County Business Clubs’ Wine of the Month June 2025

Langham Vineyard – Culver Classic Cuvée

For June’s Wine of the Month, we have chosen sparkling wine along the South Coast in Dorset. I picked up a bottle of their wine after their recent Silver Medal in the well-respected IWSC competition. They specialise in making low-intervention, traditional method sparkling wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes grown on their 34 hectare vineyard on Crawthorne Farm in rural Dorset.

They pride themselves in crafting terroir-driven sparkling wines using grapes only grown there on the Dorset vineyard. Tommy Grimsham is head winemaker. They do not fine or filter their wines, making them vegan and vegetarian friendly. All of their sparkling wines have less than 6g sugar per litre, meaning that they are classed as Extra Brut rather than the usual Brut for most English wines and Champagnes, relying more on the grapes to provide the sweetness for the wine.

Winemaker’s tasting notes

Culver is our Pinot Noir dominant blend, named after the cretaceous chalk strata the vines are planted into. It shows the power and richness of its two red varieties, with an opulence and depth that helps it to pair wonderfully with food.

Varietals in the blend – 75% Pinot Noir, 14% Chardonnay, 11% Meunier – predominantly from the 2019 vintage

Awards for this wine are the following;

• Gold Medal – Wine GB Awards 2024

• Silver Medal – Sommelier Wine Awards 2024

• Silver Medal – IWSC 2025

Michael’s tasting notes – Initially we have floral notes with apple followed by citrus and a hint of nuttiness, this wine had a lovely character, complexity and length

Tasting notes from IWSC 2025 judges

“ Refined stone fruit, crunchy red apples, herbs, hints of green tea and chamomile. There are rich, creamy, fine bubbles to the medium length, and nice freshness combining with spice and minerality.”

Food pairing for this Cuvee

We enjoyed this wine with charcuterie from Curing Rebels (Brighton) and Mixed Olives from The Cheeseman, the wine has good depth of character and worked well with the mezze. We will be buying again.

Where to buy?

This wine is available online via the website or other established English sparkling wine sellers at around £34 a bottle https://langhamwine.co.uk/product/culver/

Written for County Business Clubs by Michael Yeoman, English wine specialist and founder of Spirit of the Downs, award-winning local artisan Sussex brandies, grape vodka and Boosy Barista coffee liqueur.