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Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
2024 Crouch Valley Pinot Noir, Sugrue South Downs
2024 Crouch Valley Pinot Noir, Sugrue South Downs

2024 Crouch Valley Pinot Noir, Sugrue South Downs

Essex, England

Essex Elegance

Classical, quietly confident, and distinctly Burgundian in character, this is English Pinot Noir with depth beneath its perfume. Cranberry and ripe black cherry lead the way, followed by earthy woodland nuances and a gentle peppery lift. Subtle oak spice frames the fruit, adding warmth and complexity while allowing its freshness to shine. There is an inviting savoury quality here, the sort that draws you back to the glass as the wine gradually reveals itself.

The palate combines concentrated flavour with graceful proportions, its fine-grained tannins giving shape to the fruit without interrupting its flow. Bright acidity brings energy and definition, carrying the wine towards a long, peppery finish. Already rewarding from late 2026, it has the structure to develop over the following decade, making it equally compelling for an autumn dinner or a place in the cellar. For Burgundy lovers curious about the possibilities of English Pinot Noir, this is a particularly persuasive bottle.

For when: You want the conversation to turn from “English Pinot?” to “May I see the bottle?”

Pairs with: Serve with roast duck and cherry sauce, pheasant with wild mushrooms, chicken with morels, beetroot and goat’s cheese tart, turkey with chestnut stuffing or a truffled mushroom risotto.

Although Sugrue South Downs is based in Sussex, this Pinot Noir comes from Mason’s Point and Crows Lane vineyards in Essex’s Crouch Valley. Their London blue clay soils and comparatively warm growing conditions offer a distinctive setting for still red wine. Just 5,000 bottles were produced in 2024, bringing together the character of these two sites with Dermot and Ana Sugrue’s meticulous winemaking.

Whats in the bottle
100% Pinot Noir

£47.00 - £47.00
£47.00
£47.00 - £47.00
£47.00
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Sugrue South Downs began with a small vineyard planted by Irish winemaker Dermot Sugrue at Storrington Priory in West Sussex in 2006. The first release of The Trouble With Dreams followed in 2013, establishing the foundations of a devoted following. Today, Dermot and his wife, fellow winemaker Ana Sugrue, produce a distinctive collection of sparkling and still wines.

Their vineyard story encompasses several Sussex sites, including Bee Tree near Wivelsfield Green, purchased in 2023 and now home to their winery. Alongside these vineyards, carefully chosen fruit from the Crouch Valley allows them to explore a different aspect of English wine. Here, clay soils and a relatively warm, dry climate provide the conditions for Pinot Noir with substantial flavour and structure.

Dermot’s experience at Nyetimber and Wiston is complemented by Ana’s international winemaking background, spanning Europe and the Americas. Their approach places considerable emphasis on the character of individual sites, patient maturation and carefully judged texture. In this Pinot Noir, gentle extraction and a combination of small and large oak vessels preserve fragrance while building depth.

Made from 100% Pinot Noir grown at Mason’s Point Vineyard, planted in 2020, and Crows Lane Vineyard, planted in 2018. Both lie in the Crouch Valley and have London blue clay soils rich in smectite, a mineral that helps regulate water availability through wet and dry periods. Yields were restricted to 35 hectolitres per hectare.

The 2024 season was cooler than the exceptionally ripe 2022 vintage, but the Crouch Valley remained comparatively warm against the wider English picture. A long, slow ripening period allowed the grapes to develop gradually, with harvest taking place exceptionally late, in mid-November.

The fruit was fully destemmed and gently extracted. One-third of the wine matured in new French oak barriques, with the remaining two-thirds aged in a seasoned oak foudre from Tonnellerie Rousseau in Gevrey-Chambertin. Following two winters in the winery, it was bottled in February 2026 and first released in October 2026.

Alcohol: 13%. Recommended drinking window: late 2026–2036.

Wine-Searcher Retailer Awards 2026/27 Gold, Overall List in Cardiff