Time flies. It really does. It was a huge honour to be asked to write for the inaugural edition of this brilliant magazine, and I jumped at the chance to be given free rein to expound about the finest-tasting English and Welsh wines over a double-page spread each month. I don’t think this privilege exists anywhere else in the country. But what is more incredible is that we are entering the eighth year of this specialist publication, and the number of truly delicious fine wines on the market grows year on year. I have gone from scratching around to locate a trio worthy of mention each month to being genuinely spoilt for choice.
I have cast my eye over every single wine I have featured in a now pretty impressive roll call of names in a spreadsheet I treasure on my Mac. I have noticed a few overarching themes that I could not have imagined being relevant back in 2018, nor that I have noticed in the intervening period.
It takes a spreadsheet and the time to rake through it to spot this sort of fascinating data. I won’t spoil it all by listing my findings here, as these are valuable ammo for forthcoming columns; suffice it to say that the slow and steady blooming of elite, still Chardonnays in our country is one of the most exciting and encouraging trends.
Yes, yes, I hear you cry – we all know this. And I am sure you do, but you will be thinking of the flurry of epic releases over the last year or two. It was not the same four or five, let alone eight years ago.
I tracked back to the beginning to find Bacchus and Ortega hogging the ‘still white’ limelight. I located a rare handful of nascent rosés and shoehorned a trio of reds into a column, hoping for the best; these were pioneering wines. Beyond that, it was an ocean of sparklers. No surprise there.
It was a full twelve months before 2014 Gusbourne Guinevere Chardonnay became the first 100% Chardonnay still wine to be granted a mention on this page. Six months later, a second, 2017 Black Book Painter of Light was the wine, and I am thrilled to report that the 2022 vintage of this very wine made the cut for my most strictly policed report of the year, the recently published Finest Fifty 2024.
Of course, a decent number of elite Chardonnays have crawled out of their caves since, like Oxney Organic (with my first-ever perfect 20/20 score for an English wine), Simpsons (another Finest Fifty 2024 alumni), Maud Heath, Bride Valley, Riverview, Whitewolfe and Greyfriars. Another pioneering wine is Chapel Down Kits Coty Chardonnay, which seemed to redefine the category on its very first release. But for me, the golden era has only just started, and I sense that we currently live in a 14-carat era. We are on our way towards 18 carats, with some top performers already there, but the future for Chardonnay in our country is, without a doubt, 24, and we should be single-minded in pursuing this goal.
After all, Chardonnay is the greatest white grape on earth, and it commands the highest prices, too. Read on for three new players at the top of the still Chardonnay tree. We are fortunate to have these skilled artisans in the UK, and we must all take a gold leaf out of their book.
2022 Hidden Spring Vineyard, Chardonnay
£20.00
I get bored very quickly when the progress and evolution of a wine brand appear to stagnate. I become disinterested when ‘evolving’ wine regions seem to coalesce and park up, applying their collective winery handbrakes, happy with their lot. While cash might still flow, at least for the foreseeable, creativity and pride have left the building.
I am sure you can think of many examples. By contrast, I am gripped by continued progress, ambition and the will to win, and I have written about these compelling traits many times in Vineyard.
Hidden Spring is a perfect case in point. I enjoyed watching the oak management on the Bacchus Fumé fall into line a couple of years ago. It’s worth noting the 2023 vintage is a beauty, and no such tweaks are needed to this teasing and subtly assembled, 100% barrel-fermented Chardy.
Owner Richard Asman and I had a decent chinwag last year about just how stunningly balanced this wine is, and it signals a new era for this quiet achiever. I sense there is a lot more to come from Hidden Spring, and given the intrinsic balance and sheer class found in this wine, it is mind-boggling projecting forward a couple of years to imagine how complex and compelling the Chardonnays could be from this corner of the High Weald.
2023 Black Chalk, Rumour Has It Chardonnay
£33.00
We have come to expect shock and awe when Jacob Leadley and Zoë Driver release a new wine. They have achieved notoriety with their unique and fascinating sparklers, and I happen to think their still rosé, Dancer in Pink, is one of England’s finest, but this does not mean that a still Chardonnay will be a nailed-on success. Or does it?
Made from Kent fruit, this ‘cross the border’ wine sees 30% new French oak and is a resounding success.
The super-silky texture, without any additional weight, is a Leadley hallmark, and the flavour complexity is nothing short of spellbinding. I noted hints of blanched almonds, bitter rhubarb, and jasmine, which are the easiest to get your head around. There are ten more obscure perfumes and flavours I don’t ever recall recording in the same tasting note.
This wine keeps tumbling and twisting on the palate beneath its serene, unruffled exterior. Of course, you have to pay for the privilege, but what do you expect – this is one of the most remarkable debut release wines I can remember.
It is not a case of whether I should choose Rumour Has It or another one of the top-flight English Chardonnays in the same way that it is not a case of only drinking one white Burgundy. You must start curating a collection of great Chardonnays for different occasions, palates and dishes. Now is the time, and this wine must be on your list.
MV bonkers Chardonnay, Sugrue South Downs
Approx. £29.00
As you might expect, Dermot and Ana’s latest release was accompanied by a lot of son et lumiére and what I love about the Sugrue South Downs wines is that they always live up to the hype and sometimes exceed all expectations.
This wine is a dual-vintage mashup, and on this showing, others might consider this thoroughly sensible technique.
The impressive 2022 vintage base is augmented by being ‘refreshed’ with the younger vintage while at the same time engendering double the complexity. A combination of new and old oak and various formats does the same. Lees ageing brings more drama and texture, resulting in a wine that gave rise to a name a little longer than the one I use at the top of this note.
In full, bonkers zombie robot alien monsters from the future ate my brain (sur lie), rather sums up Sugrue’s state of mind when this wine was conceived, and the only thing more shocking than this preposterous name is that the flavour is about as far removed from its moniker as possible.
This is a genuinely civilised, sensual, and hypnotic Chardonnay with the character of a plush Mâconnais beauty, with green-gold filigree and an indulgent creamy core. It is luxurious and keen in equal measure, and I love that it has eaten my brain.
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