Walsingham Estate Vineyard - Bacchus 2022

About the Vineyard: 

Walsingham Estate Vineyard lies in the Stiffkey Valley, an easy walk to the south of Walsingham, close to the Roman Catholic Shrine at the Slipper Chapel and beside the former railway line which is now the Pilgrim Way. Part of the Walsingham Estate, the field was chosen for the vineyard as it is a gentle south facing slope, with free-draining soil studded with plenty of flint, above the all-important underlying bed of chalk. This same chalk seam runs through southeastern England to Champagne, Chablis and Burgundy.

Planted in April 2019, 2022 is our first harvest and first vintage from our young vines. Our three grape varieties are two whites, Bacchus and Solaris, and one red, Pinot Noir.

The first harvest from a vineyard is always small but a very challenging start to the year with severe late frosts (with even a small frost on June 1) reduced our first yield even further, taking out probably about 1/3 of the potential grape clusters.

The hot dry summer - the drought in fact - meant grapes got very ripe but berry size and cluster size were small. There was also some bird and insect damage, probably because of high sugar levels in the fruit due to the heat, and also due to the drought reducing available water and food for wild creatures.

All grapes were hand-harvested, with the total of our first harvest less than two tons.  As a result supplies of the 2022 vintage are very limited!

Vintage:

2022

Grape:

Bacchus

Volume:

12%

Tasting Notes:

Made with hand-harvested fruit, barrel-fermented and aged on lees for six months, our new wine is dry and fresh, showcasing aromas of elderflower and citrus leading to a crisp palate with green apple and lemon zest notes and subtle hints of oak. Will continue to develop in bottle.

Food Pairing:

Bacchus wines pair well with fresh goat's cheese and goat's cheese salads. English Bacchus works well with spring vegetables such as asparagus, peas and broad beans - a risotto primavera for example.