Rathfinny, 2019 Blanc de Noirs, Brut

If you have any interest in quality sparkling wine, you just have to try this.

It is of the moment, yet timeless; scintillating, yes approachable. This combines huge potential with already existing searing quality.

It is the single vintage sparkling white made exclusively from the estate's hand-picked red grapes: 81% Pinot Noir and 19% Pinot Meunier. Lees aged for 36 months, this is a serious wine made for a celebration of vineyard, place, climate and style: if you want fine wine and bubbles, this is a very, very compelling choice. It's absolutely outstanding and will, without doubt, develop incredibly with further bottle age.

Sour plum and greengage, Yuzu notes develop to cashew, red apples and a long, zesty, saline, plum finish.

The gorgeous colour lifts notes of red apple and citrus, leading to lemon meringue and lime zest on the palate, which finishes with bright mouthwatering notes of red currant and Braeburn apples. It's a long and juicy, and sweet-fruit finish, dry as a Brut-bone, but utterly charming and really, really delicious!

This is a stunning wine from one of the most celebrated estates in England. Set in the South Downs area, which begin almost immediately as soon as you head out of Brighton on the A23 to London, the estate was established in 2010 by husband and wife Mark and Sarah Driver. Located on land with rich chalky content in the soils, there is a strong sense of familiarity with Champagne vineyards, which is understandable because the region sits on same 'Paris Basin', the sub-strata of rock that covers the North of France and Champagne, running under the Channel into Kent and Sussex. The Downs themselves are about three miles from the sea, and are sheltered by any poor weather by the roll of the hills onto which they sit, soaking up the sun and warmth (which, of course, is ever increasing in the 21st Century).

This adds to the story and the possibility that Rathfinny sets out to achieve - that Sussex becomes a reference point as much as Champagne. And that each wine is a vintage-dated bottling. It's a serious ambition, but the generosity with which they approach the industry is nothing short of inspirational. It's about knowledge and experience sharing and a search for the best quality that the region can collectively promote.

That England could produce wine should surprise no one - they have the very same soil types as many of the finest areas where grapes for sparkling wines are grown in the north of France. Add to that the climatic change that we have witnessed over the past three decades it seems inevitable that the right conditions could be met. What is different to European wine regions, of course, is the culture and context and size of land available for growing vines.

In straightforward economic terms, there isn't a critical mass of producers or universally accepted appellation system for the best usage of vineyard areas, or even a significant appetite for drinking or exploring the potential in the UK, which is why the prices are still very high. It's also why the quality and characteristics of the wines can be very variable: much of the outcome is dependent on judicious skill in the winery and vineyard, micro-climates in terroir, the ageing of the wines and the age of vines themselves.

There's lots that has been done here and there is a very shiny and happy feeling that there is a real opportunity to do more, grow the vineyard area, the market and quality. If only Brexit hadn't mucked up so much of their potential export consumer base...

“Appealing gold colour with fine bubbles. The nose is charming and attractive. Lots of red fruits going on, from strawberry, raspberry and redcurrants to cherry Griotte. The wine shows a stony minerality. The palate is really refreshing, with a sharp and clean acidity but as well a certain roundness in the mouth. A glass calls another!” Remi Cousin, Sommelier, Le Gavroche (before it closed, alas...)

“Big bubbles! A smoky and smouldering nose, a weighty and smouldering wine. Voluminous. Oranges, lime and stone. Beautifully ripe acidity sculpted into a curve. Rathfinny know how to deliver broad power with a burnish of magnificence.” 17 points. Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com