“Always good to see a new English sparkling wine that’s of top quality. I was really impressed by this. It’s the first crop from a vineyard in Somerset, planted in 2008 by Guy and Laura (the Smith & Evans behind the wine) and you can find out more about it on the Smith & Evans website. This was disgorged in March.

Smith & Evans Higher Plot Pinot Chardonnay Brut 2010 Somerset, England
From limestone soils, this is a blend of Chardonnay and the two Pinots, aged on lees for 2.5 years, 11.5% alcohol, 4 g/litre dosage. Lovely ripe, nicely poised nose of ripe pear and citrus fruit with subtle toastiness. Taut palate with ripe apples and pears, keen lemony acidity and hints of toast. Elegant and refined with lovely purity of fruit. Quite dry but not at all austere, with great potential for development. 91/100”

“Smith & Evans, Higher Plot Somerset Chardonnay/Pinot 2011 England

Around a third of the wine had three months in third-use French oak from Chateau Smith Haut Lafite, ‘sadly no relation!’ From low-yielding Dijon clones rather than champagne clones; ‘Being burgundian they are intended for interesting still wine which is our starting point’. Not much nose (to begin with, although it did open up more a couple of days later and kept a very good mousse as well). Fine tight-clenched bead. Super-linear, leafy, laurel, lime. Very appetising, some leesy richness only becoming apparent with time in glass - it’s one of those wines that seems quite reticent and first and then opens up to reveal lovely depth. A very gentle aniseed note. Gorgeous tension. Layered. Incredibly good and just their second vintage. One to watch! (TC) 12% Drink 2016-2021
”

“A couple who sold their house and bought a Somerset vineyard are set to launch their first English sparkling wine under the banner Smith and Evans English Sparkling Wine.
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Husband and wife duo Guy Smith and Laura Evans said goodbye to suburbia in 2008 selling their home and buying up a nine acre farm in Somerset with plans to produce English sparkling wine.

Six years after planting Burgundian Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier vines, the couple are launching their first release 2010 vintage.

Guy has a unique insight into the drinks trade having worked in the drinks industry for most of his career at company’s including United Distillers, Rémy Cointreau and Freixenet.

With the burgeoning English sparkling wine getting increasing recognition for its quality, Guy believes the future of English and Welsh sparkling wines is “incredibly bright”, but warned of “inevitable growing pains”.

He said: “Volume and value are intrinsically linked and so with a large potential harvest this year plus big new plantings coming on stream, it will be important that producers keep their nerve when all this hits the shelves.

“We must look for new consumers rather than cutting prices. Many look to New Zealand as their model for market development but we could end up looking more like Switzerland with an ultra-loyal domestic market willing to pay premium prices but, with the added bonus of strong exports. We don’t always appreciate how well England is perceived in other markets“.

The couple’s Higher Plot Farms lies on a limestone ridge with calcerous clay soil in South Somerset planted with Burgundian Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier vines.

Of their vineyard Guy said: “We are tiny compared to the big money plantings elsewhere in the country but we are intensely proud of the quality that Higher Plot has achieved since planting. The wines show a distinctive minerality and our aim is to reflect the particular qualities of each vintage and not to produce a single homogenous style”.

Smith and Evans’ first release, a 2010 English Sparkling Wine, is expected to retail at £29.90 and already has distribution online and is available in London Retail at The Wine Pantry in Borough Market.”