Wine of the week: a world-class sparkler from Dorset

2014 Bride Valley, Blanc de Blancs, Dorset £38, ten branches of Waitrose and onwaitrosecellar.com

This wine is an instant classic a smooth, enticing, beautifully balanced number. It is drinking perfectly already and is underpinned with pristine acidity. It was this facet of the wine that Steven and I chatted about while we were tasting it. He lowered his voice conspiratorially and told me a little secret that I am happy toshare with you(I am sure he won't mind). He was travelling in Champagne and was in the Cte des Blancs, home to the great chardonnay vineyards of the region, tasting with some locals. He generously uncorked his own wine and one of the old timers sidled over to him and said, "You've got what we've lost".

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He was referring to the vital acidity in the Dorset-grown wine. It seems that Champagne is warming up, along with all of the other wine regions of the world, and it looks like England will be even more of a safe bet for world-class sparklers than we might first have thought. If you would like to know more about Steven and his fascinating journey through wine, then I recommend his book, Wine A Way of Life.

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

Matthew Jukes has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006.

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

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.