Wine Blast with Susie and Peter

Essex: Class in a Glass

Susie and Peter, Masters of Wine Season 6 Episode 22

This show is brought to you in association with iDealwine

English county Essex is better known for its brash behaviour (and certain reality TV shows) than its beautiful wines. But is all that about to change?!

For long, Essex was England's best kept wine secret. The grapes were sold off to producers from Kent to Cornwall, which meant their Essex origin sailed under the radar. But then came the investment - both from ambitious local families and then, in 2023, from the highly regarded US wine producer Jackson Family Wines (JFW). 

Nowadays, some postcodes in Essex have the highest concentration of individual vineyards anywhere in the UK. Vineyard prices are not far off those in Marlborough, New Zealand. Essex has gone from zero to wine hero in the blink of an eye, with classy still (rather than sparkling) wines the forté, particularly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

So could Essex end up challenging the likes of Sancerre and Burgundy?!

We get the lowdown from Charlie Holland, who's heading up JFW's ambitious English wine project, plus 'Mr Essex viticulture' Duncan McNeill and Chris Wilson of acclaimed Cambridge urban winery Gutter&Stars. We also give our verdict on a (surprisingly wide) range of Essex wines, including JFW's debut release (Marbury Chardonnay). And yes, the words, 'new dimension' are uttered.

Thanks for tuning in. We love to hear from you so please do get in touch! Send us a voice message via Speakpipe. Or you can find contact info, together with all details from this episode, including photos and wine recommendations, on our website: Show notes for Wine Blast S6 E22 - Essex: Class in a Glass

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Sponsors: iDealwine

Susie: Hello, you're listening to Wine Blast. Welcome! It's lovely to have you with us. Now, on this show we like to keep you ahead of the curve. So we are diving into one of the most dynamic, exciting wine regions of the future. Its name? Essex!

Peter: Yes, hello, welcome! Essex, here we come... This much maligned county northeast of London town is the UK is having what our daughter might describe as a 'glow up' courtesy of fine wine. Who'd have thought it?! Here's a taster, of what's coming up:

Chris Wilson: Essex has always been kind of the dirty little secret in the backseat of the car, but now it's very much sort of driving the car. Essex is the best place in the UK to grow grapes for quality still wines.

Duncan McNeill: We have the potential here to grow grapes, to make world class still wines. To get world renowned producers putting their money where their mouth is and making that investment in land here in Essex, in the Crouch, it's fantastic. Personally thought it was one of the most important things to have happened in the last 25 years of the English wine industry. I have actually heard that there are some Burgundian producers taking an interest in land in the Crouch.

Susie: Some juicy gossip into the mix as well! We do love a bit of that.

Peter: Yeah, we do.

Susie: So respectively, that was winemaker Chris Wilson of Gutter and Stars and Essex based viticulturist Duncan McNeill. We'll be hearing more from them, gossip and all. We'll also be hearing from Charlie Holland, who's heading up an ambitious project by US global wine group Jackson Family Wines, which has planted its flag in Essex and just released its very first wine.

Peter: Talking of gossip, I do remember one winemaker, who will remain nameless, saying to me a few Years ago, 'In 50 years time, I reckon Kent will be the Napa Valley of England and Essex will be the Sonoma, but with a bit more leopard print.' I don't know what you make of that. Any official comments?!

Susie: I think I remember who that was.

Peter: yes, that's the key detail there. I feel we should just keep moving. And yes, we are going to be tasting that first release from Jackson Family Wines. Because let's be clear here, this is, as Duncan says, a seminal moment in the history of English wine. And we'll be giving our verdict on that, together with a bunch of other Essex wines across a surprising range of styles later on in the programme.

Susie: So much to be getting on with.

Peter: Yeah, yeah. Despite our, Barrie White voices, and general.

Susie: General sound a bit low.

Peter: We are both sounding a bit low. We just apologise. There may have been a festival involved.

Susie: There was a festival, that's all we'll say.

Peter: There was a lot of singing anyway.

Susie: There were parties and there were festivals.

Peter: The voices in no way reflective.

Susie: So we're OK. And today I think we're in the zone. Okay, so however low we are, let's get started. Attentive wine blast listeners will remember that we have touched on Essex on the pod before. Quite a few times, actually. It cropped up most recently when we reported the news that vineyard prices in Essex were nearing levels more typically found in the likes of Marlborough, New Zealand. Before that, we had Viti climatologist Dr. Alistair Nesbit singing Essex's praises back in 2022 on our episode entitled Red Dawn, English Wine and Climate Change. And before that, we had Danbury Ridge winemaker the brilliant liam Idzikowski in 2021, talking about Pinot Noir after he gamely gave us one of his barrels of prime Pinot for our big English Wine Adventure charity project.

Peter: So, yes, we haven't just visited Essex, and talked about Essex, We've actually helped make fine Essex Pinot Noir. so I think it's fair to say, helped make M a very active word there. So, yeah, it's fair to say this is a region we've been excited about for a while now. incidentally, while I was doing my research on that, I remembered filming quite a few wine slots for Saturday Kitchen in Essex, and I'm not sure how many you did. I did quite a few. and one particular memory stood out was going out in a very rickety boat to visit the oyster beds of Mersea. Yeah, yeah. And tasting them like, you know, just on the boat. And, it was out. It was a brilliant episode. Of course, I would say that, but I just remember that it's a very formative experience. Anyway, oysters, of course, being a staple in the region, you know, we might come back to that. Apparently, it's very common to find oyster shells in the vineyards. Just throw that in there.

Susie: Anyway, the fact we've been championing Essex for a while will come as no surprise to our friends to whom we've served a lot of Essex wine and who have been duly surprised and delighted. but we realised, you know, we'd never done a proper episode on this intriguing region. So when Jackson Family Wines announced their debut release, we thought this was the moment.

