Black Chalk is gaining recognition as one of the most intriguing English sparkling wine producers since their initial vintage in 2015. Initially crafted at Hattingley Valley, winemaker Jacob Leadley left in 2018 to devote himself entirely to Black Chalk, teaming up with Zoë Driver, who had been collaborating with him at Hattingley. The duo has been working together for a decade and has since expanded their estate to include 12 hectares of vineyards across three sites, along with a small vineyard behind their winery.
As production increased from 7,000 bottles in their first vintage to 120,000, sourcing additional grapes became necessary. Instead of planting more vines, they opted to explore existing vineyards in Kent and Hampshire, focusing on the chalky terroir that characterizes their wines. They now incorporate fruit from the Itchen Valley in Hampshire and the Stour Valley in Kent. The classic white and rosé wines utilize a blend of grapes from all their vineyards.
With good availability of fruit in recent years, the team is increasingly selective in their sourcing. They maintain their commitment to their vineyard’s qualities while also recognizing the commercial necessity of collaborating with like-minded growers.
During a recent tasting, they unveiled 11 of the 13 final base wine blends from their anticipated 2025 vintage, which exhibited high sugar levels and strong acidity. To preserve the desired balance between sweetness and acidity, they opted to pick grapes earlier than usual. Leadley expressed their focus on crafting wines that embody a true sense of place, favoring fruit-forward profiles over creamy, over-oaked styles.
A glimpse into the 2025 base wine blends reveals a range of exciting options:
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Classic Cuvée: Comprising 45 different components, mainly stainless steel with 6% old oak, this wine showcases bright acidity paired with ripe fruit notes including pear and peach.
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Wild Rose: Featuring a lovely pink hue, this wine is fresh and vibrant, with cherry and grapefruit flavors contributing to its stylish character.
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89.6: A unique magnum-only Blanc de Blancs, this wine displays complex aromas and a focused palate with crystalline citrus notes.
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Paragon: A refined Blanc de Blancs, showcasing great concentration and purity on the palate.
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Hide: A single-vineyard blend that brings together the classic varieties in a linear and taut expression.
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Vintage Vintage: A selection of the best tanks from the vintage, bright and linear with exceptional precision.
The blending process for these wines was thorough, involving over 100 trials, leading to the selection of these promising blends.
Their current release is the 2022 vintage, characterized by the lowest pH levels they’ve achieved so far, with both the Classic and Wild Rose successfully balancing bright fruit characters and great acidity. The tasting further demonstrated the quality and potential of Black Chalk wines, marking them as a noteworthy producer to watch in the evolving landscape of English sparkling wines.
For more detailed tasting notes and profiles on these wines, visit Wine Anorak.