Fizz – autumn collection

Really fresh bakery aromas. Ripe apple fruit. Long, complex and layered – maturing really well. Full and concentrated. Lovely fresh green apple finish. (RH)

Not much nose; slightly soapy if anything. Not much undertow. Pretty ordinary but if it has to have champagne on the label... (JR)

Current vintage. 2002 expected next April. Greenish tinge. Dense and vibrant on the nose. Very lifted and flirtatious though I'm not 100% certain I would put the correct price on it blind. Racy, wild flowers. A distinctive champagne. (JR)

The Chardonnay grapes for this champagne were carefully selected from only classified Premier Cru and Grand Cru villages, where the vineyards are planted at an approximate density of 7,000 vines per hectare. Following harvest the grapes underwent static debourbage for 12 hours. Fermentation with selected yeasts then took place in thermo-regulated vats at 20°C. Prior to release the champagne was matured for two to three years on lees in the Union Champagne cellars.
Fruit smells very slightly well-worn and there's some strong cooking apple acidity on the palate. Not exactly fine. (JR)

From a Hampshire vineyard planted in 2005. An equal blend of Seyval Blanc and Chardonnay for this vintage but subsequently the Seyval was replaced by Pinot Noir. This vintage was made on the estate rather than contracted out and the finish seems just a tad sweet. (JR)

West Sussex. 2011 was a very good vintage, 2012 was awful, 2013 may be good. The Goring family planted in 2006, five miles north of Worthing. Made to a standard recipe. Inaugural vintage was 2008. Very small yield. Basket press. They use their own winery and the French winemakers from Nyetimber. 16 acres. 25,000 bottles production. They also make wines for other people.
Clean but very tart even though it has been three and a half years on the lees. Dosage is only 3.3 g/l. Zero dosage style! Bracing. (JR)

RS 7.19 g/l, pH 3.03, acidity 7.57%. Some real evolution on the nose. Crisp palate with just very very slight staleness of fruit but overall very successful. (JR)

Flagship new wine from the outfit that is leading the charge out of the capacious Cava appellation. 45% Xarel·lo grapes, harvested from 5 September; 30% Macabeu grapes, harvested from 26 August, 25% Parellada grapes, harvested from 16 September. See full tech spec. Three years on the lees.
Very lively bead. Nothing like champagne on the nose! Lemon oil and veg notes. Very Xarello. You have to love it to love this. Admirably dry finish and very fine bubbles. Quite demanding but obviously very well made. (JR)

Leafy, but not quite as underripe as their sparkling Chardonnay. Light finish. Pretty odd stuff. (RH)

Auxerrois and Pinot Gris.
Fruity and aromatic. Does resemble Pinot Gris, sort of, but is very simple. (RH)

Dosage 10.5 g/l, 34 months on lees. Subtle, graceful nose. Citric and herbal, but not terribly engaging. Entirely competent, but lacking the wow factor it usually has. (RH)

36% Chardonnay, 37% Pinot Noir, 27% Pinot Meunier, dosage 9.8 g/l, 40 months on lees. Toffee, bread – showing some pretty serious evolution. Oxidative but not at all flat. Even so, not sure I’d age this much further. Starting to fray slightly. (RH)

65% Chardonnay, equal parts Pinots Noir & Meunier. 8 g/l dosage. Négociant model – they buy from several different growers. Proper developed bready nose – doughy. Light toastiness, vibrant acid, fresh green apple fruit. Rounded, full, opulent fruit. (RH) [I found this almost uncomfortably dry and tart, I'm afraid – JR] 

61% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir and 12% Pinot Meunier from 19-year-old vines planted on chalky South Downs. Site chosen for similarity to Champagne. 2010 saw superb flowering conditions and excellent ripening with near to perfect sugar and acidity for sparkling wine. Grapes were hand-harvested and the clusters were whole-bunch pressed in a specialist Coquard sparkling wine press before fermentation with Champagne yeast. 100% malolactic and 24 months spent cellaring on lees in purpose built underground cellars. Winemakers Mike and Simon Roberts. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. TA 8.3 g/l, pH 3.01, Dosage 8.0 g/l, RS 9.2 g/l. IWSC 2013 Silver Medal and IWC 2013 and DWWA 2013 Bronze Medals.
Very frothy. Edgy in terms of acidity. Very clean but pretty tart. NB this is more expensive at Waitrose than most of their own label NV champagnes … by no means disgraceful but not cheap! (JR)

Fermented in a single four-year-old burgundy barrel, aged for eight months on lees in the barrel and then for 24 months on lees in bottle. Disgorged June 2013.
Masses of acidity. Still very tight. Not much fun yet! (JR)

Reclaimed Pais. Very pale pink indeed. A bit of green acidity then some sweetness. Clean but a bit sweet and sour. Worthy effort in theory but I'm not sure I could very positively recommend this vintage. I preferred the 2011. (JR)

Based on Shiraz. Open, easy and without too much added sugar. (JR)

Made at Hattingley. Wow – very fruity! Incredible strawberry and cherry fruit, the like of which I've never tasted – still less in an English wine! This is thanks to the use of Pinot Précoce, apparently. So bright and ripe. Hard to say if it's typically English, but I do love its boldness. (RH)

70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, dosage 11.8 g/l. Pretty light and simple. Introverted, though the fruit character is very delicious. Deserves a bit of age to open up. (RH)

80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, dosage 10 g/l. Red Pinot Noir is aged in Burgundy barrels before adding to the blend for colour. Light fruit flavour, with a ripe strawberry fruit on the palate. Chewy, textural, full. Powerful and self-confident. (RH)

Ttitska, Chinebuli, Goruli Mtsvane, Saperavi. Charmat. Semi dry. Delicate red fruit on the nose, quite faint, almost stony. Pretty sweet and syrupy without a syrupy texture. Touch of honey. (JH)