Vintage
2021 86%, Reserve Wines 14%
Blend
70% Chardonnay, 21% Pinot Noir, 9% Pinot Meunier.
Background
All fruit for this wine was sourced from our single site in rural Dorset. The Crawthorne Farm vineyard consists of 30 hectares planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and is located on a sheltered south facing slope at 80-100 metres above sea level. The soil consists of a shallow clay loam, containing flint, over deep Cretaceous chalk.
Vinification
The fruit is pressed oxidatively in a three tonne pneumatic press then the juice left to settle overnight – the first of many characteristic steps in our low-intervention method. The juice is then racked into a combination of stainless steel and old, predominately French oak (minimum three years old, ex Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux). Alcoholic fermentation occurs spontaneously, followed by full malolactic fermentation and prolonged ageing with regular batonage. The wines are blended and bottled without fining or filtration. Less sugar is added at tirage, leading to a lower bottle pressure of around 4.5 bar. Our approach prioritises blending from an array of complex base wines which are complemented, not dominated by autolysis from 15-18 months of lees ageing in the bottle after second fermentation.
Technical Details
Alcohol: 12%
pH: 3.08
Total Acidity: 9.2 g/L
Dosage: 2 g/L