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The 2013 Vintage Despite a warm, extended summer, the 2013 harvest in England arrived later than usual. This was due to a combination of factors: a long, cold winter that delayed bud burst and flowering, followed by a cool autumn. A Decade in the Making Originally bottled in 2014, we opted to age the majority of the wine on lees until we disgorged in 2021. With our characteristic curiosity, we decided to hold a small portion back for continued aging to see what might happen. In 2023, after nearly ten years on lees, the wine displayed remarkable character and the...

Back in 2018, we decided to attempt making a sparkling wine with no additions to see if it presented the meunier in the best light, but also to see if it could be done. I'd read of many winemakers in France using fermenting juice as their tirage culture and thought we could experiment with doing that across multiple vintages to increase the richness and depth. We wild fermented Pinot Meunier in plastic which I liked the neutrality of; and the following year we did the same again. In the third year, we added the fermenting juice to the previous two...

Visiting and need some insider recommendations? We’ve put together our dream itinerary for a day in Kent. Enjoy an action-packed day out, taking in some iconic views and nature, gorgeous art and interiors plus some smashing food and wine. You’ll need a car for this one. Breakfast at The Good Shed thegoodsshed.co.uk Begin your day out at this award-winning independent restaurant and farmers market in Canterbury. The Goods Shed is a unique space with great local food stalls plus our pal Clive Barlow, a Master of Wine who has a small but perfectly formed collection of wines to buy (including...

When taking over from previous owners John and Rids Rowe in 2017, we discovered a barrel of Pinot Noir that John had been experimenting with. It had a ripe pinot flavour that was a little masked by oak. We decided to develop this by creating our own red pinot in stainless steel and blending the two. Sometime in 2018, we tasted the blend and decided it needed some time to develop, so the wine was tucked away and promptly forgotten until the summer of 2020. Tasting the wine then was a surprise. We bottled it immediately. This wine is the...