2014 Nyetimber, Tillington Single Vineyard, 6x750ml

2014 Nyetimber, Tillington Single Vineyard, 6x750ml

Availability: 1-2 weeks

Case size: 6 / Bottle size: 750ml

Duty Status
From £455.00

Publication: William Kelley, Wine Advocate

Drinking Dates: 2019-2035

A blend of 76% Pinot Noir and 24% Chardonnay that was disgorged in July 2017, the 2013 Brut Tillington Single Vineyard opens in the glass with an exotic bouquet of musky peaches, mandarin, honeycomb and mango. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with good depth and dimension at the core, ripe but racy acids and an aromatic finish. To my palate, this gives Nytimber's cuvée 1086 a run for its money.
The ‘Tillington’ is from a single vineyard located in the middle of the South Downs National Park. The plot’s south-facing aspect and excellent shelter and drainage help to produce grapes of exceptional quality. Predominantly Pinot Noir, with some Chardonnay, it spent three years on the lees, creating flavours of toast and praline to complement the intense red fruit characters.

The Nyetimber Estate is based in the heart of West Sussex, on what is regarded as a perfect site for the production of sparkling wine. The Estate, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, was first established as a vineyard in 1988 when just over 14 hectares of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines were planted. Ever-increasing demand for Nyetimber’s sparkling wines led to considerable vineyard expansion from 2006 onwards. Nyetimber now has 11 carefully selected vineyards across Sussex, Hampshire and Kent, with a total of 327 hectares under vine.

The Estate is owned by Dutchman Eric Heerema who, alongside Head Winemaker Cherie Spriggs, has installed an impressive cellar. All of their grapes are 100% estate-grown, handpicked and gently pressed, parcel by parcel, by six state-of-the-art Coquard presses from Champagne. Nyetimber’s vineyard holdings lie either on chalk or greensand soils, both of which are favoured for their good drainage and low vigour. The vines are rigorously managed to ensure excellent flavour concentration and de-leafing is carried out to maximise the exposure of the grapes to sunlight.

Head Winemaker, Cherie Spriggs, won the much-coveted IWC ‘Sparkling Winemaker of the Year’ in 2018. She is the first winemaker outside of Champagne and the first woman to achieve this impressive accolade.

Nyetimber was the first producer to make English Sparkling Wine exclusively from the ‘Champagne varieties’: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. Nyetimber provides a lot code on the back label of each bottle. Entering this code on their website will provide a precise chronology of each bottle from the moment it was bottled to when it was riddled and disgorged.