2012 Rose Reserve, Hoffmann & Rathbone

The English Timekeeper

This is not a rosé that hurries. After more than a decade resting quietly on its lees, the 2012 Rosé Reserve emerges with remarkable poise, rose-gold in hue and shimmering with fine, persistent bubbles. The nose is pure poetry: wild strawberry, ripe plum, and peach blossom layered with brioche, hazelnut, and a touch of ginger spice from its long maturation. On the palate, it’s vibrant yet luxuriously rounded with red cherry, fig, and citrus peel unfolding in elegant succession before a lingering, savoury finish. Complex, refined, and beautifully aged, it’s English sparkling wine at its most graceful.

For when: The evening calls for something rare, radiant, and quietly confident.
Pairs with: Smoked salmon, duck rillettes, or nothing more than good company and time.

Tucked away in the rolling hills of the Sussex Weald, Hoffmann & Rathbone is one of England’s most meticulous boutique sparkling producers. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Ulrich Hoffmann and Birgit Rathbone, the winery is built on a simple belief -that great sparkling wine cannot be rushed. Each vintage is crafted in tiny volumes, aged for extended periods on the lees to build texture, depth, and complexity.

The Pinot noir grapes for this Rosé Reserve come from Ford Farm Vineyard in East Sussex, a warm, sheltered site with clay and sandstone soils that encourage concentration and elegance in the fruit. Sustainably farmed and naturally expressive, these vines deliver wines of precision and purity. The 2012 vintage, a classic cool-climate year, has matured into a wine of exquisite balance: English restraint wrapped in Champagne-level sophistication, with the hallmark Hoffmann & Rathbone patience shining through in every sip.