A bumper crop? Sunshine will be key

Veraison is a key milestone in the vineyard and is identified as the moment the grapes start to change colour. In our Pinot Noir, this colour change is a few weeks later than last year. The crop this year is looking wonderful with large well-formed bunches across the whole vineyard. Going forward the grapes will continue to ripen, concentrating sunshine to sweeten berries, reducing acidity, and building colour, tannins, and other tasty compounds.

Interestingly the bunches and berries don’t all change colour at the same moment, rather this is a gradual process that will take some weeks. As we get closer to harvest the berries will also swell and become heavier. At this point, the grapes become attractive to birds, wasps, and other critters as they start to taste sweet and delicious.

In England, we don’t leave much to chance. The vineyard is kept mowed so that the grass doesn’t add humidity to the leaves and fruiting zone. The vines have also been tucked into the wires so that the canopy is upright and well-structured ensuring we capture every inch of sunshine possible. The leaves around the grape bunches have been removed by hand (leaf stripping) which improves airflow and allows sunlight to touch the berries.

All these activities are focused on one goal - increasing the quality of the fruit at harvest. Good airflow, careful canopy management, and reduction of humidity are all very important methods which give our crop the best chance possible.

This year we have a high fruit load per vine. This was due to a kind Spring with no frost, and a sunny June during flowering resulted in about 0.5kg extra fruit per vine. Around a 25% increase across 20,000 vines, this is a great problem to have, but it does put additional pressure on getting to harvest as we need more sunshine to achieve ripeness. Simply put, the more fruit you have the more sunshine you need to achieve phenolic ripeness (tasty fruit).

The start of this season was wonderful with a hot sunny June, but in July and now into August, we have not seen the sunshine we had hoped for. This puts pressure on the vineyard, but to this point, we are still hoping for a return of a strong sunny August and September.

Harvest this year is looking to be around the start of October, which is around two weeks later than last year. So please cross your fingers for a hot dry finish to August and September….

Fruit set at Foxhole Vineyard

At the end of June flowering finished, the flowers self-pollinated, and the grape bunches formed. This stage in the vineyard we call “fruit set” and from here we can start to estimate the volume of fruit we can expect at harvest.

This year the dry conditions through June allowed almost all the flowering bunches to reach their full potential fruit set. With 6-8 bunches per vine and around 20,000 vines in Foxhole vineyard harvest, its looking like a very fruitful vintage.

This is our Pinot Noir which will continue to grow over the coming months. In around 1 month version (colour change of berries) will start and the grape berries will begin to change colour, soften, and load up with sugars.

Balance in the vineyard is critical, we need to ensure the correct amount of grape bunches per vine with enough leaves to charge them up with sunshine. If there are too many bunches of fruit the grapes will never ripen, on the other hand with a huge canopy the airflow through the vineyard is reduced and mildew is likely.

Cross your fingers that the summer weather returns as we need plenty of sunshine to power through to harvest.

THE UK’s 1st URBAN WINERY TAKES ON ITS 1st VINEYARD

London Cru’s founder, Cliff Roberson, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Foxhole Vineyard in West Sussex(near Bolney). The 20,000 vines are primarily made up of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris with a small pocket of Bacchus.

This acquisition will guarantee our supply of grapes for future vintages and also allow quality control of the fruit.

London Cru Winemaker Alex Hurley – “Differing from most of the producers in the UK, London Cru has a focus on crafting top quality still wines. Whilst many vineyards are being planted around the UK, few growers truly have this still wine focus. Foxhole Vineyard marks London Cru’s ambitious project to increase the quality and styles of still wines being made in the UK by taking advantage of controlling every stage of production from vine to glass.”

Less than 50 miles from their urban winery Foxhole Vineyard demonstrates London Cru’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of winemaking and elevating the quality of still wines in the UK. We are very excited to start this next chapter that embodies the spirit of London Cru’s innovation.”

Barrel Blog

ALL THINGS OAK

Off the back of a very successful 2022 harvest; the largest we have had in many years, our winemaker Alex has invested in premium new oak.

For the last 5 years we have been ageing a percentage of our white wines, sparkling base wines, and red wine in high quality neutral Burgundian oak barrels. This year, paired with the warmer 2022 vintage and the resulting riper Chardonnay and Pinot noir fruit, Alex has decided to introduce some carefully selected new oak barrels from Tonnellerie Radoux.

The purchase of new oak is a very important decision for any winery. New barrels are a winemaking tool which when introduced carefully add complexity to a wine and can improve quality. Charred oak contributes flavours like vanilla, coconut, caramel, clove and cinnamon, contributes wood tannins, and also allows a slow interaction of oxygen with the wine. There are many options which will directly impact the resulting wine:

Grain size
These barrels come from protected forests in the centre of France and the Vosges areas. The specific species is Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) which grows slowly and has a tight grain particularly suited to the aging of wines. The tight grain of this wood slows the micro-oxidation rate during the ageing process and ensures the aromatic quality of the grapes are preserved.
When the tree is chopped down it is then processed into planks, left outside exposed to the sun, wind and rain for around three years to “season”. This drying process in the open air helps reduce the level of tannins in the wood.

Barrel size
The classic size for Burgundy or Bordeaux barrels is 225-228L. This year for this new oak in the winery we opted for larger format 500L barrels. The impact of these barrels on the finished wine is reduced compared to the smaller formats. In large formats there is less internal surface area of wood touching the wine per L. The result is a slower micro-oxidation rate and lower overall oak flavour impact. This larger format of oak preserves the delicate cooler climate English Pinot and Chardonnay fruit quality, carefully building texture and mid-palate without overpowering the variety expression.

