English sparkling wine has reached another remarkable milestone.
Gusbourne Fifty One Degrees North 2016 was named No. 2 in Wine Enthusiast’s Enthusiast 100: The Best Wines of 2025, earning one of the highest distinctions awarded to an English wine on the international stage. Wine Enthusiast also awarded the wine an exceptional 98-point score.
For Gusbourne, the recognition represents more than an individual accolade. It places one of England’s most ambitious sparkling wines alongside leading wines from some of the world’s most celebrated regions and underscores the increasingly important place English sparkling wine holds in the fine-wine conversation.
A Prestige Cuvée Rooted in England
Fifty One Degrees North takes its name from the latitude of Gusbourne’s vineyards in southern England and represents the estate’s highest expression of vintage sparkling wine.
The 2016 release is a blend of 67% Chardonnay and 33% Pinot Noir, produced using the traditional method. Twenty-one percent of the base wine was fermented in old oak barrels, adding further texture and complexity, before the wine spent a minimum of 67 months ageing on its lees.
That extended maturation is central to the wine’s character, building layers of depth while retaining the freshness and acidity that have become hallmarks of England’s finest sparkling wines.
98 Points and the No. 2 Wine of 2025
Wine Enthusiast placed Gusbourne 2016 51°N Traditional Method Sparkling Blend at No. 2 among its Top 100 Wines of 2025, behind only the list’s No. 1 selection and ahead of acclaimed wines from established regions including Tuscany and California.
Reviewer Christina Pickard awarded the wine 98 points, highlighting its combination of citrus, brioche, mineral and savory notes, together with a focused, persistent palate and distinctly English acidity.
According to Gusbourne, the placement is the highest position ever achieved by an English wine in Wine Enthusiast’s annual Top 100 ranking.
The achievement follows another significant accolade for the 2016 vintage: a Gold Medal at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2025.
A Benchmark for English Sparkling Wine
England’s sparkling-wine category has evolved rapidly over the past two decades, but Fifty One Degrees North illustrates just how far the country’s most ambitious producers are now willing to go.
Rather than being positioned simply as an alternative to sparkling wines from elsewhere, this is a wine conceived as a prestige bottling in its own right: vintage-specific, produced in limited quantities and given years of maturation before release.
Its No. 2 position on Wine Enthusiast’s 2025 list provides a significant international endorsement of that approach and brings further attention to the quality being achieved in England’s vineyards today.
For collectors and sparkling-wine enthusiasts, Gusbourne Fifty One Degrees North 2016 represents a compelling moment in the development of English fine wine — and a bottle that has now earned recognition among the world’s most highly regarded wines.
Fifty One Degrees North 2016
Gusbourne, England
67% Chardonnay | 33% Pinot Noir
Traditional Method
12% ABV
98 Points, Wine Enthusiast
No. 2 — Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wines of 2025
