July 2020 — Do you remember the heatwave lockdown summer of 2020? At the strange and unusual time when our lives had all been turned upside down, over the months when we were only allowed outside for an hour a day, and when hospitality was virtually completely shut down, nature carried on regardless. Though the Lympstone Manor vineyard was only in its third growing season, the vines had already penetrated deep into the clay and pebblebed subsoil in search of moisture and nutrients. The sun shone relentlessly, there was a breeze to keep the vines well ventilated, and in the autumn, the rains came at just the right time to allow the Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay grapes to swell and ripen beautifully. We therefore had a small but very high quality first harvest.
The Lympstone Manor vineyard has been planted with the classic grape varieties of Champagne primarily to produce a high quality, premium Devon sparkling wine, Lympstone Manor Cuvée, the first vintage of which will be released sometime in 2023. However, from this heatwave summer of 2020, one parcel of Pinot Noir vines ripened to such an exceptional degree that we were able to produce a still red wine, fermented in stainless steel and aged in new and used French oak barrels. It was with the greatest pleasure and delight that we were able to release this wine, Triassic Pinot Noir, earlier this year.’
Triassic Pinot Noir 2020 has a surprising depth of colour (Pinot Noir is not usually a particularly highly coloured grape variety), beautiful brambly fruit, good acidity, and smooth, chalky tannins, an extraordinary wine, especially considering that it has been produced from grapes from such young vines. We were only able to produce a very limited and small number of bottles and this exclusive first Lympstone Manor vintage is now available in the Restaurant, though possibly only for a limited time.
“I can’t tell you how happy I was to taste the first vintage of Lympstone Manor wine!” says Michael. “When I first set foot on what was then Courtlands, I immediately imagined transforming the dilapidated Georgian manor house into a luxury hotel with Michelin star restaurant, as well as planting a vineyard on the overgrown parkland that led down to the Exe estuary. It just seemed the right and most natural thing to do in this remarkable and privileged location. This first vintage of Triassic Pinot Noir has far exceeded our expectations and demonstrates that there is a real and exciting future for single estate wines from Lympstone Manor.”
Triassic Pinot Noir 2020 is available in the Restaurant only and in strictly limited quantity. BOOK TODAY.
