Award Winning Sparkling Wines

This comes from old vines in the single Col de Vent vineyard. The name means knots, referring to the gnarled character of the vines. On the nose notes of peach and wisteria, while the palate is lively with lemon zest, and loads of minerality. This is a very special Prosecco.

Owner Mark is a huge believer in the power of Pinot Noir-led sparklings, grown on the pure chalk of the Rathfinny farm. So their Classic Cuvée is Pinot Noir-led, and spends 36 months on the lees. Rathfinny only produce vintage wines, and the 2017 is crisp and fruit forward, with just 5g/l of dosage, and a long, chalky, delicious finish.

The Classic Cuvée is a multi-vintage blend, coming from the hundreds of hectares of vineyards owned by Nyetimber. It’s a brilliant introduction to the range here. Creamy and fruit forward, there’s lovely structure, with a long and chalky finish.

The top production of the estate. Chardonnay-led, with a small proportion aged in oak, giving a slight smokiness to the wine, this is serious and incredibly long. There’s lovely, salty minerality on the finish, completing the picture.

Prior to 2010, the Classic Cuvée was a single vintage wine, and we’ve liberated a few bottles of the gorgeous 2009 Classic Cuvée, a wonderful vintage in England. Late disgorged just for Lay & Wheeler, it shows the ageing potential of this brilliant wine. Notes of ripe apples, caramel, and a hint of forest floor, this is utterly delicious.

First introduced to us by Manfred Ing, winemaker at Querciabella, this is a beautiful sparkling from the shores of Lake Iseo. There’s notes of peach and just a lick of bread dough, with fine acidity and wonderful finesse and salinity on the finish. This is a fizz that is just so easy to enjoy.

Yann Vadin is only in his late 20s, but has already earned huge respect for his wines, made from over 100 parcels scattered across 7 hectares in the Premier Cru village of Cumières to the north of Epernay and six other villages such as Aÿ, Damery, and Hautvillers. The domaine is certified organic, and practicing biodynamic. Renaissance comes exclusively from 40 year old Pinot Meunier grown in Cumières. It is made up of 80% from 2018 and 20% from 2017, it has not undergone malolactic fermentation, and is neither fined nor filtered. Yann has been experimenting with fermentation vessels, such as amphorae, but the technique that most defines his wines is the long bottle ageing he practices. The wine feels so subtle and composed, with a delicate floral nose and a soft creamy palate that glides. For the moment this estate represents seriously good value, and this is surely one of the stars of the future.

100% Chardonnay. This is a joint venture by the young Benoît Doussot, who graduated from Beaune in just 2015, and Bertrant Gautherot of Vouette et Sorbée. Strictly speaking, a micro-negociant, but with all the detail and quality of a grower. Having grown up, studied, and trained in Burgundy, Benoît is a dab hand at oak élevage. Given that this project is so young, only a few cuvées have been released, and the reaction of fellow growers and critics has been overwhelmingly positive. So watch this space, Clandestin has a very promising future. Les Grandes Lignes comes from the south-facing lieu dit of Sorbée in Buxières-sur-Arce, on Portlandian limestone soils, certified organic since 2015. Only 3,000 bottles produced.

Charles Heidsieck, affectionately known as ‘Champagne Charlie’, was founded in 1851. The house has enjoyed stellar success over the past few decades, thanks to its hugely talented winemaking team. Over the years, Chefs de Caves Daniel Thibault, Régis Camus, Thierry Roset and Cyril Brun have between them been awarded 'Sparkling Winemaker of the Year' at the International Wine Challenge 16 times. No other house has won more than twice. Blanc des Millénaires is the jewel in their crown. It is a wonderfully rich, biscuity blanc de blancs, where Chardonnay sings in a superb vintage. It is so expressive and inviting, with a golden fruit ripeness, and a long, creamy finish.

This is a small estate on the up. Recent improvements brought about by the newest generation are being felt in the vibrant and pretty wines they make. Enfant de la Montagne comes from premier cru vineyards on the Montagne de Reims, and is vinified in stainless steel before spenging 3 years ageing sur lattes ahead of disgorgement and release. This has the 2015 vintage at its heart (60%) and has a bright and fragrant apple aroma which is followed by tight acidity and a green apple crunch on the palate. It is fruit-forward, dry, pithy and refreshing. Its great value for money will not go unnoticed.

