(2019)
Surrey's chalk slopes are home to Greyfriars Vineyard, planted in 1989 and expanded since to 40 hectares, with a focus on sparkling wines made by the traditional method, from the three main grapes of Champagne. They have just released this limited edition non vintage Blanc de Noirs, the second wine in their Prestige Cuvée range to join the 'Cuvée Royale', released in 2018. Only 3,800 bottles were produced, blending 60% Pinot Noir from 2015, with 40% Pinot Meunier from 2014 - a year that was outstanding for the highly variable Meunier at Greyfriars. The wine spent three years on the lees, and was bottled with a very low 2g/litre of residual sugar. It has a beautiful and rich nose, enough of a herbaceous twang to speak of its cool climate credentials, lovely honeysuckle and autolytic creaminess, hints of brioche and biscuit. The palate has a dense pillow of mousse, followed by a surge of lemon zest freshness, very direct, fruity without being obvious, that low dosage allowing the crunch of the orchard fruit and fine zesty lemon to power through its long, elegant finish. Free delivery on three or more bottles from the Greyfriars
website.
This is the second vintage of this cuvée from Surrey's Greyfriars Vineyard, the initial 2015 bottling having won a Wine GB Trophy. Only 3,400 bottles of this wine will be released in May 2022. The 2016 spent an additional six months under cork having been disgorged in August 2021, and is again a blend from the best plots of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, fermented and aged for around 48 months in older oak barrels, with a dosage of 7.5g/l. There is a mealiness and slightly meaty, toasty element to the nose which is otherwise crisp and focused on lemons and custard apples. In the mouth the mousse is fresh and lively, and there's a great citrus drive to this wine, a fat lemony concentration, the acidity taut and that moderate dosage emphasising a pithy, apple core dryiness to the finish. It drinks very well, the barrel-ageing fof the base wine just giving a little breadth, but I think this would also be worth cellaring for a year or two as it will loosen up a little more. A limited number of magnums will be released too I believe. 