Super-impressed by these two sparkling wines from the ‘new world’ – specifically South Africa and Australia. They’re both available from UK retailer Marks & Spencer (I strongly suspect that the…
Hart of Gold English Sparkling Wine
I was impressed by this new English sparkling wine, made by Justin Howard-Sneyd, high-flying wine buyer and owner of a small domaine in the South of France. Justin sourced the…
Meeting Pepe Raventós
I popped into Mission E2 last night before dinner to meet up with Pepe Raventós. What a dude. His family have been super-important in the development of Cava – until recently…
Coates & Seely’s remarkable La Perfide
This is one of the UK’s best sparkling wines yet, I reckon. It’s a newly released vintage bottling from Coates & Seely, and is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir/40%…
Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs Late Disgorged 2007
This is amazing. One of the best sparkling wines I’ve tried from the UK. It has been aged on its lees for 70 months. It shows what’s possible in England…
Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2010, another fine English sparkling wine
I’m getting quite excited by the progress of English sparkling wine. Here’s another good one. Gusbourne Estate is one of the most highly reputed of the English producers, and they’ve…
Lunch at Mission E2 with some nice Californian wines
On Thursday I had lunch at one of London’s most exciting new wine destinations: Mission E2, the second venue from Sager & Wilde. It’s a beautiful space in a nicely…
Hambledon Classic Cuvee, a brilliant new English sparkling wine
Hambledon Vineyard has history. It was established in 1952, the first of the new era vineyards in the UK. The village of Hambledon is also the cradle of the sport…
Smith & Evans Higher Plot Pinot Chardonnay 2010 Somerset, a new English fizz
Always good to see a new English sparkling wine that’s of top quality. I was really impressed by this. It’s the first crop from a vineyard in Somerset, planted in…