Rathfinny, 2019 Classic Cuvée, Brut

More wine from England?

This is the House Style of Rathfinny and is made to a completely classic Champagne recipe: 50% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier and 35% Chardonnay. Lees aged for 30 months,

The gorgeous colour lifts notes of red apple and citrus, leading to lemon meringue and lime zest on the palate, which finishes with bright mouthwatering notes of red currant and Braeburn apples. It's a long and juicy, and sweet-fruit finish, dry as a Brut-bone, but utterly charming and really, really delicious!

This is a stunning wine from one of the most celebrated estates in England. Set in the South Downs area, which begin almost immediately as soon as you head out of Brighton on the A23 to London, the estate was established in 2010 by husband and wife Mark and Sarah Driver. Located on land with rich chalky content in the soils, there is a strong sense of familiarity with Champagne vineyards, which is understandable because the region sits on same 'Paris Basin', the sub-strata of rock that covers the North of France and Champagne, running under the Channel into Kent and Sussex. The Downs themselves are about three miles from the sea, and are sheltered by any poor weather by the roll of the hills onto which they sit, soaking up the sun and warmth (which, of course, is ever increasing in the 21st Century).

This adds to the story and the possibility that Rathfinny sets out to achieve - that Sussex becomes a reference point as much as Champagne. And that each wine is a vintage-dated bottling. It's a serious ambition, but the generosity with which they approach the industry is nothing short of inspirational. It's about knowledge and experience sharing and a search for the best quality that the region can collectively promote.

That England could produce wine should surprise no one - they have the very same soil types as many of the finest areas where grapes for sparkling wines are grown in the north of France. Add to that the climatic change that we have witnessed over the past three decades it seems inevitable that the right conditions could be met. What is different to European wine regions, of course, is the culture and context and size of land available for growing vines.

In straightforward economic terms, there isn't a critical mass of producers or universally accepted appellation system for the best usage of vineyard areas, or even a significant appetite for drinking or exploring the potential in the UK, which is why the prices are still very high. It's also why the quality and characteristics of the wines can be very variable: much of the outcome is dependent on judicious skill in the winery and vineyard, micro-climates in terroir, the ageing of the wines and the age of vines themselves.