We believe that truly great wines can only be produced from truly great fruit, so our winemaking begins in our Sussex vineyard.
Over the years we’ve developed a deep understanding of each of our vineyard sites. Every vintage we work hard to bring out the best in the vines in each individual corner of the vineyard. To achieve our signature style the Estate has planted nine different Chardonnay clones, fourteen Pinot Noir and four Pinot Meunier clones, each carefully selected and planted according to site and soil conditions, and each one increasing the diversity and complexity of the wines.
Each clone is hand-harvested to allow the nuances of aroma and flavour from the different vineyard blocks to flourish. In the winery the grapes are gently whole-bunch pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks at 12-13°C over 4 weeks. Cool fermentation temperatures protect and enhance the fruit flavours naturally present in the grapes and characteristic of the Hindleap range.
In the Hindleap sparkling production, the base wines are kept separate and remain on their gross yeast lees over winter to benefit from additional complexity and richness. In order to preserve the natural acidity and the purity of the fruit, Hindleap wines do not go through malolactic fermentation.
Each Spring, under the guidance of winemaker, Kevin Sutherland, the blends for each style are finalised before the wines are bottled for secondary fermentation and aged for a minimum of 18 – 60 months on yeast lees, depending on wine style. Time on lees adds depth, richness and complexity to the wines; only when the wines meet our standards are they released onto the market.
The exquisite grape juice leaves the press to begin its journey to become wine. Come and visit us, book a Tour & Tasting and you can follow the journey from vine to wine.