The Judgement of Eastbourne: An English v French Wine Tasting Evening

Sparkling on Arrival

Both the UK and France have a long history in traditional method sparking wine – England were the first to document the traditional method of sparkling wine when Christopher Merrett presented a paper to the Royal Society in 1662. The UK also produced the thicker bottles thanks to the strength coming from the coal fires. The big freeze in France meant that the ‘accident’ of second fermentation in the bottle was the phenomenon that eventually led to Champagne setting up as the Sparkling capital.

Lets take a look at who came out on top of the Sparkling blind tasting… first lets look at the wines:

🇬🇧 Charles Palmer, Classic Cuvée 2017

Based in Winchelsea and established in 1998, this family-run estate enjoys glorious views over the surrounding area. Its exceptional terroir and coastal influence prove perfectly suited to viticulture, allowing the estate to specialise in both still and sparkling wines — minerality makes a definite appearance.

Blend: 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay.

Tasting note: Complex aromas of honeysuckle, fig and mandarin, ending in savoury characteristics with an intense length, developed over five years of lees ageing.

🇫🇷 Lionel Girard, Non-Vintage

A three-generation boutique Champagne house. Arthur Devillers, the current winemaker’s great-grandfather, began planting vines on the slopes of La Neuville-aux-Larris in the 1920s. His grandparents, Andrée and Edmond Girard, started making and selling wine as Girard-Devillers in the 1960s. In 1983, his father Lionel Girard renamed the brand and took over the family business; the current winemaker joined him in 2007 after completing his wine studies, learning at his side for ten years. Since 2018 he has run the domaine himself, its vineyards now grown further thanks to his partner Virginie Heucq and his mother Claudette Marseille.

Blend: 100% Meunier, including 50% reserve wines aged in solera in stainless steel vats for more than ten years. Dosage:7g/litre, Brut.

Tasting note: Pale yellow in the glass. A traditional Brut with a fairly discreet nose of plums and apricots, which come through more strongly on the palate. Ideal as an aperitif.

🎉 And the Winner is…

Charles Palmer Classic Cuvée 2017 (available to buy here)

Whites: Blends of White Grapes — East Midlands to the Southern Rhône

White blends are popular around the world and in the UK it is no different. Often used as many small vineyards or years when there is a low yielding harvest, wine makers blend their varietals together and test until they create a blend they are happy with.

🇬🇧 Farndon Dale, Welland Valley Vineyard

An award-winning English still dry white, produced by the Welland Valley Vineyard in Northamptonshire, near Market Harborough, one of the East Midlands’ own. Crafted by winemakers David and Jane Bates, it has earned accolades including a Gold Medal and Best Vintage from Wines of GB Midlands & The North.

The 2.5-acre research vineyard and cider orchard was established by David and Jane Bates in 1991, on a south-facing slope two miles southwest of Market Harborough. The soil is well-drained loam over Jurassic clay loam.

Grape varieties: Reichensteiner, Bacchus and Seyval Blanc.

Tasting note: Well-rounded and dry, with notes of hedgerow.

🇫🇷 Southern Rhône White — The Avignon Papacy

Côtes du Rhône is France’s second-largest appellation after Bordeaux, and 90% of it comes from the Southern Rhône snd this wine is no exception. In the 14th century the Papal seat moved from Rome to Avignon, and the Popes heavily promoted local winemaking. This gave rise to Châteauneuf-du-Pape (“the Pope’s new castle”), famous above all for its reds, but the Popes also cultivated white grapes, establishing the region’s reputation for rich, complex white blends, which today still represent only around 5–7% of the region’s total production.

Blend:

• Grenache Blanc — body, ripe fruit notes and texture
• Clairette — freshness, floral aromas and structural balance
• Viognier — aromatic hints of jasmine, stone fruit and elderflower

Made from old vines in a select, low-yielding area of the Rhône.

Tasting note: Warm and sunny, showing ripe stone fruit, nectarine and peach. Creamy and full-bodied, a little floral, with plenty of flavour for the price for those wanting a little more body, weight and ripeness, but still finishing dry.

🎉And the winner is…

Well this one split the room and was a draw

Reds: The Pinot Noir Grape

A thin-skinned black grape, well suited to cooler climates as its thinner skins need less heat to ripen. Sometimes called the “heartbreak grape,” as it’s highly susceptible to rot means when you create a winning wine you really have something special

🇬🇧 Camel Valley, Pinot Noir 2024

Founded in 1989 by Bob (ex-RAF) and Annie Lindo in Cornwall, Camel Valley gained national attention after winning major international awards in the early 2000s, and remains family-run today, with the next generation now involved. The vines grow on rich, free-draining topsoil over an ancient slate subsoil, on steep, sun-drenched, south-facing slopes.

Tasting note: Bright fruit aromas of raspberry and pomegranate, complemented on the palate by notes of vanilla and clove from maturation in French oak barrels.

🇫🇷 La Burgondie

800 families of cooperating winegrowers have united under the banner of La Burgondie. Owners, farmers or tenants of their own vineyards, they share everything else, and represent the fourth generation of cooperating winemakers — equity, sharing and solidarity are daily values that characterise their way of living and working together.

Tasting note: A fine, clean red colour with ruby glints. The nose opens on red fruits typical of Pinot Noir — blackcurrant, morello cherry and redcurrant — with hints of smoke, humus and, at times, animal notes. Rich and complex, with a firm texture, soft elegant tannins and a fine balance.

🎉And the winner is…

Camel Valley – Pinot Noir! (available to buy here)

Dessert

We had to finish off the evening with a dessert wine and there are some real suprising English dessert wines popping up!

🇬🇧 Hanwell Wine Estate, North Star Eiswein

England’s first-ever ice wine, made using the technical Eiswein method. Once harvested, it takes three to five years to gather enough grapes able to go through this process. Made from Madeleine Angevine, an early-ripening white grape variety originally bred in the Loire Valley in 1857. North Star has garnered more than 26 national and international awards, including multiple golds, and was featured at the King’s Coronation banquet dinner at The Ritz in London.

Tasting note: Apricot, mango and marmalade, with a silky mouthfeel.

🇫🇷 Château Prince, Coteaux de l’Aubance 2023

Over to the Loire, and specifically Anjou, where the terroir is mainly composed of slate shale on the south-facing slope and clay to the north of the estate. The vineyard has been certified organic for ten years and also leads the way in biodynamics.

Tasting note: Made from Chenin Blanc, and not too sweet or heavy and the acidity cuts through the sweetness beautifully.

🎉And the winner is…

Hanwell’s North Star!! (available to buy here)