Awards
Our awards for our Brut NV to date.
2026 |
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Oz & Tom's English Wine Heroes 2026 |
"Joyful, spring blossom scented sparkling white. Racy dry, lemon curd tang with chalky minerality. That spring blossom scent lingers in the aftertaste. Great energy." |
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Gold at 2026 Wine GB Awards |
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94 points, Decanter – Panel Tasting, May 2026 |
“Deep gold and gently fragrant – baked apple, red apple skin and glazed apricot, pastry cream and nutty brioche. Fine mousse and expressive length bring texture and charm. Drink 2026-2032.” |
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94 points, The Real Review – #6 of 48 English Sparkling Whites tasted - Anthony Rose, April 2026 |
“Pale gold with nutty autolysis and farmhouse-buttery notes in the aromas. In the mouth, an energetic mousse of bubbles whose buttery, rich stone-fruit and apple flavours are well supported by a trenchant fresh acidity in a well-crafted, full-flavoured fizz with excellent length and balance, all finishing elegantly dry.” |
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95 points – Gold Medal, International Wine Challenge 2026 |
“Attractive salted hazelnuts, sourdough and apple puree with hints of vanilla on the nose, followed by a palate of sophistication and satisfaction.” |
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2025 |
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Gold at 2025 Wine GB Awards |
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92 points, Vinous – Anne Krebiehl MW, February 2025 |
“The NV Brut, a blend of 58% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Meunier and 14% Pinot Noir from Hampshire's Candover Valley, is based primarily on the 2018 vintage. The nose opens with vivid lemon freshness and a real sense of salty ocean breeze and chalkiness. The palate is beautifully taut and strait-laced with a fine, lively, sprightly mousse. Lemony concentration is front and centre, backed by a gentle sense of yeasty chalk with quite some depth. This is wonderfully serene and balanced. Well done for a debut wine! Disgorged: January 2023.” |
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2024 |
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Gold at 2024 Wine GB Awards |
"Outstanding complexity on the nose of rich apricot and toasted citrus with impressive spice and savoury notes from high quality oak and ample reserve wine. Apple palate with well integrated mousse that lingers long the palate. Very accomplished." |
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Gold at 2024 Sommelier Wine Awards |
"This has everything: fruit, autolysis, development, typicity, and a long umami finish. Excellent."
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92 points, Silver at 2024 International Wine & Spirit Competition |
"Marzipan, bruised apple and dried fruit aromas. Expressive palate of nuts, bread dough, pastry and a long finish." |
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2023 |
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96 points – Gold Medal, Decanter World Wine Awards 2023 |
“Brimming with bright red apple, roasted cashew and nutty brioche with a striking mousse, a broad rich structure and sublime lengthy finish. A complete wine.” |
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96 points – Winner of the English Sparkling Trophy, International Wine Challenge 2023 |
“Fresh balanced poised cuvee with gorgeous autolysis and palate weight. Malt and wild strawberries with racy acidity and backbone with nutty twist. Elegantly done.” |
 
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Gold at 2023 Wine GB AwardsTrophy - Newcomer of the YearTrophy - Best Regional Wessex |
"Gloriously uplifting aromas, a smorgasbord of fruit, pastry and salinity. Beautifully balanced, textured and moreish palate. One to sip and savour." |
Our awards for our Rosé NV to date.
2026 |
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Oz & Tom's English Wine Heroes 2026 |
"A full of life rosé packed with bright strawberry and cream moreishness. An intellectual bent - more Proust than Jilly Cooper - worthy of serious discussion amongst friends. Very fine." |
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90 points – Silver Medal, Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 |
"Strawberry, spice and brioche aromas; red apple, raspberry, ripe orange and plum on the palate, with toasted almond notes." |
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91 points, Decanter – Panel Tasting, May 2026 |
"Salmon-pink. Savoury-fruited, combining plum, raspberry and citrus with toasted nut notes and a whisper of forest floor. Structured yet elegant, it carries its richer style into a long finish. Drink 2026-2032" |
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Silver at Sommelier Wine Awards 2026 |
"A lovely aroma of flowers and red fruit, with delicate bubbles and acidity well balanced with the alcohol."
