Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
75cl * 12% ABV * Sussex, England
'To reveal minerality in reality, not just metaphor.'
This is Dermot Sugrue's goal, ambitious, but a great endeavour and perhaps only achievable in the cooler northern Climates of England than elsewhere in the world.
This wine is from vines grown on a pure chalk site in East Sussex and is a 60%/40% blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Anywhere else in the world the climate would make the Chardonnay to ripe with too full of flavour to achieve Sugrue's mission but England's cool chalk fields are just suited. However, it is extremely hard to get the right conditions in England to achieve grapes of good enough quality to go zero dosage. Here lies the paradox and Sugrue's ambition to truly express the quality of this terroir.
Expect granny smith apple and crushed stone minerality, a bright acidity and a lemon essence finish. It screams seafood. No better place than to get down the coast and get some fresh seafood to go along with the wine!
95 Points, Jamie Goode, Sept. 2023, 'Lovely complexity and intensity, with linear citrus fruit and fine spices. Lovely intensity and precision with a tapering lemony finish. Very fine and linear with great precision. A remarkable wine of real precision.'