More wines available from Gusbourne Estate
Pre-Arrival
Gusbourne Estate Blanc De Blancs 2014
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$76.10
Chalk, flint and stone are the first impressions on the nose. These are followed by overtones of lemon and...
750ml
Bottle:
$74.94
All our wines are tasted and judged against their peers in the principal judging week of DWWA – but making the...
Pre-Arrival
Gusbourne Estate Blanc De Blancs 2018
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$60.94
All our wines are tasted and judged against their peers in the principal judging week of DWWA – but making the...
750ml
Bottle:
$289.94
$305.20
From an excellent vintage and on lees for over six years, this exceptional bubbly is also England's most expensive...
Pre-Arrival
Gusbourne Estate Brut Reserve 2019
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$54.21
A complex and expertly made English bubbly from one of the nation's top estates, this opens with some struck match...
More Details
Winery
Gusbourne Estate
Vintage: 2011
The year 2011 was an interesting year for many northern and central European countries, as the weather was more than unpredictable in the spring and summer. However, in most countries, the climatic conditions thankfully settled down in the late summer and fall. The result of this slightly difficult year of weather in France was a set of surprisingly small yields, but overall, these yields were of a higher quality than those harvested in certain previous years. A fantastic set of wines was also made in Italy and Spain, and the Rioja wines - when released - are set to be very good indeed. Austria also had superb year in 2011, with almost fifty percent more grapes being grown and used for their distinctive Gruner Veltliner wines than in the year before. Possibly the European country which had the finest 2011, though, was Portugal, with wineries in the Douro region claiming this year to be one of the best in decades for the production of Port wine, and the bright, young Vinho Verdes wines.
In the New World, the Pacific Northwest saw some of the best weather of 2011, and Washington State and Oregon reportedly had a highly successful year, especially for the cultivation of high quality red wine grapes. Chile and Argentina had a relatively cool year, which certainly helped retain the character of many of their key grape varietals, and should make for some exciting drinking. South Africa had especially good weather for their white wine grape varietals, particularly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and many South African wineries are reporting 2011 as one of their best years in recent memory.
Varietal: Champagne Blend
The careful blending of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varietal grapes has long been the secret to the success of the famous sparkling wines of the Champagne region. The wines of this region have gone down in history as the finest example of France's sparkling produce, and the methods of processing the grapes in this region have been imitated in almost every wine producing country in the world. There are actually seven different grape varietals allowed to be included in a Champagne sparkling wine, although grape varietals such as Pinot Blanc, Arbanne and Pinot Gris are used less and less commonly in its production. Whilst the Chardonnay varietal grapes offer their distinctive biscuit flavor and wonderful astringency, it is the Pinot Noir grapes (most commonly used for producing beautifully light red wines) which give the Champagne wines their length and backbone.