English sparkling wine has come out a winner in a blind tasting with French champagne. Sixty per cent of French drinkers preferred the Kent made Chapel Down to their own world-renowned champagne – writes Louis Auge.
The tasting was in Reims – the heart of the country’s champagne region.
The English sparkler was disguised under the label “Chapelle en Bas” – which translates as Chapel Down.
The sparkler was pitched against French heavyweights Moët et Chandon and Brut Imperial.
The French tasters described the disguised drink as “lighter, fresher and more perfumed” than its homegrown competitors.
And six in ten of people in a street poll said they liked Chapel Down’s sparkling English wine more than their native Moët et Chandon and Brut Imperial.
Liam Newton, Chapel Down’s Chief Marketing Officer said:
“We are incredibly proud of the exceptional quality of our English sparkling wine, and it was great to have this affirmed by the French themselves.
“The French know a thing or two about sparkling wine, with their centuries of winemaking heritage, so what better place than Champagne to sample our Chapel Down Brut?
“A 60 per cent result like this propels us even further in changing the way the world views English wine.”
