Simpsons Wine Estate 'Derringstone' Pinot Meunier Blanc de Noirs, Kent

This unique, still, white Pinot Meunier displays sweet and savoury aromas of poached winter fruit with balsamic and honey nuances combined with a delicious creamy texture.

Producer Note

Charles and Ruth Simpson have been making award-winning wines in the South of France since 2002. In 2012, attracted by the quality of the terroir and the opportunity to become part of one of the most dynamic wine producing regions in the world, they brought their expertise back to the UK, establishing Simpsons Wine Estate. Aspiring to produce the finest quality English wine, they planted 30 hectares of vineyards on the iconic chalk terroir of the North Downs and built a state-of-the-art gravity fed winery. In 2016, the Simpsons saw their first harvest. With a strong focus on provenance, they produce a highly-acclaimed range of exclusively estate-grown still and sparkling wines, including the Chalklands Classic Cuvée 2016, which won a gold medal in the 2019 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships.

Vintage

The 2019 growing season was very typical of East Kent with good amounts of sunshine but not the exceptional warmth of 2018. The grapes developed excellent intensity of flavour, balanced by natural acidity. The first half of harvest ran smoothly before rainy spells resulted in few breaks in harvesting. Due to the excellent vineyard sites and diligent canopy management, the quality of fruit overall was of high, leading to distinctive wines that will continue to develop and unfurl with time. 

Vineyard

Simpsons Wine Estate is situated in the Elham Valley; an unspoilt seam in the North Downs of Kent where the contours of the land, the climate and the soil are excellent for viticulture. The intensely lime-rich chalk soil forms part of the same chalk ridge that stretches from southern England through the Champagne region and on to Burgundy. The Roman Road and Railway Hill vineyards are planted with Burgundian clones 96 and 548, at a density of 4,200 vines per hectare on either Fercal or 41B rootstocks. The Guyot trained vines flourish on sloping, south facing vineyards, which ensure heat accumulation during the day and cold air drainage at night. The vineyard is less than eight miles from the coast providing a crucial maritime influence insulating the fruit against intense temperature variations. Grass cover crops between the rows encourage biodiversity within the vineyard. Pruning and harvesting takes place by hand and they are signed up to the Wine GB’s Sustainability Scheme.

Winemaking

The hand-picked grapes were carefully whole bunch pressed. The juice was cold settled for 48 hours before being racked and undergoing a long, slow fermentation using aromatic yeasts. The wine went through full malolactic conversion, resulting in a creamy texture and then rested on its fine lees to build palate weight before being bottled in spring 2020.

Tasting Note

This unique, still, white Pinot Meunier displays sweet and savoury aromas of poached winter fruit with balsamic nuances and a delicious creamy texture.

Grape

Pinot Meunier 100%