Toasting level
When new barrels are made a winemaker can order the inside of them to be burnt to a specific level. From low toast to a very charred toast. This year we opted for Evolution R toasting inside the barrels. Radoux does this by lowering the temperature and lengthening the “bousinage (toasting)” period. This method of toasting provides a balance between the wood and the wine, resulting in smooth tannins and sweetness on the palate.

The LDNCRU Collection - Christmas Vino Sorted

Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs 2019 

100% Pinot Meunier grown in Canterbury

After two years of ageing on lees, these bottles of bubbles have just been released. On the nose, this wine has whites peaches, green apple, quinces, and great depth from a subtle yeasty brioche character. We recommend you pair it with native oysters or a hard local cheese like Lincolnshire Poacher. A glass or two in front of a roaring fire also makes for a perfect night in.

Pinot Gris PétNat

Grapes are grown in West Marden, West Sussex

This was the most playful wine of the 2020 vintage…made from 100% Pinot Gris, 3 days of skin contact resulted in a unique pastel blush colour. The fermentation was in our 600L egg and neutral oak barrels and ran quite warm resulting in deliciously tropical aromas - rhubarb, peach, and mango.

The bottles have then been hand-disgorged, however, each bottle may still have a small amount of yeast. The resulting fizz level is light (think Vinho Verde or Txakoli) and helps to amplify the tropical Pinot Gris character… see if you can find the gingery XMAS spices in the back of the palate! A very moreish wine when served as an aperitif - it also beautifully pairs with fresh berries, strawberries, and clotted cream.

Bacchus

Grapes sourced from a single vineyard in Upperton, West Sussex

This Bacchus has a zingy tropical nose, passionfruit, and grapefruit in the foreground, with hints of freshly cut grass. The palate has the classic crisp English finish, green apple, gooseberry, and elderflower notes shine bright. There is a long textured finish from barrel aging on lees. This wine is particularly easy to pair with food - anything that likes a squeeze of lemon loves this Bacchus. Pairs easily with seafood such as smoked salmon or even an old-school prawn cocktail.

Pinot Noir Précoce

Single vinyard Précoce grown in West Marden, West Sussex

This Précoce has bright ripe cherry and fresh raspberries aromas, with hints of rose petals and a smokey charcuterie finish from barrel ageing. The palate is full of vibrant berries, tannins are soft and very approachable due to the delicate extraction in our concrete tanks. This year our Précoce was one of the most acclaimed WineGB reds and can be found in some of London’s best restaurants including the 3 Michelin Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. The bright red fruits in this wine pair perfectly with roast turkey, it also makes for a wonderful accompaniment with charcuterie and cheese.

LDNSPRITZ

White Wine Spritz - Product of England

A locally sourced, gluten-free, vegan-friendly, low-calorie white wine spritz with no added flavours or colouring. Made with English grapes sourced from Essex and Kent. The fruit from Essex brought pear drop and citrus notes, well-balanced with zesty vibrancy, while Kents grapes rounded out the blend with riper hints of peach and elderflower. Sip away without guilt, at just 5.5%ABV you’ll be going strong all day.

CRUSH CLUB - The Vintage of '20

Tasting the fruits of their labour

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The Vintage of ‘20 got together in our tasting room to taste through the wines that they had a hand in making.

The evening began with our most interesting wine of the vintage - the Pinot Gris PétNat with its luminescent peachy robe and light effervescence. The PétNat was disgorged just over 6 weeks ago allowing it just enough time to settle in bottle. The nose is clear and attractive with notes of rhubarb, the palate refreshing and tart with gooseberry and lemon sherbet. Its a playful wine with bags of character and energy and has a lovely liveliness that’s perfect to start off any soirée. It was positive feedback all round from the Crush Club, a perfect start to the evening.

Bacchus was up next, a grape variety that Alex has had great success with, receiving the top score in the country with his 2019 from Decanter. The quality of this vintage encouraged Alex to use skin contact maceration for 3 days to amplify the great fruit character. It seems to have worked with the 2020 showing more complex and even tropical notes on the nose, a reassuring weight on the mouth that finishes with pointed freshness. A very well structured wine, great on its own served chilled as we enjoyed at the Crush Club.

On to red and what a beauty it is. The Pinot Noir Précoce came out with a natural ABV of 13.2% and it would be very difficult to pin this down as an English Still Red - a category which has yet to produce consistently high-quality wines. Beautifully vibrant ruby colour is matched with a pretty fruitful nose and perfumed palate, it really is delicious and drinking it in the cellars tasting room at about 12 degrees gave it an extra freshness.

Alex received a silver medal from WineGb for both his 2020 Bacchus and Pinot Noir Précoce.

We decided to take advantage of our captive audience by introducing them to our latest edition to the LDN CRU family - LDN SPRITZ a white wine spritz in can. It raised a few eyebrows and provoked some hard questioning from our discerning Crush Club members. However, once we enjoyed an ice-cold can at the London Wonderground pop-up across the road from the winery all doubts were put to rest. The can was created with these types of outdoor events in mind, where glassware is rare and single-serve plastics frowned upon. The can chills down quickly and stays cooler for longer, the fizz stays fresh and it’s easy to move around with. Added, its vegan, gluten-free, locally sourced credentials make it a real winner, and with Alex being its creator you know it tastes great too.

The Crush Club brings a diverse group of people that come together to share first-hand in the process of getting in touch with nature and creating something special from that connection. I spoke with a Crush Club member who works in Law, who had joined our tasting having been at a bread making course earlier that day. This was their day off and they valued the purity of the processes involved in wine/bread making that are in stark contrast to their work. They lit up enthusiastically telling me how deeply satisfying and simple it was kneading out an oily pillow of focaccia earlier that day.

