Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs Brut, England, 2016

Grape: 100% Chardonnay from vineyards in West Sussex and Hampshire, 9.6g/L residual sugar

Producer Tasting Note:

Crafted from a single vintage and given extended time on lees, this pure expression of Chardonnay was the first style ever produced at Nyetimber and marked the start of our pioneering journey in the early 1990’s.

Light gold hue and a fine, delicate mousse. Aromas of citrus and honeysuckle lead into subtle brioche and vanilla characters. The palate offers generous yet elegant notes of baked lemon and white peach with the warmth of the vintage shining through. Subtle mineral notes accentuate the fresh, crisp acidity, leading to a long and complex finish.

With over four years on its lees, our Blanc de Blancs has a rounded, yet fresh and elegant finish, perfect with white crab, Dover sole and mussels.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"This smells like an autumn apple festival! Gloriously appley. And such purity! A wine that is not relying on lees ageing to give it depth or flavour or richness – it's all there in this incredible fruit. It fills the mouth, a trumpet concerto of silver and gold notes, while the acidity feels like the spine-tingling vibrations of harp strings, thrumming up and down – I can feel this wine like a thread-fine electric current under my skin and through my bones. Translucent white spring florals dancing weightlessly through prismic citrus; lime, yuzu, grapefruit peel. Then, right at the end, a lick of cold salted butter, a dab of cumin and coriander spice. Outstanding."

17.5/20 points, Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, November 2021

"Big bubbles on first pouring. Sweet-smelling citrus with a touch of white blossom as well as toasty autolytic notes and an inviting fruit ripeness. Deliciously toasty on the palate as well as intensely fresh, a good balance of fruit depth, lees-aged creamy-rich and rounded texture as well as mouth-watering acidity. Mousse is much finer in the mouth than it appeared in the glass. Long, with masses of acidity and tension and really refined. The aftertaste seems a little sweet-sour, which brought my note down from 17 to 16.5"

16.5/20 points, Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2024

Also awarded "Gold" in the 2021 "Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships" (for the 2014 vintage) and 90/100 points by Tim Atkin MW in August 2021.