Winemaker Notes
Blend: 76% Chardonnay, 14% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Brut Reserve is the finest release yet of Gusbourne’s Brut Reserve, arguably amongst the country’s most complete sparkling wines even as the producer's first wine. Unusually, it is 74% Chardonnay, which works together with subtle 14% oak fermentation to shoot a charred citric energy through complexity of set honey, nougat and ripe yellow plum in this extremely ripe, sunny vintage. There’s a sense of fruit intensity and firm but not obtrusive structuring that lends this a sense of seriousness and even age-worthiness without sacrificing immediate pleasure.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
The limestone soils of England’s southern end have proven ideal for the production of British sparkling wine. While it might seem too damp and cold for grape growing in England, recent warm summers and the onset of global warming signify great future growth for the British wine industry.