Winemaking and the harvest in particular have a fundamental purity that we can all connect with. I’m reminded of a quote from Voltaire “Il faut cultiver son jardin” “We must cultivate our garden”. We all need a project to keep our minds off our minds, within such a project perhaps we can find happiness in the simple logic that it offers.

I raise my metaphorical glass to all our Crush Club members, thanks for your valued support and we hope to see you for another harvest soon to focus on the small details of goodness that come from the land.

Interview with our winemaker Alex

AN INTERVIEW WITH

In case you missed it, our winemaker Alex was recently interviewed by Guy of The English Wine Collection. Guy is a great supporter of English wine and what we are doing at London cru for many years….

In this chat, we cover the inspiration of London Cru, some of the challenges of being an urban winery, and the vision behind our new release 2020 wines.

Enjoy!

Interview with The English Wine Collection Part 1

Interview with The English wine Collection Part 2

For more great English wine content check out what else Guy has been up to! He also happens to have a great range of English wine…..

Bringing Bacchus to London this English Wine Week

 London Cru teamed up with D&D London to create D&D Cru, a top English still wine aged in Burgundian 1er Cru barrels with a culinary focus. Our main goal was to get London sommeliers excited by English Wine, get their hands in the vineyard, pick the grapes, load the press, and taste the deliciously crisp wine. This was a project aimed at making a lasting visceral experience that highlights the effort that goes into quality English wine.  

Our award-winning winemaker Alex Hurley and a hand-picked group of D&D’s top sommeliers came together for this special collaboration. Alex Hurley says: “The king of English still wine is Bacchus - an obvious choice for this project, its fresh citrus notes and punchy aromatics pair so well with English produce. We also aged 23% of the wine for 7 months in used 1er Cru Burgundian barrels which adds a delightful creaminess to the palate and really helped us to create something very gastronomic.”  

Diana Rollan the Group Head of Beverage D&D London says “Our sommelier team have had the opportunity to be directly involved in each step of the winemaking process with London Cru, giving us a much deeper connection to English wine. This in turn helps our teams communicate the unique story of a high quality locally made product directly to our guests and supporting our ethos to become more sustainable”. 

The D&D Cru Bacchus 2019 is fresh and inviting on the nose with notes of gooseberry, grapefruit, and grassy herbs. The palate has classic English summer flavours of elderflower, layered with citrus and tropical back notes. A lively crisp acidity on a reassuringly robust body from lees aging gives a good balance. We love it with local cheeses and seafood on a warm Summer’s evening.  

D&D Cru is currently available across all D&D London restaurants in London.

Gin & Spritz

In the spirit of mixing things up I decided to take advantage of one of the great features of a 250ml can of white wine spritz - Its convenient single serve measure of sparking liquid. No need to open a bottle of sparkling wine only to leave half it in the fridge to go flat and end-up unceremoniously pouring it down the sink three days later. We all do it, even those of us with those fancy metal clasps that only really serve as rather weak projectile in your fridge and tend to fall on your shoeless feet in the morning when you are reaching for the milk. 

I invited some friends around for a little cocktail party; LDN spritz style. The spritz is a field blend of locally sourced grapes simply spritzed with English water. With no additional fruit flavours LDN Spritz lends itself particularly well as a component in cocktails. You won’t need to invest in any fancy bar tools to make these drinks, my aim was to keep things simple by focusing on “built” style cocktails. This is the easiest method where, as the name suggests you add one ingredient after the other into a glass without the need to shake or strain. Quick, easy and no fuss. Built drinks do not require extra cooling, mixing or dilution with ingredients that easily mix. I tend to serve my built cocktails as long drinks over ice in a highball or a Collins glass if you have one. 

In line with its English heritage, I have chosen gin as a base for my summer cocktails. Tanqueray No. Ten with its clean perfumed citrus notes and long zesty finish matches well with the LDN Spritz flavour profile of crisp fresh green apples, pear, and lemon zest. 

1. Apple Spritz 

30ml Tanqueray No. Ten 

60ml apple juice 

Top with LDN spritz 

Green apple slice to garnish 

Cubed ice 

Fill your glass with ice. Add your shot of Tanqueray and 2 shots of apple juice. Top with chilled LDN spritz, give it a gentle stir and garnish with a thin slice of green apple - Told you it was simple!. 

2. Brit Spritz 

30ml Tanqueray No.Ten 

30ml Elderflower cordial 

Top with LDN spritz 

Ribbon of cucumber to garnish 

Cubed ice 

Here I stuck to my game plan of using local produce. A nice tip to make more of your cucumber garnish is using a vegetable peeler to make a long ribbon. Peel length ways a thin strip of cucumber, it will be a flexible ribbon that you can then press and swirl up the inside of your glass, very bougie. As before, fill the glass with ice, add in your shot of gin and this time that very English Summer flavour of elderflower, top with the chilled spritz and bottoms up.  

3. Mint Spritz 

30ml Tanqueray No.Ten 

30ml Simple syrup (dissolved sugar) 

Top with LDN spritz 

Approx. 8 mint leaves 

Cubed ice 

Ok, I couldn’t make it that easy. I left the most labour intensive to last. Luckily at this stage of the evening my guests were well lubricated and happy to lend a hand to muddle up some mint. It’s well worth the wrist action as the muddling releases the mint oils that really amp up the flavour. Simple syrup is also worth the energy and can be made very simply in advance. For the simple syrup add equal parts of white sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, allow to cool. For the muddling wood is best, either a wooden spoon or rolling pin, a pestle and mortar works too. Use a sturdy thick bottomed glass, definitely not time for a Zalto. Add all the mint and the sugar syrup to your sturdy glass, then press down gently with your blunt tool while you twist your wrist, then release, do this for about 30 seconds. Assuming you mixed the mint and sugar in your serving glass you now add in first of the gin, fill the glass halfway with the spritz then stir. Now add your ice to the top, fill the drink with more spritz give it another stir and garnish with a sprig of mint. It's very refreshing and will go down a treat after all your hard work.  

