Extra Brut Agrafe Twenty Nineteen
A special Library Release - only 6 bottles available. This limited release goes live at 10am on Friday 6th March 2026.
When we released it in March 2024, Extra Brut Agrafe 2019 marked a first for English winemaking. Rather than ageing under crown cap – the traditional closure used during bottle maturation – these bottles have been ageing under natural cork from the moment they were bottled.
We held back a handful of Extra Brut Agrafe 2019 in our cellars, allowing the wine additional time to evolve under cork and develop even greater depth and savoury complexity.
This library release wine is only available to Gusbourne members. Please sign into your members’ account in order to purchase this wine. Find out more about membership here.
This 2019 limited release goes live at 10am on Friday.
The 2020 vintage of the Gusbourne Agrafe sparkling wine is now available to buy. You can also register to be amongst the first to know when similar Library wines are released by joining the waitlist.
A first in
English wine making
We selected this blend of estate-grown fruit for an experiment that’s unique in English wine: Agrafe ageing. This 2019 blend has been aged entirely under cork, allowing a small amount of oxygen to interact with the liquid while the wine gains rich, toasty flavours from its lees. The result is a luxurious wine which combines freshness and acidity with the complexity of cork ageing.
Alastair Benham Winemaker
Notes of lemon, lime peel and green apple, alongside toasted almond and pastry.
The wine is elegant, complex and poised, with a streak of freshness and minerality on the finish.
How to open your agrafe bottle
First chill your wine
Before you get started, make sure you've chilled your wine. This helps reduce the pressure in the bottle. The only kit you'll need to open your agrafe is a blunt-edged butter knife.
Stay in control
With one hand, grasp the neck of the bottle, positioning your thumb over the top of the cork. Then slide the blade of your knife between the bottle neck and staple.
Ease out the agrafe
Gently rock the blade to ease the staple open.
Keep the pressure on
Remove the staple and then recover the top of the cork with your hand. Keeping pressure on the cork, gently twist the bottle until the wine is open. Pour, and enjoy!
Extra Brut Agrafe Twenty Nineteen
Analysis
Grape Variety:
70% Chardonnay
30% Pinot Noir
Alcohol:
12%
Titratable Acidity:
9.6g/l
Residual Sugar:
4.5g/l
pH:
2.96
Factsheets:
All will be downloaded as PDF
2019Winemaking
Processing:
Whole bunch pressed and naturally settled for 24-36 hours.
Fermentation:
10 days under 20 degrees celsius using specialist sparkling wine yeast. Fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, with a small percentage fermented in old oak barrels for complexity.
Bottling Date:
June 2020.
Lees Ageing:
38 months under specialised 'Tirage cork'.
