2015 Harrow & Hope Blanc de Blancs, Buckinghamshire, England

For Henry Laithwaite, owner and winemaker at Harrow & Hope, it’s sometimes helpful to draw comparisons to previous releases. But as the vines get older and their vineyard and winemaking techniques evolve, then so do the wines. Henry and his team’s aim is always to create wines of balance and purity that will stand the test of time. This wine, for Henry, is a noticeable step forward in that direction – which says something when you consider how highly praised the previous vintages have been praised. When you’re blessed with exceptionally ripe and healthy fruit, as vignerons were in 2018, it enables them to take a very hands off approach in the winery, retaining that quality of character as one guides it into the bottle. If the 2017 had a taut, mineral core that is evolving beautifully over time, then this 2018 is a more seductive style that is quite ‘showy’ on release but still has that fine chalky structure that will guarantee its longevity. Once again all the fruit comes from a single chalky plot of Chardonnay with 50% fermented in 500 litre puncheon barrels and the other 50% in stainless steel. The wine underwent 34 months of lees ageing.

Harrow & Hope’s single-vineyard sits on an ancient Thames gravel terrace. Being quite central and away from the coast the vineyard experiences high summer day temperatures with cooler nights that preserve precious acidity.