RATHFINNY | Blanc de Blancs | Brut | 2017
chardonnay

We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.

Rathfinny Estate in East Sussex was founded in 2010 by husband and wife, Mark and Sarah Driver. Once a working arable farm, the first vines were planted in 2012 and today Rathfinny comprises over 230 acres of predominantly Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Rathfinny Estate is located in the South Downs National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty in Southern England. It occupies the main part of Cradle Valley, on a south-facing slope close to the iconic Cuckmere Valley in East Sussex, just three miles from the sea and the famous Seven Sisters cliffs, about a half a mile south of Alfriston village.

Today we are going to review a sparkling wine that we were eager to taste for a very long time – Blanc de Blancs Brut 2017 by Rathfinny Estate. This is a true crémant wine, made of 100% chardonnay grape variety (a sparkling wine style that is called ‘Blanc de Blancs‘, which translates as ‘white from whites‘, meaning that it is made entirely of white grape varieties, mainly from chardonnay) and produced using the authentic méthode traditionelle technique, the same way the famous french Champagne is made. The grapes for this sparkling wine are sourced from the estate’s vineyards, planted on chalky soils in the East Sussex wine region of southern England. After the traditional second fermentation in the bottle, the wine spent 36 months on fine lees (sur lie ageing) and was produced in a limited edition of only 9333 bottles. Due to long-term second fermentation in the bottle (including the sur lie ageing) and further bottle maturation, the wine developed extra complexity and delivers enhanced creaminess on the palate. But enough theory, that said and without further ado, let’s move on straight to the tasting results.
_________________________________________________________________________
Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: medium gold color
clarity: clear amber hues

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & yeasty
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits | stone fruits
__green fruits: sour apple | yellow apple | white pear | quince
__citrus fruits: lemon | pomelo | white grapefruit
__stone fruits: yellow mirabelle | white apricot | white plum
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: lees | other
__lees: dough | yeast | brioche | baguette | cheddar cheese
__other: almond | hazelnut | chalk
primary layer: fruit & lees

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: medium+
tannin: low
__grip: fine
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: lean | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: green fruits & citrus
fruit character: underripe
non fruit: lees/yeast
finish: medium+
aftertaste: refreshingly crisp

//Scoring
RATHFINNY | Blanc de Blancs | Brut | 2017
variety: chardonnay
country: United Kingdom
region: England | East Sussex
rating: 93.0

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | drink now or age for another 3-4 years
verdict: great | a must try wine
_________________________________________________________________________
This is definitely a great wine of England and with a total of 93.0 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a nicely balanced and refreshingly crisp sparkling wine, that is still in its development phase, thus one that can be enjoyed today or aged for another 3 or 4 years. It has a pronounced fruity-yeasty profile on the nose and feels well structured, lean and slightly supple on the palate. On the nose the wine displays a mixture of ripe green fruits and citrus in the foreground, supported by some very nuanced, leesy-yeasty notes of dough, brioche and cheddar cheese in the background. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, some subtle phenolic bitterness and a well integrated alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel, which all leads to an appealingly-crisp aftertaste. All in all this is fine and round crémant wine, with a voluptuous and smooth palate, that reminds us of those famous Champagne or Crémant d’Alsace bubbles. What this wine lacks today, is maybe just a bit of finesse and harmony on the mouthfeel, which will undoubtedly come with time spent in the bottle. We believe that this wine will pair lovely with seafood dishes, like for example with fresh oysters, mahi mahi fillets or oven baked salmon. Cheers!

_________________________________________________________________________
© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.