Peter: Indeed, indeed. but to back up a second for a bit of scene setting which we do love. Essex is a county with plenty of history and tales to tell. it

00:05:00

Peter: sits above the Thames Estuary at the bottom of the bulbous protrusion in eastern England that's broadly called East Anglia and is known for being prime farming country. it has a proud history from, Boudicca or Boadicea to the Romans and a vibrant wool trade. Though more recently it gained a somewhat unfair reputation for gaudy dressing and brash behaviour, exemplified by the Essex man and Essex girl stereotypes, and typified in TV shows like The Only Way Is Essex or TOWIE. Just had to get a mention of that in there to keep me happy.

Susie: Anyway, in the meantime, in the background, a quiet revolution was taking place which may well upend the reputation of Essex as we know it. Now. This isn't a Boudicca style revolution, it's. It's all about wine.

Peter: So why and how did wine get started in Essex? Well, as any farmer worth their Maldon salt will tell you, this is one of the warmest, driest parts of the British Isles. Given that good dry weather around flowering in June and during the ripening period and around harvest in October are, essential for fine wine production. It's a natural fit.

Susie: So how come we tend to talk more about the likes of Kent, Sussex, even Cornwall when it comes to English wine? Well, partly because that's where many wine pioneers happened to set themselves up in the early days of English wine, especially for sparkling wine. Essex, being a land of farmers, did have some vineyards, but much of the fruit was sold to the established wine producers elsewhere. So, ironically, good Essex grapes were helping bolster, the reputation of producers from Kent to Cornwall rather than Essex itself.

Peter: The very definition of flying under the radar. Yeah, Growers in Essex, producers elsewhere. So New Hall was the obvious exception. Established in 1969 near Maldon, and one of the first English producers to be involved with making traditional method sparkling wine from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, of course. but for long it was an outlier until the noughties, when people started to cotton onto the potential here for growing fine still wine, for which you need warmer temperatures and drier conditions. And since 2016 or so, Essex's reputation in wine terms has grown exponentially.

Susie: Now, we're not talking about all of Essex. For fine wine, you need a very specific combination of microclimate, soils, exposures and altitudes. But within the warm, dry paradigm of Essex more widely, one area that has made a name for itself is the Crouch Valley. Around the River Crouch between Chelmsford, Maldon and Southend, not far from the sea. It has been dubbed, slightly tongue in cheek, the Essex Riviera.

Peter: Do love that name. the Essex Riviera. Other people have called it England's very own Napa Valley. But, we'll come on to grandiose comparisons in a bit. suffice it to say, investment has followed the potential mostly small scale operations by local families, some more ambitious than others, but all adding to the collective momentum in the region. To give you an idea of the scale of, of wine developments in the area, while Essex only represents about 8% of vineyard plantings in the UK, as things stand, with around 1,000 acres, or 400 hectares, it's growing fast. Local viticulturist Duncan McNeill says that postcodes CM0 and CM3 now have, and I quote, the highest concentration of individual vineyards anywhere in the uk.

Susie: Now, more recently, the Crouch received its most headline grabbing endorsement to date. Jackson Family Wine Wines, a highly regarded family owned producer based out of California with multiple operations across the U.S. australia, France, Italy and South Africa, announced in 2023 that it was buying up land in the Crouch to make still wines. That made it not only the first US company to make this kind of investment in the uk, but notably the first overseas investor to focus on still wine, not sparkling.

Peter: They poached Gusborne head winemaker and CEO Charlie Holland, who we had on the pod in that previous role where he made, of course, the outstanding Guinevere Chardonnay and Boothill Pinot Noir still wines from Kent. And now in breaking news, Charlie and Jackson Family Wines have just released their first English still wine. It's called Marbury Chardonnay 2023. so you sat down with Charlie to taste this exciting debut and get all the latest on what's been happening.

Susie: I did indeed. Now, before we bring in, Charlie, though, we should probably recap on the Jackson Family Wines operation in the UK as things stand. So to date, and that's June 2025. They've planted 60 acres, or 25 hectares,

00:10:00

Susie: on the north bank of the River Crouch. 60, percent Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. This is where they'll produce their still wines under, as you say, the Marbury brand. The first fruit from these vineyards will come on Stream in 2026, and until then, they're buying fruit from local growers.

Peter: But that's not all, because alongside the ambitious, Essex Still Wine Project is an ambitious English sparkling wine project. This will be a completely different brand and will be largely grown outside Essex. they just planted 30 acres, or 12 hectares, in Sussex on chalk land belonging to Wiston Estate, for those who know that. And Charlie is on the hunt for more land elsewhere too.

Susie: And in the meantime, he's bought some wines from the 2017, 2020 and 2022 vintages to start a reserve wine programme. So the sparkling project can hit the ground running in 2027. And the plan is for the English wine portfolio to ultimately have two still wines and five sparkling wines as the core range. The fizz will include, a multi vintage and a multi vintage, a Blanc de Blanc and a Blanc de Noir, and then something special at the top end. The balance in the short term will be half, half still and sparkling, but will ultimately most likely tip slightly in favour of Fizz.

Peter: Now, Charlie has made a 2024 Marbury Pinot Noir, but that's still under wraps. So it was the 2023 Marlbory Chardonnay that you tasted with him. So what did you. What, did you ask him or.

Susie: Did I ask him? I asked him many things, but one was how significant he thinks the Jackson Family Wines investment is for the wider, UK wine scene.

Charlie Holland: I think it's, you know, it's further endorsement to what was already there. Some of the Champagne houses had come across and they'd already, established, which gave a lot of endorsement to sparkling wine. But I think what happened when Jackson Family Wines came along, it was. It was more about, you know, not just sparkling wine. This is still wine. These are people who make Chardonnay around the world really? Well, they're investing in English wine, English still wine. And, that was the first, I think, proper endorsement still wine sort of thing.

