Pinot Noir, 2022 - Sandridge Barton
Still Red | Pinot Noir | Devon, England
An elegant, cool-climate Pinot with a distinctly English accent. Aromas of wild strawberry, sour cherry, and rose-hip meet hints of forest floor and subtle spice. The palate is light-bodied but finely structured, with bright acidity, gentle tannins, and a whisper of oak. Silky, savoury, and refreshingly pure.
From the Vineyard “2022 was a long, dry and hot summer, with perfect ripening conditions here in our South Devon vineyard, with harvest taking place from mid-September to mid-October. All grapes were hand-picked and bought back to the winery, where we cold macerated them for two days, with 35% whole bunch and the rest crushed and de-stemmed before spontaneously fermenting on skins for 10-days. 35% of the wine was then matured in third and fourth-fill French oak barrels for between 18-24 months and some remained in stainless steel and was bottled without filtration.”
Drink with: duck rillettes, mushroom risotto, or grilled trout.
100% Pinot Noir
11.5% abv | vegan
The Story behind the Trouble With Dreams from Dermot & Ana:
It was a bit of divine inspiration that led to this exceptional wine. The monastic order of Catholic priests at Our Lady of England Priory in Storrington West Sussex looked out one day and realised that the land they had could have potential for planting vines. Father Paul McMahon reached out to Dermot with a proposition to plant and nurture a small vineyard at the foot of the South Downs and make wine for the priests. Dermot, always having an eye on the future, spoke with Father McMahon and told him that he’d love to plant a vineyard and make wine for the priests, and perhaps in return, he could take a percentage of the grapes to create his own wine. The delighted Father McMahon agreed immediately.
The grapes were a great success, such a success that the birds flying over the vineyard devoured them all, thus ending the hopes of a 2008 vintage. All their dreams, it seemed, at that point at least, were, quite literally, away with the birds. ‘That’s the trouble with dreams’, demurred Father McMahon, but undeterred, and seeing the great potential to make a single vineyard wine, Dermot pressed on.
The first release from the Sugrue South Downs was a 2009 vintage. The now greedy-bird-protected grapes were another great success. The priest’s statement had always stuck with Dermot though, and when the first bottles of wine were produced, they were named after the quiet musing of Father McMahon. ‘The Trouble with Dreams’ 2009 vintage went on sale in 2013 and rapidly gained critical acclaim.