The Story of LDN SPRITZ - a collaboration of wine minds.

Aaron Jolley LDN SPRITZ cofounder with LDN CRU winemaker Alex Hurley

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and for the creation of LDN spritz this is certainly the case. Former Street Feast Wine Director Aaron Jolley who created and ran a portfolio of wines bars across London including; Winyl, Winerama and Street Vin was having a problem at some of the pop-up venues he was running. All his bars used Riedel glasses, he strongly felt that pouring delicious wines into plastic disposable cups did everyone(especially the planet)a huge disservice. In recent years more strict Council policy was banning the use of glassware at many events, leaving Aaron in a bit of a difficult position, what to serve his wines in? He had to pull out of a number of big events and watched on as the beer and cider drink brands made a simple adjustment to cans.

Aaron had been a long standing customer of Roberson Wine and their wine buyer Keith Kirkpatrick had given him samples of the first generation of Californian canned wine in the past. The cans were 500ml and 12% ABV, the bulky size combined with the high alcohol didn’t give them much commercial appeal to the wine-on-the-go session drinker, but it did sow a seed of thought in Aaron’s mind. Roberson were researching into developing canned wines for a 3rd party partner but the project was canned(forgive the pun), the timing was right, the stars aligned and 18 months ago Aaron pitched a concept of a smaller 250ml can to the Roberson Team and the collaboration began.

With access to the Roberson expertise in wine handling and the state of the art winemaking facility at London Cru lead by award winning winemaker Alex the expert team set out on an adventure to make a canned wine that was completely different to anything else on the market. With our reputation as one of England’s best wineries, we wanted to make something high-quality, yet easy to enjoy on a long day in the sun - a canned spritzer that made the most of fabulous English wine.

This is where the idea for our LDN SPRITZ baby was born.

Alex had travelled through Austria and Hungary with buddies from his winemaker degree and, when they got together on their turf, white wine spritz was very much the drink of choice. Sitting in a Vienna café drinking spritz or heading out to a nightclub in Budapest, white wine spritz (Fröccs in Hungary) is an artform.

Inspired by these memories, we wanted LDN SPRITZ genuinely to reflect the wine it was made from. We did not want to add flavours or colours, but really keep things pure. The grape the whole grape and nothing but the grape.

canned wine - the winemaking

So, our team went through an extensive trial phase trying different wines styles from around Europe - Italian, French, German and English - and started the fun of making different blends of white wine spritz. We even used a basic Soda Stream to fizz up the test blends!

Early spritz test - We mixed still white wines with soda water in the LDN CRU lab

This is where our local English grapes really started to shine – crisp wines with low alcohol fitted our product perfectly! Our preferences aligned with zingy, delicately floral, pear, lemon, and lime-driven base wines. Working with some of Alex’s winemaker pals around England, we sourced from both Kent and Essex – fruit from Essex brought pear drop and citrus notes, well-balanced with zesty vibrancy, while Kent rounded out the blend with riper hints of peach and elderflower.

LDN CRU winemaker Alex sampling a fresh mix of spritz

Once we had the wine ready, it was time to start planning for the canning. Canning wines - and particularly canning wine spritz - is a relatively new thing, so we entered an extensive phase of canning trials.

For the first two trial runs we worked with a small facility in Kent. This facility required we pasteurise the contents, heating them to a temperature of around 72c for around 30 minutes. This works well for beer and fruit juices, but for wine there are several key problems. First, the flavours and aromatics of the wine became a little confected and jammy, but most adversely, the heat limited the amount of dissolved CO2 we could put into the can as they would expand and deform. Yet, for our spritz we wanted a serious level of fizz!

ldn spritz launch time!

So, in early 2021, after some 12 months of testing, blending, and working with our initial trials, we took a big leap forward and began working with a state-of-the-art canning facility. Moving from small trials to a much larger run gave us access to greater technology and allowed canning without pasteurisation. Avoiding this process markedly improved the taste of our Spritz and critically allowed us to maintain the fizz levels we dreamed of....

So now for the fun part! You have a chance to try LND SPRITZ right now, buying direct from our website, Roberson Wine, Brixton Wine Club and Harvey Nichols. A locally sourced, gluten free, vegan friendly, low calorie white wine spritz with no added flavours or colouring. Find a sunny patch in your local park, crack open a can of LND SPRITZ and let us know what you think on Insta.

What to drink in Lockdown?

If you're perusing the London Cru range looking for the perfect bottle our winemaker Alex is here to make things easy. These are his selection of wines which are drinking perfectly right now! All are exciting examples of their varieties and were made in our winery in Fulham. From the fresh zingy style of English Bacchus to the bursting juicy red fruits of Syrah from Zaragoza, our London Cru range has wine perfect for every occasion and palate.

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Bacchus 2019 (West Sussex, England)

'Bacchus is our most important London Cru grape, and we love making an elegant and gastronomic style. In the glass this Bacchus provides zesty lime and gooseberry fruits with hints of herbal and grassy notes building complexity. Part of this wine was aged in Premier Cru Burgundy barrels, which gently helps to build the body and adds a creaminess to the palate.
'This wine pairs beautifully with seafood as the notes of citrus interwoven with passionfruit, fresh pineapple and pithy grapefruit on the palate make for the perfect counterpoint. '

Alex Hurley - London Cru Winemaker

93 points - Decanter.

