Gusbourne Estate Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine, Kent, England – 2018

This Blanc De Blancs was the only English Sparkling wine to be ranked in Decanter Magazine’s Top 50 Wines of 2023, and the only one to be awarded a “Best of Show” trophy in 2023!

A bright golden colour with a delicate mousse, this Blanc De Blancs has classic Chardonnay aromas of green apple, citrus and mineral notes combined with buttered toast, brioche and Tarte Tatin richness from extended lees ageing (at least 42 months). A warm and sunny July and August have given this extra richness and intensity of flavour, perfectly balanced by zesty, appley acidity. This is a serious contender to prestige cuvee Champagne! This wine is a great accompaniment to seafood in general, but is perfect with freshly shucked oysters.

“The chance to look at an outstanding English Blanc de Blancs against a peer from Champagne this year was instructive. This wine’s colour is paler still than the Champagne Blanc de Blancs, though the mousse is no less fine-grained. The aromatic fruit and flowers apparent in this wine’s scents seem to have seeped from beds of cool, almost icy moss – Chardonnay restraint is redoubled in these high latitudes. Acidity once again provides the architecture of flavour, but it’s what is engraved in that acidity which intrigues: orchard fruits combined with an almost severe citrus purity, a seaside freshness, and an unmistakable stoniness, too, which lingers and detains after the fruits subside. It’s a wine of remarkable assurance and accomplishment.” Decanter Wine Trophy Best in Show Trophy 2023