County Business Club Wine of the Month October 2021

Court Garden Blanc de Noir Brut 2015

So the South East’s wine makers are beginning to harvest their wines this month. This year has had its challenges in terms of early frost, mildew due to dampness and botrytis/rot later in the season. Most producers are harvesting a couple of weeks later than usual and some have not harvested because of a poor harvest. I have seen some good harvests so not all is lost for this year’s producers. For this month we have chosen a family wine producer called Court Garden. 

Background to Court Garden

Run by the charismatic Howard and his son Hugo, Court Garden have a wide variety of still and sparkling award winning wines and are positioned near Ditchling in East Sussex, just off the South Downs a couple of miles North of Ditchling Beacon. The vineyard and winery is set in surroundings  down a long winding road. They have their own vineyards and regularly host events including weddings, tastings and the occasional opera. 

The wine makers notes for this wine are;

Silver lime-leaf green, fine fizz; good yeast autolysis and green fruit with lemon grass accent; lovely delicate style with good balance between acidity and dosage. Nicely defined mid-palate with rich flavour, clean and crisp finish.

Made using the traditional method of bottle fermentation, where long ageing on the lees adds to the complexity of the flavour, our Blanc de Noirs pairs wonderfully with food as well as being enjoyed as an aperitif. 2015 was a perfect Spring set an abundance of fruit which developed well in July, but a challenging Summer required a Green Harvest. This allowed us to finish with ripe fruit, albeit with a smaller crop, producing some lovely wine. 

So what is Blanc De Noir?

The term Blanc De Noir is used when the wine maker only uses the red grapes such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. The red grapes typically provide more fruit and intensity than Chardonnay which makes them a good fit for many food pairings. 

Background to English Wine and Wine of the Month

The South East of England and Sussex in particular are leading the way in sparkling wine production and will compete head to head with many leading Champagnes. Why not try some local wines and for those special occasions such as Christmas.

Michael Yeoman,
brightonandhovewineclub.co.uk

Michael Yeoman owns Brighton and Hove Wine Club and also creates a range of Sussex spirits using the pomace from English wine production. He specialises in working with small batch wine producers in and around Sussex and the South Downs.