Hambledon, Première Cuvée, Sparkling, Hampshire, England
- White
- Dry
- Medium Bodied
- Chardonnay (Predominant), Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
- Tamlyn Currin
- 16.5++/20
- Tina Gellie
- 92/100
- Neal Martin
- 92/100
Free standard delivery on orders over £125
In Bond purchases can be stored in our temperature-controlled warehouse
Covered by our quality guarantee
Description
Aromatics of wax, nuts, spice, honey and citrus abound in this one. The palate is vibrant with ripe pear and a touch of cherry, cranberry and grapefruit. A complex, mouth-filling, dense and intense wine.
Jamie Goode, Sunday Express (April 2023)
Hambledon Vineyard has a long and fascinating history. Not only does the village have the reputation as the cradle of cricket, long before Lord’s, it seems, but it is also the location of the first English commercial vineyard, courtesy of the Francophile Sir Guy Salisbury Jones, who developed the vineyards in the early 1950s.
After an uneventful hiatus, the vineyard was purchased by Ian Kellett in 1999, and his investments of both patience and capital are now yielding fruit, quite literally, in the form of some of the best-located Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the country. A standard-bearer for the quality England can achieve, this is a remarkably assured wine with a firm, acidic spine, complexity, and detail—great focus and precision.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Critics reviews
Full bottle 1,637 g. Hampshire vineyard on chalk. 67% Chardonnay, 11% Pinot Noir, 22% Pinot Meunier. 2014 base wine with 18% of barrel-aged reserve. Full malo. 4% of base wine was fermented in French oak. Six months on fine lees pre-blending. 62 months sur lies. Dosage 2.5 g/l. Disgorged 24 November 2021.
Whetstone sharp and lemony. This will wake you up in an instant. Bracingly crisp and less leesy richness than I was expecting. Quite chewy, dry, very focused and racy with plenty of smoky, toasty flair. This could take some additional bottle ageing, and will, I’m convinced, benefit from it.
Drink 2024 - 2029
A very exciting, broad and rich English sparkling wine from a producer founded in 1952. As Hambledon is the oldest commercial vineyard in the UK, it has great stores of reserve wines, meaning this flagship has creamy, nutty and brioche-like autolytic notes. A fine mousse and a full yet elegant, lively palate deliver flavours of juicy green apple, oyster shell minerality and lifted orange blossom.
The NV Première Cuvée comes from pre-selected grapes, 14% fermented in French oak, the remainder in stainless steel with a minimum 46 months on the lees. It has a dosage of 2g/L. Initially steely and reserved, it only takes a couple of swirls to reveal more leesy aromas, touches of baked bread and yellow flowers; there is fine definition here. The palate is well balanced with a touch of sour lemon on the entry that segues into a leesy midpalate. This is a classy English sparkling wine: taut and focused with saline notes defining the energetic finish. Recommended.
Drink 2020 - 2032
About this wine
Hampshire
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Delivery and Quality Guarantee
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Free delivery on orders over £125.
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Wines and spirits purchased In Bond from Berry Bros. & Rudd can be stored in our temperature-controlled warehouse.
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Every bottle sold by Berry Bros. & Rudd is subject to our quality guarantee. If a wine or spirit is corked or faulty, we will replace or refund it.
Registered company 05492886. BB&R Limited, trading as Berry Bros. & Rudd, 3 St James's Street, London, SW1A 1EG. All rights reserved. You must be 18 or over to order. Calls may be recorded.
