Noughty Wine by Thomson & Scott Sparkling Chardonnay (750 mL)

Noughty is Amanda Thomson’s brand, made under Thomson & Scott, a certified B Corporation. She grew up on a plant-based diet with no sugar in it, which is a useful thing to know about someone who went on to build a range around what is actually in the bottle.

The wines come from two places and are made two ways. The sparklings are Spanish: Chardonnay off sandy, calcareous vineyards in the south, and Tempranillo from La Mancha. Both are vinified conventionally in stainless steel, then dealcoholized by vacuum distillation with aroma recovery and lightly carbonated afterwards, which is why the bubble is fine rather than fizzy.

The still wines come from the Western Cape, off dry-land farmed vineyards where the vines are grown untrellised as bush vines on south-west facing slopes. Atlantic breezes and the cold Benguela current keep the fruit cool, and the soils are decomposed granite over clay. Those wines are fermented slowly, rested on lees, and then dealcoholized by gently spun cone under vacuum at low temperature — a different method from the Spanish bottles, chosen to hold body and color in a wine that has no bubble to carry it.