Steve Spurrier has been one of my wine heroes ever since I first read George Taber's Judgment of Paris. Spurrier had created the arena, and brought the combatants together, creating the conditions wherein the Davids of Napa could vanquish the Goliaths of French wine; and then stood firm when the pillars of the French wine establishment sought to erase the evidence of their participation/contribution.
He was so much my hero that I traveled to London 10 years ago to attend a Bordeaux seminar that he led, said seminar held at Decanter's Blue Fin headquarters building. During the post-seminar lunch, it came to my attention that he was planting a vineyard in England with the intent of producing a sparkling wine. I sat with him to gain additional insight and, based on that info, plus material collected in subsequent emails, published a blog post on the topic.
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| Steven Spurrier and attendees at post-seminar lumch |
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| Author and Steven Spurrier at Decanter lunch |
Fast-forward 10 years and in my travels on the interweb, I see a notice from Vintage Conservatory for an upcoming online event with Spurrier wherein he would be discussing his recent book (the first edition of which was panned by critics for shoddy writing and editing) and Bride Valley Vineyards. I saw an opportunity to update my decades-old knowledge of the vineyard so I signed up.
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| Vintage Conservatory online Steven Spurrier event |
Following is an update of my initial reporting on the vineyard and is a mix of material obtained in the online session as well as subsequent secondary research.
Steven and his wife had moved from France to Dorset and, soon after their arrival, his wife bought an 85-ha plot of land at the edge of Litton Cheney Village for the purpose of sheep-farming. As I had stipulated in my earlier piece, the plot is a bowl-shaped farm located in South Dorset, approximately 40 minutes from Kimmeridge, the village which gives its name to the geologic time period when the chalk soils stretching from Chablis to the south of England was laid down.
There is a lot of chalk on the lower slopes of the farm, prompting Steven to show some of the rocks to Michel Bettane at L'Academie du Vin in Paris. Michel thought that the rocks were from Champagne. Investigating further, Steven had the Chablis producer Michel Laroche take some rocks back to his region for analysis. His conclusion? The area where the rocks were found would be perfect for growing Chardonnay and other white grapes and, if the climate allowed for their ripening, even Pinot Noir.
By early 2000, Spurrier had begun to take note of the improving quality and acceptance of British sparkling wine in the marketplace, as evidenced by the experiences of Nytimber and Ridgeview. By this time also, the sheep-farming venture had begun to stumble so he recommended to his wife that they convert the farm to a vineyard. She agreed upon the condition that he would pay for the conversion.
They initially sought a joint venture with Duval-Leroy in 2007 but that did not pan out. They next approached the Boisset family who sent their top sparkling wine expert, Georges Legrand, to explore the feasibility of the property. After detailed soil and climate analysis, he concluded that only 10 - 12 of the 85-ha would be suitable for classic champagne vines. The remainder was either too steep or too exposed.
Vines for the plantings were acquired from Papinières Guillaume, supplier to such formidable names as Bollinger, Roederer, and Pol Roger. At the time of our conversation, a total of 12,500 vines had been planted in 2009 at a density of 4100 vines/ha. Special care was made to ensure that clones and rootstocks (Fercal and 41B) were matched with individually suited parcels. A total of 1200 vines had been planted so far in 2010 and an additional 6000 had been planned for 2011.
At the end of 2011, five of the 10 targeted ha would be under vine with a distribution of 50% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Meunier, and 22% Pinot Noir. The overall planting program concluded in 2013 with the full 10 ha planted to 42,000 vines distributed 55% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, and 20% Pinot Meunier.
The vigneron of record at the time of our conversation was Steve's wife Arabella. She was assisted by wine consultant Ian Edwards, co-owner and winemaker at nearby Furleigh Estate, a regional sparkling- and still-wine producer. The wines are vinified at Furleigh Estate. Graham Fisher joined the team as Vineyard Manager in 2012.
The initial plan called for Bride Valley Vineyards to produce two wines: a cuvée (40% Chardonnay plus Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and a vintage Blanc de Blanc. The first vintage was scheduled for 2011.
The 2012 harvest was washed out due to intense summer rains. The 2013 harvest was better but only yielded 200 cases. 2014 was the first proper harvest, yielding 3000 bottles of Rosé, 6000 bottles of Blanc de Blanc, and 11,000 bottles of Brut Reserve. This was also the first year in which the Pinot Meunier really performed up to expected levels.
In terms of styling, Steve has a preference for lightness and elegance. He is most hands-on with assemblage and dosage and favors 9 g/l for the latter.
The Bride Valley stable of wines has expanded beyond the planned two wines to encompass four sparkling wines (including a Crémant) and three still wines (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Rosé). I tasted one of the early examples of the estate's Blanc de Blanc, the 2013 edition.
By the time I tasted this wine in 2016, I had become a fan of Nyetimber and this wine lacked its power and presence. As noted above this was the vintage after they had been completely washed out the year before and the production volume was exceedingly low. In her review of the wine, Anne Krebiehl MW states thusly: "The crisp nose conjures up shades of green meadow and fresh apple peel, fresh foliage and lime, but also some honey and oatmeal. The palate remains crisp but has a toned lithe note of pure lemon that sings. This is taut, shows backbone and rounds itself out wonderfully on the palate, finishing with harmonious notes of apple and shortbread" (Winemag).
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