Hundred Hills Hillside No.3 2019

Hundred Hills produce vintage English sparkling wines from their boutique winery and vineyards located in the Stonor Valley, Oxfordshire. They only ever make wines from the finest grapes from their own vineyards and tightly control quality at every stage along the road, from planting vines to popping corks. From the outset Hundred Hills have chosen to produce low yielding, high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and have focused hard to create outstanding chalk valley vineyards, where grapes can slowly grow and ripen on the vine every year for more than the magical hundred days. From the wooded chalk valleys of Hundred Hills emerge clean, clear wines that truly reflect a sense of time and place in the way the very best Burgundies seek to do. The wines from Hundred Hills vary year by year and their wine-making is minimalist in style allowing as pure a vintage expression of the vineyard as possible.

A very late harvested ‘third pass’ selection of Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from right across the south-facing vineyard parcels. Only made in small quantities this wine reveals a luxuriant complexity from a beautiful, long, and cool ripening vintage.

Weather: The 2019 vintage was in many ways perhaps the most perfect yet for Hundred Hills. The season began early, with shoots well developed by the start of May, and summer saw some of the highest temperatures seen to date in the vineyards. Then a long, cool and dry autumn allowed the grapes to fully ripen whilst retaining perfect levels of acidity at harvest.

Technical Information:
Grape Varieties: 65% Pinot Noir 35% Chardonnay
Region: Stonor Valley, Oxfordshire
Lees Ageing: 2.5 Years
Dosage: 6g/l
Bottling date: May 2020
Disgorged: September 2022
Drink: Now to 2027

Tasting Note: Biscuity shortbread aromas lead into layers of yellow fruit on the nose, from ripe citrus to yellow apple, Mirabelle plum and roasted pineapple. A rich creamy palate reminds you of the perfect lemon tart.