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Black Chalk, Wild Rose, Hampshire, 2022

Black Chalk was launched in 2015 when Jacob Leadley, winemaker at Hattingley Valley, was offered the chance to buy the vineyards that supplied some if the latter's best fruit. He then went full-time at Black Chalk in 2018 and working alongside fellow winemaker Zoë Driver. An evangelist for the old chalk soils of Hampshire, Jacob has quickly built Black Chalk into one of England's most respected sparkling wine producers - and the 2021 Wild Rose was awarded "Best Rosé" at the English Wine Awards.

"A blend of 57% Pinot Noir, 36% Pinot Meunier and 7% Chardonnay planted in the Test Valley, Hampshire. From 12 ha on chalk soils. The base wine spends time in oak barrels and on lees. No malo. TA 10.73 g/l, pH 2.78, dosage 6 g/l. 22 months sur lattes, held six months in bottle after disgorgement before release.

Pale pink but there is nothing pale about the nose! It smells of remarkably intense, of guava and membrillo. And it tastes just as gorgeously ripe and intense, silky succulent with flavour. Jacob Leadley and Zoë Driver have slam-dunked it yet again with another glorious, head-tossing, racy yet rich and iridescently colourful wine. It’s a wine that manages to be unapologetically bold while retaining innate elegance. As with previous vintages, the dosage is pitch perfect. I was so impressed at how well this went with a Korean pork belly kimchi jjigae – a dish ferociously loaded with all the kinds fiery and intense ingredients that wine tends to be terrible with: anchovies, gochugaru chilli spice, gochujang chilli paste, green onions, kimchi... Wild Rose simply leaned in, laughed, and danced. It is also one of my favourite pink sparkling wines for roast beef, and lean venison fillet. You can play hard and fast and daring with food pairings here. 17.5/20." Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com, 24th November 2025