Wednesday Wines – Episode 318 – 2014 Patience by Squerryes, launching today, and well worth the patience
Before I talk about this amazing wine, I wanted to go back 10, 8, and 5 years to three previous articles I have published on Squerryes’ sparkling wines. Back in 2016, I mentioned a 2011 vintage in my comprehensive Daily Mail English Wine Compendium. Two years later, I reviewed the 2013 again in the Daily Mail, and in 2021 I talked about a late-disgorged version of the 2011 vintage, which made me think very differently about the potential of the wines from this estate – here is an extract from the piece in MoneyWeek.
I am a fan of Squerryes wines, although I don’t taste them as often as I would like because they tend to keep a low profile. I have previously written up two vintage releases in my column in the Daily Mail, and more recently I have tasted the 2014, 2015 and 2016 vintages. All are very nice wines, cut from the same fine cloth, with a gradual evolution in sophistication as the years roll by, evidenced by increasing depth and length of flavour. I put this down to vine age, as the roots search deeper and gather more complexity, emboldening the fruit at harvest time. But when I opened my featured wine, the Late Disgorged 2011 vintage, which I had reviewed in its youth as a five-year-old, my whole understanding of Squerryes changed in the blink of an eye. Where I had previously been experiencing taut, unyielding acidity coupled with the infinitesimal blossoming of fruit tones, this late-disgorged wine, which has spent nine years on its lees before release, is downright spectacular. It is smooth, succulent, layered and luxurious – a completely different beast from the regular vintage releases, so you must seek it out to experience this incredible flavour. This wine informs my palate like so few have done before in the English wine scene, and all winemakers and estates should take note. While we are all familiar with the concept of extended lees ageing (and the accompanying cost of holding back wines for years before release), if the results are this epic, then this discipline far outshines the agonising wait for vines to come to maturity!
And so, we come to today’s brand-new Squerryes release. A late disgorged 2014 vintage wine with no fewer than 108 months on its lees. Of course, it gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction to learn that Squerryes has indeed been keeping back a portion of its production each year, waiting for lightning to strike in the bottle. And strike it has with this 2014 wine, like no other English sparkling wine I have tasted.
2014 Patience by Squerryes, Westerham, Kent Downs, England RRP £225, from www.jeroboams.co.uk, www.hedonism.co.uk, www.dulwichvintners.co.uk, www.houseofdecant.com, www.macknade.com, and direct from www.squerryes.com
You can find a great deal more information on the Squerryes website. Here is a Link.
Background – I was thrilled to taste this wine with wine expert and Squerryes ambassador, Tom Surgey. Tom’s background information on Sir Patience Warde himself, as well as the viticultural and winemaking details, was second to none. This is the first-ever wine released under this occasional label. Only wines of impeccable credentials will be considered. Squerryes owner, Henry Warde, and Laura Evans MW selected this 2014 as the first recipient of the Patience label, an homage to Henry’s ancestor, Sir Patience Warde (1629-1696), ex-Lord Mayor of London, among many other incredible achievements.
Stats – The main winemaking details are as follows. Over 10 years of ageing (precisely 108 months on lees); 35% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir, 31% Pinot Meunier; 12.5% alcohol; 5 g/L Dosage; Disgorged in May 2024; the fruit comes from Squerryes’ single vineyard site planted in 2005 at 150m altitude.
My thoughts – Leaving aside the gloriously decadent packaging, and the gilt ‘letter opener’ (or dégrafeur) which may or may not, depending on your level of skill, be needed to remove the agrafe closure, the moment which made my heart race uncontrollably was when Tom poured this chic wine into my glass. The colour, or perhaps lack of it, is triumphant. I nearly stood up and applauded the paleness and elegance, which shows no signs of ageing whatsoever. From the outset, this wine looks like a million dollars, and it will make sparkling wine lovers go weak at the knees when they see its hue. The perfume is pure chalk, with delicate ornamental lemon and lime zest details. There is no oak whatsoever to be seen, and this heightens the accuracy and persistence of the flavour. This is a magnificently clean wine, with a pure, crystalline and visceral attack of flavour, and it could only come from this vineyard on this property. After all, when you are paying this amount of cash, the money is really irrelevant, and the experience itself becomes all-important. And Patience ticks every single box of a truly great wine. The palate is resonant and epically fresh, and the finish is scouringly chalky with awe-inspiring acidity and crystalline beauty. After two hours in the glass, the bubbles were still ticking away metronomically, and the palate had relaxed into a glorious chandelier of infinitesimal beauty. It is not only the finest English sparkling wine I have ever tasted, but it also sets a new bar for the English wine scene. Our elite sparkling wines should not be bigger, oakier, and richer than the estate cuvées, as is common with many wines from over La Manche, but rather aromatically arresting, piercingly refreshing, hauntingly beautiful, site-specific, and uniquely age-worthy. 2014 Patience does all these things and more. 19.5+/20 (Drink now – 2040)