Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This gentle, medium-sweet sparkling wine is nicely balanced and creamy. Aromas of honeysuckle, sweet almonds, baked apples and lemon curd are accompanied by soft bubbles and fresh acidity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The NV Demi-Sec from Nyetimber contains 44 grams per liter of residual sugar and comes mainly from the 2013 vintage. It has a light and rather austere bouquet with hints of dried honey, walnut and blackcurrant leaf. The palate is rounded on the entry and manages to neatly balance the sweetness of a demi-sec with the acidity. Pralines and almond define the harmonious finish with hints of apricot. It is always difficult to think of occasions where I crave a sweet sparkling wine, but I cannot deny that this is delicious and well-crafted.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
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.