English champagne? Surely not, what what?

Last evening, I tried a very interesting new champagne from England (believe it or not). Called Nyetimber and from 1998, it recently won the prize of the best champagne in the entire world produced outside the Champagne region of France. It’s described as Classic Cuvee, is 12% (about normal) and uses the traditional grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It has a good balance, smells a little like high grade Burgundies and has for me a slightly too sharp citrussy edge. The flavour lingers in the mouth for quite some time, changing slightly from the lemons to a yeasty finish. Roughly the same price as non-vintage champagnes which you can get off the shelf in supermarkets, it’s a reasonable buy, and next time, why not try it instead of your run-of-the-mill Veuve Clicquot or Moet?