Hambledon Vineyard's Non-Vintage Classic Cuvée tastes better than French Champagne, according to a recent blind tasting organised by leading wine publication, Noble Rot.

Hambledon's Classic Cuvée topped the list ahead of famous French names including Veuve Clicquot, Tattinger and Pol Roger.

Wine writers Jamie Goode, Jancis Robinson and Kate Spicer joined sommeliers, restauranteurs and wine industry experts.  Eight champagnes and four English wines were judged in total, including four grand marques and four grower Champagnes.

As England's oldest vineyard, Hambledon's (https://www.hambledonvineyard.co.uk) success is a major boost for the English wine industry.  Established in the 1950s, it was in 1999 that Ian Kellet took control and decided to focus production purely on premium sparkling wines from the three traditional Champagne varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Kellet said, “We are thrilled by this result for Hambledon - it's a great testament to the hard work of the whole winemaking and viticultural team…  But it's not just an accolade for Hambledon, it's a real triumph for the English sparkling wine industry, especially as England was outnumbered 2 to 1." 

Hampshire's chalky soils are very similar to the earth in France's Champagne region, and combined with recent innovations and improvements in winemaking, it comes as little surprise that the county is now very much leading the way in terms of UK wine production.

The UK also came in second, with the Classic Cuvée from Sussex-based Nyetimber.

Dan Keeling, joint editor and co-founder of Noble Rot, explained, “We weren't surprised to see that Hambledon and Nyetimber did so well; they're both very intense and elegant, and make the case for England as the sparkling wine producing country to watch over coming years."

The full results and an analysis are available in the current issue of Noble Rot magazine.

Further tourist information can always be found at http://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk.

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