From the beautiful six-acre vineyard in the South Downs, this wonderfully balanced sparkling wine is aged in bottle for at least four years. It's named in honour of playwright and poet John Agard, a close friend of winemaker Peter Hall. John has lived in Lewes since the 70’s. A great performing poet and playwright with a distinctive Patois, Guyanese Creole intonations, wonderful poems and a range of childrens books. John was awarded The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012 and Grace, his wife, was awarded The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2021. A unique double-achievement!
The wine won Gold at the IEWA and Silver at WineGB where the judges noted, “impressively layered on both palate and nose”. It shows lingering mouthfeel with wonderful balance and a real breath to the finish.
Made froma blend of 65% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Meunier.
A great partner to smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
Sussex has a warm climate and soil types similar to Champagne. Champagne lies on the 49th parallel north while the Sussex Weald lies on the 51st parallel north. Sussex has many south-facing slopes, which are suitable for growing the grape varieties found in sparkling wine, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
The grapes, most commonly Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot meunier, are used to make several base wines that are assembled together to make Champagne, English Sparkling wine and other classic cuvée wines.
Champagne blends can also include Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Other appelations have rules about which grapes can be included.
Peter was a pioneer of English winemaking, planting his small six-acre vineyard in 1974. In that time he has learnt much about growing grapes in a difficult place, "I’ve come to appreciate that the best wine is made in the vineyard. The winemaker’s job is to let good grapes express themselves naturally."
Each year Peter makes two cuvées, one from Seyval Blanc and the other from Chardonnay and Pinots. Both are named for close friends.
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