A Visit To Hambledon - On Their Way To A Million Bottles
No one can say Ian Kellet has rushed his development at Hambledon Wines.
Having taken over the UK’s oldest commercial vineyard in 1999, he spent years ensuring he had the right vine clones and rootstock to deliver the highest quality sparkling wine possible on Hambledon’s chalky soil.
Gradual planting, together with the development of local sites, now sees the vineyard standing at over 300 acres, capable of delivering Ian’s 1 million bottle annual production target. Importantly, this increase in scale is not coming at the expense of quality. The Classic Cuvée Rosé Brut, stocked by us here at www.rose-wine.com took a gold medal at the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards, as did Hambledon’s Premier Cuvée Brut.
Sue and I visited the vineyard recently, seeing at first hand the new visitor centre and cellar (currently under construction and capable of storing 2 million bottles). This is part of a massive infrastructure investment, including the very best French presses and equipment. Their gravity fed, temperature-controlled process optimises the juices extracted from the vines that grow on this excellent terroir. The two of us loved the wines we tasted, but for both of us the rosé stood out as particularly special, and at £165 per case of 6 I feel it provides a fabulous gold star quality sparkling rosé wine for the price point.
Hambledon Wines are at the very forefront of the exciting development being seen in English winemaking, producing excellent wines and investing heavily to bring their customers and wine enthusiasts the best possible experience at their special vineyard, whilst also committing to reduce their carbon footprint significantly. They offer an excellent range of tours already (like the one we joined), which should become even more refined once the new centre is built.
Look at www.hambledonvineyard.co.uk to find out more about the vineyard, its heritage, plans, tours, other wines and a range of accessories aimed at maximising the experience when drinking these fabulous wines!
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Are you interested in purchasing a case of Hambledon's Rosé Sparkling Wine? If so, click here to buy.