Henry Jeffreys - writer, drinks enthusiast, author of 'Vines in a Cold Climate' and Intoxicating History host - is a busy man. We're delighted he took some time out of substack writing and podcast recording to pull the cork from three rather special wines - all from the 2015 vintage. A decade after harvest, Henry gives his view on how this trio are maturing - and what that says about English wines' ability to age with grace.
When I drink Gusbourne sparkling wine, a little part of me always thinks - yes, this is wonderful now, but would it be even better if I put it in the cellar for five years? Most wine, however, is drunk on the day of purchase - especially celebratory bottles like sparkling wine. You’re not going to postpone the party until the wine is at peak maturity.
But there’s been an increasing interest in cellaring Champagne in recent years. Dom Perignon, Cristal and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne are now some of the most traded wines on the secondary market. These are all wines that cost hundreds of pounds a bottle. A recent tasting with Gusbourne, however, demonstrated that you don’t need to spend anywhere near that to get something age-worthy.
The English wine industry is so young that there’s everything to learn about how the wines mature.
We’re now starting to see museum releases from some of the country’s established producers while there are private collectors who have been hoarding old vintages. I’ve been lucky enough to try some rarities, and have been impressed at how certain wines developed over years - even decades. So when offered the chance to taste three wines from the 2015 vintage, nearly ten years on, I didn’t take much persuading.
Immortality and acidity
Ageing wine can be an uncertain exercise, but English wine has the most important thing in ensuring longevity: acidity. Immortal wines, think of the great rieslings from the Rhine or the Mosel, or Madeira especially, usually have high acidity. Along with this backbone, you need the flesh provided by slowly ripened grapes grown in a great vineyard.
Sparkling wine has a further unpredictable element - the date of disgorgement. This is the moment when the wine - previously ageing on its lees (dead yeast cells) - is rudely awakened, the lees jettisoned out of the bottle, a sweetening liqueur added, and the bottle corked. Gusbourne’s head winemaker Mary Bridges explained how ageing on the lees keeps the wine “fresh and energetic” whereas cork ageing creates more “dried fruit, nutty and umami” flavours.
It was fascinating to see how this played out on the entry-level Brut Reserve 2015, which was disgorged in October 2018. It was rich, with patisserie and custard notes. Mary also thought that the richness was accentuated by a percentage of red fruit in this vintage, which is higher than in the current Brut Reserve.
The Rosé was disgorged a year later in September 2019. According to Mary this style can be the most erratic when ageing - what will happen to that vibrant red fruit character that people love? The 2015 had done some remarkable things: it had not lost any of its vibrancy showing a distinct cherry note with added citrus fruit fireworks like marmalade and pink grapefruit. Truly sensational.
It was the Blanc de Blancs that I had the highest expectations for. Mary described it as Gusbourne’s flagship because it reflects most clearly the distinct qualities of the vineyards with Chardonnay grown in the warm clay of Kent providing earthy, fruity notes while the chalk of West Sussex brings a saline minerality. This was the most recently disgorged, in 2020, and while the others were showing quite a bit of maturity, the Blanc de Blancs, is clearly in it for the long haul. I’d love to revisit it in another ten years.
Mary, who joined Gusbourne in 2018 and took over winemaking in 2023, laments the lack of single vineyard wines from 2015 so she could taste how the specific plots were in that vintage. “I wish we had that information,” she says. The single vineyard wines were first launched in 2017 under her predecessor Charlie Holland.
But even without this extra level of detail, tasting the 2015 wines was a fascinating exercise in the potential of mature English sparkling wine. I knew the Blanc des Blancs would impress; I did not expect the Brut Reserve and Rosé to be quite so good. You’re getting complex age-worthy vintage wines for the same price as an entry-level non-vintage from a Grand Marque Champagne house.
To be honest, the exercise has rather spoilt me, I now want all my sparkling wines served with an extra five years of bottle age.
Wines tasted:
Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2015
Disgorged October 2018
50% Pinot Noir 10% Pinot Meunier 40% Chardonnay
This has a very rich nose: cinnamon, custard, croissant, peach and baked apple. On the palate, it's creamy and voluptuous - tempting patisserie notes, with lemon and orange peel. Very long. Just gorgeous!
Gusbourne Rose 2015
Disgorged September 2019
54% Pinot Noir, 32% Pinot Meunier and 14% Chardonnay
The wine is a vibrant copper colour. Take a sniff and there’s orange peel, pink grapefruit, and bready notes; it's very fresh. You’ll find distinctive citrus notes on the palate, pink grapefruit again and bitter Seville orange with sweet red cherry notes and a creamy almond texture. Long finish.
Gusbourne Blanc de Blanc 2015
Disgorged November 2020
100% Chardonnay
The nose is incredibly fresh with green apple and white peach and richer notes of baking spices and yeast. Take a sip and there’s lemon, saline, lean but ripe with a very creamy texture with notes of almond croissant. Vibrant and youthful with a long finish.