Susie: And why Essex? What was the American perspective on the potential in Essex?

Charlie Holland: I think they looked at the Crouch Valley and they saw, you know, speaking to lots of people and, you know, a lot of it was about the sparkling wine in Kent and Sussex and the heartland, if you like. but people were really interested about the Crouch Valley and its unique ability to ripen these grapes and the fact that also that it's very embryonic, it's right at the beginning of this journey. so for them they sort of think, wow, we could actually get in this early and be a key sort of leader role in that area. That's really, I think, what excited them.

Susie: Do you know other people at the moment who are heading there?

Charlie Holland: There are, I mean, there's rumours, there's always rumours. but I've heard there's one imminently going to be announced very soon.

Susie: More US or.

Charlie Holland: No, I don't. I haven't heard that, but I've heard it's an overseas, Overseas business. But you'll have to watch, watch the news when it comes out.

Susie: But do you think there's going to be a massive sort of dash to Essex?

Charlie Holland: I think if you want to try and make still wine consistently well in the uk, the Crouch Valley is your best opportunity to do that. The eureka moment for me, the light bulb moment was in 2021, where we'd had a string of quite good vintages in the UK and people, in the Crouch Valley making these great wines. But I thought, well, we can do that, that's okay. And then a year like 21 comes along and you couldn't make still wine in lots of the country. Struggled to make sparkling wine in some places, yet in the Crouch Valley they were still managing to make wines that were 12 and a half, 13%. and again, moving away from any of this greenness or hedgerow characters associated with English wine and just into a different spectrum. Now, why is it special? And I did lots of head scratching previously about what are they doing? Is it just climatics better? Is it the soil? Is it, the techniques they're using? Are they just being braver? And I think what I realised, it's a mixture of all those things. the climate is definitely a factor. There's a sort of, a weather system that happens just off the, you know, the North Seas, five miles away. And it's a sort of circular motion that seems to sweep up all the, bad weather. And I've actually got family friends who live in Burnham on Crouch, which is the next village along, and they've lived there for 50 years. And they sort of look. So they quite often look over, you know, towards South End and it's raining and it's never raining there. So there's something just very unique about the weather and the lack of rainfall in particular there. I think when the rainfall happens is also important. You know, they get less rainfall towards the back end of the season, during the ripening period in September, October, so again, you could leave the grapes out there. For a bit longer.

Susie: So. So your first release is a Chardonnay. So this is so the style here. You know, it's very elegant, but it's still got texture. But that lovely savoury, nutty quality as well.

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Susie: Is that what you were aiming for?

Charlie Holland: Yeah, absolutely. It starts with the ripe fruits and we want, you know, again, get. Eliminate any of this green character in the wine. So you've got a good basis to work with, but then once you've got that, not overworking it. So we wanted to, you know, show where it's from and, you know, where nearby you have the, you know, Maldon salt marshes. You have to be close to the sea. This maritime influence and this lovely saline minerality at the back of it and crystalline fruit. And we felt any less oak than that, it would probably be a bit austere. But any more oak, you're covering it all up and you're losing all of that real expression of fruit. So we tried to sort of find the balance. What does Essex wine taste like or should taste like, or English still Chardonnay, for that matter? I don't know. You know, I think the category is still too young, too embryonic, and I think there's some. There's some really good styles, quite divergent styles, you know, quite plush, textured full wines, and then some quite sort of linear, driven ones. I think hopefully this finds a balance between the two, that it has got body, it has got weight, it's got some texture and some. A little tiny bit of grip and tanner there too. But it's also got a lovely backbone and length and structure, all based around that sort of oyster shell salinity. so I think it was trying to, trying to harness all of that without covering anything up.

Susie: So can you just describe for us what the project looks like at the moment?

Charlie Holland: Yeah, so we've got two projects at the moment, actually. So one of them is Marbury, which is our still wine project. So, yeah, 60 acres of vines in the ground. And as we're buying, grow fruit at the moment, and as that starts to come on stream, we'll divert that into our own fruit supply. Super premium Chardonnay and Pinot. And then on the same time, we've got our sparkling wine, project as well, which will be a separate brand, separate name altogether, so we're focusing on that. So, I can't tell you about the name or anything quite yet.

Susie: I was just about to ask you.

Charlie Holland: But that will be coming online in 2027. Mainly Kent and Sussex is where we're focusing on, but not exclusively in the future, but that's where we find some of the best ones are there. Similar to this wine. The keywords balance always, I find, is kind of trying to show wines that have that, you know, English drive and elegance and poise, but equally putting some flesh on the bone. So they're not thin, they're not austere, so giving them some weight, some structure. Lee's ageing and a bit of oak work and just trying to. Trying to come up with a harmonious, balanced project.

Susie: But you're not going to do Essex?

Charlie Holland: No, I don't think so. We may, periodically use Essex Fruits as part of the sparkling, especially in a cooler year where you need that bit of generosity in the wines. But it's not. Not something we're really looking at. You can make sparkling wines from lots of other places up and down the country. So, it almost feels like a missed opportunity to not make still wine in Essex, because they can't do that elsewhere.

Susie: So, looking to the future, what are the overall plans for Jackson Family wines in the uk?

Charlie Holland: So I think, you know, to a large extent we can react and we can as we go. We want to. We don't want to build too quickly. I think we want to sort of launch the wines, prove the concepts, hopefully get a good reception and, you know, prove there's demand out there and people the wine sell. And I think once we've proven that, then we can kind of, we can increase and go big. but we're keen to not do it all at one go and go from sort of, you know, zero to hero overnight. We want to sort of, you know, pace ourselves and, you know, it's a sustainable business. So we want it to be, to work in the long term. So I think at the moment, you know, we've got the Crouch Valley sites and we're happy with those. we'll probably get, in due course, a few more sparkling sites as well. but we're not planning on being the biggest, at the moment we just want to focus on quality.

