Chapel Down Vintage Reserve Rosé Brut

I've been following Chapel Down, based in Tenterden in Kent, for many years. I grew up in the area and remember the first visit to the vineyard about a decade ago, when still wines were a bigger part of the portfolio but the concept of English Sparkling Wine was just starting to get a little bit of a buzz.
Chapel Down were one of the pioneers of quality winemaking in the UK, establishing themselves in the 1980s with still wines from Seyval and Müller-Thurgau and with its (still excellent) Bacchus wines through the 1990s. For me, one of Chapel Down's problems through the 2000s was that it was a bit slow off the mark in joining the vanguard of top sparkling wine producers making wines from only champagne varietals. Whilst they had shelf presence in Marks and Spencer and Waitrose and were well-known name, they never quite had a world-class sparkler out there in any quantity to compete with specialists Ridgeview, Nyetimber, and the newer names such as Gusbourne.
All that is changing. Whilst their range is still very large, I think it is slowly coming into focus. This 100% Pinot Noir is by far the best wine I have ever had from them. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is one of the best I've ever had from the UK.

This has been in my cellar for a year. It is a beautiful peachy-pink colour, which gleams invitingly through the clear glass on this very classy bottle. Immediately this very engaging on the nose, with wild strawberry and loganberry fruit, crabapple and red rose. What I really love is the malty, burnt-sugar richness that accompanies the fruit, which reminds me of digestive biscuits and toasted meringues. This comes through on the palate very nicely with a well-judged sweetness (you only notice it if you think about it) like crabapple jelly. The elegant acid structure you expect from English sparklers is there, but there's real vinosity here that screams 'Pinot!'. This is stunning stuff - it comes in at £22.99 on their website and makes most pink champagne look absurdly over-priced and underwhelming. Also, I must say that it makes Hush Heath and Nyetimber Rosé look rather expensive....