2014 Bride Valley Brut Reserve Dorset England 750 ml

There’s a reason sparkling wine producers the world over have been chasing Champagne’s coattails for centuries: Because while they can replicate the Champagne méthode, they can’t capture the magical combination of soil and climate that make the wines grown there so unique.  

Enter Judgement of Paris mastermind Steven Spurrier and his mouthwatering, celebration-worthy 2014 Bride Valley Vineyards Brut Reserve. The wine world veteran has mounted a challenge to the French with his brisk, zesty, and aromatic bubbly grown on the chalky soils of England’s Jurassic Coast—which sits in the very same ancient fossil-laden basin as Champagne. 

A lip-smacking and electric wine with a well-rounded mouthfeel bursting with golden apple, marzipan, and the unmistakable chalky minerality that marks the greatest sparkling wines, Spurrier’s groundbreaking Champagne-style sparkler will likely put a whole new country on your wine map. 

Lovers of the palate-pleasing, limestone-rich bubblies from Champagne and beyond, you owe it to yourself to partake in this one. It achieves the Champagne-like energy and verve that can only come from this special combination of soil and climate.

If there’s one person in the wine world capable of taking on the French at their own game, it’s Steven Spurrier. He’s the world-renowned critic who orchestrated the Judgement of Paris tasting, which catapulted California wines to their rightful place alongside the best of France. And just like he was wise to challenge the French with Cabernet and Chardonnay grown in the regions that best challenge Bordeaux and Burgundy, he’s set his sights on one of the few places on the globe that shares some of Champagne’s greatest virtues. 

Conventional wisdom says that wine grapes grow between the 30th and 50th parallels on both sides of the equator. Regions closer to the 30th parallel and therefore the equator (like Paso Robles, California or Spain’s Jumilla) tend to produce riper wines, while those closer to the Earth’s poles (think Burgundy, or Mosel, Germany) produce wines marked by brisk, cool-climate acidity—the sine qua non of wines from Champagne, which sits at what’s always been considered the coolest edge of the wine-producing world. 

But across the English Channel, located just above the 50th parallel on the UK’s Jurassic Coast, is Dorset, England. Just 90 miles north of Reims in Champagne, this region boasts the same cool climate. And since the glacial and unfathomable movements of geology know no political boundaries, this region—while located in a different country—is marked by the same chalky, fossil-rich soils that make Champagne so special. 

Grown on a 200-acre sheep farm, the Bride Valley combines Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Meunier clones chosen by Spurrier himself at Burgundy’s famed Pépinières Guillaume nursery. Planted on the individual vineyard blocks that best suit each variety, Bride Valley now boasts 24 acres of vines planted on their limestone-rich, south-facing slopes. 

The result is a delicious twist on the classic Champagne style that will thrill all bubbly fans. We’re popping bottles at Wine Access, and can’t wait for you to join us.