Susie: And where do you see Essex in 50 years time?

Charlie Holland: We've talked about this a lot in terms of especially, you know, the Crouch Valley and the Synergies between Napa Valley and the Crouch Valley. and it's an interesting one because I think, you know, similarly, the Napa Valley is kind of hemmed in by the two mountain ranges in the valley there, so there's a limited amount of real estate you can actually buy there. And because it's expensive, because there's high demand for the land, no one can really afford to make bad wine there. So, you know, the quality of the wine goes up and the price of the wine goes up, and as a result, the reputation gets better, and then the land prices go up, and you end up in this positive spiral because you've got a very limited geographical, location. And I think the same can be said for the Crouch Valley. You know, there's not a huge amount there, really, before it would all be bought up. And again, the land prices go up. You can't afford to make bad wine. So I think it will be elevated to, you know, England's premier still wine region quite quickly. Doesn't mean there won't be others and Suffolk won't be far behind and other ones as well, but it'll probably be the first, I think, known for that.

Susie: Charlie, thank you so much.

Charlie Holland: Thank you.

Peter: Cheers. The Crouch meets Napa! There we go. England's premier still wine

00:20:00

Peter: region. and a nice nod to Suffolk there as well, wasn't it? An indication it's not just about the Crouch Valley, but, yeah, I mean, really, really interesting. so we do have the Marbury Chardonnay, which you were tasting with him in front of us. Now it's winking at me. Are we gonna be able to wait to give. Give our ultimate verdict?

Susie: We might have to wait. Let's try. Let's try.

Peter: All right.

Susie: But in the meantime, a couple of things Charlie added. Now, he talked about the clay soils in the Crouch giving body weight, structure, and texture to the wines, versus the linearity and freshness of chalk soils elsewhere in England, on which not his 2024 Pinot Noir will have freshness as any English Pinot needs, but will also have backbone and structure.

Peter: The clay, the London clay that used to m. Make the bricks for London, those London bricks. Anyway. Yeah. He also said, unlike with sparkling wine, with still wine, especially Pinot Noir, there's nowhere to hide. so the viticulture has to be spot on. The grapes have to be properly ripe. And that's what he's finding with the Burgundy and German clones in the Crouch vineyards, which are really important.

Susie: M. Now, he also talked about, regenerative viticulture. Jackson family wines have been notably proactive on this front. as well as being a founder member of the International Wines for Climate Action, which we did an episode on a short while back, they've set an ambitious Target to be 100% regenerative, farmed, as a company by 2013, Charlie said they have to be careful when establishing vineyards, but are moving in that direction and are doing lots of cool trials, in his words, some of which are going to be game changers, he predicts.

Peter: Interesting. okay, wonderful. So, on that note, let's have a pause, before we come back with Mr. Essex. Wine growing Duncan McNeill, plus Chris Wilson, a bit of gossip and a lot of wine by way of brief summary. So far, Essex has gone from zero to hero in English wine terms. In what seems like the blink of an eye, this warm, dry corner of eastern England, hitherto unfairly maligned for its brash image, is staking its claim to fine wine stardom via serious Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with significant international investment by way of endorsement.

Susie: Time to bring in Duncan McNeill. Duncan worked in places like Central Otago and Baden before settling in Essex in 2006, since when he's been engaged full time in establishing vineyards and growing English wine with his company, McNeill Vineyard Management. He's involved with managing a, staggering 500 acres, or 200 hectares in Essex out of a current total of what he reckons is about double that or a thousand acres. So if anyone knows wine in Essex, it's Duncan.

Peter: So I asked him what makes Essex special in wine terms.

Duncan McNeill: It's climatic. We have very, very low rainfall, which means we have lower pressure from fungal diseases. Powdery mildew, downy mildew, bunch rot. Crucially, we'll have dry autumns. And as far as growing grapes for still wine is concerned, that's allowed me and other growers to leave our grapes on the vine for that extra two, sometimes three weeks to get into ripeness levels which would be achieved in other winemaking countries in the world. So that's what's enabled us to grow world class fruit.

Peter: You're particularly renowned for your ability to leave fruit hanging on the vine for a long time. is that just about the climate or is that about other things as well?

Duncan McNeill: It's partially because I, haven't had enough pickers to pick the grapes in time. I'm only joking. no, I've learned that a, well managed grape berry is much more resilient than we might think. That extra week or two weeks at the end of a growing season in a cool climate. So a marginal climate, that extra two weeks makes a huge amount of difference. And that's what has, I've now learned, that's what has brought our grapes from moderate ripeness to true full maturity.

Peter: And Talking about ripeness, I do understand that in recent years, you know, you've been getting some natural alcohol levels that have been, extraordinary. Can you just tell us a bit about the kind of levels of ripeness that you can achieve in Essex?

Duncan McNeill: The highest levels of ripeness that we've achieved in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc actually have been, what, 14% potential. And, I'm not saying that that's not necessarily what you're looking for every year and for certain wine styles, but it's what has been achieved and it opened my eyes to actually what's possible. And once you, once you understand what is possible, then you realise, well, we have the potential here to grow grapes, to make world class still wines. The real challenge for me came in 2021. 2020

00:25:00

Duncan McNeill: was, was the first year that we got grapes to over 14% potential alcohol. But so 20 good summer, low yields. 2021 was a different season altogether. It was a really poor summer. It was cool. We had quite a lot of rain during the growing season and that was really the acid test. Can you produce these stunningly ripe grapes in a poor season? And we did, you know, the ripest Pinot that we picked in 21 was 99 degrees of Oeschle. So again, 13.7, 13.8 potential alcohol. And that's where the confidence has come from. We've demonstrated to ourselves and to the wider industry that we can regularly produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes of around 13% potential alcohol in pretty much every year.

