2015 Gusbourne Brut Reserve

Disgorged in May 2019, Gusbourne's 2015 Brut Reserve is very good, wafting from the glass with scents of pear, toasted bread, mandarin orange, iodine and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and enveloping, it's seamless and charming, with lively acids and a youthfully frothy mousse. This isn't as concentrated as its stablemates, but it's certainly long on complexity.

40% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier, 27% Pinot Noir. Vineyards on a south-facing ancient escarpment in Appledore, Kent, and near Goodwood in West Sussex. Whole-bunch pressed. Fermented at 18–20 ºC in tank with a small percentage fermented in old oak barrels. Full malo. At least 36 months on lees. TA 7.7 g/l, RS 9 g/l, pH 2.93. Again almost impossible to read the disgorgement date on the label but it looks like November 2019, though that doesn’t fit with ‘at least 36 months on the lees' if the wine was bottled in April 2017, as the Gusbourne website states. Anyway, fairly recently disgorged. Very frothy at first, as all the Gusbourne wines seem to be. As it subsides, I can see the colour is a pale and slightly peachy gold. More red fruit than citrus on first impressions on the nose. Then an impressive depth of mouth-watering citrus on the palate with a very slight and attractive grip, plenty of fruit and a light yeasty autolytic character. Powerful but still elegant. Impressive in its balance of power and freshness. I think this will continue to age well in the bottle for a few years. (JH)

Very fine bead. Quite fruity and accessible already but with a dry finish. This would certainly make a good party wine – not too complicated and not too tart or dry. (JR)