2018 Danbury Ridge Wine Estate, Octagon Block Pinot Noir, Essex, England
Critics reviews
Aromas of dark berry fruit mingle with hints of spice, vanilla pod and orange rind to introduce the 2018 Pinot Noir Octagon Block, a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered wine with lively acids, powdery tannins and a precise finish. Matured for 18 months in barrel and bottled without fining or filtration, it's a very persuasive wine that shows considerable promise for positive evolution in bottle.
Drink 2020 - 2030
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Apr 2021)
From their oldest vineyard, planted on London clay in 2014 with two-thirds Pinot Noir, plus Chardonnay and a little Pinot Meunier. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. 888 bottles produced.
Transparent ruby-garnet. Attractive nose of violets and mushrooms. Very Pinot! Definitely more depth and better balance than the regular bottling, and it should age better too. I can see why they want to give it a bit more bottle age – it's still a little chewy – but it should make a very attractive bottle by the autumn.
Drink 2021 - 2026
Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com (Feb 2021)
About this WINE
Danbury Ridge Wine Estate
Danbury Ridge Wine Estate is a vineyard and winery located in Essex, in South East England. The estate takes its name from the nearby village of Danbury. Owners Michael and Heather Bunker planted their first vines in 2014, with a focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties. The team produces wine using both their own estate-grown fruit and grapes sourced from other growers in Essex. Danbury Ridge has gained recognition for its exceptional English still wines.
Essex
Discover the hidden gem of Essex's flourishing wine scene, where South East England's rolling hills and fertile soils give rise to exceptional vineyards and captivating wines.
Here, you'll find a cornucopia of unique expressions, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay taking centre stage. The whites are remarkably crisp, refreshing and bursting with aromatic profiles.
The reds are elegant and refined with velvety textures, while the sparkling varieties are crafted with meticulous care and traditional methods.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
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Description
Aromas of dark berry fruit mingle with hints of spice, vanilla pod and orange rind to introduce the 2018 Pinot Noir Octagon Block, a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered wine with lively acids, powdery tannins and a precise finish. Matured for 18 months in barrel and bottled without fining or filtration, it's a very persuasive wine that shows considerable promise for positive evolution in bottle.
Drink 2020 - 2030
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Apr 2021)
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