‘CUVÉE DR BRENDAN O’REGAN’ MV

CEPAGE: 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir

VINEYARDS: Mount Harry Vineyard, East Sussex, planted 2006 on clay loam over chalk, approx. 70m above sea level.

Storrington Priory Vineyard, West Sussex, planted 2006 on sandy loam over chalk and greensand, 50m above sea level.

YIELD: 7,500kg/ha; 5,200 bottles produced

VINIFICATION: Vinified in large 500L old Burgundian barrels

MATURATION: Bottled in 2019 with 3.5 years on the lees; first batch disgorged in January 2023

ANALYSIS: Residual sugar: 6g/L. 12% abv

Dermot’s great uncle Dr Brendan O’Regan was born in Sixmilebridge, County Clare, in 1917. He was an astute businessman responsible for developing Shannon Airport, which eventually transformed the Shannon Region of Ireland. During his time there, he invented the concept of the duty-free shop. As well as his commercial endeavours, he was involved in promoting peace in Northern Ireland and worked hard to promote cooperation between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

During his life, Brendan O’Regan received many tributes. In 1984 he was voted ‘Clareman of the Year’; then, in 1993, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to peace. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Limerick in 1995 and received several honorary doctorates. This wine is Dermot’s tribute to his great uncle, created in 2017 to mark the centenary of his birth.

“Spectacular. Honestly England’s best.” Sir Hugh Johnson OBE

“I can declare that Sugrue ‘Cuvée Dr Brendan O’Regan’ is the most profound, complex and rewarding English sparkling wine I have ever had the pleasure of encountering.” Matthew Jukes, August 2017

“I tasted this wine in a line-up of over 100 bottles, unlabelled, and with no knowledge of what was inside – I can declare that it is the most profound, complex and rewarding English sparkling wine I have ever had the pleasure of encountering. I cannot wait to see it again, to put a name to its heavenly flavour.” Matthew Jukes

“Most of the room said this was their all-time favourite English Sparkling Wine. It’s hard to argue otherwise.” Robbie Priddle, greatbritishwine.com May 2018

AWARDS

WineGB Boutique Producer 2020, 2021 & 2023.

I knew the 2013 vintage was ideal to produce something very special, hence Cuvée Dr Brendan O’Regan was created. Having kept back the last remaining reserves from the 2009 vintage, I created this multi-vintage cuvee which possesses outstanding ageing potential, combining both power and structure with subtlety and finesse. Beautiful to enjoy now, it will grow in elegance and complexity if cellared for up to a decade.

Mount Harry makes up most of the blend in the 2013, again a 60% Chardonnay 40% Pinot assemblage like the previous Storrington-only vintages. But the Mount Harry fruit delivers something more, a driving sense of purity which gives impeccable poise and definition to the wines, a sense of volume and weight that somehow retains an aerial component, a finesse atop the solidity of fruit that was immediately obvious.