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Sydney St Syrah 2016 (Zaragoza, Spain)

'Syrah vines are perfectly adapted to warm climate regions and for this wine we sourced some beautiful organic grapes from north-east Spain. Charged by the glorious sunshine in Zaragoza this wine is bursting with blackberry and raspberry fruit, soft tannins and a peppery edge on the finish. 

'We waited for just the right moment before releasing this wine, the balance is absolutely perfect! A star when served alongside a steak, and one of my current favourite reds to drink at home.'

​Alex Hurley - London Cru Winemaker 

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Barbican Barbera 2015 (Piedmonte, Italy)

'Now we travel to Italy. In 2015 we sourced some beautiful organic Barbera grapes from a vineyard near Asti and Alba in Piemonte. 

'In the glass this wine has a perfectly ripe character of wild brambly berries, with notes of mulberry jam and juniper berry, with dark chocolate, mocha and spice coming from a hint of new oak. The fruit is balanced by Barbera's famous acidity and gives the wine a freshness and vibrancy on the finish. This wine is an absolute delight when paired with the humblest of Mozzarella pizza.'

​Alex Hurley - London Cru Winemaker

The making of an English red wine

The story of our 2020 vintage was one of focus – I really wanted to build on the success of 2019 and hone-in on what I love about making wines in the UK. Pinot Noir Précoce was the first to arrive in the cellar in mid-September it is the perfect place to start understanding the 2020 vintage.

This year we had a very special project associated with our Pinot Noir Précoce! In the USA in 2020 we are producing a Californian Pinot Noir with our good friend and winemaker Sashi Moorman. With Sashi’s guidance, our English Pinot Noir lived a life as close to that of our friends across the sea –which promises some super exciting tastings in the coming year as we can really explore and play-off the differences in climate, soil, and wine character.

Our Précoce grapes were grown on a little site in West Marden, a particularly pretty vineyard and one I just love to visit with my dog Ned while visiting the very hospitable owners Noel and Danielle. It sits at the bottom of a beautifully manicured English forest and garden, think wildflower gardens, beautiful squared-off hedges, and plenty of free-roaming pheasants and partridges.

This year the Précoce tended to have very small bunches with 10 to 12 per vine. These mini bunches were just starting to look like little golf balls, which indicates a little dehydration which really helps to concentrate flavours & natural sugars.

The grapes were hand-harvested and gently transported to our cellar in Fulham in 15kg crates. Once on-site the grapes were unloaded and transported into the cellar with our colourful forklift.

After the majority of the grapes were destemmed the Précoce started its journey in our Fulham cellar in a concrete tank. Fermentation was slow to kick-off which was great as this allows time for colour and aroma extraction. The tank then received a short pump over every morning and night and half way through fermentation the wine received a delestage which adds oxygen for the yeast to complete a happy fermentation.

Once fermentation was complete the Précoce wine was then racked and the skins pressed and then transferred into 4th use Burgundian barrels. My sense with this grape is allow a warmer rapid fermentation, which allows fermentation to take off. This minimises the extraction of tannins from the seeds which can add grippy tannins and bitterness. Malolactic fermentation is still ongoing, but this is currently very close to being completed.

The Précoce tastes very pure this year, bright red fruit, fresh plum, cranberries, rhubarb – with hints of spices and tannins sneaking in at the end. This year, with a nudge from Sashi, I included 8% whole bunch grapes into the concrete tank so there is a hint of this tannin character in the wine.

So watch this space…..we are aiming to get this wine out for Summer 2021! The perfect picnic red!

LONDON CRU XMAS FOOD PAIRINGS

Now that the winter chills are settling in our winemaker Alex has pulled together some delicious food pairings with our London Cru wines to help you dine in style. So get some food pairing inspiration, track down some delicious produce, cook up a festive storm and most importantly fill your wine shelf with our acclaimed London-made wines.

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Baker St Bacchus 2018

From the acclaimed 2018 vintage Baker St is a quintessential English Wine with expressive gooseberry and elderflower aromas and a hint of a freshly cut meadow. On the palate, the wine has great length, crisp acidity and wonderfully textured finish from ageing on lees and 10% in aged barrel. This is a lively wine and a great way to start any celebration. As an aperitif this wine is delicious, but with its crisp backbone this wine is perfect with plates that love a squeeze of lemon or lime. We recommend you pair Baker St with seafood dishes such as oysters, lobsters or prawns, it also couples amazingly well with grilled or fried white fish such as cod.

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Chancery Lane Chardonnay 2017

A classic cool climate expression of Chardonnay, the Chancery Lane is an English wine with upfront aromas of green apples and pear drops with lavender and green herbs providing a complex finish. A bright wine with crisp acid due to the cooler English vintage in 2017, this wine pairs fabulously well with cheese and asparagus tart, where the wine’s freshness brings a wonderful counterbalance to the richness of the pastry.

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Rosaville Road Rosé

Rosaville Rd is a pale, delicate rosé, with aromas of pink grapefruit and fresh strawberries. With a smooth crisp palate of red fruits and body from lees ageing this is an expressive English Pinot Noir from a great vintage, well balanced and a fabulous accompaniment for a warm summer day. This wine is great by itself in the sunshine and due its delicate aromas and crisp palate, it’s an excellent partner with light dishes such as a goat’s cheese salad.

