Average rating 4.9/5 stars across all Google and external reviews
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Bought directly from Wiston Estate and is currently held in bond at London City Bond Eton Park, where it is cellared in ideal conditions and for same day deliveries small quantities are held in our London offices in a top of the range Eurocave
Wiston Estate began its journey in to English Sparking Wines with the planting of a 6.5 hectare vineyard in 2006, making the first wines in 2008. They planted a south-east facing escarpment on the chalk hills of West Sussex, where the topsoil is only 10-30 cms deep above the solid chalk. These thin soils on top of chalk promote tiny yielding vines, giving concentration in the grapes which absorb that chalky mineral character, much as is seen in the Côte des Blancs in Champagne. The Goring family have been custodians of the estate since 1743, just 6 miles inland from the sea, north of Worthing, the sea having a moderating effect on the vineyards microclimate. An additional 3.5 hectares were planted in 2017 to the classic varieties of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and Meunier giving them now an annual production of around 50,000 bottles. From the early days Dermot Sugrue, former Nyetimber head winemaker, helped them produce some of the best wines, installing a Coquard press and fermenting some of the wines in barrel to encourage better acidity integration in the finished sparkling wine. From a tiny beginning Wiston is now a large winery, as they are also contract winemakers for many small growers. From 2021 Marcus Rayner-Ward, formerly assistant to Dermot has been head winemaker.
Winemaking: The NV wines are a composition of many vintages blended together. The journey of this wine started in 2009 where Wiston reserved a small amount of wine. Each year that they harvest grapes and make wine, they build up the reserve wines. This allows them to create a style consistent year on year and show a piece of Wiston history in every glass. This current iteration is made up of 80% of wine from 2018.
They press whole bunches of grapes through their Coquard basket press, (as used in Champagne), before fermenting in stainless steel and 500 litres oak barrels from Burgundy, then resting on its lees ahead of bottling. After bottling, it is was kept cool and capped (sur lattes) for over two years before being disgorged at a low dosage in Spring 2021.
Weather in 2018: Probably the best vintage of the modern era thanks to the warm summer that produced large volumes of top-quality fruit. While the sparkling wines will be excellent, it is the still wines that are especially promising, especially the Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs.
Technical Information:
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Region: South Downs | West Sussex, England
Lees Ageing: 2 years
Dosage: 9 g/l
Base vintage: 2019
Disgorged: 21st December 2022
Drink: Now to 2026
Tasting Note: The Wiston Blanc de Blancs NV is delightfully fresh with vibrant acidity and impeccable balance. Crisp green apple and delicate notes of kumquat are leading the way with flinty minerality. The wine finishes soft, crisp and clean.
The Wiston Estate has been owned and managed by the Goring family since 1743. It took Pip Goring, wife of current owner Harry Goring, three decades to convince her husband to turn the family's turkey production into a winery. The first vines were planted in 2006 on the chalky soils of the South Downs - a land with all the hallmarks of the famous Côte des Blancs - and their 16 acres of vineyard are spread over a 6,000 acre estate.
Wiston use no herbicides on their soil and still utilise the traditional Coquard press, one of only four outside of France and the only one of its kind in the UK. With a large surface area and exceptionally gentle pressing, the Coquard enables extraction of the very highest quality juice and combined with Wiston's minimum intervention winemaking, the end product best reflects its vineyard origin and the characteristics of the vintage. Now led by famous winemaker Dermot Sugrue, Wiston are one of the frontrunners in the English sparkling wine industry.
Wiston Through The Years
1743 - Elizabeth Fagge, heiress of Wiston House, marries her neighbour, Sir Charles Matthew Goring. 1760 - Their 16-year-old son, Charles Goring, plants Chanctonbury Ring, a circle of beech trees that now crowns Wiston Estate. 1828 - Aged 85, Charles writes a poem of thanks that he lived long enough to see Chanctonbury Ring full grown. He dies the following year. 1849 - The Reverend John Goring, Charles’s son, grows the Estate to around 20,000 acres. 1926 - The Goring family moves out of Wiston House to allow it to be leased, following death duties in 1905 and 1924, which led to the sale of 40% of the estate. Wiston House today is leased to the Foreign Office (FCDO). 1940 - John Goring, one of the last men to escape Dunkirk, returns to England to modernise the Estate and join national efforts towards self-sufficiency. 1972 - Harry Goring returns from South Africa with his new bride, Pip, to take over the management of the estate. 2006 - Richard Goring, Harry and Pip’s son, and his wife Kirsty return to the Estate from Canada. The first vineyard on the Estate is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. 2008 - An original Coquard wine press is installed at North Farm. The press, made in France, is the first of its kind to be imported to the UK. 2011 - Harry and Pip Goring hand over the management of the Estate to Richard, their son, and his wife Kirsty. 2017 - The second vineyard on the Estate is planted with exclusively Chardonnay vines. 2021 - Wiston Estate wins ‘Winery of the Year’ for the third time.
Cellar Master: Marcus Rayner
Winery Location: South Downs | West Sussex, England
Annual Production (bottles): 250,000 on average
Winemaker History at Wiston Estate:
Marcus Rayner - September 2022 to current Marcus worked alongside Dermot Sugrue for 4 years and recently returned from a stint in Champagne, working with Dermot’s former mentor Jean Manuel Jacquinot.
Dermot Sugrue - 2006 to September 2022 Under Sugrue's stewardship, the West Sussex-based vineyard won ‘Winery of the Year’ at the WineGB awards in 2018, 2020 and 2021. The talented winemaker will now focus on his sparkling wine label ‘Sugrue South Downs’, which he runs with his fiancé Ana Ðogic.
Expert Reviews
17/20
Tamlyn Currin
“It's a Wiston alright … trademark lavish generosity, plump as a goose-down duvet, vivid fruit. Like slowly licking a silken mouthful of lemon cheesecake from a deep silver spoon. Lemon zest, sour-cherry sherbet, yuzu and bergamot, lemongrass. Fragrance twirling ornamental grace notes over more substantial brioche, panettone and cream. English acidity running silvery threads. You could have this wine as easily with a slice of lemon chiffon cake as you could with macaroni cheese or clam chowder. Actually, I'd go for the clam chowder.”
