Hats off, Hattingley Valley! This English estate has enjoyed more than its fair share of spoils in its relatively short life to date, with two world-champion wines to its name in the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, as well as two Winemaker of the Year trophies for Emma Rice.
This time the estate is celebrating winning the Winemaker of the Year 2018 award from Luxury Travel Guide. The award comes as we celebrate a new shipment arriving from the Old Dart. The 2013 Rosé sold out twice over, and this 2014 iteration is even better. We still have some of the vintaged white blend from 2013, which is now joined by Hattingley Valley’s first NV, incorporating reserve stocks that are steadily building up in the Hampshire cellars. This latter wine, too, is based on the 2014 harvest – a cracker for the Poms in terms of quality and quantity.
2013 Hattingley Valley Classic Cuvée RRP $80
48% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir, 17% Pinot Meunier, 2% Pinot Gris. 25% barrel fermented in four-year-old white burgundy barrels, 21 months on lees. Fruity, apples and peaches nose. Fruity, frothy, friendly. Straightforward and a good, tight, pointed finish. Bit of chalkiness. 16.5/20 Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
NV Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve RRP $80
Hattingley Valley is proud to release its first Classic Reserve – a blend of several vintage wines (18% reserve wines). Grapes were hand harvested and whole bunch pressed. 15% of this wine was barrel fermented in old White Burgundy barrels and partial malolactic fermentation took place in order to soften the wine’s natural acidity. After blending the wine underwent secondary fermentation in bottle and spent a minimum of 18 months ageing on its lees and at least 5 months on cork before release in our cellars add complexity to create our signature style. Alcohol 12%; TA 8.7g/L; dosage: 7g/L. – Emma Rice, Hattingley Valley
Very delicate with some light smokiness on the finish, Good balance. 16.5/20 Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com
NV Classic Reserve is the workhorse wine at Hattingley but it lacks nothing in terms of class and elegance. Matthew Jukes, Daily Mail
2014 Hattingley Valley Rosé RRP $90
2014 was the best vintage to date at Hattingley Valley with near perfect growing conditions. The Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes were hand picked and gently pressed. Approximately 8% of the blend was fermented in 4-5 year old white Burgundy barrels and partial malolactic fermentation took place. The wine spent 5 months in tank and barrel before tirage where 2% of Pinot Précoce (having been vinified as a still red wine with a long cold soak prior to fermentation) was added to enhance colour, body and flavour. The wine spent at least 2 years ageing on lees in the bottle before riddling and disgorging with 8 g/L dosage, and a further 2 months ageing on cork before release. Alcohol 12.5%; TA 8.5g/L; dosage 8 g/L. – Emma Rice, Hattingley Valley
The 2014 Rosé is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier and 20% Pinot Noir Précoce. Now this is a very impressive sparkling Rosé. It has a succinct bouquet of freshly picked strawberry, red cherry and a touch of green apple, all precise and quite mineral-driven. The palate is fresh on the entry with a slight waxiness to the texture. It has more complexity than its peers and it fans out gloriously with hints of praline and strawberry towards the vivacious finish. This is one to serve to the next person that refutes the idea of great English sparkling wine. 92 points. The Wine Advocate
The 2014 Rosé is another great wine that can take on any rival on the planet with the utmost confidence. Matthew Jukes, Daily Mail