Sparkling wine said to be ‘outstanding’

A SPARKLING wine from Fairmile Vineyard in Henley has been voted “outstanding” by a specialist magazine.

Decanter said the vineyard’s Classic Cuvée was the only English sparkling white wine from a sample of 53 to reach the standard.

A panel of experts performed a blind tasting in which 16 were “recommended”, 26 were “highly commended” but only the cuvée was “outstanding”. 

Vinyeyard owner Jan Mirkowski said: “We are awestruck that our Classic Cuvée has beaten all the competition to be awarded ‘outstanding’ status. We knew that our first release, which is still available from the vineyard, was good and it has been extremely well received by the public and trade alike.

“As the vines mature, we are hoping that future releases will taste better still — if that’s possible.”

Last year, Fairmile Vineyard received two awards from the Thames and Chiltern Vineyards Association — a gold medallion for its sparkling rosé and a bronze medallion for the cuvée.

The wines were the first to come from the 12,000 vines at the vineyard, which Mr Mirkowski runs with his wife Anthea.