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Silver at 2026 Wine GB Awards |
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2025 |
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91 points, Vinous – Anne Krebiehl MW, February 2025 |
"The NV Brut Rose, a blend of 54% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier and 13% Pinot Noir from Hampshire's Candover Valley, features 85% of its base from the 2018 vintage, with the remainder from a "solera" dating back to 2011. After three years on lees, it presents a subtle nose with glimpses of lemon, smooth creamy yeast and a hint of chalk. The palate offers immense freshness, reminiscent of lemony strawberry sorbet, with foamy bubbles and verve framed by yeasty creaminess. A 9 g/L dosage enhances the tart red berry fruit, channelling superb freshness into lasting bright fruit." |
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90 points – Silver Medal, Decanter World Wine Awards 2025 |
“Aromatic intense floral nose, fresh acidity, and pleasing macerated red fruit, peach, herbal notes on a backbone of sourdough and hints bruised fruit.” |
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Matthew Jukes – matthewjukes.com, June 2025 |
“I first wrote this wine up in March 2022 in Vineyard Magazine, having earmarked it as a future rosé superstar. Over the last few years, it has further refined its message. With lovely ripe fruit and a smooth, pure palate with hints of redcurrants and cranberries, this is a silky wine from a textural perspective, cut with tangy red fruit notes. It is precisely what you are after when you think English Sparkling Rosé.” |
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2024 |
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91 points – Silver Medal, International Wine Challenge 2024 |
"Rhubarb and red apple on the nose lead to a creamy and sophisticated palate with a shortbread backdrop and elegance.” |
 
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Gold at 2024 Wine GB Awards |
"Emphatic biscuit/toasty notes, with red berry and apple-pear fruit. Bright, lively fruit. Fine, lacy quality to the mousse. Young, explosive, biscuity and long. Delicious wine." |
Matthew Jukes – Vineyard Magazine, March 2022 |
"This is one of the most stunning English rosés I have tasted and the super-smooth, incredibly pure fruit is mesmerising. I urge you to track down a bottle and raise as glass to this brave new label, as soon as you can!" |
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The Real Review – 2024 |
"Salmon pink in colour, this pink fizz from Hampshire’s Candover Valley, disgorged in August 2022, shows fresh and ripe strawberries in the aroma and on tasting, there’s ripe strawberries and cream fruit flavours emerge from a fine mousse of bubbles with a tart summer pudding fruit element too, all finishing elegantly dry." |
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91 points, Silver at 2024 International Wine & Spirit Competition |
"Richly oaked on the nose showcasing delicate, summertime wild strawberry notes and a vibrant zip lemon zest freshness. An abundance of complexity and effervescence, finishing clean and delightfully balanced." |
Hear what others say - In The Press On Candover Brook
| Charlotte Luxford | The English Home | 17th June 2025 | “Renowned for its sustainable winemaking, the Candover Brook vineyard in Hampshire is run by Mark and Julian Sainsbury, sons of the late Lord Sainsbury. Candover Brook is relatively new to the industry and is an exciting addition to England’s sparkling wine scene. The Sainsbury’s champion regenerative farming practices, aiming for carbon neutrality and soil biodiversity and the vineyard is a founding member of the Sustainable Wines of Great Britain.” |
| Katrina Mipuri | The Glass Magazine | Winter 2024 | “Not only has Candover Brook won numerous wine awards, it is also an emerging name on the wine scene.” |
| Stuart Bond | Derby Life | May 2025 | “The story of this estate has its origins in the late 1970s when Lord Sainsbury toured the vineyards of Champagne with ambitions to make his own wine. It wasn’t until 2012 that vines were planted on the family estate, the idyllic Candover Valley, Hampshire. The name is a nod to the chalkstream which runs through the estate, home to rare English white-clawed crayfish” |
| Alex Layton | Suffolk Norfolk Life | 1st June 2025 | “Hampshire continues to assert itself as one of England’s premier sparkling regions, and this boutique producer demonstrates why. Made in tiny quantities from the classic trio of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, it shows remarkable precision – crisp orchard fruits balanced by subtle autolytic complexity and a whisper of chalk speaks directly to its South Downs terroir, An exemplary ambassador for English Wine Week that holds its own against more established names.” |
| Alice Griffiths | Vineyard Magazine | 26th October 2024 | “The heart of Candover Brook’s regenerative approach is a willingness to give everything time. Mark Sainsbury acknowledged that they are at the beginning of a long journey, focused not on growing the vineyard’s size, but on perfecting everything they do, step by step. He also expressed hope that Candover Brook’s example would inspire other winemakers to adopt similar practices, educating both peers and consumers about the vital importance of soil health and sustainability.” |
