Fresh’n'local benchmark: English bubbly. Costs more than the competition but it’s ours so buy it!
An English sparkling wine, Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 2003 came out top in a blind tasting at the world sparkling wine championships in Verona, beating super-brands such as Louis Roederer 2000 (who make the famous Cristal), Joe Wadsack of The Guardian was skeptical:
“Blind tastings throw up weird results. When judges’ scores are averaged out, the least offensive wine often comes out on top.”
Not this time. “The sensations in the mouth start with a fresh flash of acidity that broadens out like an estuary, ripe, welcoming and soft. Then it takes a more serious turn, becoming eye-wateringly intense, like biting into freshly picked redcurrants. If I hadn’t known, I would have mistaken it for a champagne. It has the classic champagne structure, reminding me slightly of Jacquesson or Billecart-Salmon.”
