Located on a wonderful south-facing slope in East Sussex, Rathfinny Wine Estate is proud to be producing Sussex Sparkling wine that rivals the world’s finest Traditional Method sparkling wines. Rathfinny’s range of wines are produced under strict Sussex PDO guidelines to ensure Sussex wines continue to be considered among the very best in the world.
This is Rathfinny Wine Estate’s first release in partnership with their new distributor, Liberty Wines. Managing Director, David Gleave said, “We are very excited to be working with Rathfinny on the release of their two new, vintage Sussex Sparkling wines – the first new sparkling wines launched since our distribution partnership began. The timing is especially significant as many people will be looking forward to socialising again this summer.” Of the new partnerships Gleave added, “There is a natural fit between Liberty Wines and Rathfinny, as not only do we share a similar philosophy, but they also complement perfectly our existing English sparkling wine portfolio.”
As a result of the pandemic, Rathfinny established an e-commerce platform to sell direct from their website which has allowed them to reach customers across the UK whilst many of Rathfinny’s trade partners have been closed. As well as the named stockists, customers will be able to purchase the new wines from their online shop from 1st May.
The release of a “house-style” vintage wine, with grapes from a single harvest, like Rathfinny Classic Cuvée 2017, is unusual, given that it is standard practice for signature-style sparkling wines to include a blend from multiple years, as they do in Champagne. Co-Owner Mark Driver said their plan is to release only vintage wines, in contrast to Champagne, where more than 80% of production is non-vintage blends from multiple harvests. Driver added, “We love to celebrate the vintage and 2017 was a cracking vintage. A long growing season produced rich flavours in the wines and with three years bottle ageing, it’s the perfect wine to celebrate the end of lockdown. Roll on the roaring twenties and a summer of love.”
As well as a sparkling wine producer, Rathfinny Estate is a popular destination for visitors, food and wine enthusiasts and walkers, offering organised Vineyard tours, wine tastings and a free map of their Trail from the Cellar Door located in the RIBA-nominated Winery. The Flint Barns provides onsite accommodation and gastro-pub-style evening meals.
The Tasting Room restaurant, recently retaining their Plate Michelin in this year’s guide, provides more formal dining with spectacular views across the Vineyard and South Downs. The complete wine tourism offers – with the addition of al fresco summer dining – including the tremendously popular Vineyard picnics, will be reopening to the public in stages from 1st May. The new wines will be available to taste and purchase from the Cellar Door.
Sarah Driver, Co-Owner of Rathfinny Wine Estate, said; “The world of wine is as much about providing a fantastic experience as it is it is about producing world-class wines and that’s what we aim to give everyone – an experience that matches the premium quality of our Sussex Sparkling wines, at the Rathfinny Wine Estate. We look forward to being able to open the Estate again to visitors this summer so they can taste our new vintages. It is something to look forward to in these difficult times and will be a real opportunity for people to support local businesses producing local products”.
Rathfinny Sussex Sparkling wines are available via the following retailers:
Classic Cuvée 2017 – Harvey Nichols exclusive for the month of May (£29.00)
Blanc de Blancs 2017 – Harrods (£42.00)
