Vineyards carpet the valley in neat rows, the sea just visible in the distance. I could be somewhere in southern Europe but as I trace the dotted green lines on my OS map, there are the very English-sounding names: Alfriston, Lullington, Litlington.
So no, not the Tuscan coast, but the South Downs, East Sussex, the heart of one of the most exciting wine regions in the world. Despite not planning to release a wine for another two years, the vineyard I’m gazing across, Rathfinny, is already an important part of what has been happening across southern England from Kent to Cornwall.
The work of former hedge fund manager Mark Driver, Rathfinny’s location, on chalky soils just a short drive from such established English sparkling names as Breaky Bottom near Lewes and Ridgeview in Ditchling near Brighton, would not have come as a surprise to seasoned English wine watchers. Neither would Driver’s decision to focus solely on the classic champagne grape triumvirate of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.
What was new, however, was its scale. On a site of 243 hectares, Driver has already planted 70 hectares of vines, and wants to add a further 90, which would make Rathfinny the largest single vineyard in the UK. To put that into perspective, in 1990 the entire UK wine industry had just 652 hectares in production, and it only broke the 1,000 mark as Driver was drawing up his plans in 2010.
Since then, the speed with which English, and Welsh, wine has developed has been remarkable. According to industry body English Wine Producers, since 2010 the total English and Welsh vineyard has doubled to more than 2,000ha, with more than five million bottles produced in 2015. Sales have been on an upward swing, with Waitrose and M&S now offering dozens of different English and Welsh wines.
There’s also a sense that the wider world is taking an interest, with two big champagne houses, Taittinger and Vranken-Pommery Monopole announcing the beginnings of English wine projects in the past year, in Canterbury and Hampshire.
But there’s an irony in the fact that, after years of the English craving their approval, the Champenois have arrived just when they are least needed.
The dramatic improvement in quality in English wines doesn’t only apply to fizz. Some excellent still whites are now made in most vintages in the UK (reds I’m less convinced by).
Rarely found outside the UK, the bacchus grape, with its sauvignon blanc-like aromatic green crispness, is behind the most distinctive bottles, which at their best are almost sancerre-like. But I’ve had hugely impressive wines made from chardonnay (Gusbourne Estate in Kent), pinot noir (as a white by Litmus in Surrey) and pinot gris (West Sussex’s Stopham Estate).
However, for all the improvements in still wine, few would look beyond fizz as England’s claim to vinous greatness. There’s a real sense of an English style emerging – keener, racier, steelier – in standout producers such as Wiston Estate, Nyetimber, Gusbourne, Camel Valley, Coates & SeelyRidgeview, Hambledon, Hattingley Valley, Exton Park and Bride Valley. Regional differences will surely follow. At this rate, English villages such as Hambledon, West Chiltington and maybe even Alfriston will soon be as familiar to wine lovers as Champagne’s Chouilly or Burgundy’s Chassagne-Montrachet.
Six of the best English wines
Chapel Down Flint Dry, Kent, England 2015 (£9.99, Waitrose)
Based in Tenterden, Kent, Chapel Down is one of England’s largest and longest-standing producers, with a keen eye on quality and reasonable prices. This 100% bacchus is wonderfully brisk and crisp and seafood-friendly, with restrained herby-grassy flavours.
Camel Valley Bacchus Dry, Cornwall, England 2014 (from £9.50, thewinesociety.com; camelvalley.com)
Another longstanding producer that has done much to help raise English wine’s quality, and one of my favourite expressions of bacchus, with a lovely fullness of gooseberry and elderflower fruitiness and citrus raciness. A Cornish answer to Kiwi sauvignon.
Albourne Estate White Pinot, West Sussex, England 2015 (£14.95, henningswine.co.uk; albourneestate.co.uk)
English winemakers seem to be making something of a speciality of making whites from the red pinot noir grape, and this is beautifully done, with just a hint of pink in the colour and notes of red fruit to go with the citrussy acidity and mouthfilling texture.
Broadwood’s Folly Brut, Surrey, England 2013 (£14.99, Lidl)
English wine’s Champenois inspiration extends to the pricing: it’s hard to find much at less than £20, and the best is closer to £30. But this, by Denbies in Dorking, is nicely done: lots of tangy apple and baked pear flavour, snapping clean on the finish.
Coates & Seely Bretagne Brut Reserve NV (£27.95, leaandsandeman.co.uk)
Coates & Seely have quickly established their estate, between Winchester and Basingstoke, as one of the classiest English fizz producers around. With chardonnay leading the classic non-vintage blend, it has a luminous, elegant, graceful style.
Hambledon Première Cuvée, Hampshire, England NV (£42.50, bbr.com; hambledonvineyard.co.uk)
From the Hampshire village known as the birthplace of cricket, but made by Champagne’s Hervé Jestin, this is deeply impressive, one of the best English bottles I’ve yet tasted, balancing rich creaminess with a precision-guided cut-glass acidity.
