At Gusbourne, we only make still wines in truly exceptional years. These special wines are produced in very limited quantities. Exclusively crafted from grapes selected from our own vineyards, they embody our uniquely single-minded approach to creating the finest English wine. This year, we have released new vintages of our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Guinevere, with new additions to the collection – an 809 clone Chardonnay and a Barrel Selection Pinot Noir due for release soon, alongside our latest Cherry Garden Rosé.

Cherry Garden Rosé
This is the second vintage of still rosé that we have produced at Gusbourne, our first debuting last year from the 2018 harvest.

Crafted from specially selected parcels of Pinot Noir, all from our Cherry Garden vineyard in Kent, the grapes for our Cherry Garden Rosé 2019 were hand-picked, gently destemmed and slowly fermented to create a delicate floral rosé, with indulgent texture and poise. Attractively light and pale, the nose is dominated by wild strawberry and stone fruit, complemented by subtle hints of floral violets and wildflowers.

We will be releasing Cherry Garden Rosé 2019 later this spring. It is priced at £25 a bottle.

Pinot Noir
Our Pinot Noir 2018 is soft, yet rich and clean, showing all the classic aromas of ripe strawberry, morello cherry and earthy spiciness. Elegantly balanced on the palate, the underlying characters here are purity alongside a richness and depth of fruit. Attractive wild raspberry and cranberry combine with real finesse. Tight and focussed, there are smoky notes too with hints of herbal minerality. The wine finishes with crunchy, fresh black fruits and soft, supple tannins.

This wine is first allocated to our Gusbourne Reserved customers and then made available for purchase from our cellar door, The Nest, as well as a selection of on-trade listings. This week, and for the first time, we will be making our Pinot Noir 2018 available for a limited online release. It is priced at £35 a bottle.

During a tasting of our still wines prior to blending and bottling, a number of barrels displayed special quality and increased depth of flavour. Our winemaking team decided to bottle these barrels separately to make Gusbourne’s first Pinot Noir Barrel Selection 2018.

It is on the palate where uncommon English Pinot character emerges in this wine, with dark, brambly fruits dominating – blackberries, blackcurrant, blueberries and violets. Silky, rich and intense, this wine is elegantly balanced, pure and rich. Tight and focussed, but held together with real finesse, there are smoky oak features in evidence on a multi-layered palate. The finish is crunchy, supported by fresh black fruits and soft, supple tannins.

Once our Gusbourne Reserved members have confirmed their allocations, we will be releasing our first Pinot Noir Barrel Selection 2018 at £45 a bottle later this spring on our website and from our cellar door, The Nest.

Chardonnay
Brimming bright gold in the glass and offering a nose of citrus, elegant stone fruit and creamy butter, our Chardonnay Guinevere 2017 shows all the classic traits one would expect of a barrel fermented cool climate Chardonnay, along with a more plentiful generosity of rich, ripe fruit. A linear smoky minerality is evident throughout the palate and balances well with warm oak notes of candied citrus fruits and oatmeal on a multi-layered finish.

This April, we are also releasing a single-vineyard Chardonnay that is produced from the 809 ‘musque’ Chardonnay clone. This is the first crop of this clonal variety that we have used in our wine since it was planted in our Bottom Camp vineyard in Kent during 2015. Chardonnay 809 2018 displays a truly interesting and unique profile of flavours more commonly associated with the Muscat grape.

A seductive nose shows perfume of white orange blossom flowers, melon, peach and white pepper. On the palate, citrus is more prevalent, with tangerine zest coming to the fore alongside golden apple and pear. Fresh and lively on the palate, it has abundant length.

These Chardonnay wines will be available at £25 per bottle, for purchase directly from our cellar door, The Nest, and online, as with our Pinot Noir 2018, while the limited-stocks last.

– Ends –

Notes to Editors
In 2004, when the first vines were planted at Gusbourne Estate, we had a clear vision and a single goal: to create English Sparkling Wines that would stand up alongside the very finest offerings from across the globe. We’ve had our sights set on perfection ever since.

Focusing on just the classic grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, we believe that the only way to ensure the quality of our grapes is to grow them ourselves. That’s why the grapes used in our winemaking are sourced solely from Gusbourne vineyards.

Aligned with our vision to create the finest wines we possibly can, we choose to plant predominantly Burgundian clones. This means that we produce lower yields, but the resultant fruit is riper and has significantly more flavour, making our grapes ideal for the production of fine sparkling wine.

Our winemaking is a slow and measured process. We have an uncompromising quest for quality and a fastidious approach to detail. We follow strict, self-imposed parameters to maintain our exacting standards and keep intervention to an absolute minimum to ensure the best expression of our wines each and every year.

This is especially important because our wines are exclusively vintage. They are unique to each growing season and present an authentic reflection of a time and place.

Our tasting room, The Nest, is open all year round and we extend a warm invitation to anyone who wishes to enjoy the picturesque Kent countryside for a tour, tasting and to enjoy our award-winning English sparkling wines.

For further information please contact:
Jonathan White, Head of Marketing
+44 (0)7918 553252
jonathan.white@gusbourne.com