92 points “Ripe red cherry and strawberry on the nose seasoned with Mediterranean spices and dried rose. Aged for three months in partial new oak it's soft-grained on the palate with red apple peel and more red berries balanced by elegant acidity. More hawthorn earthiness towards the long and warm finish.” – Decanter
Decanter Magazine featured this in their “Best English Wines to Try This Autumn” round-up in October 2022. Features like that always cause wines to disappear very quickly.
Prepare to lose yourself down the Rabbit Hole. Just one sip and we knew we’d be drinking the new Pinot Noir from Simpsons Wine Estate all summer long and beyond. Its ripeness is quite simply startling for such a cool climate. Super smooth with not a hint of bitterness the red fruit is juicy silky and laced with delicately sophisticated notes of clove star anise creamy milk chocolate smoke and freshly brewed coffee. The Simpsons Wine Estate’s Rabbit Hole Pinot Noir might well be the finest red produced on these shores and is one of those exceptional wines that is a joy on its own but equally wonderful paired with food. Think rabbit ragu and pappardelle a mixed leaf salad with beetroot roasted in garlic and thyme croquettes with romesco sauce barbeques picnics and more. There we go again losing ourselves down the Rabbit Hole.
Located just outside Canterbury – which is twinned with Reims in the heart of Champagne and has very similar lime-rich chalky soils – you’ll discover Simpsons Wine Estate. This location is no happy accident; it’s a carefully orchestrated strategy that we predict will revolutionise the English Wine world. Ruth and Charles Simpson spent 17 years perfecting their art at their award-winning Domaine Sainte Rose in Languedoc before setting up their new venture in the stunning Elham Valley (a designated Area of Outstanding Beauty). This kind of winemaking pedigree is somewhat of a rarity in English wine as many of the recent surge in new winery openings have been set up by people who have made money in The City and are looking for a new challenge.
On visiting the Simpsons Wine Estate – which was bought in 2012 planted in 2014 and opened by Oz Clarke in 2016 – it’s the astonishing attention to detail that strikes you. A recent study by East Anglia University to identify the prime location for vineyards in the UK stopped short of giving exact coordinates for fear of the impact on land prices but hinted that the very best place was somewhere near Canterbury. When you look at Simpsons’ vineyards it’s hard not to think they’ve found the magical plots. This area of the North Downs has some of the highest sunshine hours in the UK their slopes are perfectly positioned to optimise sun capture and protect from winds and frosts the chalky soils are on the same seam that runs from Champagne and the maritime influence of the coast being just eight miles away results in a long slow ripening season that produces immensely complex grapes. While most English wineries use sparkling wine clones for their still wines Simpsons use clones much like the ones you’ll find in Chablis or Central Otago that are intended primarily for still wines; they bring in experts from France at great expense to help with planting bottling labelling and disgorgement; they employ top-of-the-line technology from their oxygen-free press to their in-house analytical tools; their fining is all vegan friendly; and finally but most importantly their winery is fitted with a spiral slide so that all visitors leave with a smile on their face. If you needed any further endorsement then it’s worth pointing out that Taittinger have recently planted vineyards in Kent and guess who they turned to process some of their first grapes? You’ve guessed it: Simpsons Wine Estate.
SKU No.: 4050825
Style No.: 938672
Region: Kent
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Closure: Screw
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 13.5%
Volume: 750ml
Allergens: Sulphites