WINE REVIEW
As one of England’s few biodynamic vineyards, this rare release from Surrey’s Albury Estate is something even more unusual. With biodynamic growing being employed in the vineyard, in order for the wine to be labelled as sparkling itself it has to be fermented using yeasts found naturally on the vineyard.
It’s a risky endeavour, especially in England, but persistence pays off for Albury, and in great years they release their Biodynamic Wild Ferment. This wine is their latest edition, a Blanc de Blancs from the 2018 vintage.
This is a rare chance to try a 100% Chardonnay wine from Albury (their main line BdB is a blend of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc), but in 2018 the stars aligned, and this beautifully fragrant wine was born, with aromas of ripe apple, honeysuckle, lemon and hints of honey.
The palate is a little understated – I think this has a long life ahead of it – but the purity of the fruit shines through. There’s bright crunchy orchard fruit and zesty lemon, but with bursts of stone fruit and a hint of almost tropical fruits.
