reserves, while some newer make a Vintage every year in England.” Simon Robinson, chairman at Hattingley When people talk about reserve wines players are entering the market with a Ian Kellett at Hambledon, ambitious and Valley Wines Limited, also in Hampshire, in England, they immediately think of Non-Vintage model firmly in mind. not afraid to ruffle some feathers, is played it differently: “Obviously we could smoothing out uneven years. That’s not Increased plantings bearing fruit; two equally outspoken: “We believe the not make Non-Vintage wines in our first our approach at all. We’ve created the NV record-breaking harvests in a row reason that the world’s greatest sparkling couple of years,” he explains,” but it has in order to have a house style. This is a (33,384hl in 2013 and 47,433hl in 2014, wines are made in Non-Vintage styles is always been our intention to do so once commitment. It needs to be of great vis-à-vis a ten-year average of 22,352hl a qualitative factor rather than a volume- reserves had built up sufficiently. We quality in a reproducible style, something and a five-year-average of 28,315hl); protection or mitigation exercise. We have just released our first Non-Vintage that we can achieve year on year.” The long-term projects coming to fruition probably bring between 40 and 50 for particular markets and are planning style they envisage is “that combination and reaching the market—all have components to our assemblage process. to switch our Classic Cuvée to NV in the of complexity and finesse. We try to coincided to help reach this tipping Crucially, I think, the reason this matters next year or so. However, we also plan catch the wines at the right point of time point. It is a sea change for English wine. for us is that in my opinion we’ve got by to continue making Classic as Vintage on lees and disgorgement, so we’re Under European law, any vintage- far the most experienced and capable when the quality of the wine in any year carrying forward some fruit flavors. dated wine may contain up to 15 percent sparkling-wine maker operating in supports it. Rosé, Blanc de Blancs, and We’re only using estate fruit, so if you do of wine from another year, but most England, Hervé Jestin. If you haven’t got Kings Cuvée will be made as Vintage all the work cultivating, why not show English sparkling wines are true a chef de cave who has made hundreds of wines and only in years where quality is them off? Then there is the complexity Vintages. In theory, of course, reserve millions of bottles of sparkling wine in from lees aging, but all with lightness wines allow for consistency across his life, and therefore arguably doesn’t Right: An English vineyard under a clear blue sky, which and elegance.” Greatrix stresses that

variable vintages, while adding have the palate to be able to make the producers were hoping would hold for the 2015 harvest. © agefotostock Photography there is no recipe: “In England, the

