A 'new' addition to our Library Collection
Never before released… our Blanc de Blancs 2009 is now venturing out into the world!
‘A richly full-flavoured and stylish Dorian Gray of an English sparkler’… Ageing patiently since it was bottled in 2010, this Chardonnay, from Wiston’s second ever harvest, is a great testament to the potential longevity of English Sparkling Wines.
The Library Collection presents a series of limited-edition releases from our cellar which celebrate the wines’ ability to age. These are a series of unique wines which showcase the exceptional quality which English Sparkling Wines can achieve.
Since our first harvest in 2008 we have held back small parcels from the best vintages (or in this case, the entire production of the 2009 Blanc de Blancs) to allow them to further mature and develop, and in order to revisit and enjoy them in the future. The wines have been allowed the luxury of more time to age on both their lees and on cork, to evolve into something wholly different and exciting.
This wine was tasted every year and we felt is still had more and more to give. So it is fitting that now it is ready, at harvest time as we bring in the 2025 vintage – 16 years after it was harvested.
The Vineyard: Findon Park Vineyard was planted in 2006 on a 16 acre parcel of Wiston Estate. The site is a broad south-facing slope, planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It is situated in the heart of the South Downs – between the iconic Chanctonbury Ring and Cissbury Ring – where the classic Sussex chalk forms the subsoil. It benefits from the moderating influence of the sea – with the Sussex coast being 4km further south, and the chalk subsoil helps drain in the wetter years, and retain moisture when summers are hot.
The Vintage: The 2009 growing season was an ideal combination of conditions. It began with very few spring frosts, before the warm weather kicked in and continued throughout flowering in May. The rest of the summer was warm but with just enough rain at the right times. These favourable conditions continued through to harvest resulting in an excellent, perfectly ripe, abundant crop with balanced acidity. Harvest took place by hand over two weeks from 18th- 28th October 2009.
The Winemaking: The Chardonnay for this Blanc de Blancs comes from the steepest and highest part of the vineyard, where the slopes have the thinnest layer of topsoil before the vines find the South Downs chalk beneath. Grapes were pressed in Wiston’s iconic Coquard press – allowing for extremely gentle pressing. They were picked at optimal ripeness, fermentation was carried out in a range of young and old Burgundy barrels, as well as stainless steel – roughly half and half, and without malolactic fermentation. The wine was then bottled in July 2010, and allowed to rest for fourteen years. We are delighted with the result and cannot wait to share it. The additional ageing in our cellars has imparted depth and complexity to the wine, bringing richness, intensity, and a wonderfully long finish.
The result: We asked the experts. The wine was tasted by the panel at The World of Fine Wine Magazine, and the result was it coming joint top in their line up of English sparkling wines. Here is what they wrote:
Simon Field MW: ““Outstanding aromatic; hazelnut, quince and plum, chocolate and fig; a beautifully evolved but not inherently oxidative example. Deep gold, then a seductive nose, tight, complex, and complete. The palate confirms these positive suspicious and redoubles them courtesy of the sheer potency of the fruit, its carefully managed development, and its subtle integration eloquently entwined to the autolytic subtext. Ageing very gracefully indeed.” 95 points.
Anthony Rose: “Mid-gold in colour, this shows rich farm-butter and salted caramel notes in its bouquet; the oxidative effects of maturing have kicked in to produce a wine of considerable complexity in gout anglaise style, with lots of mature, buttery rich flavours buoyed by classically tangy English acidity, all of which add up to a richly full-flavoured and stylish Dorian Gray of an English sparkler.” 95 points
