A top-flight English sparkler

What I like so much about this relative newcomer is that the wines from the brand are perfectly ready to drink from the off, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
By Matthew Jukes
published

942-wine-634

NV Cottonworth, Brut Ros, Hampshire, England£28-£35, cottonworth.co.uk; stonevine.co.uk; rudewines.co.uk; novelwines.co.uk; thesolentcellar.co.uk

I am always on the lookout fortop-flight English sparklingwines and, as the years pass, the number of estates making world-class fizz continues to grow at an alarming rate. I happened to taste this wine twice in a week at two different events and it elicited exactly the same notes, scores and shorthand squiggle anM and a W in a circle.This is the exciting "MoneyWeek-worthy" symbol denoting a wine of sufficient class to grace this page. So, I am delighted to introduce you to Cottonworth Ros, a 48% pinot meunier, 47% pinot noir and 5% pinot prcoce, so you can see that this is a genuine Blanc de Noirs.

What I like so much about this relative newcomer is that the wines from the brand are perfectly ready to drink from the off. The balance and harmony in this ros is spot on.The silkiness of fruit and crispness of acidity is pinpoint perfect. So often, young sparklers parade too much raw acidity on the finish and this makes them (literally) hard to swallow. Cottonworth has managed to perfect the art of making wines that flow, uninterrupted, across the palate.The colour and perfume onthis ros is ravishing and it is not too dear either. I am a fanand I would love you to trial this bottle against your favourite,line-priced ros Champagne and see what you think. My money is on the Cottonworth.

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Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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