HarrowandHopeRose2019

Harrow & Hope was founded in 2010 by Henry & Kaye Laithwaite with a 6.5 hectare vineyard, one plot on the Thames gravel terrace, formed by the river cutting into the Chilterns chalk around 450,000 years ago. Today their soils are a complex layer of clay, flint and gravel suited to Pinot Noir and lower down the slope the clay layer gets thinner before the pure chalk, home to Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. In 2020they made the commitment to convert their vineyards to organic farming, focussing on bringing the very best fruit to the winery, where Henry uses a “light touchâ€?approach. Widely praised by consumers and press, this is one of England’s top sparkling producers, their wines show precision, purity and expressive varietal character. rrBeing quite central and away from the coast the vineyard experiences high summer day temperatures with cooler nights that preserve precious acidity. The rose is a new addition to the range, this first vintage of 2019 was launched in summer 2023.rrWeather: 2019 was quite a bizarre year that had a lot of heat, but also a lot of rain at times, especially at harvest. This seemed to favour the early ripening Pinot Noir and Meunier, which we got in before the rain and whose characters dominate the style of our 2019 wines. In that sense it has a number of similarities to 2015 which was another great Pinot year. Because of that this Rosé has immense structure, texture and depth.rrTechnical Information:rRegion: Chiltern Hills near MarlowrGrape Varieties: 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay & 20% MeunierrLees Ageing: 2 YearsrDosage: 8 g/lrSugar: 8.3 g/lrAcidity: 7.6 g/lrDisgorged: 29th November 2022rFermentation: 30% fermented in seasoned oak barrelsrDrink: Now to 5 yearsrrTasting Note: Fresh, charming nose with a strawberry shortcake creaminess but sharper rasperry aroma too. In the mouth plenty of tension from fine acidity, but the sweet ripeness of pulpy Berry fruits and that persisting hint of creaminess makes for a lovely balance.