Winemaker Dermot Sugrue, is a bit of a legend in English Sparkling Wine and he is a great friend of ours. We were very happy to welcome him and partner Ana Dogic to the shop this March 2022 to taste his most recent releases.
Many people in the know will be aware of Dermot as the charismatic Limerick man who made wines for the likes of Nyetimber and Wiston Estate. Although still acting as winemaker for other vineyards, these days he is more focused than ever on his own Sugrue production. He has two main vineyards Mount Harry, near Lewes and Storrington Priory located just south of Pulborough in West Sussex.
Ana Dogic is Vineyard Manager and Sales Director at Sugrue. Recently a Winemaker and lecturer at Plumpton College, Ana has a vast and varied background in wine. Born and raised in Croatia she achieved an MSc in Viticulture and Oenology in the wine region of Zagreb before traveling the world, working vintages in New Zealand, Peru, California, Austria and Germany.
Sugrue Cuvee The Trouble with Dreams 2017
‘The Trouble with Dreams’ borrows its name from an Eels song and refers to the first potential harvest at his Storrington vineyard, that was decimated by birds!
2017 was also a problematic year, forcing Dermot to source fruit from his friends at Jenkyn Vineyards, for whom he also makes wine. A proportion of the grapes are also from his Mount Harry and Storrington vineyards.
A blend of 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir,partly matured in oak barriques.
A precise, pure and linear wine with aging potential. Only 7,700 bottles produced.
Sugrue Cuvee B de Blancs Boz 2015
A very limited vintage, dedicated to Dermot Sugrue's late brother Barry Sugrue, aka Boz.
Made exclusively with grapes from Jenkyn Place in Hampshire, this Blanc de blancs wine is made from a small harvest of 2015 Chardonnay fruit.
The grapes were fermented in stainless steel with full malolatic fermentation. The wine spent a year on cork and four and a half years ageing on the lees.
This wine has a fantastic nose and a soft mousse. With lovely apricot fruit it is round and medium rich with a touch of those desirable biscuity, yeasty notes.
There is plenty of bottle age complexity and a deliciously long finish with ripe citrus acidity.
Following on from a 100-bottle prototype, this is the first official release of a Sugrue zero dosage wine, which they affectionately call Zodo.
A blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from their own Storrington and Mount Harry vineyard. It is a multi-vintage wine made mostly with 2014 grapes and the addition of 2011 & 2009.
Part of the wine is fermented in barrel with no malolactic fermentation and the other portion in stainless steel with malolactic fermentation.
The released wine has 1.6g/l of residual sugar and it is dry but not aggressive. Ripe and soft from time spent on lees, Zodo is a wine with fabulous balance.
Sugrue Cuvee Dr Brendan O’Regan MV
The second vintage of this magnificant wine dedicated to Dermot's Grand Uncle, Dr Brendan O'Regan who established the world’s first Duty Free shop at Shannon Airport in 1947.
The fruit is from Sugrue's Storrington and Mount Harry vineyards an follows his favoured 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir blend.
Another multi-vintage, it has some of the first Regan wine added into the dosage, along with some 2009 vintage wine.
With a rich opulent nose it is ripe, juicy and elegant. A luscious wine with balanced acidity. Beautiful to enjoy now, it will grow in elegance and complexity if cellared for up to a decade.
We think these wines are just fantastic and highly recommend them all!!!
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