Tasting notes

The Brut Rosé is salmon pink in colour, with aromas of cranberries, strawberries and hints of brioche. The palate is fairly full, with intense, red berry flavours that are nicely balanced by refreshing acidity and an elegant, long finish.

Producer 

Coates and Seely is the brainchild of Christian Seely and Nicholas Coates. The pair spent a year scouring Southern England for the ideal place to make excellent sparkling wine. In 2008 they found the Wooldings, tucked away in a secluded valley near Whitchurch, on the chalk downlands of Hampshire. The vineyards now total 24 hectares, and are planted with the Champagne varieties Pinot Noir,Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. They refurbished the original buildings, importing first-class winery equipment for winemakers Corinne Seely and Ryan Carter. The Rosé is the first release; Blanc de Blancs willfollow. Both carry the terms ‘Méthode Britannique,and Britagne (pronounced Brit~an~ye) on the label, a testament to the quality and individuality of sparkling wines here that will at least rival their French neighbours!

Vineyards

The Hampshire Downs lie just eighty miles north of Champagne, on the same chalk basin that curves from France to the White Cliffs of Doverand across Southern England. The sheltered vines of the Wooldings were planted at an altitude of 50-100 metres, on south and south-east facing slopes that gain maximum exposure to the sun in this cool climate. The soils contain a proportion of clay and flint, which retains the heat of the sun to warm the topsoil, while the chalk reflects the light back onto the vines, aiding ripeness. In addition to the 12 hectares here, there are a further 12 lying on the chalk soils of Exton Park, in the Meon Valley, South Downs, to supplement their production.

Vinification

Grapes were handpicked into small, 12 kilogram boxes before being taken to the winery. The first release was solely taken from the 2009 vintage, which was a warm, sunny year with excellent ripeness levels. The Pinots Noir and Meunier grapes were pressed immediately, to ensure only gentle extraction, then fermented in a mixture of stainless steel, concrete egg-shaped tanks and seasoned French oak barrels to provide complexity and added depth. The wine was bottled for the second fermentation, and left on its lees for fifteen months; it finishes relatively dry, with a fairly low dosage of only 9 grams per litre, made possible by the excellent quality of the fruit.