Hambledon Première Cuvée Rosé

The colour is a delicate strawberry pink, with just a suggestion of bronze and onion skin. The bouquet springs from the glass, immediate and assertive, rich with sweet summer raspberry fruit and subtle autumnal blackberry.

The blend’s high proportion of Pinot Meunier also gives the wine a heady note and savoury edge. The palate is finely knit and multi-layered after its extended ageing in bottle, and remains vivacious and intense, yet with a marine undertone.

Hambledon’s subsoil isn’t made of just any old chalk, it was formed on the seabed of the Paris basin some 65 million years ago, meaning that Hambledon Vineyard’s terroir contains the same Belemnite content as some of the best Chardonnay areas of the Côtes des Blancs in Champagne.

In 2002, empowered by years of geological research, Ian Kellett decided to plant the vineyard with grapes that would allow them to craft some of the world’s finest sparkling wines. Today, Hambledon comprises over 200 acres of vineyard, planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier and all grapes come from Hambledon vineyard.

Making wine is a labour of love and the vineyard team works hard all year round, in all weathers. Vines must be pruned by hand and the grapes are handpicked. Top-of-the-range Coquard PAI presses and the fully gravity-fed winery (the only one in the UK) are located on site, minimising the time between picking and pressing.