Hoffmann & Rathbone East Sussex Blanc de Blancs 2013

The grapes come from Ford Farm Vineyard in East Sussex, in the Sussex Weald, an area of outstanding natural beauty. The vineyard comprises three parcels on one farm, which are south-facing and surrounded by woodland, which offers maximum protection from wind and excellent heat retention. This sheltered, warm, and dry site provides ideal conditions for growing grapes to produce concentrated sparkling wines. The Guyot vines are trained at elevations between 50 and 80 meters above sea level. The soil is clay, with underlying sandstone, which offers good water retention properties to nourish the vines. The vines are cultivated using sustainable practices; under-vine weeding takes place to control weeds, herbicides are not used, with solar panels for electricity and boreholes for water. A wildflower meadow, fruit orchard, and woodland promote bees, wildlife, and biodiversity. The harvest often occurs two weeks earlier than most, with the fruit being hand-harvested into small crates. 

Hoffmann & Rathbone is a boutique winery located in England’s Sussex-Weald region. It was founded by husband-and-wife Ulrich Hoffmann and Birgit Rathbone, who have a passion for crafting artisanal wines. Ulrich Hoffmann has a wealth of winemaking and viticultural expertise, having spent 22 years working around the world, from the prestigious Rolf-Willy estate in Baden-Wurttemberg to Chateaux de Fieuzal and Haut-Gardere in Bordeaux, Artadi in Navarra, and Cain Vineyards in the Napa Valley. He may have continued had he not fallen in love with the Sussex countryside and its cool climate, which offers ideal conditions to produce delicious sparkling wines. Following an ethos that the perfect sparkling wine cannot be rushed, they focus on precision and passion and combine traditional methods with a modern, minimalistic approach, creating tiny volumes aged for long periods with care and patience. Hoffmann & Rathbone has proved that English sparkling wine is now on par in terms of quality, with the best sparkling wines in the world, never imitating, but with that quirky English personality of doing things differently.