NV Sugrue Cuvee Dr Brendan O’Regan MV (2016 Base)
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Tasting notes
Full bottle 1,590 g. A blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, mostly from vintage 2018, fermented in oak barrels and aged on its lees for 72 months. Just 4,500 bottles were made. Now being served on British Airways First Class. How on earth have Dermot and Ana Sugrue managed to make an English sparkling with so much ripeness that it’s almost louche? Tiny bubbles, tiny froth, and then come the voluptuous swathes of mango, baked apples, clementine, orange peel. Scribbles of fennel. Buttery Marcona almonds. Rich but not fat. Insane intensity. For an English sparkling wine, this is fleshy and lush. It has the daring boldness and saturation of an Andy Warhol artwork. Pair with lobster, mango and chilli salad over sticky rice? Or pair with the Notting Hill Carnival? Razzmatazz, and I love it. (TC)
Critic scores
Average Score
Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Brut Cuvée Dr Breandan O'Regan, tasted from magnum, is a Hampshire-grown single-vineyard blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Flint and smoke lead the aromas, with fragrant hedgerow fruit suggesting tart berry and wet stone, framed by lemon. The palate combines soil, fruit and reductive smokiness, a delight for fizz-lovers. Intense ripe lemon, tart berry and juicy red apple make the mouth water, while fine creamy mousse softens the essential English briskness. Aromatics dominate the slender finish. This wine has just begun its journey and will be a joy for years. Disgorged: January 2023.
60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. Blend named after the man who developed both Shannon Airport and duty-free shopping. From the Mount Harry vineyard in East Sussex, planted in May 2006 on clay loam over chalk and the Storrington Priory vineyard in West Sussex planted at the same time on greensand. Base wine 2016 and a bit of 2009. 50% fermented in old 500-litre burgundy barrels and 50% in tank. No malo. Tasted blind. Pale bronze. Chalky nose. Then rather green and leafy on the palate. Hedgerows and definitely English! Just a little demanding at the moment. Very marked acidity. Needs time. (JR)
Slow fermentation and maturation in old burgundian barrels and stainless steel. Bottled without filtration. Most of the fruit comes from the Mount Harry vineyard near Lewes, a 2.5 ha vineyard entirely on South Downs chalk. Based on 2013 vintage. 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. Rich shortbread and clotted cream shot through with lemon marmalade. Hazelnuts. Rich, intense cooked citrus and a finely knit mousse. It has the beautiful balance and fabulous autolytic weight that you would expect from a top-notch champagne. Long, fiercely poised and precise, it reminds me of an Olympian athlete. (TC)
About the producer
As English sparkling wine breaks out onto the world’s stage, a few names already come to mind as beacons of quality and know-how. Dermot Sugrue’s eponymous label leads the charge.