THE VERDICT
Vintage variation, use of oak and the choice of variety played a more crucial part than regionality in shaping the quality of these new-release English sparkling wines, our experts found. The tasters identified high overall quality among the varied styles and vintages of the 53 wines tasted, with half (26) hitting the mark for Highly Recommended and one (see right) achieving Outstanding.
Susie Barrie MW found the wines were generally ‘well made and attractive, but they hit the Silver spot (90-94 points), as opposed to Gold (95-97pts)’.
Though there were some diverse individual scores, all three tasters agreed that the 2014 vintage, which accounted for 14 of the 33 vintage-specific wines tasted, didn’t shine. ‘The wines from what was perceived to be a good vintage, which was early and high in sugar levels, are never as good in sparkling wines, because they don’t have the acidity,’ commented Stephen Skelton MW. According to Freddy Bulmer, ‘muddled’ flavours and ‘a lack of purity and focus’ were the typical deficiencies.
Climate change has so far been favourable to most English producers, but weather extremes can still be threatening, added Barrie, who also voiced her concerns over the yet-to-be-released 2018 vintage, as it was also a ‘big, warm vintage’, like 2014.
The Champagne grapes dominated the top-scoring wines,
