Highlights: Smith & Evans Higher Plot Pinot Chardonnay Late Disgorged 2010 England
This is really interesting; It’s a late disgorgement of an English sparkling wine that spent 13 years on its lees. I’ll let owner Guy Smith explain:
“Our first vintage in 2010 feels like yesterday and like a different world altogether. The nerves and anxiety of years of work and planning all coming down to a single day. Thirty or so virtual strangers turned up to pick coralled by our friend Celia Kozlowski. Little did we know that some of them would still be harvesting with us to this day!
We sold the vast majority of the wine years ago but we kept a few bottles on lees for 13 years. We always keep a some in the cellars for family occasions and have decided to put 50 out into the world for people that are interested in seeeing how this gem has developed. The LD stands for Late Disgorged – doing it this way preserves the freshness of the wine and indeed, these bottles are remarkable. They resemble a blanc de blancs in terms of its taste profile which is fresh and full of minerality with distinctive grapefruit citrus aromas that I can’t say that we remember from it’s first incarnation. It’s a beautiful delicate wine that is testament to the quality of those young vines at Higher Plot.”
Smith & Evans Higher Plot Pinot Chardonnay Late Disgorged 2010 Somerset, England
12% alcohol. 13 years on lees, 50 bottles released! A yellow/gold in colour, this is quite beautiful, showing lovely development after so long on the lees, but because it’s on the lees, it’s a very gentle and refined development. There’s some overt but balanced toastiness here with good acidity, but not obtrusive acidity, and ripe pear and peach fruit. Harmonious and mellow with a spicy undercurrent, as well as a touch of apple crumble, and finishing with crystalline citrus fruit and some more nuts and toast. This is really good, even though it was made from young vines! 93/100
