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South Africa meets Sussex as Leonardslee releases first cuvées
Leonardslee’s South African winemaker wanted to be ready for “the next big thing in the world of wine” by focusing on Sussex terroir.
Leonardslee Family Vineyards has released its first wines, with three wines from the 2020 and 2021 vintages. The Brut Reserve, Blanc de Blancs and Brut Rosé are the first wide releases from the vineyards, planted in 2017.
In making English Sparkling wines, Leonardslee enters an increasingly crowded market, with the likes of Shepherd Neame and Taittinger releasing brands in the last 12 months. Leonardslee, however, plans to make its Sussex wines stand out with an unusual cross-continental connection.
A 6,000 mile journey
On every bottle of Leonardslee you find a swallow, designed by Sussex artist Will Parr. Beyond a distinctive brand, the bird is intended to represent the company’s international story. Like the swallow, Leonardslee’s narrative is a journey from South Africa to the UK.
The producer’s owner, Penny Streeter, grew up in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the UK. She eventually made her name founding the A24Group, a medical staffing agency.
On the back of that success, she bought Benguela Cove, a wine estate in South Africa’s Western Cape, in 2013. After upgrading the facilities, including building a new winery so Benguela Cove could bottle its own range, she turned her thoughts to her next project.
“Around 2016, I was saying, ‘I think the next big thing in the world of wine is going to be English Sparkling,” explains Johann Fourie, head winemaker at both properties. Streeter was convinced, and by September of that year, the team had identified their preferred plot. “Penny works quickly,” says Fourie.
The new location took some adjustment. After a kind 2020 growing season – Fourie describes it as “textbook” – the 2021 was “a completely different decks of cards.” Disease pressure threatened the vines, while a low ’degree days’ value meant grapes were very high in acidity.
That required adjustments both in the vineyard and the winery. The vineyard team opened up the canopy, while in the winery malolactic fermentation was needed to tame the acidity. “Coming from South Africa, it was a steep learning curve,” admits Fourie.
Still, even if they did not bring the South African sunshine, the intercontinental connection is visible in the wines. Leonardslee has brought Pinotage to England.
Cold macerated and used to bring raspberry and cranberry notes to the Brut Rosé, the grape represents a very small percentage of Leonardslee’s vineyard holdings. The 10 rows could hardly be described as a rewriting of Sussex’s vineyard traditions.
Yet the Pinotage acts as a small nod to the company’s history. And, for those concerned it might be too deep and bold for an English Sparkling wine, Fourie has a simple response: “In England, even the black grapes have no colour.”
Focusing on Sussex terroirs
The rows of Pinotage may be a nice reference, but Leonardslee is clearly much more expressive of Sussex than South Africa. Indeed, the early focus has been on estate wines led by their two plots in Horsham, West Sussex.
The producer has no aspirations to move beyond its estate vineyards. The site-specific approach embodies Fourie’s ethos of conveying terroir rather than his personality: “We want a unique identity and personality from what are seen as marginal sites.”
Those marginal sites are typical of West Sussex, where varied soils on rolling hills facilitate high-quality winemaking even at a high latitude. On Leonardlee’s estate, they also have specific advantages: many of the vines sit on a hill rolling towards woodlands and a large pond, which act as moderating and protective influences.
The vineyards have a further distinguishing feature, one which Fourie and his team believe may be unique in the world. Having converted a golf course to plant the vines, the vineyard soils have golf balls distributed throughout. Whether that constitutes a definitive new terroir will surely be a question for future Master of Wine candidates.
The focus on locality is already paying dividends, according to Ranulf Sessions of Artis Drinks, who is working with the producer on sales. “For clients,” he says “it’s important to know where every grape has spent its life.”
As well as at its own establishments – the estate has a Michelin-starred restaurant, Interlude – the wines are gaining attention in Singapore and across Europe. In these markets he says, the story of site-specific wines, two of which are bottled under the Sussex PDO, is winning over customers
Yet perhaps most fittingly, Leonardslee’s Sussex-specific wines are finding Sussex-specific customers. The cellar door has always been key to the business model. However, Leonardslee has been reassured by the take-up, meaning they can realistically intend for 30% of the sales to be local.
South Africa may be the most eyebrow-raising part of Leonardslee’s story, but its roots are already deep in Sussex.
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