Most expensive English sparkler on sale

Chapel Down has released an exclusive Nebuchadnezzar bottle of blanc de blancs priced at £5,000 – the most expensive English sparkling wine ever.

The Chapel Down Nebuchadnezzar bottle in now for sale at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London (Photo: Chapel Down)

The bottle has been released as part of an ongoing commercial tie-in between Chapel Down and London’s St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, and contains 15 litres – the equivalent of 20 bottles or 120 glasses of wine – of Chapel Down Blanc de Blancs 2008.

The wine is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes grown in Kent and Sussex and aged for four and a half years on lees.

The range of Chapel down products, which includes beers as well as English wines, continues to be available at the London hotel.

The drinks list, which now includes the £5k bottle, was launched on the 23 August and includes Chapel Down Three Graces Brut (by the glass and bottle), Blanc de Blancs and Rosé Brut, as well as the trio of Curious beers.

Within the first month, sales of Chapel Down sparkling had outsold St Pancras Renaissance Hotel’s best-selling house Champagne by 34% and Curious Brew is now the best-selling draught.

Edward Allsopp, general manager of the hotel’s Booking Office bar, said: “We were keen to work with an English winery and, as the leading winemaker in the UK, Chapel Down were an obvious choice.

“It is clear from our recent sales figures that our customers agree and we look forward to building a long-term partnership with Chapel Down over the coming years.”

Frazer Thompson, CEO of Chapel Down, added to this by saying, “We are thrilled to be celebrating our collaboration with St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

“The release of England’s most expensive bottle demonstrates the growing success and appreciation of English wine and we look forward to making occasions even more special for visitors to St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.”