"One high-profile investor from overseas has been California's Jackson Family Wines (JFW), maker of Kendall-Jackson and owner of more than 40 wineries round the world, which began quietly planting vines in Essex in the east of England, in 2024."
"Blessed with one of the warmest and driest micro-climates in the country, and fertile clay soils, the Crouch, as it's known, is particularly suited to ripening Burgundy's hallmark grapes chardonnay and pinot noir. My Financial Times colleague, Jancis Robinson, has dubbed it the 'English Côte d'Or', and fruit grown here is now some of the most expensive in the country."
"Marbury Crouch Valley Pinot Noir 2024 (£45, (approx. $61) is a light garnet wine very much in the fresh, cool-climate style. It has a gorgeous perfume - mulberry, violet, cherry grounded by a little wet earth. The tannin is velvety but there's still lots of tension, reflecting what was a rather cool and wet year."
""The next big frontier for English wine is still wine, and chardonnay and pinot in particular," says Marbury's winemaker Charlie Holland. "That fresh, vibrant style that England specializes in is what people are wanting to drink right"
Jackson Family Wines began planting vines in Essex in 2024, focusing on the Crouch Valley. The landscape combines marshland and arable fields and is developing as the center of England’s still wine production. The area benefits from one of the warmest and driest micro-climates in the country and fertile clay soils. These conditions support ripening of chardonnay and pinot noir, often associated with Burgundy. Fruit grown there is among the most expensive in England. Marbury released its first still pinot noir, made from neighboring vineyards, showing a fresh cool-climate profile with mulberry, violet, cherry, and wet-earth notes. A chardonnay release is also planned, with almond, lemon, subtle oak, and a saline finish.
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