Hambledon is England's oldest commercial vineyard, located on the chalk soils of the South Downs in Hampshire. Originally established by Major General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones in 1952, the first harvest was produced in 1961 with advice from friends at Champagne House Pol Roger. Ian Kellett then purchased Hambledon in 1999 and shortly afterwards, extensive research revealed that sparkling wines were the future. Ian responded by planting a 10-acre 'test bed' of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier to assess which of the twenty-seven different combinations of vine clones and rootstocks gave the best results.
Since then, Hambledon have established themselves as one of the foremost sparkling wine producers in the country. The Hambledon property today consists of 50 acres of vineyard and a new gravity-fed, state-of-the-art winery: the only one of its kind in the UK. After a successful harvest of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier from 2010 and 2011, Hambledon winery recruited one of Champagne's leading Chef de Caves, Hervé Jestin, who now oversees all winemaking at the estate. Hervé is pioneering Bioenergetic champagne at Leclerc-Briant in Epernay.
Cellar Master:
Hervé Jestin
Winery Location: South Downs | Hampshire, England
Annual Production (bottles): 200,000