In The Press On Candover Brook Rosé NV
| Daily Express | Matt Nixon | Daily Express | 8th February 2025 | “Try this elegant, boldly acidic beauty from the chalk downs of Hampshire. Toasty notes help frame the fruity palate and aroma, with plenty of fresh red berries and a citrus finish.” |
| Matthew Jukes | MatthewJukes.com | 25th June 2025 | "I first wrote this wine up in March 2022 in Vineyard Magazine, having earmarked it as a future rosé superstar. Over the last few years, it has further refined its message. With lovely ripe fruit and a smooth, pure palate with hints of redcurrants and cranberries, this is a silky wine from a textural perspective, cut with tangy red fruit notes. It is precisely what you are after when you think English Sparkling Rosé." |
| Charlotte Luxford | The English Home | 17th June 2025 | “We particularly like the Candover Brook Rosé NV – a gold medal winner at the 2024 WineGB Awards. This delightfully vivid pink fizz is super smooth with the unmistakable aroma of fresh berries and toasted brioche, making it a perfect sparkling wine to enjoy with British strawberries on a warm summer’s day.” |
| Stuart Bond | Derby Life | May 2025 | “A vivid pink hue with aromas of fresh strawberry, cranberry and toasted brioche, on the palate a creamy mouthfeel with a bold mousse are tempered by a mouth-watering freshness and vibrant purity of fruit. Try with roasted cod with zingy beetroot, curried fish cakes or Mediterranean baked cod” |
In The Press On Candover Brook Brut NV
| Katrina Mipuri | The Glass Magazine | Winter 2024 | “Not only has Candover Brook won numerous wine awards, it is also an emerging name on the wine scene. This bottle delivers notes of lemon peel, almond, honeysuckle and toasted brioche with a vibrant acidity on the palate. It pairs very well with salty cheeses such as feta or goat along with poultry and seafood.” |
| Andy Cronshaw | Manchester Evening News | 26th June 2025 | “Another Champagne style blend which really hits a high level with candied lemon and almond on the nose as well as lovely autolysis notes. The palate is full with a very lively mousse and excellent balance. A wine for a summer celebration” |
| Alex Layton | Suffolk Norfolk Life | 1st June 2025 | “Hampshire continues to assert itself as one of England’s premier sparkling regions, and this boutique producer demonstrates why. Made in tiny quantities from the classic trio of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, it shows remarkable precision – crisp orchard fruits balanced by subtle autolytic complexity and a whisper of chalk speaks directly to its South Downs terroir, An exemplary ambassador for English Wine Week that holds its own against more established names.” |
Out and About - Quotes from Events
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Henry Dimbleby - speaking at Groundswell 2025 |
"I just think there's a pleasure, you know, obviously that's the regenerative story, but there's a real enjoyment of producing something that's being produced with love, that's being produced with love for the countryside and for me, you know, it's, little, it makes a little guilty pleasure, a little less guilty, I guess." |
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Sarah Langford - speaking at Groundswell 2025 |
"On the fact that you've got such a delicious sparkling wine being produced in a way that other farmers trying to produce grains and cattle and sheep is a really important part of the story." |
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Thomasina Myers -speaking at Groundswell 2025 |
"Delicious. Sparkle. Like really good champagne. Like really delicious. So well done, Sainsbury’s brothers. Well done, Candover Brook." |
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Andy Cato - Wildfarmed - speaking at the vineyard in 2024 |
"I think its the best tasting Crayfish protection, certainly I’m aware of. And yeah for those wondering about the link between the crayfish and this rather lovely wine, it all comes down to the soil and everything really comes down to the soil, Everything we eat, what we breathe, what we |
Customer Reviews
| Brut NV - English fizz at its best - Annie, 2024 | Very pleased with our impulse buy from our local vineyard. Lovely balanced wine, not too dry, lots of soft bubbles, totally delicious and moreish. Looking forward to trying the rosé. |
| Brut NV - Fantastic Fresh Fizz! - Thomas Marsh. 2024 | Well deserving of all the plaudits! Fresh and citrusy with strong zesty notes. Bought a bottle to try and ordered a case straight after! |
| Rosé NV - Couldn’t have been more delicious - Sophie Macaulay, 2024 | Enjoyed both bottles with friends one evening. Absolutely lovely. We all give Candover Brook 5 Stars |
| Rosé NV - A Superb, fantabulous surprise! - Nimmy Burke | Light yet full flavoured, clean, crisp delicious sparkle, it was a total delight. ! It certainly lifted my spirits and is - in my view -superior in its class. |
