"Pale pink in colour, with a light, delicate mousse. The nose showcases lots of red fruit and stone fruit notes, citrus zest and fresh flowers. The palate is dominated by red fruits, with strawberries and crushed raspberries, redcurrants and rhubarb, alongside red apple, nectarine and orange notes. The wine feels elegant and juicy on the palate, with bright fruits, hints of pink peppercorn and a delicate mineral note, leading to a long, zesty finish. Grape Variety 54% Chardonnay, 36% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier. Residual Sugar 9 g/l"
The Gusbourne estate traces its history back to the time of the Norman conquest but their first vintage of the modern era is founded on vineyards they planted in 2004. Since that time the vineyards have now expanded to cover 60 hectares largely on clay with subsoils including sand and seashells in Appledore, Kent, and 30 hectares near the Goodwood estate in West Sussex on predominantly chalk soils with flint loam. The vineyards are planted with classic Burgundian clones of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, with a predominance of the Pinot Varieties on the clay soils of Kent and Chardonnay on the chalkier soils of Sussex.
Gusbourne have won multiple awards for the consistent excellence of their wines and are a flag bearer for the heights that English sparkling wine can achieve.
Winter rains enabled the vines to take full advantage of good soil moisture levels during spring growth. This was topped up during the season by regular rainfall, which helped to maintain optimum levels of nutrition in the vines. Dry and warm weather at the end of June allowed for successful flowering over a short period of time, resulting in even fruit-set. Good weather in August continued uniform fruit development across the vineyards. Slightly cooler weather in September and October allowed for a slow ripening period that created the composition of varied and complex flavour profiles. Harvest commenced at the end of September and was complete by the middle of October