Peter: What wines and wine styles does Essex make best and why?

Duncan McNeill: The best wine styles will be, still Pinot Noir, still Chardonnay and, a Sauvignon Blanc still wine. Those are the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is where we will major. Sauvignon Blanc certainly has its place. We are, we cool climate and we have, we do. It's that classic, long, relatively cool growing season and, we have quite a long drawn out ripening period. And for the Pinot, that enables those flavours compounds and those aromatic compounds to develop nice and slowly and we are getting really good complexity in the wines and good intensity of flavour and aroma.

Peter: Sauvignon Blanc is interesting because obviously we haven't talked about Sauvignon Blanc in the English wine context at all. Now it's suddenly cropping up in Essex. You think that's a potential star for the future?

Duncan McNeill: Without doubt, yeah. It won't overtake Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I don't Believe it will. But the wines are, they're outstanding. The first one that was made was, back in 2020, and, again that was harvested at 13 and a half percent potential Alcoh. So what I'm finding is if you leave those Sauvignon Blanc grapes on the vine for as long as you can, you'll get the acids down, you'll, you'll lose that greenness and you're just getting a lovely. Yeah, a really distinctive Essex Sauvignon Blanc. Who'd have thought it?

Peter: Distinctive Essex Sauvignon Blanc. Here we go. This is the adventure of wine, isn't it? just, just to hone in on the climate. You talked about climate. Can you just tell me exactly why the climate in Essex, particular parts of Essex, is so good for wine?

Duncan McNeill: First and foremost is temperature. We are warm growing degree accumulation. I don't want to get too technical, but growing degree days in viticulture, it is a measure of the amount of time where the average daily temperature is above 10 degrees centigrade. And that's when your grapevines come out of dormancy and become active. So our growing degree days are, now we're looking now at an average of about 11, 50 growing degrees days per year, which is, you know, what you would have had in Burgundy 10, 15 years ago is what, what you'd be looking at in, in Central Otago is what you know. So we've got comparable growing degree days with, with what the key, the key pinot producing areas in the world had only 10 years ago, 10, 15 years ago. So we've got the temperature, we get less, a lot less rainfall. It's the driest part of the country. Our, average annual rainfall at the moment is under 600 mil, a year. So, you know, I worked in Central otago back in 2001-2004. And you're on 450 mil. You have to irrigate at, ah, 450 mil, annual precipitation. So, you know, I'm looking at my rainfall chart. We've had Those years here, 2011 we had 424mil. 2022, we had 4441mil. So, you know, we have low rainfall. So with low rainfall means you have, low levels of cloud, high levels of sunshine. And yet crucially, it's this low disease pressure. You earn extra hang time. So hang time is that extra bit of time that you can leave your grapes on the vine to get to full, full maturity. And the climate that we've got here allows us to do that.

Peter: What are the soils too? Because people talk a lot about the clays. London clays in Essex and Crouch. How do the soils impact the wines?

Duncan McNeill: The soil's key, the London clay that the smectite rich London clay. In terms of the wine characteristics that they help impart, we get quite rich, intensely flavoured Pinot so they're less elegant and delicate. They're really quite rich, bold Pinot Noir wines. And the Chardonnays, again, it's less that you don't get that sort of linear minerality so much, but you get that rich roundness in the Chardonnay and those are the characteristics that

00:30:00

Duncan McNeill: the clay lends are still wines.

Peter: Do you think Essex can be great for sparkling as well as still wine?

Duncan McNeill: Yes, I do, yeah. I think that I mean if I'm going to name names, I think Danbury have achieved that really well. Their Solstice sparkling wine, it's a very un English sparkling wine, but what a blinder. It's absolutely superb. And they've used that richness and that voluptuousness that you can get in Pinot Noir here. They've used that to their advantage to make a completely different type of sparkling wine. And it, you know, it's just, it's stunning.

Peter: What do you make of the investment from Jackson Family wines in the region?

Duncan McNeill: It's fantastic. it's an endorsement, isn't it? It's an endorsement of the potential of, well, first of all England and you know, and Essex to be able to produce again world class wines. So I'm yeah, I'm delighted about it. It I personally thought it was one of the most important things to have happened in this, in sort of the last 25 years of the English wine industry. You know, obviously you've got Domain Evremonde in Tattinger down in Kent, which was a really big deal and again I think it's hugely positive. Yes, but to get well established world renowned producers putting their money where their mouth is and making that investment inland here in Essex in the Crouch. Yeah, it's fantastic. And there's an exchange of knowledge. I will learn a lot from their viticultural team, from their winemaking team. You know, they have proven that they can do this in various countries across the world. So, you know, we will learn from each other as the as time goes on. I think it's great.

Peter: Do you think we'll be seeing more investment and development in Essex soon?

Duncan McNeill: It wouldn't Surprise me in the slightest. No, I think, I believe that the Jacksons project will be successful and I think that once that becomes apparent, then yeah, I think it will attract other people, maybe from whether it's America or whether it's from Europe. I have actually heard that there are some Burgundian producers taking an interest in land in the Crouch. And again, as climate change continues and other areas, as they get warmer, it can get more difficult to produce those, especially with a Pinot Noir, you know, those typical Pinots. We don't, you know, you don't really want to be picking Pinot Noir at the end of August. You know, we're picking Pinot Noir at the end of October. And as I say, as I said earlier, you've got that long drawn out growing season and that long protracted ripening phase which I think Pinot Noir loves. And you know, I think some of the better Pinots are from those, what we thought were worse seasons, those cooler seasons. The 21 pinots are just fantastic. And I'm really excited about the 24 pinots as well. You know, finished picking on the 10th of November in 2024 and I think those wines are going to be great. So yeah, I do think we will see more investment from overseas producers. Yeah.

