A fabulous evening filled with English bubbles!

27th March 2025

We were delighted to welcome Sophie Robertson and Gemma Butterell, who hosted our first-ever dedicated English Sparkling wine tasting, offering in-depth insight into the world of Nyetimber, last Thursday.

With estate records dating back to 1086, which also happens to be the name of their top cuvée, the house is well-rooted in English history and specialises in traditional-method sparkling wines, using only estate-grown fruit that spends extended time on lees, allowing the wines to develop rich complexity and flavours. Nyetimber wines have gone on to achieve global acclaim, winning international awards and blind-tasting competitions and being recognised by some of the world’s most celebrated wine experts.

We began with the Classic Cuvée and proceeded through the full range, including the very limited-production white and rosé ‘1086’. The Tillington Single Vineyard was the standout wine for me that night, showcasing red fruits and floral flavours and aromas, along with rich biscuity and marzipan notes, typical of a Pinot-dominant sparkling. Surprisingly, the overall favourite among guests on the night was the Cuvée Chérie, a demi-sec sparkling wine dedicated to the Award-winning Winemaker Cherie Spriggs. Although it paired very well with our Amaretti biscuits, we decided it would be the ideal breakfast or Afternoon Tea bubbles!

We are fortunate to have former chef Christian Gott - An Island Chef as part of our sales team here at Dunell's, so taking full advantage of his culinary skills, we asked him to design and create a selection of canapés to tempt the taste buds and complement the wines. He did an awesome job! Guests snacked on delights such as whipped Chavignol mousse with pistachio and fig and smoked chicken skin with chicken skin butter – now a firm favourite amongst those in the know!

A huge thank you to the Nyetimber ladies for their time (videos coming soon) and to all our customers who joined us for what was a truly fantastic evening. And, of course, to Kasia Konys-Pieszko DipWSET, for the smooth running of the event from its inception to a successful finish!

Madeleine Willis DipWSET