In 1995 we decided to produce a serious quality barrel fermented Chenin Blanc, which was unusual at the time, as Chenin Blanc was not considered a high quality grape. We have so many great old Chenin Blanc vineyards in our area, we decided not to plant any ourselves and work closely with 3 growers to produce great fruit. Vine age varies between 10 & 45 years.

​

All our Chenin is carefully handpicked in the morning, crushed and given a little skin contact to extract some of the falvour just under the skins, before pressing in our traditional basket press.

​

After a natural settling, all the wines ferment in barrels in our cool underground cellar. We only use natural, indigenous yeast with all our wines, but it makes the biggest positive difference with the Chenin Blanc as it remains on the lees for around 9 months, soaking up the complex flavour. Like all our wines, the Chenin Blanc is bottled without filtration to capture all the subtle flavours we've worked so hard for.

​

Each year we choose one of Rita Trafford's artworks. Usually a painting, but more recently ecoprinted silk scarves. There is no correlation between the artwork & the specific vintage. They are simply two joyous projects coming together every year.

​