Mountfield Winery

Mountfield Winery in East Sussex is run by Simon and Lucinda Fraser. The property has been in Lucinda’s family since 1850, long before anyone planted vines on it.

The vineyard

The vines went in during 2012: 14,200 plants across 3.5 hectares, of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the three classic Champagne grapes.

The soil is greensand and clay over a bedrock of sandstone.

The winemaker

Ulrich Hoffmann makes the wines. He worked in Baden, Bordeaux, Navarra and Napa Valley before coming to England, four wine regions with very different climates and traditions.

The wines

Production is small, and everything is made by the traditional method with a second fermentation in bottle.

Blanc de Blancs is one hundred per cent Chardonnay, mainly from 2016 with five per cent reserve wine from 2015. It was disgorged in February 2024, after seven to eight years on the lees.

Classic Cuvée is 42 per cent Chardonnay, 29 per cent Pinot Meunier and 26 per cent Pinot Noir, plus around three per cent reserve wine. Disgorged in December 2023.

Rosé Reserve is mainly 2020 with a little reserve wine.

The years these wines spend on the lees before disgorgement are the main reason they carry the brioche and nut character usually associated with Champagne.

We write East Sussex rather than just Sussex, because that is the geography. Vinmonopolet uses Sussex, which is the name of the appellation.