Champagne and sparkling wine to drink now

A blend of 70% Chardonnay and 15% each of Chenin Blanc and Mauzac, this is a beautiful, balanced wine, with elegant aromas of orchard fruit and honeyed spice. Aged traditionally and generously on its lees, it shows more exotic fruits on the palate with a clean, pebbly backdrop and an impressive depth of flavour.

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{color}White{color}                                                               {maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink now{maturity-text}
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This is made for us by the celebrated Hambledon Vineyard. Bright, pure and refreshing, a neatly woven mousse supports notes of stone-fruit, gooseberry crumble and English meadow. The palate is foaming and firmly mineral, showcasing the quality of the Chardonnay from Hampshire’s pure chalk soils. This is the perfect partner for any celebration.

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Hambledon Vineyard has a long and fascinating history. Not only does the village have the reputation as the cradle of cricket, long before Lord’s, it seems, but it is also the location of the first English commercial vineyard, courtesy of the Francophile Sir Guy Salisbury Jones, who developed the vineyards in the early 1950s.

After an uneventful hiatus, the vineyard was purchased by Ian Kellett in 1999, and his investments of both patience and capital are now yielding fruit, quite literally, in the form of some of the best-located Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the country.

A beautiful vivid pink with a bright red berry hue, it displays an array of wild strawberry aromas on the nose that lead to a generous, complex palate of buttered toast, ripe lemon and juicy hedgerow fruit.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Aromatics of wax, nuts, spice, honey and citrus abound in this one. The palate is vibrant with ripe pear and a touch of cherry, cranberry and grapefruit. A complex, mouth-filling, dense and intense wine.

Jamie Goode, Sunday Express (April 2023)

Hambledon Vineyard has a long and fascinating history. Not only does the village have the reputation as the cradle of cricket, long before Lord’s, it seems, but it is also the location of the first English commercial vineyard, courtesy of the Francophile Sir Guy Salisbury Jones, who developed the vineyards in the early 1950s.

After an uneventful hiatus, the vineyard was purchased by Ian Kellett in 1999, and his investments of both patience and capital are now yielding fruit, quite literally, in the form of some of the best-located Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the country. A standard-bearer for the quality England can achieve, this is a remarkably assured wine with a firm, acidic spine, complexity, and detail—great focus and precision.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

2007 Champagne Le Mesnil, Cuvée Prestige, Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru Champagne is a spectacular 100% Chardonnay from their fabled vineyards. Drinking at its peak with so much drama and class in a glass, this is a heroic wine with an unmissable price tag.

Matthew Jukes, Money Week (October 2023)

2007 was a vintage which favoured Chardonnay and produced many top-level cuvées. The Les Mesnil Cuvée Prestige is made exclusively from the legendary chalky Grand Cru vineyards, close to the winery in the Cote des Blancs’s most famous postcode, Le Mesnil sur Oger. The Blanc de Blancs is fermented in cement and steel at low temperatures to retain the purity of fruit and vintage personality and spent nine years on lees gaining complexity and fine, tight bubbles. 

The texture is firmly Grand Cru, with mineral edges and notes of golden apple, roasted lemon and the salty chew of caramel shortbread. The Prestige 2007 is a work of art and offers brilliant value, considering it is made from some of the region’s finest terroirs. Drink with mixed canapés, cheesy biscuits or, for the ultimate experience, turbot and a white butter sauce.

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This fabulous traditional method sparkling wine is made in the Haute-Savoie village of Ayse from 100% Gringet, a rare local grape endemic to this region. The lemon gold colour and fine bubbles suggest this is a cut above many sparkling wines. This is confirmed on the nose with hints of yellow apple, pear and cape gooseberry mingling superbly with notes of bread and brioche.

The crisp, fresh palate has a delicate yellow peach and sweet apple edge. The freshness is wonderful, a signature quality of wines made from Gringet, and really lifts this lovely fizz on the bright, energetic finish.

Drink now to 2032 

Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (July 2023)

This is a Pinot Meunier-driven sparkling rosé made using the saignée method, showcasing a dark salmon-pink colour. Based on the 2016 vintage, the latest release was bottled in 2017 and disgorged in 2022. Toasty on the nose with caramelised red apple and red berries. The palate is full-on and rounded, featuring brioche and biscuit, complemented by zingy red pomelo and red apple, refreshed by bright acidity (9g/l). A satisfying rosé with spectacular breadth and flavour concentration. Elegantly poised, it still has plenty of life ahead.

Drink 2023 - 2036

Sylvia Wu, Decanter.com (September 2023)

This characterful Crémant de Bourgogne is made predominantly from Chardonnay, with a proportion of Pinot Noir, Gamay and Aligoté thrown in for good measure and additional complexity. It has an enticing quality, from the bouquet of white flowers through to the deliciously rounded palate: undeniably charming and definitely moreish.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

52% Chardonnay, 32% Pinot Noir, and 17 % Pinot Meunier from the 2018 harvest, with tank-aged reserve wines added. Dosage 5.7 g/l.

Hambledon Vineyard has a long and fascinating history. Not only does the village have the reputation as the cradle of cricket, long before Lord’s, it seems, but it is also the location of the first English commercial vineyard, courtesy of the Francophile Sir Guy Salisbury Jones, who developed the vineyards in the early 1950s. After an uneventful hiatus, the vineyard was purchased by Ian Kellett in 1999, and his investments of both patience and capital are now yielding fruit, quite literally, in the form of some of the best-located Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the country.

Fruits of the 2011 harvest, with reserve sines added from 2010, this is a most impressive effort, its lees-ageing imparting gentle biscuity notes and adding weight and structure to the first impressions, which recall English orchard fruit, yellow fruits and quince.

Berry Bros. & Rudd 

Produced with 50% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, and the rest Meunier, the 2018 Champagne Millésime Extra Brut was vinified and raised for nine months in barrels. It sees 3 grams per litre dosage and was disgorged in March 2023. It pours a rich, youthful yellow hue and is forward in its expressive notes of toasted oak spice that are very assertive and joined by notes of toasted croissant, orange marmalade, white pepper, and ripe red berries. 

Full-bodied, it has a lush and pillowy mousse and a fantastic texture, filling the palate with ample fruit, a chalky texture, and a rounded and fleshy personality. Although, at first, it feels as if its oak is not well-integrated, it impresses me more as it opens and is approachable in its ripe fruit now. It’s long on the palate and is a very well-made wine, but I’d like to see how this harmonizes over time. 

Drink 2025 - 2045

Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com (November 2023)

An outstanding Grand Cru Champagne from one of the most celebrated vintages in recent history. Production is a meagre 244 cases, grown from 3 small plots planted from 1963-1987and the bottles have spent over 10 years on lees.

Despite the age, this is a vibrant and incredibly precise expression of Chardonnay, with rich bursts of apple tartlets and delicate white flowers on the nose, and a graceful effervescence on the palate. With zero dosage added, you can taste every nuance of the complexities Chardonnay can offer, framed by a slightly saline note and a minerality reminiscent of crushed limestone.

Mouth-wateringly delicious, enjoy this now until 2030.

Katie Merry, Assistant Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (September 2023)

This multi-vintage cuvée is sourced from Champagne Penet-Chardonnet’s finest sites, located across Verzy and Verzenay. Comprised of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, the base wine is from the superlative 2013 vintage. This wine represents incredible value for the price: the nose is rich in white flowers and sourdough bread, while the palate is fine, smoky, and filled with mineral tension. The wine spent seven years on lees.

Drink 2023 - 2030

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd