Stupendously Superb Spring Sparkles

We're not just huge fans of alliteration here at Sypped, we're also monumentally mega mad about all wines sparkling and with Spring fast approaching, the hedgerows are beginning to fill with colour and the sun is making the occasional rare appearance! With that in mind we've decided to compile a list of our top three epic bubbly offerings for you to enjoy at this wonderful time of year.

 

Anderson Valley Quartet Rose NV

Wine:  Anderson Valley Quartet Rose NV
Winemaker: Roederer Estate
Vintage: NV
Varieties: Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
Price: £26.50
Buy Now: Champagne Direct

The wonderful Quartet Rose, made in the Anderson Valley, California and owned by the infamous Champagne house, Louis Roederer, is a simply sublime wine; elegance personified with character aplenty and an uplifting vibrancy. It's a class apart from most Rose and at this price point, is undeniably a market leader. The aromatic bouquet offers an array of floral fragrances and subtle stone fruits, while in the mouth; delicate red fruit and silky smooth oak influenced notes provide beautiful balance and fantastic finesse. It's imperative one doesn't over chill this wine, 11-12'c is ideal when pairing with a dish, slightly warmer as a stand alone drink.

Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV

Wine:  Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV
Winemaker: Pol Roger
Vintage: NV
Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay & Pinot Meunier
Price: £33.99
Buy Now: Corks Out

This nutty ninja of a Champagne from one of the most established houses in the region really blew me away, it creeps up on it's unsuspecting consumers and assaults their senses with a microcosmic explosion of bubbles in the mouth containing some of the most memorable nutty notes I've ever encountered. After opening this wine just kept evolving offering more and more! The nose is alive with green fruit at first, yielding to softer more feminine notes and finishing with fresh brioche. There is an archetypal chalky vein running throughout the entire palate, which offers delicate white stone fruit flavours and some incredibly endearing honeyed notes, finishing with a distinctive minerality. I implore you to head over to Corks Out and snap this up at the current price of £33.99, it usually retails at £45-50 and is rarely discounted.

Pirie Tasmanian Traditional Method Sparkling Wine NV

Wine:  Pirie Tasmanian Trad Meth Sparkling Wine NV
Winemaker: Brown Brothers
Vintage: NV
Varieties: Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Price: £27.50
Buy Now: Wine Society

An absolute game changer! I can't and don't need to say anymore than that, this wine is truly exceptional and offers something world class that you simply won't find elsewhere for less than thirty pounds. Aged on it's lees for an impressive three years, allows this wine to exhibit a multitude of dimensions that express it's character and true quality. Citrus dominates both the nose and palate, with sweeter, albeit slightly tart green fruit playing a pivotal supportive role, before evocative and complex toasty notes round off what is a truly exceptional finish. Intense and with incredible length. Oi Oi! 

Lyme Bay Chardonnay 2015

There is very little not to absolutely love about this beautifully crafted, exquisite Chardonnay from the geniuses at Lyme Bay; I've been fortunate enough to try a broad range of their wines and I'm pleased to say that this is right up there with the best and well and truly lives up to the hype surrounding Lyme Bay and it's wines; It's a class act and as far as still English wines go, this is about as good as it gets.

Included in the mix is a dash of Bacchus, which despite a veritable cameo role with regards to it's percentage in the overall blend, plays a pivotal role in helping round the character of this sumptuous wine, adding a feisty acidic backbone, which acts as a steadfast platform for the beautiful tropical and citrus flavours of fresh apricot, pineapple and lemon zest to shine through, whilst also adding much needed balance to offset the buttery nature of the Chardonnay and bready notes from the lees ageing. 

On the leaner side of medium bodied, dry in style, with a distinctive minerality and subtle salinity, not dissimilar, stylistically to a Premier Cru Chablis, with layers of complexity and a luscious mouthfeel, that exude elegance and mimic the archetypal characteristics of the Burgundian queen, without having to wait the best part of a decade for it to reach it's apogee. The flavour and aroma intensity are utterly captivating, leaving one salivating at the prospect of yet another sip of this wondrously, heavenly nectar; the finish is a little abrupt, but in all fairness that fits with the clarity, dynamism and precision of the wine and if I'm honest, being the pedant that I am, I'm probably picking holes in what is a metaphorical cashmere sweater!

BUY NOW FROM LYME BAY