Peter: What does the future hold for wine in Essex

Duncan McNeill: Vineyard plantation will, will slow down for a little while. how quickly plantation, you know, or how many more acres of vines will be planted in the next 10 years, I believe will be determined by demand. You know, if the demand doesn't increase then, then we will need to be very, very prudent and cautious with, with more plantations. So I, I, I think that at the moment we've got, got a reasonably large vineyard area. we've got huge potential because of the locations of the vineyards. And what does the future hold? I believe we will see more brands develop and that is happening already. You know, we've got, you know, Danbury are obviously the flagship, but we have other new brands which have arisen. You've got Riverview, Crouch Valley, you've got Hollands, Hollands Farm Winery, you've got Missing Gate. So there are brands which are emerging and these things take time. But this is all good to see these brands. And this is what, you know, we've got Martin's Lane, Crouch Ridge Estate and there are others in the pipeline. So as those increase, I think that's something that will increase our exposure.

Peter: Duncan, thank you very much indeed.

Duncan McNeill: My pleasure. Thank you for asking me, Peter.

Susie: Utterly fascinating. He does Know it well, doesn't he?

Peter: He really does.

Susie: And distinctive Essex Sauvignon Blanc.

Peter: There we go.

Susie: You heard it here first. I mean, we know Sauvignon from Sancerre and Marlborough. Now we have Sauvignon from Essex.

Peter: There we go. The MW exams of the future.

Susie: But I guess it just underlines the potential of this area for so many things. Yeah.

Peter: I mean, the main thing is they're getting properly ripe fruit, you know, with intense, complex flavours, which is the result of growing grapes cleverly in well chosen sites. And, you know, and that can work from everything from Sauvignon Blanc to Pinot, even for sparkling. we're going to come back to that, aren't we? And interesting

00:35:00

Peter: what he said about nowadays, some of the less warm vintages, like 2021 and 2024, are producing more elegant wines in an area that can produce pretty rich styles. So we're already getting that dynamic in there, too.

Susie: I was also interested by what he said about Pinot Noir and the Burgundians. I mean, firstly, a good piece of gossip, and we had sort of heard that from other sources, too. Want to keep us to the ground about, I reckon, but also the wider point about that in Burgundy, they're facing so many challenges from climate change, you know, with crop losses due to hail and frosts and ever earlier harvests. So, yeah, it would be totally understandable for a Burgundian to look to England, where, okay, you're not free from climate change challenges, but you do get naturally fresh acidity, lowish alcohol if you want it, and you're harvesting in October or November rather than August.

Peter: Yeah, absolutely. And one other really important point Duncan mentioned, Anne touched on in that last bit. There was balancing commercial realities with viticultural ambitions. Duncan's really good like that. I asked him if Blantington Essex were going to take off, getting all excited in my journalist role. And he stressed, as long as there's a market, so, you know, they can grow grapes and make the wines to stand up alongside Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from around the world. Duncan says. But to be a success story in the world of wine like Oregon Pinot Noir or Marlborough Sauvignon Blanche, they have to generate demand. And that's still something they're working on. Duncan said, especially given, as he pointed out, these aren't cheap wines. They're, 30, 40, 50 quid, plus, you know, partly because it's expensive viticulture. And labour and land. you know, he said bare land for vineyards in Essex is around 25 to 45, 000 pounds per acre, or that's about 60 to 110, 000 pounds per hectare.

Susie: Yeah, I mean, that is, that is a really important point. And Charlie hinted at that too when he said they're delib ahead of themselves and taking things slowly, building the market before a winery, that kind of thing. but it's, it's chicken and egg, isn't it? You have to invest and be bold to get the wines out there in the first place before you can know if that market is actually there.

Peter: Absolutely.

Susie: But the signs, they do seem to be positive.

Peter: Yeah, yeah, I'd agree. yeah. Now, in just a moment, we're going to come on to the wines for which we are already an active buying market. They've got us in the bag, as you said, as our friends know. just before we do, though, Duncan highlighted other areas of Essex outside the Crouch, including the Blackwater Estuary, the Colne Valley and around Colchester as places to look out for in terms of quality.

Susie: So just before we taste, we wanted to hear from Chris Wilson. Now, Chris makes his acclaimed Gutter and Stars wines from a windmill basement in Cambridge, as you do so not strictly Essex, but he is close and he does make wines from fruit he buys in Essex. I asked him how he would describe what's happened over the last few years with wine in Essex.

Chris Wilson: Essex, for me is the best place in the UK to grow grapes for quality still wines. I think that potential has been there for decades, but it's only really been found to be the case in the last sort of 10, 15 years when, quality wines have been produced from grapes, particularly from the Crouch Valley. You go back looking at articles about English wine over the years, it doesn't really mention Essex. it mentions the south of England, of course, where the sparkling wine revolution has taken place. It even mentions Cornwall. Cornwall. A lot of the wines made in Cornwall come from grapes grown in Essex. So Essex has always been kind of the dirty little secret in the back seat of the car, but now it's very much sort of driving the car.

Susie: And what, what makes Essex special in wine terms and particularly, obviously, we're talking still wines a lot of the time.

