I was supposed to write this column a few weeks ago at the end of harvest but it’s taken this long to finally get things ship shape in the cellar; two of my barrels of Sauvignon Blanc only finished fermentation last week, some seven weeks after picking, so things have dragged on a little this year.
It’s been one of those years; very stop-start from the outset and arguably the hardest harvest I’ve encountered since setting up Gutter&Stars in 2020. Challenging best sums it up, but ultimately rewarding too. There will be some excellent wines made from the 2024 vintage I have no doubt, and I’m confident a few of them will come with a G&S stamp on the label.
Wet, wet, wet - the rains kept coming in 2024
What has made this year so tricky was a lousy summer followed by bad weather throughout September which resulted in disease pressure in the vineyards and low yields. While yields were down the quality and ripeness was there in pockets, especially in Essex where many of the best parcels of grapes I work with come from. It’s a familiar story.
Ripe, disease-free grapes are not a given in years like this so hats off to all the growers I work with for coming up with the goods. We now have a cellar full of exciting wines ready for release in spring/summer 2025 and beyond. As ever we have barrels of Bacchus, Ortega, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir happily maturing, and for the first time this year we are producing single site, single variety wines from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris grapes too.
These are varieties I’ve never worked with in the UK before, and already the flavours and characters coming from these infantile wines are unique to me; the Sauvignon is so expressive and ripe while the Gris is bright and sherbet-like with umami undertones. Let’s see how they develop over the winter.
We are also putting together our first ever multi-vintage blend, made up of wines from the 2023 and 2024 vintages. This was blended last week from four separate wines (three from the recent vintage, and one from 2023), and is now coming together over the winter in a stainless steel tank. I’m very excited to see how this turns out.
The quality and ripeness was there in pockets, especially in Essex
With an ear to the ground over the harvest period I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about whole vineyards being lost to powdery mildew and grey rot and growers picking grapes well below their expected ripeness levels. One leading producer was picking Chardonnay for still wine at 10% potential alcohol and hoping to transform things in the cellar. There’s only so much magic that can come out of a packet though, but good luck to them. This was a year where most producers were simply happy to get through to November relatively unscathed.
Usually during the harvest period you can guarantee a decent amount of weight loss due to the physical nature of the work and the non-stop regime, but this year even the trusty old ‘harvest diet’ failed to deliver.
I think I put weight on through a combination of less labour due to lower yields, less continuous work and more stress; the harvest was so strung out that there was a lot of time sitting around eating biscuits and worrying about the weather. I’m now an expert in the microclimates and predominant weather patterns of parts of the UK I only visit a handful of times a year, as well as the biscuit selections in east of England service stations. Mastermind here I come.
With all the 2024 wines now safely in, there’s barely time to put my feet up and reflect as December is upon us and the festive circus of tastings, parties, open days and sales has begun. We’re even hosting a couple of Christmas parties in the winery this year for local businesses which should be fun. A Christmas piss-up in a winery, what could possibly go wrong…?
The main event is the annual Open Cellar on Saturday 14th December where we’re pouring samples of all our current release wines and knocking out free mugs of glühwein to all-comers. Local wild and sour brewery Pastore is joining us to pour their delicious beers and we have a pizza truck on hand too. If you’re in the Cambridge area do come along, we promise that the music will be absolutely banging (strictly no Wham!) and you’re guaranteed a warm welcome.
Destemming the Pinot Noir
Looking beyond Christmas (if that’s possible right now), plans for the New Year include the release of our 2023 Pinot Noir in January. This was bottled in late November and is made from Pinot Noir grapes grown at Missing Gate Vineyard in the Crouch Valley, Essex. It’s light-footed and balanced with lovely red fruit (sour cherry, pomegranate), red liquorice and delicate black pepper spice. There’s good tannic structure and length too. This wine has no name or label yet, so that’s something else to get sorted post-Christmas.
Other plans for the first half of 2025 include getting among the on-trade in London and beyond to try to secure a few more listings, especially for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as these are wines that we feel are a great fit for casual and fine dining spots. If anyone has a gap on their list for premium English still wines do get in touch.
That just leaves us to wish you all a happy and merry festive season. Servus!
