Rathfinny Wine Estate stands among England’s most distinguished sparkling wine producers, crafting elegant Sussex wines on the sun‑drenched chalk slopes of the South Downs. Founded in 2010, this family‑owned estate unites artisanal expertise, sustainable practices and an exceptional terroir to create sparkling wines of true world‑class calibre, rivaling the finest Champagnes. Rathfinny is also the world’s first grower‑producer of sparkling wine to achieve B Corp certification — a testament to its uncompromising quality, environmental stewardship and refined winemaking philosophy.

Often referred to as the vintage of the decade, 2018 was one of the warmest summers on record. A mini heatwave developed from April onwards, bringing on early flowering and the dry weather promoted good fruit set. New temperature records were set in July and August and despite heavy rain in early September, the weather during harvest in October was very favourable and we picked very clean fruit with an ideal balance of sugars and acidity for our Sussex Sparkling wines.

Winemaking

Inoculated with commercial yeast, fermented in stainless steel tanks at 16 °c. Time in Bottle 46 months.

Tasting notes

Translucent saffron in colour, offering an expressive nose of mulberry and almond blossom. A mouth‑filling perlage of baked blueberry and russet pear leads into a lively clementine finish.

Food pairing

This delightfully fruity style pairs beautifully with intensely umami‑sweet flavours such as steamed barbecue pork buns, crispy duck with hoisin sauce, or Japanese Nimono dishes.