Bentley Flying Spur V8 S Ridgeview Estate English Wine Tour

After an informative morning steeped in oenology, and a lot of spitting and no swallowing (well in my case anyway) we got back in the Bentley V8 S, placed our Blanc de Blancs 2008 in the Bentley’s wine cooler, with its two designer glasses and Star Trek swooshing glass door, and headed back out on to the country lanes. We were now bound for Ridgeview Estate Winery, a vineyard in the Sussex Downs and official suppliers to Downing Street. Rolling along in the Bentley was as usual a distinct pleasure. The comfort specification now coming into its own as we had been driving a few hours. So on came the back massage on both seats, it’s in all four seats, and as per usual in a Bentley, we competed for who could surreptitiously whack up the seat heating to fry the other’s backside before they noticed.
The Bentley accelerates from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds which means that you always have the speed you need and can swoop along country lanes, without going fast but taking the curves and hills at a good rate, eating up the miles whilst still enjoying the tree covered lanes, with dappled sunlight spilling across the undulating hay stacked fields. I would highly recommend taking a few decent cd’s or iPod as local radio around Sussex can be a little dire, though I’m sure they have their good days, but reception can be dicey. in this way we meandered contentedly over the Downs and arrived at Ridgeview for our next visit and sampling.
We were met by Mardi and Simon Roberts, husband and wife team who work together at the winery. Ridgeview is very much a family vineyard, started in 1994 by Mike and Chris Roberts and now run by the second generation of Roberts of which there are quite a few, plus a dedicated team. Mike was chair of the English Wine Producers and was awarded an MBE for his services to English wine in 2011. Ridgeview have around 17 acres under vine and produce around 20,000 bottles each year. They are also enjoying the British wine renaissance and have won many awards here and abroad. 20 years of winemaking has seen them leap to the head of the pack when it comes to public awareness and accolades.
Mardi shows us around the vineyard as the light turns a gentle orange grey, storm clouds appearing over the horizon lending a late feel to the early afternoon. We then tour the brewery which is in that quiet before the storm period before the harvest, a vast array of gleaming titanium equipment for brewing, bottling, separating the lees, and fermentation tanks. Simon and others are just separating the lees in the bottles, removing the yeast so that the sparkling wine will be clear without anything to spoil the colour. It is fascinating how they achieve this. The bottles with the yeast are placed upside down in freezing water, placed there by hand with trolleys equipped with multiple suckers, like triffids pushed on wheels. The yeast drops to the neck of the bottle, the sediment is frozen solid and then another machine instantly snaps the cap off, the frozen yeast block is catapulted out into the air and falls into a bucket. In fractions of a second a cork is powered into place, before all the unfrozen bubbly can explode out. Amazing ingenuity employed to get your sparkling wine clear of any lees!
After marvelling at the different vats and tanks and bottling machines, we repair upstairs to the tasting room and admire the new outside patio with wooden tables and umbrellas for summer tastings as a party arrives to imbibe the latest wines. Our host opens a few bottles and we get down to the hard graft of sampling the various offerings.
We start with Bloomsbury 2014, their signature blend, which is 58% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Noir and 14% Pinot Meunier. The Chardonnay taste predominates, so it is light, well balanced and fruity. Next comes the Cavendish 2013, supplied to No 10 Downing Street, 40% Pinot Meunier, 26% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay, a smooth, deep finish with a lasting aftertaste and greater complexity of flavours. Then the Blancs de Blancs, as the name indicates it is 100% Chardonnay, good bubbles, easy to drink with a slight edge very characteristic of English sparkling wine and a lovely long mineral finish. It should age well too. On to the Blanc de Noirs, this is work after all, a blend of just red grapes, 55% Pinot Meunier and 45% Pinot Noir, suffused with a golden colour with lots of complex fruity flavours. Lastly we tasted the Rosé de Noirs, 86% Pinot Noir and 14% Pinot Meunier, made using the Saignée method, where the grape skins are kept in the press for a little while, adding to the colour and flavour. It had a deeper, berry taste, with good bubbles and a fuller body.
This year has been a good year for quality but the volume is down, and they will shortly be hand picking the grapes before the cold snap sets in. The clay soil with some limestone gives the berries their own unique flavours and a good acidity. It’s easy to see why chefs like Tom Kerridge at The Hand and Flowers (http://internationalexcellence.co.uk/content/hand-flowers-live-their-two...) are a big fan of Ridgeview, using their Rosé de Noir in his English strawberries, poached in Ridgeview with honeycomb and basil. Ridgeview export worldwide now and are even producing own labels for Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer’s. Ridgeview is the brand to watch, excellent English sparkling wine from an excellent vineyard!
http://www.ridgeview.co.uk/http://www.bentleymotors.com/en/models/flyin…