“Westwell Special Cuvée winning the IWC English Classic Blend Trophy and English Sparkling Trophy is a special moment for us”, says winemaker John Rowe. “It is great recognition of our hard work creating the vineyard from scratch, that in such a short space of time we have achieved this! It is also another stamp of approval for the North Downs as one of the new exciting areas in English wine, with well known names investing in this strip of Downland either side of us.”
Westwell Wines was first planted in 2008 after a three year hunt for the perfect spot. It produces a range of still and sparkling wines under the brands of Westwell and Pelegrim. The philosophy of the estate is 'grape till glass', with a hands-on approach in the vineyard and a hands-off approach in the winery.
The Special Cuvée, as its name suggests is only made with the cuvée (the first pressing) of the juice in a three-way split of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier; this gives it its lifted Pinot aromas and saline acidity. Westwell’s still and sparkling wines have found favour regionally and now nationally with their agent Bancroft Wines.
“This award is a big shout out to all the other smaller vineyards who put a ton of hands-on work and care into their products, but sometimes their message and recognition gets drowned out.”
