Hilltop Brut

The top of the hill is the coolest place on the estate: the wind comes up the valley in the afternoon and the chalk keeps the vines small and the grapes sharp. That’s exactly what sparkling wine wants, so in 2008 Clara gave the crest to chardonnay and pinot noir and began laying down bottles.

We pick these blocks first, in the middle of August, at dawn. The two grapes are pressed whole and gently, fermented apart, blended in spring, then bottled with a little sugar and yeast to ferment a second time under a crown cap. The bottles rest on their lees in the coolest corner of the cellar for three years before we riddle and disgorge them by hand.

The 2022 is the brightest we have made: green apple and lemon curd first, then the brioche from the long rest, and the long, salty finish of the chalk.