Easily blind tasted as Champagne, although the finish is somewhat lacking the oomph I get from good Champagne. Definitely has benefited from some time in bottle and I expect a few more years would do some good. Yeasty, biscuity, briochy nose, with green apple and lemon. Palate also has that richness from the lees with nice green apple, citrus, and some floral notes. Finish has a noticeable malic acid feel, not volatile, but just a bit one dimensional. Mousse is lovely though and all in all a delicious bottle.
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Apple, citrus and some autolysis notes on the nose, and continuing also in the palate. A quite generous dosage balances the acidity. Not very complex or profound, but still a well-made sparkler that seems to also go well with food.
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Attractive copper/golden color. Minerally, almost salty nose is not overly complex but it does offer pure and pleasant aromas of golden apples, citrus fruit and rust. The mousse is fairly dense and friendly, revealing a surprisingly vinous mouthfeel (perhaps it has gained some weight with a year's aging?). The flavor profile is quite generous and rich, offering a nice combination of ripe (semibaked) apple, citrusy nuances, spices and cola. Dosage seems a bit high but the overall focus is still quite good and the wine worked quite well with fried pike perch. Mouthfilling and long lasting, I find this English sparkler quite well made and enjoyable, although not exactly in my preferred style. I'm not buying more, but I'm not unhappy either.
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12.5% ABV. Straw colored in the glass. Interesting reading these notes. I enjoyed this much more than the average taster here it appears. This struck me as superior to most Champagne in this price range, but also somewhat distinctive. It tasted to me like a rather brawny sparkling wine, not afraid to give to the taster a mouthful of flavor. The flavor profile reminded me primarily of still Chardonnay with the addition of the doughy carbon dioxide addition. Tasty. I might understand knocking this if you were looking for delicacy and subtlety - I was not. This was labeled as Wine 98/20314. 44% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir, 29% Pinot Meunier.
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Pronounced honey and lemon curd aroma with undertones of French bread, cookie dough, almond, yellow peach and unripe green apple. Crisp, dry and acidic in the mouth with rich, small mousse. Flavors of green apples, fresh lemon, cookie dough, French bread, some honey and a hint of chalky minerality. The dosage (8 g/l) is barely showing, more just emphasizing the honeyed fruit. Nice, powerful, acid-driven structure. Crisp, steely and complex finish with enjoyable creaminess, yeasty bread, some smoky and slightly flinty minerality and a hint of lemon.
Pure and bright style that can easily compete with Champagnes - but at slightly lower price point. Very balanced, enjoyable and structured effort that can also develop some years in the cellar. Very nice! A good buy at 30,80€.
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Open nose of ripe apple and lemon curd fruit, cinnamon bisquit, almonds, vegetality and iron. Dry and lightbodied palate with some dosage and ripe fruit notes complemented by spice, dough, toffee and earthy accents. Slight citrusy bitterness in the lengthy finish. Nicely balanced and layered sparkling with elegant autolysis character and proportioned sweetness. Doesn't leave me yearning for Champagne. I'm satisfied. For now.
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Meeh... I thought that the Merret-Bloomsbury was interesting and of good quality, albeit coming from England. This, on the contrary, is just too sweet, not very complex, and not much of the lees/ chalkiness that I found interesting in the other Ridgeview production. This is more of a regular Petillant. It is not bad, but too pricey, compared to good France's Petillant you can find.
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A nice drink, but nothing here to hold your interest after you get past the novelty factor that England can make something that tastes more or less like a basic NV Champagne. It's not any better than Gruet, which offers pretty much the same novelty factor, and three times the price.
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12/29/2018 - Ombibulous wrote:
Not bad for English bubbly.
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11/26/2014 - LoireFan wrote: 90 Points
Maybe 91. My last bottle; sort of wish I saved it for a few years.
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11/15/2014 - depechemoroder Likes this wine: 87 Points
Easily blind tasted as Champagne, although the finish is somewhat lacking the oomph I get from good Champagne. Definitely has benefited from some time in bottle and I expect a few more years would do some good. Yeasty, biscuity, briochy nose, with green apple and lemon. Palate also has that richness from the lees with nice green apple, citrus, and some floral notes. Finish has a noticeable malic acid feel, not volatile, but just a bit one dimensional. Mousse is lovely though and all in all a delicious bottle.
