Coates & Seely Wine voted Best in Show at London International Wine Fair

English sparkling wine producer Coates & Seely triumphed at the recent London International Wine Fair (LIWF) in being declared Best in Show by a team of eminent and experienced wine critics.

The five members of The Wine Gang were charged by the LIWF organisers to find a Best in Show wine. The Wine Gang is a collaboration between five of the UK’s most experienced wine critics: Tom Cannavan, Joanna Simon, Anthony Rose, Jane Parkinson and David Williams.They each visited and tasted at numerous stands throughout the show, representing wines from all over the world, and between them selected 33 wines they considered to represent outstanding quality and offering something new for British wine drinkers. The wines were lined up for the final blind tasting by all five members of The Gang; Coates & Seely Blanc de Blancs was voted the overall winner.

Commenting on the win, The Wine Gang founding member Joanna Simon said: “We all just fell in love with this wine from the chalky soils of the Hampshire Downs. It is a beautifully poised, all-Chardonnay cuveé with a touch of biscuit on the nose, but so much taut, apple and citrus tang – English apples of course. It has really juicy, perfumed apple fruit on the palate and so much lemony tang and finesse into a long finish.”

Nicholas Coates of Coates & Seely said “We’re very pleased and proud! It means a lot to us to receive this support and such an accolade from such a highly respected group of tasters.”

The Blanc de Blancs is the latest release from this Hampshire producer, which also produces a non vintage Rosé. The Blanc de Blancs is made exclusively from grapes from the 2009 vintage. The wine was released in February this year, having been aged on the lees and in bottle for 24 months.

Coates & Seely are producers of fine English sparkling wines. The operation is a partnership between Nicholas Coates and Christian Seely and is based at Wooldings Vineyard near Whitchurch in Hampshire. With a state-of-the-art winery and international winemaking team, Coates & Seely combine traditional wine-making craftsmanship with the best modern technology to produce sparkling wines that reflect both the unique characteristics of the English chalk Terroir and the established craft of the French winemaker.