Cheer up January and try something different with our pick of the latest English wine launches
Balfour Winemaker Collection Trio
Hush Heath Estate’s father-and-son winemaking team Owen and Fergus Elias have launched another three English wines with a ‘difference’ as part of their Balfour Winemaker Collection (main picture).
The new wines include the winery’s first sparkling rosé made using the Saignée method (which involves bleeding off a portion of red wine), ‘Les Sixes 2014 ’ a sparkling white made from the six permitted Champagne grape varieties and a Pinot Noir from the stellar 2018 vintage named after the Burgundy ‘Suitcase’ clones allegedly smuggled into the US in a suitcase in the 1960s.
What’s quite special about this collection, which is available exclusively from Majestic, is that the labels feature vibrant artwork by contemporary artist Lothar Götz so are guaranteed to liven up your wine rack.
Wiston Estate Cuvée 2013 Brut 150cl
‘Go big or go home’ the saying goes and if that’s your mantra then this limited edition, magnum-sized bottle from Wiston estate is for you. A blend of 47% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier, with the juice from each grape fermented separately in a mixture of mature Burgundy barrels, this English sparkling wine was bottled in July 2014 and disgorged in September 2019. It’s the first time in three years that the West Sussex vineyard has produced a magnum and just 1,000 bottles were made so it’s unlikely to stick around for long.
Debut sparkling wines from Artelium
We love it when new vineyards launch their debut wine and the inaugural English sparkling duo from Artelium in East Sussex does not disappoint.
Tech entrepreneurs Julie Bretland and Mark Collins planted their first vines at Streat in 2018/2019, along with a second, larger, vineyard at Madehurst last year.
They have made their first wines – The Curators Cuvée 2014, £32, and the Makers Rosé 2015, £35 – in collaboration with celebrated winemaker Dermot Sugrue and plan to launch their first still wines, created by Hush Heath winemaker Owen Elias, later this year.
Albury Lansdowne Sauvignon Blanc
This new wine from Surrey’s Albury Organic Vineyard is made from the grapes grown at their Lansdowne Vineyard, which are usually used in the production of the vineyard’s famous Vermouth. However, because 2018 was such a good year, they decided to use a small amount – just one barrel to be exact – to make Sauvignon Blanc. The first bottles from this limited release have already sold out but you can sign up to their newsletter to be the first to find out when they are about to release more.