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Pimlico Rd Pinot Noir 2016

Pimlico Rd is a classic Pinot with aromas of black cherries, dried herbs and subtle spice, supported by fine tannins and an earthy finish. The grapes for this wine were grown in Limoux in France in an elevated limestone parcel, were hand-harvested and transported whole-bunch to our Fulham winery. The brooding red fruits and soft balance of this Pinot make it a classic pairing with roasted white meats such as the archetypal XMAS dinner of roast turkey. If you are looking for something a little off-piste, a smoked beetroot puree with creamy burrata makes a wonderful pairing for vegetarians.

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Sydney St Syrah 2016

This is a generous wine with aromas of cherry, white pepper, licorice and smoky dried herbs.  These grapes were grown in Calatayud in North East Spain, which allowed for a long growing season and wonderful aromatic maturity. After fermentation, this Syrah was barrel and concrete tank aged for a year and a half which softened the fine tannins and developed rich, concentrated aromatics. The smooth tannin of this wine and ripe fruit character makes it a fabulous pairing with barbecued steak, beef roasts, yet it’s equally delicious by itself in front of a warm fire.

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Cabot Square Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

This is a deliciously full-bodied wine with aromas of blackberries, cassis, dried cedar, with a subtle mint and bay leaf finish. Grown organically in the Languedoc, these grapes had a long, gentle fermentation which resulted in masses of fine tannins and provides the wine amazing structure. The wonderful concentration of blackberries and moderate tannin structure allows this Cabernet to really shine when paired with robust dishes such as lamb roast or wild mushrooms pan fried with garlic and butter

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A proper English vintage

Vintage 2019 is done and dusted - for London Cru this vintage focused on finding the fun in English grapes, exploring some new varieties and experimenting with a raft of exciting wine styles. As the weather didn’t really behave through September and October, the critical ripening phase for the vines was delayed and hampered with mildew pressure. This resulted in a difficult growing year which required us to be highly selective in the vineyards and resulted in an average decrease in yields by a factor of 50% on last year. The positive story from this drop in quantity was we brought fabulous quality fruit into the cellar and the resulting wines are looking amazing. This year we have some great surprises in our lineup - such as two new English reds and even a couple of types of bubbles!  

Bacchus

At London Cru since 2017 we have focused on sourcing grapes exclusively from the UK and making wines right here in the heart of London. In this time Bacchus has formed a core component of our brand. We love its freshness, aromatics of gooseberries and elderflower, the potential for ageing and general high-quality every year. This year was no exception. We worked with two vineyards in West Sussex and Alex, our winemaker, took on the project of fermenting the two vineyards as 5 different components which he plans to bring together to produce a single Bacchus wine. A portion of the grapes were macerated for 16 hours to extract aromatics and texture, whilst the majority was whole-bunch pressed and fermented with a number of different yeasts and temperatures. Last year our Roberson team loved the quality of the Bacchus aged in oak barrels, so this vintage we increased this percentage fermented and aged in oak barrels to just over 20%. This adds body and texture to the wine, builds the mid-palate and adds aromatics from ageing on the wine lees. As it stands this wine has finished alcoholic fermentation and will not go through malolactic fermentation. The taste is exactly where we want it - the gooseberry and passion-fruit aromatics are on point and the palate has mouth-watering zesty acidity and great length. This Bacchus will be bottled in March next year.

Bacchus on the morning of harvest

Our somm pals inspecting the vines

Little gems of Bacchus

Beautifully perfect Bacchus

Ready for the journey to London

Bacchus one week before harvest

Pinot Meunier Bubbles

This year we are also trying our hand at making a traditional method English sparkling wine. Inspired after working at Gusbourne last year, Alex is excited to produce a Blanc de Noir made from 100% Pinot Meunier grapes. As it turned out these were the grapes of the vintage, superb quality and the last to arrive in the cellar from Canterbury in late October. The Meunier was whole bunch pressed and is still going through primary fermentation. This wine is destined to go through malolactic fermentation this month and will be bottled early in the new year. This wine is already shining with citrus, tropical fruits aromatics and perfect crisp acidity. Patience is the key with traditional method sparkling wine, but the excitement is building for this one! Quality English bubbles made right here in London!

A proper bunch of Meunier

Pinot Meunier on the vine

Checking out the vines

Solid crop of Meunier

Not a bad office view

Checking the sugar levels of the grapes

Meunier one week before harvest

Another beautiful aspect from the vines

English reds

When Alex took over the helm at London Cru he was excited to test the potential of high-quality English red wines. After months of research, tastings, and chats with growers, we decided to throw our hat in the ring with two genuine London Cru firsts.

Pinot Noir Précoce

Pinot Noir Précoce (Frühburgunder in Germany) is an earlier ripening mutation of Pinot Noir which has proven itself to be a serious contender for producing exciting quality wine in the UK. This year we worked with a tiny 1ha vineyard near Chichester. The soils are amazing with large chunks of grey flint floating on loam and resulted in the ripest grapes of the vintage. Not only were they ripe, but the pretty little bunches of Précoce were also the first to be harvested and a delight to work with. This fruit was destemmed and then fermented in 4 separate vessels, 3 small stainless tanks and an open-top barrel. The grapes were gently punched down by hand every day and pressed off early to achieve a moreish easy-drinking “vins de soif”. This wine has now finished malolactic fermentation and will be barrel aged for 9 months before release. Bright aromatics of red strawberry and cherry, very well-balanced acidity and on-point tannin structure. This wine is going to be a very small release, but a truly wonderful easy drinking example of English Pinot Noir.

Pinot noir after the destemmer

Perfect crapes of Précoce

Précoce quality control

Gems of précoce ready for fermentation

Pinot précoce at harvest

Maturity testing the Précoce before harvest

A bunch of Précoce at harvest

Check out this vineyard and these soils!