Aurélien Laherte is the seventh generation of his family to grow vines in the village of Chavot-Courcourt, just to the south of Epernay in between the Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne in a sub-region known as Côteaux Sud d’Épernay. He and his family work 10 hectares across 75 parcels here and his distinctive wines have earned him a strong following. Aurélien is one of a group of dynamic young growers, along with his friend Raphaël Bérèche, who are bent on natural methods and achieving exquisite terroir expression. Ultradition is the flagship wine of the estate, and showcases how well Pinot Meunier suits the clay-limestone soils in this part of Champagne. The bright floral nose makes this a brilliant aperitif Champagne, yet the smooth and balanced weight of the palate makes it equally well suited to food. Take your pick.

The Zéro Brut Nature is the signature cuvée of the Tarlant family, and the current release, based on the 2012 vintage, could not be a finer example of the quality of craftsmanship found in their wines. It is tight, chalky, and vinous feeling, with the scent of green apple and the crunch of fresh acidity. Its six years' ageing in bottle before disgorgement adds depth and creaminess. Blind, you'll trip over yourself saying it's Krug. If we had a 'house' grower champagne, this would be it.

As the name suggests, this cuvée has no dosage, and so has not a drop of residual sugar. As a result, the wine expresses abundant freshness and minerality, supported by bright citrus and green fruit. The 2017 has a bright refreshing acidity and subtle richness, thanks to its oak ageing.

This sparkling wine is made by transferring the still sweet and fermenting grape juice into bottle, and then trapping the subsequent carbon dioxide as it continues to ferment to dryness in the bottle. No dosage is added, though the spent yeast cells are expelled, leaving a brilliant, crystalline sparkling wine behind. It has such a wonderful depth and complexity on the nose, with a vinous structure on the palate, and a salty zing. The creamy mousse wraps around crunchy apple fruit. Experience from tasting back vintages of this cuvée shows me this wine ages brilliantly, and will develop complex depth, and savoury precision with a few years in bottle. It’s one of the most exciting wines on the list this year.

Alain Voge’s pithy sparkling wine, Les Bulles d’Alain, is unlike anything else we have on our list. It is lively, dry, refreshing, and refined. If you’re in the mood for bubbles, but don’t want the weight of a Champagne, this is the perfect option, and a smart price too. It’s a very good example of why Saint-Péray has built its renown for sparkling wines.

This is so atypical from Prosecco, the DOC wouldn't let Primo label it as such. But never mind: it's one of the best sparklings we know. Notes of orange blossom and iodine on the nose, and hints of wild strawberry and lots of salinity on the palate. So impressive.

Chardonnay-led, with around 20% reserve wines in the blend, it’s got just 4.5g/l of dosage added. This is a taut English fizz, with lots of green apple fruit, and a long and savoury finish: the perfect way to discover Hambledon.

Henri Giraud’s Esprit Nature is one of the most finely balanced, light-on-its-feet non-vintage blends we’ve tasted. It has a pure and dancing freshness, all citrus and blossom on the nose, with a touch of baked bread. The weight is so precise and agile. For an aperitif style of Champagne, it’s everything you could want. One third of the wine is drawn from the perpetual reserve the house keeps, dating back to 1990.

The N/V Brut is a blend of near-equal parts of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier, that spends 3 and a half years on the lees, prior to disgorgement. Ample and creamy, with plenty of richness, it’s a lovely introduction to the house style.

This must be the most reliably brilliant N/V rosé champagne out there. Delicate onion skin pink, with savoury notes and a gentle but sophisticated lift of red fruits on the nose. The palate is exceptionally smooth, with creamy bubbles and a long, elegant finish.

Vilmart is a Champagne house prized by connoisseurs, and their rosé cuvée shimmers with elegance. Laurent Champs is the fifth generation of his family to make these wines, and he’s a man of passion and skill. His exacting standards in his vineyards and winery ensure exceptional wines every vintage.

The heart of this multi-vintage blend from Aÿ is the 2016 vintage, which is combined with one third perpetual reserve, dating back to 1990. The wine is a gorgeous golden colour, with a luxuriously deep, rich aroma. A textured and sumptuous palate of hazelnuts, sea salt and explosive bergamot feed through to a persistent and satisfying finish. It is a riveting wine, enthralling in its depth and precision, with just a hint of Aÿ’s menthol signature. Gourmand and delectable, this is a superb Champagne from a small Champagne house that is a favourite with the critics.