Boutique English wine, grown and made in the Teign Valley, Devon. Huxbear Vineyard was planted by Ben and Lucy Hulland in 2007 on 14 acres of south and southwest facing slopes in the Teign Valley, Devon. A further planting was undertaken in 2013 bringing the total planted area to just over 15 acres. In the vineyard, minimum intervention vine growing and wine making practises are employed as well as integrated pest management to minimise the impact on the environment. In the winery, which is fully off grid with most of their power produced from our onsite solar array, they also strive to reduce their impact by repurposing and reusing equipment and stainless steel tanks, and by avoiding power intensive operations that are normally standard practise in the wine industry. Until now this has been something of a Devonshire secret, available at farmers markets and a small number of local shops, but it's so good we want everyone to know about it. It's made using the methode traditonelle and spends more than 2 years on its lees to add depth and creaminess. Blend details: 55% Chardonnay (clone 96) 40% Pinot Noir (clone 777) 5% Pinot Meunier (clones 817, 865) All the fruit was grown at th eHuxbear vineyard in the Teign Valley, South Devon on vines planted in 2007.  The vineyard is planted on south facing slopes at an altitude of 75-100 metres above sea level.  The soil is silt loam with granite and siltstone aggregates. The vines are planted at a planting density of 3500 vines/ha. This batch of 2018s have been on the lees for 30 months, the dosage is 12g/l. It hasn't been MLF'ed or oaked. This is another fruit focused decision as they tend to find cookie cutter Champagne copies accessible, but lacking interest. They also wanted to make something 'different' but also 'English'. The 2018 harvest story is pretty much the same as it was for everybody else. Late start, blazing hot summer and a super early harvest. In fact, they had the whole thing in the bag by the end of September for the first time before or since (6 weeks earlier than the average year). It was also the first time that they had ever harvested any grapes in August. The wine itself has a classic fresh nose of green apples with hints of pineapple and freshly cooked pastries. The bubbles are fine and persistent. On the palate it is dry and shows plenty of fresh green apple with a touch of biscuitiness. Exceptional value for a fine English sparkling wine. Fab with a mackerel bap, Devonshire split or vegan 'fish' and chips 12% Vegan