Sugrue, Cuvée Dr Brendan O’Regan, England NV - 75cl

Dr Brendan O'Regan was the Irishman who opened the world's first duty-free shop, at Shannon Airport in 1947. Dermot Sugrue named his prestige cuvée after him, and given what that one idea did for the drinks trade, it seems fair enough.

This sits at the top of the Sugrue range, and it is the wine that shows what Sussex chalk can do given time. The mousse rises fine and slow. White flowers and citrus peel on the nose first, then lightly toasted brioche, with the chalk speaking quietly underneath. On the palate texture arrives before flavour — silken, bright, the minerality threading from the attack right through to the finish.

It is drinking well now and will hold and improve for eight to twelve years if you would rather wait. Either way it rewards attention. This is not a bottle to pour and then forget about.

At £125 you are in prestige-cuvée territory, and the comparison it invites is with vintage Champagne rather than with the rest of England. It survives that comparison, which is rather the point.

How to Serve

8 to 10°C. A tulip or white wine glass — a narrow flute wastes it. Open it fifteen minutes before you intend to pour.

Where to Drink It

Noble Rot, for a list that takes English wine seriously. Wiltons on Jermyn Street, for the full formality. The River Cafe on a good evening.

Food Pairings

Oysters and scallops are the obvious call. But it is genuinely better with roast chicken, or with good bread and salted butter, where that texture has something to push against.