60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir
1.5L * 12% ABV * Sussex, England
This is one of just 1,000 numbered magnums of the spectacular 2020 'lockdown' vintage. It was released this year in honour of the 20th anniversary of Dermot planting his first vineyard for Sugrue at Storrington Priory in 2006. When doing so, had a single ambition: 'to create a truly-world class sparkling wine grown on South Downs chalk, inspired by the great grower Champagnes of the Côte de Blancs, but unmistakably English in character.' And we think he's done exactly that.
'The grip of this wine, the spectacular tension, the way it goes from flowers to gravel in an instant … it curls your toes. It's both visceral and cerebral. It contours like a blade, a scintilla of steel. Powerful, uncompromising structure. Marble and matcha and membrillo and greengage and lime. And then as it opens in the glass and also over several days, a building of richness and honey on a promise. But back to steel on the high-wired finish.' Tamlyn Currin for Jancis Robinson (2025).