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Five top-class English wines
1. Hattingley Valley Classic Cuvée, 2013. Hampshire (sparkling)
2. Bride Valley, Brut Réserve, 2014. Dorset (sparkling)
3. Davenport, Brut, Auxerrois, 2014. East Sussex (sparkling)
This is my favourite English wine to date – soft and creamy, but still fresh and very English. Emma Rice oak-ferments a small percentage and this rounds the final wine out very nicely.
A crisper, zingier-style, but with no lack of biscuit richness – very much in Champagne modem from an estate owned by renowned wine writer Stephen Spurrier.
Light and very fresh, it works well as a stepup for Prosecco-lovers. Expensive for the quality, but incredibly drinkable.
£29.95 Old Bridge Wine
Christopher Piper Wines £25.74
4. Horsmonden, Davenport, 2015. East Sussex (still white)
5. Pinot Gris, Stopham Estate, 2015. Sussex (still white)
And, this is my favourite still English wine. Smells like Sauvignon Blanc and even has the charm and brightness you would expect from a NZ white. Made from Bacchus, grown organically, which is no mean feat in an English climate.
An easy-drinking, gently rounded Pinot Gris – a little fuller than any Pinot Grigio you might have drunk. Not cheap (English wine never is), but rather classy.
Old Bridge Wine £14.95
Old Bridge Wine £14.95
Vintage Roots £26.50
John Hoskins, Master of Wine and owner of The Old Bridge at Huntingdon and Old Bridge Wine huntsbridge.com