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English winery adds late disgorged range
English wine producer Bluebell Vineyard Estates is marking its 10th birthday with the launch of a late disgorged blanc de blancs expression.
Bluebell Vineyard Estates
The East Sussex producer’s release of this 2008 Blanc de Blancs Single Vineyard Reserve inaugurates its new series of sparkling wines aged on their lees for at least 60 months.
Made with Chardonnay from Bluebell’s Homeview block, the new fizz has been matured on lees for six years and is available in “limited quantities”, together with a 2007 expression, from the cellar door with an RRP of £50.
“Since our very first plantings I knew I wanted to develop a series of late disgorged wines,” commented Kevin Sutherland, winemaker at Bluebell Vineyard Estates.
“Leaving the wine to mature on lees longer before disgorging brings a totally different expression to the wine; mature, rich and developed, while still maintaining the freshness and acidity characteristic of our wines.”
The development echoes a similar trend in Champagne, which has seen houses such as Louis Roederer and Dom Pérignon step up their focus on late disgorged expressions.
As the producer enters its second decade, Sutherland outlined additional initiatives in the pipeline. “We have plans to extend our range of sparkling wines to include an oak-aged blanc de blancs and a blanc de noirs, along with a new range of still wines to complement our sparkling production,” he revealed.
“With the new vineyard plantings coming on stream over the next couple of years we will have the flexibility to experiment and explore different styles.”