Harrow and Hope Rose 2021

"Being perfectly honest, I don’t think a year has tested us more physically and mentally in our 15-year history than 2021. It started with a brutal period of frost which saw us burning candles for around 9 nights over a two-week period. We amazingly got through it with minimal damage but any thoughts that mother nature might take it easy on us after that were not forthcoming. A generally wet and humid summer meant downy mildew reared its head very early on. Being organic, I honestly feared for the whole crop around July, but after some good advice from a few French vignerons who were suffering the same problems, we managed to get on top of it. After a dry September, we had a nice warm run-up to harvest and the yield came out only 10% down on our average; a real triumph for our newfound organic methods.
Stylistically speaking, it has subtle differences from the last 2020 Rosé release. Whereas the 2020 was darker in colour with big and brash punchy red fruit character, 2021 is altogether more subtle and elegant; which actually seems to make way for more toasty character from the ageing. It’s lighter in structure but with that it gains more harmony and finesse at such a young stage. It might not last 20 years but then our Rosé barely lasts 6 months without being opened. To be able to produce a wine like this in 2021 really emphasises why we focus on traditional method sparkling wines and how lucky we are to have such a great team that can step up and succeed in more challenging conditions."
Producer Note