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1/1/2014 - blaahhi wrote: 90 Points
Apple, citrus and some autolysis notes on the nose, and continuing also in the palate. A quite generous dosage balances the acidity. Not very complex or profound, but still a well-made sparkler that seems to also go well with food.
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10/11/2013 - celestialmundane Likes this wine: 89 Points
Golden color. Mineral nose. Very nice.
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8/31/2013 - cse Likes this wine: 92 Points
wonderful juice. rich, complex, very well balanced. a great champagne--yes, i would have placed it as a champagne.
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7/27/2013 - kuumies wrote:
Attractive copper/golden color. Minerally, almost salty nose is not overly complex but it does offer pure and pleasant aromas of golden apples, citrus fruit and rust. The mousse is fairly dense and friendly, revealing a surprisingly vinous mouthfeel (perhaps it has gained some weight with a year's aging?). The flavor profile is quite generous and rich, offering a nice combination of ripe (semibaked) apple, citrusy nuances, spices and cola. Dosage seems a bit high but the overall focus is still quite good and the wine worked quite well with fried pike perch. Mouthfilling and long lasting, I find this English sparkler quite well made and enjoyable, although not exactly in my preferred style. I'm not buying more, but I'm not unhappy either.
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5/12/2013 - dwhit wrote:
5-12-13 No great shakes; Ok sparkler, but not as good as the cava we had alongside it at 1/3 the price.
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5/8/2013 - LoireFan wrote: 90 Points
So much better than my first bottle.
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2/23/2013 - soyhead Likes this wine: 92 Points
nose - hazlenut
mouth - lighter bodied, nutty, very refreshing
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12/25/2012 - OneLastSyrah Likes this wine: 92 Points
12.5% ABV. Straw colored in the glass. Interesting reading these notes. I enjoyed this much more than the average taster here it appears. This struck me as superior to most Champagne in this price range, but also somewhat distinctive. It tasted to me like a rather brawny sparkling wine, not afraid to give to the taster a mouthful of flavor. The flavor profile reminded me primarily of still Chardonnay with the addition of the doughy carbon dioxide addition. Tasty. I might understand knocking this if you were looking for delicacy and subtlety - I was not. This was labeled as Wine 98/20314. 44% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir, 29% Pinot Meunier.
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12/9/2012 - LoireFan wrote: 84 Points
Tiny bubbles, yes - but not offering much pleasure. :(
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10/17/2012 - pizzler wrote: 85 Points
Too sweet for my taste, a bit awkward, clean citrus flavors
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7/23/2012 - forceberry wrote: 90 Points
Pronounced honey and lemon curd aroma with undertones of French bread, cookie dough, almond, yellow peach and unripe green apple. Crisp, dry and acidic in the mouth with rich, small mousse. Flavors of green apples, fresh lemon, cookie dough, French bread, some honey and a hint of chalky minerality. The dosage (8 g/l) is barely showing, more just emphasizing the honeyed fruit. Nice, powerful, acid-driven structure. Crisp, steely and complex finish with enjoyable creaminess, yeasty bread, some smoky and slightly flinty minerality and a hint of lemon.
Pure and bright style that can easily compete with Champagnes - but at slightly lower price point. Very balanced, enjoyable and structured effort that can also develop some years in the cellar. Very nice! A good buy at 30,80€.
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6/16/2012 - avp wrote:
Open nose of ripe apple and lemon curd fruit, cinnamon bisquit, almonds, vegetality and iron.
Dry and lightbodied palate with some dosage and ripe fruit notes complemented by spice, dough, toffee and earthy accents. Slight citrusy bitterness in the lengthy finish.
Nicely balanced and layered sparkling with elegant autolysis character and proportioned sweetness. Doesn't leave me yearning for Champagne. I'm satisfied. For now.
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6/6/2012 - Pierre-Yves wrote: 84 Points
Meeh...
I thought that the Merret-Bloomsbury was interesting and of good quality, albeit coming from England.
This, on the contrary, is just too sweet, not very complex, and not much of the lees/ chalkiness that I found interesting in the other Ridgeview production. This is more of a regular Petillant.
It is not bad, but too pricey, compared to good France's Petillant you can find.
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4/14/2012 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 84 Points
A nice drink, but nothing here to hold your interest after you get past the novelty factor that England can make something that tastes more or less like a basic NV Champagne. It's not any better than Gruet, which offers pretty much the same novelty factor, and three times the price.
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