Britain has a new King and all the top-quality fizz needed to celebrate his arrival in style.
What better excuse could there be for opening a bottle or two of fabulous British sparkling wine than the upcoming coronation of their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Classic method, bottle-fermented sparkling wines have been an enormous success story for the country’s wine industry: Britain can now boast wines made from the traditional Champagne grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier) that are truly world-class. The patriotic (and commercially astute) folk at some of the country’s finest producers are issuing special cuvées just in time for the historic day.
Together with some of the absolute standards of the English fizz scene, Falstaff has selected a winning hand to make your celebrations go poppingly.
Ridgeview Wine Estate is set in the glorious, quintessentially English landscape of the South Downs. Operating since 1995, the business is still family owned and produces a range of sparkling cuvées from all three Champagne grapes grown on-site. Their wines already have history with the Royal Family, having been served at a number of state banquets and the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. For the forthcoming coronation, they have issued a trio of the sparkling wines with royal connections in a rather natty gift box. The case contains a bottle each of their Fitzrovia rosé, their Pinot-forward Cavendish cuvée and the lighter, more Chardonnay-dominant Bloomsbury blend. Inside you will also find a specially designed coronation bottle stopper in rather smart blue or red (white) and blue livery.
Also based in the Sussex Downs is Nyetimber, an estate run since 2006 by Eric Heerema together with his winemaking team, Cherie Spriggs and her husband, Brad Greatrix. Their range of cuvées, including the rich Tillington single vineyard, predominantly Pinot Noir, and their highly regarded 1086 have been delighting critics and sparkling wine devotees ever since. Following the success of their Platinum Jubilee special bottling, the Estate has released a new limited edition of their Classic cuvée splendidly fitted out in patriotic robes for the coronation. A blend of all three Champagne varieties from their vineyards in West Sussex and Hampshire, it’s also available in a gift set alongside a couple of glasses. They are rather masters of the promotional video: check out their site for a full on bunting-and-horse-guards pageant in honour of the launch.
Talking of flag waving and hip-hip-hooraying, I’m a huge fan of Rathfinny’s stable of wines. This über-chic estate, also in the South Downs, was established in 2010 by Mark and Sarah Driver, becoming B-Corp certified this year. Besides their Classic cuvée and a rosé, they make a lovely vintage Blanc de Blanc (100% Chardonnay) and my personal favourite, a vintage Blanc de Noirs (mostly Pinot Noir with a hint of Meunier). It’s complex, with honeyed-pear notes and just a nod to Pinot’s red-fruited depths. Something just a little different. No sign of them releasing a special cuvée for the day, but don’t let that stop you snapping up a couple of these lovely bottles for the celebration. Individual wines and selection cases available.
Over in Hampshire’s green and pleasant vales, Hambledon (England’s first commercial vineyard) has enrobed their Classic cuvée in a rather smart new bottle engraved with King Charles’s coronation emblem for the occasion. The limited edition Coronation cuvée now sits alongside their small but perfectly formed range of sparkling wines, including their intriguingly different zero dosage rosé made from 100% Meunier. The English wine scene is now established enough to be using aged reserve wines to add complexity to vintages, a practice common in a certain French quality sparkling wine region. Hambledon uses this to great effect in their wines and it really shows in the breadth and complexity of palate they are now producing.
Finally, full marks must go to the charitable folk at Kent’s finest, Chapel Down – all profits from the Coronation Edition of their 2016 vintage are going to the Royal British Legion. So limited was this new release, however, that at the time of writing it had already sold out. Drat! Take heart however, their other quality wines are more than ready to jump into the breach. In particular, look out for the vintage Blanc de Blancs from their Kit's Coty collection. Made using hand-harvested grapes from their 100-acre Kit's Coty vineyard there’s an intensity to the wine’s autolytic brioche notes that is really seductive. And what shouts ‘God save the King’ quite as loudly as a magnum! Also available in a case of 6 standard-size bottles.
