It’s been another fine and busy summer at Breaky Bottom. In early August we bottled the 2018 crop. After their first fermentation back in October last year, I’ve been keeping the wines in tank on their lees. The 2018 harvest was so good that we had enough for three cuvées. Normally I would ferment the pinots together with the Chardonnay in a single tank, but for the first time my modest plantings of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier produced sufficient yield for me to ferment these together to make a separate Blanc de Noirs. I was also able to produce a Blanc de Blanc with my Chardonnay, as well as my usual cuvée of 100% Seyval Blanc. At the time of bottling it was wonderful to taste the distinctive flavours of each of these wines.
The grapes are looking good, and I expect to harvest in mid to late October. Who knows whether the crop will be as great as last year’s…
I’m delighted to report that Breaky Bottom did exceptionally well in the recent WineGB awards. I entered four wines and won three golds and one silver.
Furthermore, the three golds all went on to be shortlisted for trophies:
2011 Cuvée Oliver Minkley received the 'Dudley Quirk' trophy awarded to the Best Non-Classic Blend.
2009 Cuvée Gerard Hoffnung was shortlisted for the Best Prestige Cuvée.
2014 Cuvée Peter Christiansen was shortlisted for the Best Blanc de Blanc.
All this happened at the WineGB Trade Fair on 4th September at the RHS Lindley Hall in London.
On the same day Harpers Wine also announced the results for their Harpers Stars competition, and my 2010 Cuvée Reynolds Stone won 5 Stars for Best Taste. This is judged solely by sommeliers, those working at the sharp end in hotels and restaurants.