TidebrookStaddleStoneChardonnay2022,Mousehall

Tidebrook ‘Staddle Stone’ Chardonnay is a superlative example of what can be achieved with English grapes in the hands of master winemakers. From the very limited ‘maiden’ 2022 vintage, comes this creamy, soft, barrel-fermented Chardonnay. Vibrant peachy, citrussy fruit with alluring smoky, buttery vanilla and mineral notes, all underpinned by a perfectly judged acidity. If you only try one English wine this year, make it this one!

Whole grape clusters were gently pressed, and the juice naturally settled, before fermentation and aging in 228-litre French oak barrels for 12 months. A small proportion of tank-fermented wine was blended in to enhance the fresh, citrus flavours.

2022 – 12% abv

Staddle Stone is derived from the Old English word ‘stathol’, meaning foundation or support and in medieval times these mushroom-shaped stones were used to support granaries, haystacks and beehives to improve air circulation. A series of medieval staddle stones demarcates the boundary of the Chardonnay vineyard at Mousehall.

Mousehall Estate lies within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in a secluded valley on the northern edge of the parish of Mayfield in East Sussex. In 2017, Gary and Kathy Jordan owners of Jordan Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa, discovered the neglected and over-grown property (records of which date back to the Doomsday book) and with a background in viticulture and the love of a challenge, Mousehall Country Estate was brought back to life.

In 2021 the Jordans converted an abandoned barn into what is now their Distillery & Winery, one of the first Distilleries in a Winery in the UK. The brook for which Tidebrook is named, rises in the valley and flows through estate, forming one of the sources of the River Rother, meeting the sea at Rye. In bygone years, the iron industry and later the hop industry were significant in this area, the latter giving rise to the distinctive Oast found on Mousehall Estate and featuring on the Tidebrook wine labels.

Mousehall is not only home to the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier vineyard, and various gin botanicals, but to 18 Dorper sheep, 9 beehives, Runner & Mallard Ducks and Cody, Charlie and Marmalade, the Mousehall pets.