ROSÉ EX MACHINA 2016 - MAGNUM

CEPAGE: 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay

VINEYARD: Jenkyn Place Vineyard, Hampshire, planted 2004. Vines 13 years old at time of 2016 harvest.

SOIL TYPE: Greensand with fractured chalk, approx. 80m above sea level

YIELD: Affected by Spring frosts so extremely low yield of approx. 3,750 kg/ha. 4,500 bottles & 200 magnums produced

VINIFICATION: 100% fermented in stainless steel, without malolactic fermentation. 20% red wine from Pinot Noir

MATURATION: Bottled July 2017. First release:4 years ageing on lees, 1 year ageing on cork.

DOSAGE: 9g/L

Greek tragedies were full of dreams and scandal. Calamitous plots, based upon the myths of the time which often left the poor protagonists desperate and without hope. Sometimes, the situations were so complicated they seemed impossible to resolve. In such circumstances, a Deux Ex Machina (Latin for God from the machine) would be introduced suddenly and unexpectedly, surprising the audience and solving the seemingly insoluble problem being acted out on stage. These not only delighted the audience but brought about a happy ending too.

 2016 was Dermot’s Rosé Ex Machina - when extraordinary events unexpectedly occurred. The grape quality was exceptional, but the yields were tiny, and the tanks and barrels were barren. It didn’t look good. Suddenly though, like a Deux Ex Machina from the above-mentioned Greek tragedies all those years ago, the Gods intervened with grapes from Jenkyn Place Vineyard that were, quite literally, perfect. So crisp and so ripe and so faultless, it meant that he could make this extraordinary wine after all. The first ever rosé English sparkling wine from Sugrue South Downs. It truly is a wine from the Gods, a Rosé from the sky, a Rosé Ex Machina.

Both orange peel and Red Delicious apple figure on the nose, alongside a subtle hint of fresh Viennoiserie that turns into shortcrust with more air. The palate strikes immediately with its effortlessness: there is that lovely balance between juicy freshness and mellow ripeness that you get in red apples. The slender body fizzes away with tiniest bubbles, lending creaminess and gentleness, expressing serenity, beauty and depth. Very elegant, lovely now, certain to evolve into a grandiose and gastronomicrosé.

95 POINTS
Anne Krebiehl MW Falstaff, May 2022 

"Linear and taut with great precision showing subtle leafy hints with cherry and cranberry hints as well as keen acidity and fine spicy hints. So linear and fine with lovely purity". 

94 POINTS

Jamie Goode www.wineanorak.com Sept 2023

AWARDS

WineGB Boutique Producer 2020, 2021 & 2023.

We launched this wine in May 2022 with 4.5 years on leese and half on cork. We are delighted to make a rosé sparkling wine that is slightly deeper in colour, lean and dry with long aging potential, as we are seeking restraint and tension in the wine rather than overt red fruit flavours. Alongside fruit aromas of red berries and citrus this rosé has a strong rhubarb and beetroot character that is making it unique and interesting as well as an amazing food wine.