Wine Type: Sparkling White

(2024) A Chardonnay dominated blend along with Gamay and tiny amounts of Aligoté and Pinot Noir, this drinks well in a slightly more crowd-pleasing, soft and approachable style where the sweetness of the dosage is slightly too high for my palate, which tends towards drier sparkling wines. It's a simple but well-made wine with good fruit and freshness in the finish.

(2024) A Chardonnay-based sparkling wine sourced from vineyards in Pemberton and Margaret River, Western Australia. A dosage of just 6g/l gives this a poised, precise character. Lemon dominates the nose, but not too sharply, a biscuity background softening the picture. Super fresh and nicely balanced, this plays out in very pleasing fashion on the palate, ripe orchard fruit and citrus pure into the finish.

(2024) A full 24 months on the lees before release of this wine made from 100% Chardonnay grown in Vertus, Côtes des Blancs. It is made for Laithwaites by Paul Goerg, a well-regarded co-operative. On the nose a certain yeasty meatiness, nutty, with red apple fruit. The palate is quite sweet (though the wine is Brut), and that is the dominant feature through to the finish. There is a nice level of acidity in the finish, a little hint of the nut husk dryness helping that. £27 by the mixed dozen.

(2024) 'Miru Miru' means 'bubbles' in Maori, here created by a traditional method blend of 49% Chardonnay, 48% Pinot Noir and 3% Pinot Meunier. Very toasty on the nose this wine, hot buttered toast and hazelnut, everything about it says 'approachable' with a peachiness to the fruit. On the palate it has some sweetness to the fruit, in a soft, rolling and attractive style that drinks easy and finishes with enough lemony acidity to sharpen up the picture. £17.99 by the mixed case.

(2024) This second ever release from Weyborne is a 2019 vintage wine that is 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier from their oldest vineyard, planted in 2004. Made in an oxidative style, including 3% barrel ferment, it has a relatively deep colour and has plenty of minuscule bubbles. The nose has nettle and pastry aromas, something reminding me of yellow fruits - mirabelle plum or persimmon perhaps. It's labeled Brut, but has only 2g/l dosage, so it is dry and racy on the palate. There is fruit sweetness, of English orchards and citrus, but a free-flowing acidity and hint of saltiness makes it gastronomic too. Another impressive wine from Weyborne.

(2024) For me, the best vintage so far of one of Nyetimber's flagship vintage wines. Ambition in the English wine industry is a good thing surely, and companies like Nyetimber, who offer prestige cuvées at prices that edge toward Champagne's elite, have their heads well above the parapet. They are willing to be judged by what's in the bottle, and in this case it is an exceptionally fine sparkling wine from a single vineyard plot of Pinot Noir (73%) and Chardonnay planted on greensand. It spent a full five years on the lees, and was bottled with 9.5g/l of residual sugar. The colour has a hint of gold, the mousse is fine, and aromatically it flits between raspberry and nutty russet apples, yeasty autolysis and lime and lemon zestiness. On the palate there is that zippy, streaking freshness, but there is fruit sweetness too, quite intense, absolutely concentrated and direct, but the combination of the long ageing and thrilling acidity gives a long, energising finish.

(2024) From the first Malvasía Volcánica grapes planted specifically for the production of sparkling wines on the island, this is made using the traditional method spent 20 months on the lees in bottle. It has less than 1g/l of residual sugar. Fabulous waxy yellow apples on the nose, briny ozone and biscuity richness. The palate does not miss the sugar one little bit, having a fruit concentration and the driving force of the mineral acidity and a herbal streak. I thought this was different and delicious.

(2024) From the burgeoning English Sparkling Wine scene, this is a delightful West Sussex Brut blending the three main Champagne varieties. It's a cuvée dominated by 61% Chardonnay along with 34% Pinot Noir and 5% of Pinot Meunier. Though presented as Brut, after four years on the lees it was bottled with zero dosage. It is a dry Champagne, but it is fruit-filled and far from austere. It has a fine mousse and a really biscuity, creamy and nutty nose, those autolytic aromas dominating the lemon and red apple fruit. In the mouth it zips along with dazzling freshness, but the nuttiness and the plush suggestion of sweet, ripe fruit at the core of this fills the mid-palate and gives excellent balance. A super impressive first tasting from this estate for me.

(2024) Matured on the lees for 30 months, this is 30% Pinot Noir, 70 % Chardonnay, disgorged March 2021. It has "a small amount of dosage," added. There's a richness and robust yeastiness on the nose, truffle and earthy aromas into orchard fruits. The palate has a creaminess to the mousse and flavours that are citrussy and direct, lemons and sharp English apples but the picture softened by the leesy, lightly nutty notes from the long lees ageing.

(2024) Bright, feels a touch sweet despite being Brut - so less than 12g/l of sugar - with crisply defined ripe apple and touches of sweeter peach, a light and forthy mousse, and enough acidity to balance.£10.66 at time of review, which is a better price I think.