Two years ago, we launched the First Release of a project that had been a decade in the making – the Ridgeview Blanc de Blancs Late Release 2014. This project was kickstarted by my predecessor and fellow Wine Society buyer, Freddy Bulmer, who anticipated the quality of aged English blanc de blancs and purchased a series of vintages from Ridgeview with the plan of maturing them on their yeast lees for an extended period exclusively for Wine Society members.
Now, ten years on from harvest, we’re thrilled to be offering the latest in the series – the 2016 Late Release Blanc de Blancs.
Order by midday, Tuesday 25th August
Having spent nine years on its yeast lees, the wine is incredibly crisp, structured and citrus-driven, with added texture and biscuity notes from the gradual breakdown of the lees. The mousse is beautifully fine and integrated, with intense aromas and flavours of lemon curd, toasted brioche, buttered pastry, and fresh brisk acidity still at its core. Despite being ten years old it’s still amazingly youthful and vibrant.
Having tasted the wine multiple times over the last five years we decided to have the bottles disgorged in March, in order for lovers of this crisp, racy style, to have the perfect bottle for Christmas. But there’s no rush – now that the wine has been disgorged and is under cork, the environment for maturation is entirely different, with the slow ingress of oxygen developing richer umami notes over time and should continue to improve for at least another four to five years.
While the expertise to recognise the potential of this outstanding style ten years ago deserves applause, the one thing we didn’t foresee was the demand from members. Having confirmed the volumes for this wine back in January 2017, the number of bottles available is extremely limited. They are therefore being offered via our First Release system by the bottle, complete with an exclusive collaboration label, to ensure as many members as possible get the chance to get their hands on one.
