Vintage UK sparkling wines emerged as a major success story at Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025.
DWWA is the world’s largest wine competition and its rigorous judging process, involving leading experts in their field, means consumers can buy all medal-winning wines with confidence.
And this year’s results show there’s never been a better time to delve into the UK’s high-quality fizz.
It’s a sector that continues to blossom. UK sparkling sales rose 187% between 2018 and 2023, to 6.2m bottles, said trade body WineGB last year. High-profile fans include Royal family members, too.
Magnum success for English sparkling
This year marked the first time DWWA’s magnum category was opened up to sparkling wines beyond Champagne, and one UK producer took full advantage.
Sugrue South Downs, The Trouble With Dreams 2009 in magnum won one of 50 Best in Show medals. These highly coveted accolades represent just 0.3% of all wines blind-tasted by judges.
Only 600 magnums were made of The Trouble With Dreams 2009, which is a blend of 60% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir and 15% Pinot Meunier from Jenkyn Place vineyard in Hampshire. The magnums spent 12 years ageing on lees and another two years under cork following disgorgement.
DWWA 2025 judges said the wine is ’still a youngster, full of energy and jubilation’ – demonstrating the staying power of top UK sparkling wines in the cellar.
They added, ‘Fifteen years in glass has given the always-masterful English acidity the brooding time it needs, and the result is fresh, wide and bracing on the nose, and searchlight-deep on the palate.’
This was the inaugural vintage of The Trouble With Dreams and a BIS medal at DWWA 2025 is further recognition for talented winemaker Dermot Sugrue, profiled by Decanter magazine editor Amy Wislocki in 2024, and the wider team.
Sugrue’s wife, Ana, a winemaker and former lecturer in oenology at Plumpton College, joined in 2021, and subsequent investment from hotelier Robin Hutson OBE enabled the couple to build their own winery, which also recently began by-appointment tastings.
The winery has increased its focus on magnums, particularly in ageworthy vintages. While magnums of The Trouble With Dreams 2009 have sold out, it made 1,000 magnums of the 2020 vintage (60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir from vineyard sites in East and West Sussex), with a release likely from September 2025.
‘Magnums are the winemaker’s dream ageing vessel,’ said Sugrue. ‘They allow for slower maturation, resulting in additional layers of complexity and even more grace than a standard bottle.’
Vintage English sparkling on top form
Eight more vintage English sparkling wines produced from classic ‘Champagne’ grape varieties won top medals at DWWA 2025, with two securing prestigious Platinum accolades and six scooping Gold.
One Platinum medal went to a pink fizz in the shape of Digby Fine English, Rosé Brut 2018, a highly regarded vintage.
‘Bounteous and rounded with a red fruit mousse and quenching thrill of piercing acidity,’ judges said of the wine, a blend of 58% Pinot Noir, 22% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay.
Pinot was again the focus for Platinum-winning Bluestone, Blanc de Noirs Brut 2019 from Wiltshire. Combining 51% Pinot Noir and 49% Pinot Meunier, judges highlighted apricot, peach, cherry skin and floral aromas on the nose.
They added, ‘Focused and vibrant with a tapering acidity and a tingling black tea element to close. Long and rewarding.’
Gold medallist Hoffman & Rathbone showcased the quality of 100% Pinot Meunier sparkling wines with its ‘Blanc de Noir Brut’ 2015, released on 1 June after nine years of ageing on lees.
Meanwhile, a magnum of Squerryes, North Downs Brut 2015 also won Gold. Aged on lees for 101 months and disgorged in August 2024, judges praised its combination of chalky mineral tones, ‘svelte acidity’ and ‘underlay of nutty brioche’.
Squerryes Estate, in the same family for more than 300 years, was once approached by a major Champagne house but decided to plant its own vines in 2006.
Big wins for ‘Blanc de Blancs’
Four of the six Gold medals for English sparkling at DWWA 2025 went to 100% Chardonnay wines, echoing strong recent results for this style in a Decanter magazine panel tasting of UK vintage sparkling wines.
Pioneering winemaker Peter Hall planted vines to establish Breaky Bottom near Lewes in East Sussex back in 1974, but the Gold medal winner at DWWA 2025 represents his first 100% Chardonnay wine: ‘Cuvée Geoffrey Aldred’ Brut 2018.
‘Glowing with citrus, stone fruit and chalky minerals that glide flawlessly over the silky mousse and graceful acidity,’ said judges.
Other Gold winners included Oxney Organic Estate, Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2019, also from East Sussex, as well as Ashling Park Estate, Blanc de Blancs Brut 2014 from West Sussex.
Kent-based Gusbourne also saw Gold for its Commanders Vineyard, Blanc de Blancs Brut 2019, described as ‘blissfully complex’ by judges.
Several UK sparkling wines also won Silver and Bronze medals at DWWA 2025 – the latter category including two from Pembrokeshire in Wales – giving fans of great fizz plenty to explore.
Search all UK sparkling medal winners at DWWA 2025
DWWA 2025: Three top-scoring UK sparkling wines
Sugrue South Downs, The Trouble With Dreams 2009 (in magnum)
Made with fruit from Jenkyn Place Vineyard in Hampshire. Grapes for the current-release 2020 vintage are sourced from the winery’s vineyards in East and West Sussex.
97 points | Best In Show
DWWA judges said: ‘Fifteen years in glass has given the always-masterful English acidity the brooding time it needs, and the result is fresh, wide and bracing on the nose, and searchlight-deep on the palate. Yes, the acidity is still very much the structuring agent here, but it’s not hard to imagine stone, sand and salt on the move in the background: you’ll find texture and even glycerol as the acid wave pulls back after you’ve swallowed. It’s still a youngster, full of energy and jubilation.’ Alcohol: 12.5% abv.
Digby Fine English, Rosé Brut, West Sussex 2018
97 pts | Platinum
DWWA judges said: ‘Vivid floral notes quilted beautifully into ripe strawberries and spice on a backdrop of dried herbs. Bounteous and rounded with a red fruit mousse and quenching thrill of piercing acidity that glides towards the finish.’ Alc: 12%
Bluestone, Blanc de Noirs Brut, Wiltshire 2019
97 pts | Platinum
DWWA judges said: ‘Myriad apricot, peach, cherry skin and floral aromas bask in the soft, broad texture and supple mousse. Focused and vibrant with a tapering acidity and a tingling black tea element to close. Long and rewarding.’ Alc: 12%
