Sparkling Wines

'Tis the season to bust out the bubbly. Here’s why celebration doesn’t have to mean champagne, as Adam Lechmere introduces the best sparkling wine

The fact that English sparkling wine comes out so well in blind tasting - often against the cream of Champagne – is just one example of how good sparkling wines can be. The reason we make such good sparklers in southern England is that you don’t need much sun to ripen the grapes. Acidity, not sugar, is what powers precision on the palate, which you need as a foil for the effervescence of the fizz, and acidity comes in grapes from cooler climates.

Fifty years ago, the head of Moët & Chandon decided Mendoza, with its desert air and cold nights, would be perfect for growing champagne varieties pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay. Chandon Argentina was the result, but it only launched its wines in the UK this year. The rosé is complex and balanced – I loved its savouriness and bracing acidity. Champagne’s latitude is 48°N, and its antipodean counterpart is Tasmania, at 42°S, the coolest place in Australia. It’s perfect for varieties like riesling which thrive in cool climates, and especially good for precise ripening of the champagne grapes. I’ve recommended Jansz before but not 2007 vintage, which I’ve just tasted. It has a dancing acidity and superb brioche yeastiness.

Talking of latitude, the vineyards of Hampshire are two degrees north of Champagne, planted on the same ancient chalk, formed 65 million years ago that northern France sits on. Excellent terroir is just one of the many reasons why English sparkling now has international cachet; one of the latest additions to the party is Hampshire’s Hambledon Vineyard. Their Classic Cuvée is made by Hervé Jestin, formerly of the Champagne house Duval Leroy. It’s
an absolutely delicious mouthful.

Talk to any Champenois about prosecco, or cava, and the conversation’s likely to be short. “Flavoured fizzy water,” was how an eminent winemaker described it, with a Gallic curl to his lip. This attitude is part is snobbery, part annoyance at two styles that are massively successful, and part because he had never tasted the good stuff. You do have to choose carefully. I’ve recommended the top Marks & Spencer prosecco in magnum which, for under £20, with all prosecco’s charming fruit and lemony, floral zest, is pretty much unbeatable. The trend for large-format bottles has been building for some time – a couple of magnums on the table add drama to a dinner party – and M&S now have half a dozen sparkling wines and champagnes in the bigger size.

And so to cava… don’t stop reading: the fizz from Catalonia has unfairly been seen as downmarket, but modern cava can be very good indeed; Berry Bros, that bastion of fine wine, even sells it, albeit only the very posh Gramona. Freixenet’s 2007, though, is well worth looking at. It’s made in the Traditional Method, with the native Catalan grapes macabeo, xarel-lo, parellada, and delivers on every level, with enough weight and character to make it food- friendly as well.

Lastly, here’s a tip for you: want the best way to keep an open bottle fresh? Dangle a teaspoon in and put it in the fridge. It doesn’t even have to be silver, and it’ll preserve the bubbles for a day and more.