England: Flint Vineyards - Charmat (Incl Sustainable Disease-Resistant Varieties, Vegan-friendly)

Read Alex's Producer Profile on Flint

Grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc (26%), Reichensteiner (21%), Bacchus (16%), Auxerrois (14%) and the remainder a blend of super aromatic varieties, all of which are disease-resistant meaning a great deal less sprays in the vineyard and a great deal less emissions. 11.5% alcohol. 

Matthew Jukes, Renowned Wine Writer & Critic: "This is by far and away the most thoughtful and enticing Charmat in the land. And before you cock a snook at this style of sparkler, this beauty tramples over a wagonload of traditional method styles, too, with its perfume, palate and lip-smacking finish...(winemaker) Ben Witchell is a balance maestro". 

This wine significantly ups the dial on environmental sustainability, while it also delivers quality that London's L'Escargot restaurant charges £69 a bottle for! With this in mind, I rather enjoy drinking it at home at a third of the price, with some local seafood....

Flint's tank-fermented (as opposed to bottle-fermented) sparkling wines have always impressed me - and for the sake of extra validation, refer to renowned wine critic Matthew Jukes's notes.

With quality tank-fermented wines such as this wine, the emphasis is on capturing upfront, aromatic fruit character, i.e. what certain aromatic grape varieties in the vineyard give you, as opposed to bottle-fermented wines where the flavours largely originate from yeast autolysis i.e. ageing on the dead yeast cells that result from the fermentation in the bottle. 

If you at times or most often like your fizz aromatic, vibrant, fruit-forward, crisp and citrusy, rather than rich and biscuity, this is the wine for you! 

It brims with fresh lemon, pear, melon and green apple characters, while it also has really good weight in the mouth.  

Dry - in Brut territory - and 11.5% alcohol, without chaptalisation (the addition of sugar to increase alcohol) meaning the alcohol comes 100% from natural sugars. The bubbles are lively, but they are delicate and caressing rather than prickly, and they don’t dominate.

Flint describe it as "fresh, fruit-forward fizz made for pure, uncomplicated enjoyment." 'Pure' was one word I jotted down when I first tasted this wine (my tasting notes are written at speed!): "lovely lightness, pure, texture, refreshing, balance, sherberty." 

Given its unusual blend of varieties, this is a genuinely distinctive wine. Some wine anoraks describe certain sparkling wines as "vinous" - odd, since they’re all made from grapes, but I get it, and this one is most certainly vinous.

Cheaper fizz can taste a little industrial, with aggressive bubbles and little character. Not this one. Here, the bubbles resolve, and you can simply enjoy it for what it is — a delicious wine.

And, referring again to my tasting note, there is texture here too, as a proportion of the wine is fermented in neutral oak which lends roundness and a subtle depth, enhancing its quality. 

Such is the popularity and quality of Flint's sparkling wines, they are currently in the process of planting new sites and are soon constructing a larger winery. 

You may notice it’s missing a foil - a conscious decision as foils are incredibly wasteful things.

Food pairing:

In Flint’s own words: this is "all about freshness and vibrancy. Fizzing with bright citrus, orchard fruit and floral notes, it’s crisp, clean, and beautifully balanced. A perfect aperitif, but just as happy accompanying seafood or salads."

I can vouch for the fact that this wine is a wonder with anything from the sea - especially crab, for some reason. Try with crab linguine. 

What the critics say:

Matthew Jukes, Renowned Wine Writer & Critic: "This is by far and away the most thoughtful and enticing Charmat in the land. And before you cock a snook at this style of sparkler, this beauty tramples over a wagonload of traditional method styles, too, with its perfume, palate and lip-smacking finish...(winemaker) Ben Witchell is a balance maestro".