Cabernet Noir

The other red grape for the vintage was the guilty pleasure of our winemaker Alex. He has a love of Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley and after tasting a few examples of Cabernet Noir (a Swiss variety) the parallels were obvious. A few tonnes of this grape found its way into the cellar late in the vintage.  Cabernet Noir naturally ignores these rainy pressures and mildew pressures with ease and most importantly almost no chemicals are needed in the vineyard. True to its nature these grapes arrived in the cellar clean as a whistle, little black jewels, the bunches were loose and the berries were tiny with firm skins. The bunches were 100% destemmed and not crushed. These berries were then fermented semi-carbonic and then gently punched down manually morning and night. The resulting wine has complex red fruits counterbalanced with spicy black pepper and hints of red capsicum in the palate. This wine will now be aged in second use 300L French barrels which will round out the texture and contribute some oak character to the wine. This Cab Noir is still bubbling away in barrel due to malolactic fermentation and will continue to be aged in the barrels for 9 months. This is an English red wine with real presence and personality.      

Pinot Gris Pet-Nat

Finally, this year we had a small quantity of Pinot Gris. This wine is destined for a Pet-Nat (Pétillant Naturel) and will round out our exciting 2019 vintage offerings. From the same small vineyard as our Pinot Noir Précoce we had a very small allotment of Gris which was perfectly suited to some cheeky bubbles. With bright aromatics of pineapple and citrus this wine will be bottled later this week once the natural sugar levels hit the targeted 12g/L. This yeast will then continue fermentation under crown cap in the bottle and the natural CO2 released will result is a delightful light spritz (around half that of a traditional method sparkling). This wine will not be disgorged and is served deliciously cloudy with the fermentation yeast contributing to the mouthfeel and flavour. A super fun and lively wine that will be released early next year.

Winery Tour

Finally, if you would like to learn more about how these wines were made why not join us on one of our regular tours. Bookings can be made at Roberson Wine and is as easy walk from West Brompton train station.

Mail List

This year our production is diverse, but also very limited. If you want to ensure you have the best chance of tasting these wines at release make sure you join our mailing list below. These lucky campers will receive the first release offers.

How's the 2019 vintage shaping up?

This year at London Cru we are continuing our love of making English wines. As a small urban winery in London we don’t grow our own grapes, but rather we work with great growers close to London.

Now August has arrived, in the vines we can see that the flowering and fruit set has finished. We had great weather around flowering and it has given us nice full clusters. These little hard green grapes are developing nicely and look perfect.

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The fruit set in 2019 has been great!

You will also notice the common practice in the UK is to remove some leaves from around the fruit zone. This leaf thinning increases light penetration to the bunches, allows for better airflow, and reduces disease pressure.

At this moment in the vineyards we are just approaching veraison. This is the period the red grapes start to take on sugars, soften and change colour. Our white grapes obviously don’t become red, but rather soften and start to enlarge as the sugar content increases and the acid levels start to drop. This is an exciting period in the grape growing calendar and wonderful to see in person if you’re in the English countryside.

Whilst overall we are keeping very positive about vintage 2019, there are still some challenges…if you’ve noticed the humidity in London over the last few weeks you can directly feel the major challenge this vintage is throwing towards our growers. The regular and sometimes heavy rain has created increased humidity in the canopy which increases the potential propagation of mildew. Cross your fingers for some more sunshine to bring us to a beautiful finish!

In the coming weeks our winemaker and members of the Roberson team will start to make regular visits to our grower’s vineyards, sample and taste the grapes and track their progression to maturity. Check out our regular updates on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

If you want to get involved with our vintage this year there are a few spots remaining in our Crush Club. The Crush Club gives Londoners the chance to become intimately involved with London Cru's 2019 vintage, from grape to glass. At three exclusive events members will have the opportunity to get stuck into the winemaking process, and be involved with key decisions affecting the year's production.

Bacchus reviews coming in hot and fast!

The momentum this year has been amazing on the back of the great 2018 vintage and our new release wines have been a roaring success. Baker St was just released in May and has been getting high praise from restaurants and wine reviewers alike. Perfect for a warm summers day - we are delighted with how this wine is drinking right now!   

The perfect pairing!

Alex presenting Baker St to the Crush Club

Thai seabass and Bacchus anyone?

“Floral clarity, calmness...this wine could have reasonably taken top spot in this column. It is the grape that they concentrate on and this new vintage is a star” 
Matthew Jukes, Vineyard Magazine

"The Baker Street Bacchus has a super-punchy palate, bursting up front with zesty lime and pink grapefruit energy. I really enjoyed the textural qualities and intensity of this wine which feels perfectly placed as a showcase Bacchus."
John Mobbs, GreatBritishWine.com

"This is aromatic, very dry, and full of hawthorn, citrus and elderflower..."
Victoria Moore, The Daily Telegraph

"Apple and orchard flavours combine with elderflower and gooseberry to produce a wine that really zings."
 John Clarke, Independent.co.uk

"Exuberant, floral and zesty, this urban winery's bottle is liquid splendour."
Olly Smith, Mail Online

2019 has been a very busy year for our little winery in Fulham. The new vintage is in bottle, we are running regular wine tastings and private events, and we've continued our focus of bringing the story of quality English wines to London. As part of this story we really love working with Bacchus and from the reviews above you can see why! This is a world class grape capable of making delicious wines and it also happens to be perfectly suited to our climate.

2018 BAKER ST BACCHUS,
LONDON CRU

£13.50

USUALLY £15 - LIMITED STOCK

Making of a Rosé…..

