Having enjoyed our Sugar Loaf visit, it was on to the next - not far away just outside Monmouth. Memories of
Offa's Dyke path walk last year flooding back! Through private gates and up to the Cellar Door with lovely views around the Wye Valley.
We had to wait a while for Richard to open up but he was very welcoming and informative. We sampled the Chardonnay - really very crisp and refreshing. We are getting a taste for whites now - and English whites are really good. Then it was a Rosé which again was very flavoursome - and the case was on special offer! Then the 2 reds! Almost spoilt for choice here - Richard sees no reason why our reds can't be really good to compete with any others. The Triomphe from the Triomphe d'Alsace wine is a really light and fruity wine benefitting from being a little cool and ideal to compete with a rosé for lunch. The Pinot Noir is a little heavier but also very fruity. Currently only 4 grapes are grown, Pinot Noir, Albarino, Triomphe and Chardonnay. In addition to the still wines, 2 sparkling wines are produced -a white and a rosé which I understand have won several awards -some tastings even beating Champagne....
The estate here was first planted in 2006 on the suitably south facing slopes with a following planting in 2007 and so the first vintage produced was 2008. The winery opened in 2015 so currently the wines are registered as organic wines but subsequent years now they have their own winery, their wines are going to achieve the bio-dynamic label.
Bio-dynamism was first introduced as a concept and a way of growing, by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 for general farming and it is now becoming popular in other horticultural interests, including viticulture. To be able to achieve it, the producers pay strict attention to the additives - or in this case, into not adding anything but letting the grapes do their own work using careful measures.
With new land being acquired, the vineyard will soon be up to 12 hectares and luckily Richard's son offers a helping hand having also acquired his skills at college.
So we then wended our way home, stopping for coffee once more at the
Hunter's Moon at Llangattock - one of our favourite places! And at home, we enjoyed our first barbecue of the year - accompanied by a bottle of Ancre Hill Rosé -a perfect day!
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