A DORSET vineyard has won national recognition for its English sparkling wine made in the first year of production.

Langham Wine Estate was awarded the Judgement of Parsons Green IV for its 2010 Classic Cuvee, beating 93 other English sparkling wines from 47 different vineyards in a blind taste test.

Its 2010 Blanc de Noirs also finished in the top ten.

The estate’s winemaker Liam Idzikowski said: “We are absolutely delighted. What makes it even more thrilling is that both the wines we entered are from our first year of production.

“We specialise in making exceptional wines, all estate grown and made on site, and it is so rewarding to achieve recognition for our hard work from such a team of expert judges.”

The Cuvee is a blend of three classic Champagne grape varieties, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.

The Judgement of Parsons Green IV is organised by Stephen Skelton, with the aim to present the widest selection of English sparkling wines for blind testing to a panel of judges.

The name, Judgement of Parsons Green IV stems from the Judgement of Paris (1976) when Californian wines famously beat the best of the French.

Now in its fourth year, Skelton said that this year’s scores for the top 10 English sparkling wines was higher than ever before.

Langham Estate Wine was described by Skelton as doing ‘exceptionally well’.

Judges included wine writers, several Masters of Wine, trade buyers and consultants.

The 2010 Classic Cuvee is available from good independent wine merchants and delis locally, which are listed on the Langham Wine Estate website langham wine.co.uk

 Around 38,000 vines were planted in 2009 on 30 acres near Dorchester on a south facing slope. It is the largest vineyard in the south west.

Family-owned Langham Wine Estate only produces single estate grown and made sparkling wines.