DOMAINE EVREMOND EDITION I
A RARE FIRST EDITION LAUNCH
I am delighted to offer the first ever vintage of Domaine Evremond, Taittinger’s first English Sparkling Wine. Marked on the neck as ‘Edition I’, this limited global release comes with our STRONG BUY recommendation.
6x75cl - £235 in bond
This landmark project began in 2015 when Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath MW envisioned creating a premium English sparkling wine. After an extensive search, they secured a remarkable site in Chilham, Kent – “The Garden of England” – where south-facing chalk slopes and optimal shelter provide the perfect conditions for growing
Domaine Evremond Edition I is a classic cuvée comprising 55% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Meunier. With 80% of the fruit from 2020 and 20% from 2019, it was bottled in June 2021 and disgorged in August 2024, benefiting from over three years on the lees. The result is a wine of remarkable finesse, complexity, and elegance –already garnering high praise from those fortunate enough
Scored 93 points by Vinous, Anne Krebiehl MW wrote:
A citric, bright lemon and green apple freshness defines the lively nose of the wine. More air allows lemony Viennoiserie to peep through, as well as an ozone breeze. Fine, creamy bubbles immediately distinguish the slender palate, where more lemon freshness is bedded in the smoothness of that exemplary mousse. An impressive and elegant debut, svelte and clean-cut, especially considering the Pinot Noir dominance of the wine. Châpeau!
This is a stunning first edition from a producer that is likely to rocket straight to the top of the English Sparkling Wine tree, especially with the might and expertise of Taittinger behind it.
Our advice is to secure an allocation of this superb wine at first asking.
More information overleaf...
CL S FINE WINE
It was back in 2015 that Pierre Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath MW had the idea of a joint venture between Champagne Taittinger and Hatch Mansfield to create a premium English sparkling wine. Pierre Emmanuel’s instruction to Patrick was simple “my friend, please go and find us some suitable lovely land”.
England remains a marginal climate for grape growing so site selection is critical. From day the site search was focussed in Kent as after all it is “The Garden of England” where the best fruit is grown. Kent has more sunshine hours than any other County in England. Evremond had 3 strict site selection criteria; any suitable land needed to be on chalk, south or south west facing, and below 100 m of altitude and sheltered.
In 2015 the team were fortunate to find a lovely fruit farm at Chilham, West of Canterbury. The land was being sold by Mark Gaskain a 3rd generation fruit farmer. In the autumn of 2015 at a Press conference in Canterbury Cathedral the creation of Domaine Evremond was announced and the story of the first Champagne House to invest in the UK received terrific Press from around the World.
Domaine Evremond is named after Charles de St Evremond (1613 – 1703) who was the first man to bring the early wines of Champagne to the Court of Charles II. He is the only Frenchman buried in Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey. Claude Taittinger wrote a book about him.
In 2017 21 hectares of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier were planted. The day-to-day management of the vineyards is done by Mark Gaskain and his team under the supervision of Christelle Rinville, the Taittinger Director of Viticulture. The first small crop was picked in 2019. and the team converted an old, shabby barn into a modern temporary winery and the amazing winemaking team at Taittinger led by Aleaxandre Ponnavoy, (the Taittinger Director of Winemaking) fitted it out with tanks, presses, refrigeration etc.
Christelle and Alexandre and a small team from Taittinger have come over for a least 10 days for every harvest since 2019. They finish in Reims and jump in the car to come to Kent or Le Kent as they call it! Their hands on commitment is amazing as is a huge part of why Domaine Evremond is likely to be a household name in English Sparkling Wine immediately.
