Winemaking
We’ve learnt that time and patience are some of the most valuable ingredients in winemaking.
Our winemaking is a slow and measured process. We have an uncompromising quest for quality and a fastidious approach to detail. We follow strict, self-imposed parameters to maintain our exacting standards and keep intervention to an absolute minimum to ensure the best expression of our wines each and every year.
Together with Gusbourne, our winemaker Charlie Holland has produced some of the world’s most celebrated sparkling wines, winning numerous international awards and becoming the only three-time winner of the IWSC English Wine Producer of the Year.
In the vineyards, the grapes are hand-picked by our dedicated vineyard team. We sort all of the bunches in the vineyards, with only the highest quality grapes brought into the winery. Here, they are gently pressed in whole bunches to yield only the best juice, which is then fermented in thermoregulated stainless-steel tanks and a selection of oak barrels. A process of strictly regimented juice selection allows us to carefully choose the individual lots of base wines while maintaining the characteristic style of our range.
Once bottled, the wines are stacked by hand in the cellar before beginning a period of prolonged lees ageing. Extended time on the lees is essential for adding depth, and our wines spend a minimum of 28 months in the process. Once disgorged, extended cork ageing further enhances the complexity of our wines.
We’re happy to wait as long as it takes to achieve the perfect expression of our wines.