At Roberson Wine we love a great rosé and during the spectacular 2018 English vintage our London Cru team managed to get our hands on the perfect Pinot Noir grapes. Due to the exceptionally warm summer these grapes were perfectly ripe, carefully hand harvested and transported from Surrey in small crates to our cellar in Fulham.

Beautiful Surrey vineyard

Gabor harvesting the grapes

More beautiful Pinot Noir

Once in our state-of-the-art cellar these grapes were destemmed, gently crushed and then allowed to macerate in our pneumatic press for 4 hours. This period, where the skins and the juice are in contact, allows for the anthocyanins (colours) in the skins to be extracted.

When we had the perfect rosé colour the free run juice was transferred to our temperature controlled fermentation tanks and inoculated with specific rosé wine yeast. At London Cru we take our rosé very seriously and fermented the wine as 2 different components, each with an important role in the finished wine. 90% was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks which preserves the delicate fruitiness of the Pinot Noir aromas. 10% of the wine was fermented and aged in old oak barrels adding a richer, lightly oaked character which builds the body and complexity of the final wine in the blend.

The wine completed malolactic fermentation which adds to the softness and creaminess of the final wine. Additionally, Rosaville Rd was aged on lees for 5 months after fermentation which continued to build the mouthfeel and texture of the wine.

The perfect Spring wine

Labelling

That Rosé

Keith checking the ferments

Keith tasting the barrels

Rosaville Rd is a pale, delicate rosé, with aromas of pink grapefruit and fresh strawberries. With a smooth crisp palate of red fruits and great body from lees ageing this is an expressive English Pinot Noir from a great vintage, well balanced and a fabulous on a warm spring day. This wine is great by itself in the sunshine and also an excellent partner with light dishes such as a goat’s cheese and asparagus tart.

Check out how this wine was bottled below

Bacchus is BACK

At London Cru we are tremendously proud of our 2018 Baker St Bacchus. This wine is the quintessential English still wine, with a bright zesty palate, a vibrant gooseberry and elderflower nose and enticing background aromas of hedgerow and yeasty goodness from lees ageing. This wine is the perfect accompaniment with seafood such as oysters, lobster, or the humble fish and chips, but is also fabulous as an aperitif with mild cheeses.

What makes this wine so special?

Baker St incorporates Bacchus from two outstanding vineyards, one located in Kent and the other in West Sussex.

The Kent vineyard in July 2018 a few months before harvest.

The West Sussex vineyard on the day of the pick

These grapes were gently transported to our winery in London, partially destemmed, and pressed in our state-of-the-art pneumatic press. The juice was then fermented in four different components each with a different design focus. 90% was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks which preserves the purity of the Bacchus aromas. 10% of the wine was fermented and aged in old oak barrels adding a richer, lightly oaked character and builds the body and complexity of the final wine in the blend. The wine was aged on lees for 5 months after fermentation which continued to build the mouthfeel and texture of the  wine.

High quality Bacchus grapes

De-stemming the Bacchus

Loading the press

Monitoring the ferments

Baker St is a serious wine with incredible length and mouth wateringly delicious balance. Olly Smith from the Daily Mail has agreed that the 2018 vintage in the UK has provided wines of amazing quality and judged our Baker St to be ”Exuberant, floral and zesty, this urban winery’s bottle is liquid splendour”. Even before officially releasing our Bacchus it has been quickly listed at some of the finest restaurants in London! Watch this space in the coming months as we release the exact venues and their recommended sommelier pairings.

Baker St is currently available for pre-order for £15 and will be available from early May. Judging from initial interest and that we sell out of Bacchus every year we recommend you get your hands on a few bottles now to avoid disappointment.

At London Cru we have also recently launched our new members Crush Club, where we are inviting wine lovers to join us in the next harvest! See this flyer for more information.

NEW YEAR, NEW CRU

Introducing Roberson Wine’s New Assistant Winemaker

Vintage 2018 is done, the fermentations are all complete, and as winter takes hold of London the activity for London Cru in the Roberson winery slows down. This is a great time for our team to stop and reflect on our achievements since opening the winery in 2013. We have become a well-known hub for tasting cracking wines, a lively event space, and a producer of critically acclaimed wines.

The 2018 vintage was a particularly great one for us and highlights the growing maturity of the wine industry in the UK. With a great number of new vineyards being planted around the country, and production of increasingly high-quality grapes, England really has become a world class producer of cool climate wines.

To support this future, the London Cru wines from 2018 were exclusively sourced from vineyards in England. This decision was made deliberately to support our local growers, allow us to showcase quality English wines in the heart of London, and finally to minimise the environmental impact of transporting our fruit long distances. As the first urban winery in London, we feel this new step is an important metamorphosis for our long-term sustainability. At London Cru we have shown the world that quality award winning wines can really be made right in the heart of the capital. In the coming years London Cru will continue to demystify wine and bring innovation and eccentricity into the London wine scene.

With this new pathway in mind we would like to introduce Alex Hurley, who will join Agustín Novoa in the winery team for 2019. Alex worked as a Geologist through Australia and Asia before deciding to follow his passion for wine. Having previously made wines in Australia, Burgundy, and Barolo, the seduction of working with quality English grapes brought him to the UK.

With a Master of Enology and Viticulture, Alex will drive the daily operations of the winery, work closely with our growers, as well as be a friendly face in the winery. In sync with our new direction with the London Cru wines, Alex loves to make wines with minimal intervention, great balance, and natural acidity. When not making or talking about wines, Alex is a passionate foodie and looks forward to exploring more of the English countryside.

If you’re interested to get a sneaky taste of the wines from our winery tanks, have a chat with our team, or find out more about our new winemaking direction at London Cru, check out our upcoming tours and tastings.