Bolney Estate Pinot Gris 2018 West Sussex England 75cl

Bolney Wine Estate near Haywards Heath in West Sussex was founded in 1972 and is one of the oldest commercial vineyards in England. Family-founded and still going strong, it has collected awards across its range and counts Pinot Gris among the still whites that have made its reputation. Its cellar door and vineyard tours remain a Sussex favourite.

Pinot Gris has proved a natural fit for Bolney’s free-draining Sussex soils, where the cool climate keeps the wine fresh while the estate’s warmer, sheltered slopes help the fruit ripen. The estate has decades of practice coaxing ripeness from English fruit, and this bottling is made from 100% Pinot Gris grown on site.

The 2018 vintage was one of the finest in recent English memory, a long, warm and sunny season that gave ripe, generous fruit with real depth of flavour. Many English producers still rate it as a high point, and it flattered Pinot Gris in particular with a ripe, expressive character.

In the glass it is a textbook example of the variety: plump pear and orchard fruit, bright citrus and a lift of honeysuckle, carried by a long, dry and refreshing finish with a subtle fresh-cut grass note. At 12.5% it has a little more weight and richness than a lighter year would give.

Enjoy it with roast pork, creamy pasta, roast chicken or firm, nutty cheeses. It is also a lovely wine to serve on its own, well chilled, on a warm afternoon, and shows just how well Pinot Gris can perform in Sussex.