Classic
2020
$106.52*
Nestled amongst the hills of the glorious Test Valley, in the heart of the Hampshire countryside, lies Black Chalk. Created in 2015 by current CEO and winemaker, Jacob Leady sought out fruit from local Hampshire vineyards to make small batch, traditional method sparkling wines while working as winemaker for Hattingley Valley. The first Black Chalk wines were released in 2018 to critical acclaim. 12ha of established vineyards across 3 sites in Test Valley were purchased in 2019 followed by the...
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A truly classic wine; the nose is full of orchard fruits with a biscuity bite, and the palate is textured and full due to the vintage's warm conditions. It has a wonde4rful precise fruit focus, as well as being extremely fresh and perfectly balanced. This is a wine that makes for a very fine aperitif that will never tire or bore. It's the wine that keeps on giving !
"Toasty citrus, seashells and crushed minerals on the nose. With dosage at 9g/l, it's honeyed on the palate with brioche and ripe blood orange. The base wine hasn't been through malolactic fermentation thus retained bright acidity (8.6g/l). Honey-roasted hazelnuts on the finish. 2020 is the first vintage sourced entirely from the producer's own vineyards."
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An unusually juicy, black-fruited sparkling wine. I've recently tasted a cassis from Burgundy, and this bears a remarkable resemblance – albeit dry and sparkling and white. But the fruit on this wine is quite remarkable. It's intensely vibrant, almost outrageously so, but far from simple. It's interleaved with layer upon layer of spice (caraway seed, star anise, liquorice root), a drizzle of sweetness that is on the cusp of maple syrup, and the pillowy softness of warm, new-baked brioche overwhelming the fine, tiny tingle of bubbles.
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