This first English Crémant, Bride Valley Dorset Crémant, is made from the harvests of the colder 2015 and 2016. The vines were not as prolific as in 2014.
PRODUCER
Steven Spurrier and his wife Arabella are behind Bride Valley, located in
West Dorset. Steven, while running Les Caves de la Madeleine and
L'Academie du Vin in Paris in the 1980s, had soil (chalky) samples from
Arabella's 80 hectare estate tested and the results came back: "very
similar to Champagne". This is not surprising because the village of
Kimmeridge is just 24 miles as the crow flies from Bride Valley. After two
decades and three visits from Boisset's sparkling wine expert, Georges
Legrand, vines were planted on the best sites in the bowl of the
amphitheatre-like estate. Three hectares were planted in 2009, rising to
a total of 10 hectares in 2013 when planting was completed.