This is our Elizabeth's 15 wine matured for 5 months in our hand-coopered oak barrique.

Grape variety:  Madeleine Angevine (62%), Kerning (38%)

Quality status:  English Wine PDO - Protected Designation of Origin (Certificate ref: STPDO 11133)

Grape source:   Oatley Vineyard, Cannington, Somerset. Vineyard parcels: Madeleine upper block, Madeleine lower block, planted 1987, trained on 90 cm-high originally spur-pruned cordons,  converted to double guyot in 2015. Kernling higher block and lower block planted 1986, higher block on 90cm high double Guyot, lower block 140m double guyot, hanging canes

Awards:  

Bronze Medal: UK Wine Awards 2017.

Bronze Medal SWVA Awards 2017

Growing Season:

An unusually cool year after a mild winter. Early budburst (19Apr) brought some spring frost losses in the Madeleine. We had minus 2.8C at Oatley on 27th Apr and minus 1C on 13 May, when the shoots were well out, losing about a third of the buds in the lowest corner of the Madeleine Angevine - perhaps 10% of the Madeleine potential crop. Cool, dry weather continued and flowering was late-ish. A brief heatwave in the last week of June with temperatures in the 30s set the early flowers quickly but cooler weather set in before the fruit set was complete, leading to more-than-usual variation in ripeness in both varieties, with the lowest part of the slope 10 days behind the top. Summer continued cool and veraison (when the grapes swell and go translucent, was 10 days late. The Madeleine was harvested 2 weeks later than 2014. The Kernling was carrying a small crop which helped it to catch up a bit and we harvested as late as we dared.

Harvest: Madeleine: 4th October 2015 in dry but cool, misty weather.

Kernling harvested 25th October on a golden, sunny day, Temperature about 15C at max.  Grapes, clean, good condition, no wasp, little bird damage, no disease, respectable sugars but high acid and pale pink, hadn’t reached the usual dark pink-red.

Vinification:  Winemaker: Steve Brooksbank, Bagborough Lane, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6SX. Madeleine crushing/pressing 5 Oct. Free-run juice: sugar 66 Oechsle, acid 7.5 g/l acid.

Kernling crushing/pressing 26th Oct, free run juice 75 Oe, acid 15 g/i. Wines vinified separately in stainless steel tanks.

Blended and matured in our hand-made oak barrique for five months.This barrel was hand-coopered of fine-grained (Tronçais forest) oak by master cooper Alastair Sims, pictured right in his workshop at Wadwoth's Brewery, Devizes, with the barrel when it was new. This was the barrel's 5th and last vintage. It is now retired as a shabby chic tasting table in our barn (background picture).

Bottled Aug 2016: clear, 400g 75cl Bordeaux bottles sealed with best quality cork. Label FSC certified Tintoretto paper. 248 bottles made.

Release Date:  8th Aug 2017