Marledon Estate

Journal

Vintage notes from the slope

How each year is going in the vineyard, what is happening in the cellar, and how to get the most out of the bottle when it reaches you.

A bunch of dark Pinot Noir grapes among turning vine leaves

Vintage notes · 21 August 2026 · 4 min read

Veraison 2026: the slope with six weeks to go

The grapes have turned colour, the nets are going on and the 1979 block is carrying its best crop in five years. A report from the rows.
Close view of cracked white chalk rock, the stone under the vineyard

The estate · 14 May 2026 · 4 min read

Why English sparkling wine grows on chalk

The same seam of chalk runs from the Champagne region under the Channel to the Ledbourne Vale. Here is what it does for the wine in your glass.
Close view of fine bubbles rising in a glass of golden sparkling wine

At the table · 2 March 2026 · 3 min read

How to open and serve sparkling wine

A sigh, not a pop. The temperature, the glass and the grip that keep every bubble we spent three years putting in the bottle.
A picker holding a tub full of freshly cut dark grapes, with secateurs in one hand

Vintage notes · 6 November 2025 · 5 min read

The 2025 harvest, block by block

A late spring frost, a bright September and the smallest crop in six years. What came in was very good, and here is where it is going.