Davenport, Limney Estate 2014 English White Wine

The Limney Estate 2014 is a vibrant organic English Sparkling wine, created with a blend of Chardonnay (50%), Pinot Noir (26%) and Meunier (24%). The wine undergoes a long ageing on the lees before released and so has a terrific autolytic depth and is a rich, dry flavoursome wine. It is certainly an individual style and not a simple wine. There is complexity and texture, length and balance in this characterful wine. One of the key reasons for our Master of Wine to choose the Limney Estate 2014 is the length on the lees. One of the major factors in determining the quality and style of a traditional method sparkling wine is the length of time on the lees. Many wines are made with 18 months in contact with the lees, in Champagne the minimum is 15 months, in order to allow the break down of yeast cells and the development of flavours derived from yeast. This development of yeast characters is known as autolysis. High quality, traditional fizz will usually undergo a long period, at least 24 to 30 months on the lees. Increasing the top English sparkling wines have extended periods on the yeast. The Limney Estate wine has five years on the lees, resulting in a richer autolytic character and also a better integration of the acidity and development of fruit The Limney Estate is owned by England’s leading organic wine producer, Will Davenport. The first vineyard was planted in 1991 at Horsmonden, Kent and, as the operation developed, Will moved to a winery over the border in East Sussex at Rotherfield. The fruit comes from vineyards around Horsmonden and Rotherfield. Today, the vineyards cover 24 acres of land and grow vines for both still and sparkling wine. The vineyards were converted to organic farming from 2000 and all the wines are now certified by the Soil Association.