Sugrue South Downs

Sugrue South Downs

Sussex
England

In 2006, acclaimed winemaker Dermot Sugrue planted a small vineyard at the foot of the South Downs in West Sussex, and named it Storrington Priory Vineyard.

Seven years later,  ‘The Trouble with Dreams’ from the 2009 vintage was released,  rapidly gaining critical acclaim.

The staggering quality of the next two vintages earned Sugrue South Downs a cult-like following which grows to this day.

Viticulture

Coldharbour vineyard – a 7.35ha site in West Sussex – was planted in 2005 and is owned by the Hunt family. Meticulously tidy and impeccably managed, the vines run north-south in an extraordinary bowl-like amphitheatre, with Liesa and Geoff – who Dermot formerly worked with at Nyetimber twenty years earlier – taking care of this beautiful site since 2011. In fact, Dermot had made every single sparkling wine from this site since then, gaining intimate knowledge of the vineyard and the remarkable quality it has. So far, wines from Coldharbour made by Dermot have won trophies for Best Rosé (twice), Best Cuvée, and Best Blanc de Blancs at the WineGB Awards. Rapidly, it has become Sugrue South Downs’ second “Grand Cru”… In May 2023, Sugrue South Downs made a little piece of history by purchasing their first vineyard – Bee Tree near Wivelsfield Green in East Sussex. This small vineyard was planted on clay and lower greensand soils in 2015, and comprises mostly Pinot Noir. It is a very warm site, extremely well protected from wind and in an idyllic location where all you can here is birdsong… Next door to Bee Tree, the new winery – previously a tractor barn – sits on the site of the original workshop of celebrated British railways engineer John Saxby, the father of modern points and signal systems used on train lines today.

Winemaking

We are independent, artisan winemakers who live and breathe what we do on a daily basis – through thick and thin, hail and fog, hot and cold. All our wines are small production, hand-made, and typically aged for 5-to-10 years before release. They are low in sulphites, always vegetarian and vegan, and made with sustainable viticulture: we believe in and respect the soil beneath our feet.

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