Sparkling wines definitely do not come but once per year in the UK: we have a thirst for the fizzy stuff, the charge led by Champagne and Prosecco, but with English sparkling wine, Cava and other world hotspots doing brisk business too.
The festive season is a time when an awful lot of bubbles is consumed, including by people for whom it might not be a regular choice. I’m a huge fan of sparkling wine, particularly traditional method wines made by a similar technique to that used in Champagne, where a fermentation takes place by adding yeast inside individual bottles. These rest for a year or more, all the time gaining complexity before they are disgorged – popped open to remove the yeast then sealed again ready for the consumer.
It’s a time-consuming method, much more so than the common alternative which is charmat, or tank-method, where fermentation is in large tanks, not individual bottles. For me, the traditional method invariably produces a more layered and multi-faceted wine, and one that often benefits from a few years in the cellar.
Here’s a seasonal guide to nine traditional method wines tasted over the past few weeks and spanning supermarket wines at £15, to specialist fizz at over £100 per bottle.
With white and pink wines, from zero dosage to Extra Brut, surely there’s something for everyone?
The Wines
(2023) Always a reliable and elegant sparkling wine from a Loire producer under the same ownership as Bollinger Champagne. This is made from 60% Chenin Blanc along with 20% each of Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc. It is aged 24 months in the chalk cellars, and there's 10% reserve wines in the blend. Pale straw-yellow with fine bubbles, pristine, light, fruity aromas, but certainly a touch of biscuity creaminess too. In the mouth it is fresh and driven by citrus and has excellent freshness, though the 12g/l dosage gives a charming, easy-drinking appeal. Also in Majestic at £16.99 at time of review.
(2023) An agreeable, easy drinking Cava made from the classic varieties, from a company founded by two Belgian entrepreneurs who moved to Barcelona a decade ago specifically to create an organic Cava brand. The lively mousse subsides to reveal custardy apple notes, some toasted brioche. The palate is crisp, juicy, and very flavourful. It has a vivid personality and a finish balanced between the sweetness if the dosage and nice acidity. Just £9.99 as part of a mixed dozen from Laithwaites at time of review.
(2023) A traditional method blend of 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, this comes from the cool, elevated Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. It has a lovely nose of stone fruits on a bed of biscuit, a stony mineral character beneath. On the palate it has a richness and mouth-filling texture, creaminess to the mousse and the sweet-edged fruit licked into a refined, crisp finish by shimmering acidity. On offer at £15 at time of review, that's great value.
(2023) I've always really enoyed this zero dosage cuvée from the family-owned Juve y Camps, made from the three traditional Cava grapes. It is dominated by Xarel.lo, and aged 36 months on the lees in bottle. As always, I get a custardy impression on the nose, but a lovely floral, floating note of delicacy above. Mouth-filling, luxurious bubbles, plenty of fruit sweetness despite the zero sugar, and a shimmering elegance into the finish. Delightful and delicious.
(2023) From a single block of Chardonnay, this is the first time Klein Constantia have had the correct vintage conditions to make a zero dosage cuvée - this has less than 2g/l of residual sugar. Sherbetty notes are joined by developed autolytic notes that are bready and yeasty. There's a sour lemon background. In the mouth it is of course dry, with pithy lemon and grapefruit, but not aggressive. That little bit of creamy leesiness and again some sour lemon gives this balance in the finish, a fresh and featherlight style.
(2023) It's hard to argue with Justerini's Champagne buyer, Julian Campbell, when he says: "It’s a hard act to beat at this price." From a sixth-generation winemaker whose family farm nine hectares of Pinot Noir in the Montagne de Reims, it's a blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay. Crucially however, there are around 50% of reserve wines in the blend, and it spends a full 30 months on the lees so the style is toasty and rich. Nuttiness, brioche and a lovely yeasty development join crisp green apple on the nose. In the mouth, the mousse is cushioning but fresh, the the citrus brightness of the fruit and acidity cuts through those buttery, nutty layers of development. A very fine Champagne at a good price.
(2023) Winner of a gold medal at the WineGB awards, this is a blend of the three main Champagne varieties, part barrel fermented, and aged 24 months on the lees. There's a vivid lemony directness here, smoothed by a little biscuit and some delicate floral notes. The mousse is creamy, and again the lemony thrust of the wine offers plenty of bite and crispness, but it fleshes out mid-palate before a vivid and long, citrus finish.
(2023) Petite Douceur is Gosset's off-dry rosé, the extra sugar combing with extra-long maturation to produce a bronze-tinged wine with rich red fruit and a delicate sweetness. The fruit is all Grand Cru, a blend of 60% Chardonnay from Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and 40% Pinot Noir from Bouzy, Ambonnay, and Cumières. It's an assemblage, made with 7% still Pinot Noir. It's a full, raspberry and strawberry scented wine with quite robust fruit flavours and a certain umami, savoury character. The fruit and cushion of mousse fills the mouth. In truth it comes across as just off-dry, with lovely weight, texture and acidity all fleshing out and cutting through the sweetness. A deliciously well-balanced Champagne. Ocado and Waitrose online are among the stockists, though at time of review the quoted supplier has a very keen price.
(2023) The grape for which Bollinger is most famous, Pinot Noir, this comes mostly from the Grand Cru village of Aÿ and has a moderate dosage of 6g/l. It is based on the 2018 vintage, but has 50% reserve wines, including 25% of the 2009 vintage from Aÿ, aged in magnums. In the house style, 50% of the wine was fermented in oak barrels. Plenty of creamy, nutty autolysis, a meaty umami nuance, but there's a highly perfumed floral and herbal lift too. A really intriguing, multi-layered aromatic. The palate has brisk acidity, plenty of dry, pithy lemon, and core of firm Asian pear fruit. Textured and juicy, but taut in the finish, this is delightful.
Great to see the Forget-Brimont. I was introduced to this over 15 years ago when I bought it in Champagne. We have a factory there. No-one could believe how good it was. Absolute steal for the price to quality ratio.
Thanks David. Agreed – I hadn’t come across the producer until this bottle.
Been drinking a lot more cava recently – good to see it becoming a better-value alternative to Champagne (and not just the cheapest fizz on the shelf).
Thanks Tom. Yes, it suffered really badly from the Prosseco avalanche I think – probably more than any other sparkling wine in the UK – and like you I have always had a soft spot for good cava; it is distinctive within the world of Pinot/Chardonnay sparkling wines too.