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vintage has a huge imprint, so even with range at Hush Heath currently stands at Bloomsbury Vintage cuvées and has our Vintage wines we alter the assemblage around 100,000 bottles. hitherto almost exclusively released from year to year in order to bring some “We are doing this to be able to meet Vintage wines, currently about 300,000 consistency of style. But that flexibility is the demand for English wine going bottles a year. Going down the Vintage going to have to continue in the Non- forward, because the single-vineyard/ route was almost a given. “It hasn’t Vintage in order to achieve consistency single-vintage won’t,” says star hindered us,” says Roberts, who recalls because the years are so different.” The winemaker Dermot Sugrue about the early days of her family’s business in more interesting question, though, is Wiston Estate’s NV-range in West Sussex. the 1990s. “We always thought, let’s just whether the creation of an NV style will Annual production of its estate-grown see what we can do and how good this change their Vintages—you cannot Vintage cuvées is just between 8,000 and can be. I think it took us all by surprise. plunder one at the cost of the other. “I 13,000 bottles. “We have scaled up the The key was to get as much volume as guess so,” ventures Greatrix. “The main Brut NV, which is on board P&O cruise we could as quickly as possible into wine for Nyetimber will become a ships, and the Blanc de Blancs NV.” bottle, so we could start to penetrate Non-Vintage, so Vintage wines will be Fruit for the NV blends is sourced from the market. My parents invested their produced when we can. But if NV is the contract clients he has worked with life and soul into this business. We had main wine we become known for, we for years, making wine for them. He loves to make money. We didn’t have the have to be careful not to produce Vintage working with Chardonnay reserves: resource within the family to finance wines at the expense of the Non-Vintage. “I just love Chardonnay on chalk. It’s years and years of reserves.” Today, So, yes, it will have an influence in that thrilling and exuberant, has vigor and naturally, the estate experiments, but way. Before we had a Non-Vintage in the excitement. To make blanc de blancs its Vintage wines have a loyal following. family, our main tool for consistency was in England, you have fantastically pure, “There is always that nervousness of not selection, so that affects the quantity of linear wines that have an amazing ability bottling because in three years’ time we wines we can produce.” Of the Nyetimber to age. You can do so many things: the want to be ahead of the game,” Roberts Classic Cuvées 2009 and 2010, around combination of chalk, a Coquard press, explains. “Those are hard decisions when 250,000 bottles each were released. They using old oak barrels and careful dosage you are growing a business. We have intend to grow production substantially. to let the wines shine.” Sugrue confesses reserves, and I think it’s something we’d that, initially, “The reserve wines were like to continue. We have a style that we Broadening the range created by circumstance, because 2010 really cannot go a million miles away Others have produced NV blends to meet was such an abundant vintage. It actually from, because people enjoy what we are market demand. While keeping reserves gave enough fruit to be able to keep some doing, so we don’t want to go and change requires capital, there can be advantages. reserve wine back. 2009 wasn’t big it. All we want to do is enhance and Apart from smoothing out vintage enough; 2008, which was our first vintage tweak and add some new dimensions. variation and bridging supply, being here, certainly wasn’t big enough; but in We are definitely looking at it—but able to add reserves may also mean that 2010 I kept 2,000 liters of reserve wine whether as a house, as a brand, we’ll have blends need less time on lees before to give me some options the following a Non-Vintage, that isn’t decided yet.” She release, more “youthful” releases may year.” Nonetheless, the initial, small NV even thinks that if they were to introduce also appeal to a different market segment. release in 2013 was entirely based on an NV for one of their cuvées, all named Hilary Green—sales director at Hush 2009 fruit, just to scale the range. Sugrue after London neighborhoods, “we might Heath Estate in , which introduced wants NV and Vintage to be distinctly not even make a song and dance about it. white and rosé Balfour 1503 NV blends different but emphasizes that they Never say never. For us it comes down to more than a decade after their vintage- present different challenges. “I want the quality and style. You cannot cut corners dated flagship Balfour Brut Rosé—says, Non-Vintage wines as liked by people as in this climate—you just can’t.” Even so, “1503 was introduced in late 2014 with a possible. We’re not leaving them on the on the whole, she is convinced that launch directed at multiple retail and lees as long as the Vintage wines, which I “there will definitely be much more on-trade buyers. This Non-Vintage range want to be a bit idiosyncratic, a little bit reserve wine in the industry in the reflects increasing market demand for special, a little bit geeky, if you like, coming five years.” We as consumers accessibly priced English sparkling because they are more sophisticated. thus have a lot to look forward to as wine. After building the reputation I want them to express something England increasingly sends her wines of Hush Heath, we felt it was time to individual.” He believes, “The inevitable across the globe. As for every quality bring the Hush Heath name to a wider future in the English wine industry is sparkling wine, comparisons with audience in a house style much like to use reserve wines, but it’s a massive Champagne are inevitable and endless. the Champagne model.” Green challenge. It’s about getting into a pattern Exton Park’s Corinne Seely has acknowledges practicality, too: “Besides of keeping wines back. It can only have a the last word: “In fact, England is the obvious complexity and flexibility of beneficial impact on the wines.” complete opposite of Champagne. blending components, reserves will allow They started by blending vintages and us to maintain production in smaller The opposite of Champagne then achieved wonderful millésimes; vintages and develop a house style we At Ridgeview in , CEO England is the other way around.” At the can emulate each year. It also allows us a Tamara Roberts is completely open- time of writing, everyone was happy with more comprehensive range to offer the minded. The pioneering house recently fruit-set of 2015—and praying for warm, market.” Annual production across the celebrated the 20th anniversary of its sunny days in September and October.

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