County Business Club Wine of the Month September 2021

Plumpton NV Brut with dosage of Spirit of the Downs £27

This month we are showcasing Plumpton Estate, based in East 

Sussex who not only produce their own wine (around 40,000 bottles), but also make wines for several local vineyards. The college is a centre of excellence offering degrees level education for students across the world. It is one of the only institutes in the world to offer degree level academic and vocational education, all taught in the English language.

The wine makers notes for the are;

dry, with refreshing acidity and delicate fine yet persistent mousse. This wine displays complex crisp apple and citrus fruit notes perfectly balanced with creamy brioche roundness and a long refreshing finish. Quality English sparkling wine at its finest.

This wine is a blend of Plumpton Estate Brut NV is made by the traditional method using a blend of Riesling, Regner and Reichensteiner which make a great sparkling wine. The grapes at Plumpton are hand-picked and fermented before being carefully blended each year. The term NV indicates Non Vintage which means that the wines are made using the wine from different harvest years. This allows the vineyard to have a consistent taste despite large variations in the weather each year which influence the quality of the grapes grown. The main year from this vintage is from 2015 which was one of the best years for growing wine in the last ten years.  

This wine has also spent 4 years aging on lees in the bottle before riddling and disgorging which means it has a richer brioche/toasty taste. In addition the vineyard has taken a small measure of the Spirit of the Downs Sussex Chardonnay aged in an English Oak barrel which has given the wine more focus and complexity together with a slight boost in alcohol which makes this a very interesting wine. 

This wine is great as an aperitif, but also with canapes such as smoked salmon belini and mini cheese tart or creamy pasta dishes such spaghetti carbonara. 

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 of our local wines for home BBQ’s and for those special occasions. 

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.