Chris Wilson: Yeah, I'm in Cambridge, I'm about an hour, hour and 10 from the Crouch Valley today in Cambridge. It's about 24 degrees at the moment and it's beautiful and sunny. I know if I get in the car and drive to Essex and open the car door, it will be 2, 3, 4 degrees warmer, and it will feel warmer still. There's a real sort of microclimate there, particularly where you've got the River Crouch and the River Blackwater in the Crouch valley, creating 12 degrees more heat temperature than you get elsewhere in the East. It's also a very dry part of the country and Essex particularly, that sort of spot there gets very, very little rainfall. Almost sort of semi arid, 450, 500 mils a year of, rainfall, which, as you know, is, Is perfect for, for grape growing.

Susie: And in terms of the actual wines in your experience so far, what wines does Essex make best and why?

Chris Wilson: I mean, the obvious answers are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Why? Because of those. That, that extra heat accumulation because of the, the, the stress on the vines due to the, lack of rainfall. also I think there's. There's been some really good. There's been some clever planting

00:40:00

Chris Wilson: in Essex, planting the right varieties in the right places. I don't think that can be said for all of England. over the years. I think we're getting there as an industry. We're still a baby industry, particularly with. Still, and we're just finding our feet about. On the viticultural side of things. It's not all about climate. It's also about putting the right grapes in the right places on the correct soils.

Susie: What about Sauvignon Blanc as well? I know you've actually made a Sauvignon Blanc, haven't you? It seems to be becoming a thing, doesn't it, this Sauvignon Blanc from Essex? I mean, alongside the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Chris Wilson: People always say that, England's answer to Sauvignon Blanc is Bacchus, but I think England's answer to Sauvignon Blanc is Sauvignon BLanc. We've shown in the last sort of five years that this is a grape that we can ripen in England. So for me it was just a really, a, lovely, A lovely grape to make the wine from.

Susie: Now, there's a lot of focus, isn't there, on Essex, and particularly the Crouch Valley at the moment. But do you think there's, exciting potential for fine wine in East Anglia more widely?

Chris Wilson: I mean, there were not even potential. I mean, it's been realised in some cases. you look at some of the wines coming out of Flint in Norfolk. Ben's created a really interesting and exciting project there at Flint Vineyard and some of his still wines in particular are up there with the best in the country. So, yes, East Anglia is on the rise. then you look at somewhere like Arc in Suffolk and they're making a Riesling, which, I didn't think would be possible in England, but it's a beautiful wine. So there's interesting stuff happening all across the east of England.

Susie: And what does the future hold for wine in Essex?

Chris Wilson: I think tourism will become quite a big thing for, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Surrey have really nailed that and I think that's really, brilliant for the whole industry that there's really good tourism for English wine elsewhere in the UK and Essex is just finding its feet with that. I know Newhall are doing some interesting things. I know there's tasting rooms at, places like Crouch Ridge. I think, think there will become some sort of tourist wine tasting map of Essex soon where people will be able to hop on a train from London, 30, 40 minutes and then have a day out in the vineyards. And we couldn't even have dreamed of that 20 years ago. So I think that is, that's where the growth will, will come. And obviously off the back of that, more knowledge and interest in English wines and Essex wines and, you know, lots of cellar door sales.

Susie: Excellent. Chris, thanks so much.

Chris Wilson: No problem.

Peter: Essex is England's dirty, little secret. I love that turn of phrase. I mean, he's good with words, Chris, isn't he?

Susie: Yeah.

Peter: Former music journalist and current wine journalist. You know, very cool labels too, aren't they? He's got, and I understand he's looking to get on board with wine tourism and visits by hosting pop and wine quizzes and deep house DJ nights, whatever that is.

Susie: He is indeed very cool and I have no idea what that is, but it's good to hear him talking about not just potential, but things already happening in East Anglia beyond the Crouch and Essex.

Peter: Yeah, that's true.

Susie: Right, before we finish, we need to give our verdict on some wine, do we not? Now, we did do a fairly big tasting of nearly 30 wines, so we won't have time to, to feature all of them here, but do check out our website, show notes for the full listing.

Peter: Yeah. First up, as Bill build, just readying it here, stroking it slightly, is the Marbury Chardonnay 2023. The big reveal, the debut vintage from Jackson Family wines in the UK. It's £38 roughly retail price. So not cheap, but it's also not half bad with very sort of Chablis- Esque vibes. But over to you, what's your verdict?

Susie: I really, I really like it. I. I have to say, though, if anyone was hoping for a big, buttery California style C- bomb, this is about as opposite as it be, which I think is exactly what Charlie was aiming for. He says that, you know, it's very accomplished. There's a. There's a gentle, nutty, creamy character from the oak, but it's subtle and well integrated and gives it roundness and a kind of savoury appeal. The acidity, you know, it's refreshing, but it's not tart. The fruit is silky, succulent. It's just effortlessly classy and I think, think brilliant for a debut vintage. And it makes you wonder how good it will get when they have their own fruit and, a bit more experience

Peter: Yeah, I agree. Really love you. But, you know, what about the price? how does that sit for you?

Susie: To be really honest, that's probably the one thing I'd criticise. I'd love to see it £10 less. I think it would fly at that price. But being totally honest, I'd say the same of pretty much all these wines. Yeah, I mean, I think there's some market benchmarking going on here, you know. I know. Duncan explained that grapes and viticulture are expensive in Essex, but equally, you have to balance that against demand. And I think demand would be

00:45:00

Susie: so much greater at a slightly less punchy price point.

Peter: Yeah. Make friends first and then sort of build as you go, you know, I.

Susie: Mean, you've got to be careful, but I think just a bit less.

Peter: Yes, I, Yes, I agree, I agree. And then we would buy more too as well.

Susie: We'd be able to.

