Sparkling Wine of the Year Great Britain: Chapel Down Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée 2016
Anthony Rose in Top Wineries Become a member to view this article
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Chapel Down has come quite some way in proving that ‘big can be beautiful’ since planting its first vines in 1977 at its Tenterden home, which initially produced just 50,000 bottles.
Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée is the winery’s flagship single‑vineyard blanc de blancs.Alongside partner growers, the business steadily expanded, but the real shift came in 2008 when Chapel Down launched a land expansion program following a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign. This move brought grape sourcing largely in-house, focusing on the chalky soils of the Kent Downs. They have created a secure structure supported by an excellent visitor experience with a well-designed shop, an airy tasting room and an acclaimed restaurant. Today, it is England’s market leader with the ability to produce over three million bottles annually.
As much to the point, since taking on the talented, Kent-born, Plumpton-trained winemaker Josh Donaghay-Spire in 2010, Chapel Down has been increasingly using its own vineyards instead of largely sourcing grapes from vineyards spread throughout the country. On the Kent Downs, with south-facing exposure, altitude and chalk soils, Donaghay-Spire believes their vineyards “have the potential to be the finest in England”.
Kit’s Coty, on Kent’s Bluebell Hill, which slopes south from 70 down to 30 metres, was planted, starting in 2008, to 40 ha, with 30 ha of chardonnay and pinot noir, and subsequent plantings of bacchus and meunier in various combinations of clone and rootstock.
Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée is the winery’s flagship single‑vineyard blanc de blancs. It is made using the heart of the first pressing’ of chardonnay, and is fermented in French oak casks using exclusively wild yeasts, and the base wines spend six months on their lees before being blended in the spring following harvest. The wine is lees-aged after the second fermentation for five years and bottled with Diam Mytik Classic cork.
During Donaghay-Spire’s tenure, the dosage in the wines has been gradually reduced for the Coeur de Cuvée to six grams per litre. After nearly 10 years, it remains remarkably fresh with a veneer of oak smoke, sumptuous ripe apples and an enticing juiciness of texture combined with an elegant dryness.
Price GBP £125. Available from Chapel Down Wines.
