Digby Fine English Brut
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Winemaker Notes
Vibrant yet understated, this fizz is in its element at home on a Tuesday evening or at a party celebrating one of life’s big moments. An engaging expression of Digby’s house style, it stems from England’s most luscious Pinot Noir with rich, aged Chardonnay and plummy Pinot Meunier.
Blend: 40% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Toasty, nutty and biscuity on the nose with some evolution evident. The palate is generous but maintains tension with bright acidity, precise green apple fruit and savoury marine notes. Long and intense on the finish
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Wine Enthusiast
This Pinot Noir-led bubbly from West Sussex bursts from the glass with singular notes of lemon, thyme and fresh hazelnut, then back to more citrus—fresh this time—with an underbelly of cream and a hint of smoke. The palate is equally expressive, the bright, mouthwatering acidity slicing through the gentle toast with a tangy zing of lemon right to the finish. Bracingly refreshing and nothing but class, this is delicious now, chilled for a warm summer’s day. Editors’Choice.
And from that ancient terrain comes ‘DIGBY FINE ENGLISH SPARKLING WINE’ – a superlative, elegant, spirited expression of Englishness – with all its follies and foibles, modesty and refinement, its courage and its curiosity…
Inspired by the extraordinary life of the 17th Century philosopher, theologian, writer, pirate, inventor and ‘father of the modern wine bottle’, Sir Kenelm Digby, ‘DIGBY FINE ENGLISH’ is a wine of distinctively English character.
We create long-term relationships with the best vineyards across English wine country (typically Kent, Sussex and Hampshire) to ensure a supply of only the finest quality berries. This diversity allows us to achieve our hallmark richness of flavour and texture. Our vineyard partners are selected according to the meticulous standards they employ.Our focus is on Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, varieties proven to produce the most finesse. Time, care and patience goes into our rendition of the Traditional Method, which gently reveals the potential in each lot of pressed juice. We then pour ourselves into blending, where we create the liquid pleasures that are unmistakably Digby.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
The limestone soils of England’s southern end have proven ideal for the production of British sparkling wine. While it might seem too damp and cold for grape growing in England, recent warm summers and the onset of global warming signify great future growth for the British wine industry.