Peter: Large market that we are in this house. Okay, so I see your classy Chablis style Chardonnay, and I'm going to raise you. Just reaching around here. A stylish Sauvignon Blanc and an elegant Pinot Noir. These are from Missing Gate, who do all kinds of interesting things in the crouch. this is their, 2022 Sauvignon Blanc. It's 32 pounds. It's proper Sauvignon, isn't it? it's vibrant, but it's ripe. It's full of rich gooseberry fruits, fresh bees and honey, you know, Essex Sauvignon Blanc is definitely a thing.

Susie: I mean, you say, you say sort of this is, you know, definitely, you know, it's proper Sauvignon, but. But it's a Little bit different, isn't it?

Peter: As well. It's got a little bit of a distinctive edge as well. That's true. and then I've also got their Two Horse Land Pinot Noir 2022 Red, 47lbs 50. It's really smoky and intense with kind of layers of sour cherry and winter spice flavours. Great with barbecue lamb.

Susie: Yeah. Now, another brand doing really well and really interesting things in the area is the Heretics, a very cool guerrilla style wine operation who source from the Crouch valley. now two wines I'd flag up are the Cantillon Rose 2024, only just released, £32. This is barrel fermented Pinot Noir rose and it's packed full of cherry and rhubarb fruit with notes of, of, of sweet spice. And it's English rose on steroids. And then there's the cut chardonnay 2023. this one's not been being released for another few months, but it's a creamy, nutty buttery style with vibrant acidity and, and a lovely smoky finish. Ah, really serious Chardonnay. So keep an eye out for that one.

Peter: Now, remember what Duncan said about Danbury Ridge's new sparkling wine. Well, well, he's spot on, isn't he? I've got it here. The Solstice first edition from this hugely ambitious Essex pioneer is simply stunning. Yeah, it's a Pinot dominant barrel fermented blend, multi vintage with 2019 base, 58 pounds. And it's rich and golden and just insanely complex. It's irresistibly drinkable. This is our new favourite English Fizz, I think, isn't it? Very much in the kind of grower champagne market old. Yeah, I'd say it's a new dimension for English sparkling

Susie: I mean, I tasted this at the launch some time back and I'm just delighted that it still tastes as brilliant as I thought it did then. you know, sometimes you think at the moment in time, oh, it's fabulous and then you taste again in the future and it's, it disappoints you. Definitely not. This is hedonistic, but it's grounded, it's serious, it's, it's stunning, as you say. Yeah, yeah.

Peter: and then a couple more wines from Danbury Ridge too. They really are a leading light in the region. they're Crouch Valley Chardonnay 2022 is wonderfully toasty and savoury and intense and self assured. A very sort of Burgundian and brooding. It was bested though by their Octagon block Chardonnay from the same vintage, which is just sort of extra dimensions of savoury, nutty, creamy flavour and texture and a kind of lovely saline finish. But the former is about 35 pounds 40 quid and the latter is nearer 65. So choice M is yours.

Susie: Yeah, I mean, I have to say as well about Octagon block, you know, it's. In previous vintages we've tended to find the Octagon to be slightly too much. but in 2022 it's a bit more reined in and elegantly put together and it just works really well.

Peter: And then Danbury also do a very fine line in Pinot Noir as well. It tends to be a richer, darker, more generous and fleshy style than other English Pinots and this is exemplified in the Octagon block Pinot Noir 2022, it's around 75 quid, so, so, you know, it's a punchy price, but this is very serious and, and replete and spicy and intense. I mean, 10 years ago you would never have said England could produce Pinot Noir like this.

Susie: Never, never, never.

Peter: Couldn't agree more.

Susie: So I've just got one, one more shout out. That's for Lyme Bay, Devon based winery, which was a pioneer in championing the Crouch Valley. Their Martin's Lane Chardonnay 2020, which is about 35 pounds pounds, is gorgeous. It's toasty, nutty, savoury, saline. It's expressive, it's engaging. If you like white Burgundy, you need to try this and also their Bacchus Block 2022 at 22 pounds, part fermented in white Bordeaux barrels. This is very punchy and I know you don't like it as much as I do because it is a bit ott, but it's, it's fun and it's full of passion fruit and lemon curd. I mean, I think if you like white Bordeaux, you should give this a go.

Peter: Yeah, fair enough. It's a bit much for me, but I can totally see that comparison

00:50:00

Peter: now. our fellow Master of wine, Clem Yates, is making the wines at Lyme Bay now and she described these as exciting times in the Crouch Valley, given its, and I quote now, making top quality still wines to sit alongside the sparkling wines that have put English on the wine producing map. and of course given vine age tends to improve quality, particularly in Pinot Noir and a lot of these vineyards are still relatively young, it could be a very bright future for wine in Essex.

Susie: which I think is the perfect note to end on. Ah, by way of closing summary, Essex is fast making a name for itself as a producer of seriously classy wines, mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but also with Sauvignon Blanc, Bacchus and stylish sparkling wines in the wings. The warm, dry conditions and clay soils give intense, characterful, ripe wines that have already attracted serious international investment and plaudits. So can the Essex Riviera Challenge Burgundy, Sancerre and Champagne?! Only time will tell. In the meantime, this is an up and coming wine region well worth keeping an eye on.

Peter: Thanks to our interviewees Charlie Holland, Duncan McNeill and Chris Wilson. And thanks to you for listening. Until next time, Cheers. Thank you for listening right to the end of the programme. you deserve some sort of medal or maybe a glass of fine wine. Whatever. either way, if you're a regular Wine Blast listener, you'll know we do occasional sponsorships, but both episodic and headline. you might not have thought of this, but if you're involved with a company, brand or region who could benefit from exposure to a top notch global community of wine lovers, get in touch.

Susie: Wine Blast goes out to 200 countries and thousands of listeners. It's won multiple awards and is regularly one of the highest ranking drinks shows in global charts with a lack of making national and international headlines despite being a totally independent production with a lot of passion and hard graft. If you'd like to support the show

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