Rock Story is a wine that Ana and I make, quite deliberately, for the restaurant table. Rich and mouth-filling, with a satin-soft texture and fresh acidity, it has serious gastronomic intent – just the sort of bottle we'd want to see us through a meal.
Dramatically different in style to our single-vintage, Chardonnay-led sparkling cuvées, Rock Story is a multi-vintage, Pinot-dominant wine from vineyards nourished by chalk, limestone, sandstone, and clay across the South Downs and beyond.
It is, in many ways, a composite of my winemaking over the last twenty years in England. A unique tale of six vintages between 2011 and 2022, it includes 40% reserve wines, which lend Rock Story its complexity and depth.
Rock Story is poured exclusively at restaurants that we return to time and again: Angela Hartnett's Murano and Café Murano, Mitch & Ben Tonks' Rockfish restaurants in Devon and Dorset, Neil Borthwick's The French House, Lime Wood in the New Forest, and THE PIG.
Until now, it has not been available beyond those dining rooms. But, as so many of you have asked to enjoy it at home, we have set aside a small amount from our cellar.
Rock Story is released to our mailing list twice annually – in the spring and the autumn – offered by the case for a short window. A chance, perhaps, to keep a little of your favourite house pour within reach...
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
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GRAPES
45% Pinot Noir
20% Pinot Meunier
35% Chardonnay
40% reserve wines
Dosage: 6g/L, 12% ABV.
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VINEYARDS
From our South Downs vineyard in East and West Sussex and beyond, including:
Mount Harry Vineyard, East Sussex
Storrington Priory Vineyard, West Sussex
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WINEMAKING
Fermented in stainless steel, without malolactic fermentation.
Bottled in March 2023, followed by 18 months on lees. First disgorged in September 2024.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
"A very subtle nose offers a lovely mix of waxiness, yeast, smokiness, lemon and fruit. The palate is alive with bubbles whose frothiness almost makes you forget how beautifully complex the wine underneath is. The reserve wines add such nuance and depth, making this a winner. The more you savor the mid-palate, the more you discover. This has an addictive quality about it." 94 Points, Anne Krebhiel MW, Vinous
"Based on the excellent 2022 vintage this is a multi-vintage blend of 2011, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. 'a counterpoint to The Trouble With Dreams’; Pinot dominant, with a decent amount Meunier, a third Chardonnay, it’s almost Champagne-like, with a soft textured mousse of super-ripe fruit and intense richness with a fine blade of acidity; an English Grand Siècle?" 93 Points. Anthony Rose, The Real Review