Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir, English Red Wine

Description

Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir is a superb English red wine produced from grapes grown in some of the very best vineyards of Essex and the Crouch Valley, England’s wine-growing hotspot. This award-winning English wine is not made every year, but when it is, it is a great home-grown rival to Burgundy or New Zealand Pinot Noir. If you are looking to buy English Pinot Noir, this is a great choice.

Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir Vineyards

Historically, Lyme Bay Winery planted its own vineyards in 2009-2010 but has since shifted its strategy to focus on sourcing high-quality grapes from vineyards across the UK. While they previously owned vineyards, they now operate as a leading producer focusing on sourcing fruit from specific, top-tier sites, rather like a negociant in Champagne. In total they deal with 14 different growers.

For this premium English Pinot Noir, the grapes are sourced from five growers in Essex with whom they have long-term contracts:

• Crouch Ridge Estate (Essex)
• Tudwick Hall (Essex)
• Riverview (Essex)
• Crows Lane (Essex)
• Martins Lane (Essex)

Winemaking Process

• 100% Pinot Noir was hand-harvested between 30th October and 11th November from Dijon and Spätburgunder still wine clones
• Grapes sourced from vineyards near the River Crouch — unique in their ability to ripen Pinot Noir
• 2024 was a wetter than average year, but low yields ensured great levels of ripeness and concentration
• The grapes for Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir undergo small batch fermentations with 10% whole bunch fruit
• Manual pigéage (punch downs) up to 3 times a day to gently maximise the extraction of colour, flavour, and structure
• Transferred to barrel for 100% malolactic fermentation
• Aged for 8 months in barrel, including 32% in new French oak
• Blended and left to settle for several weeks before bottling
• No fining and only a light filtration to retain the delicate nuances of fruit and oak

Lyme Bay Winery, Evolution From Cider & Mead to English Wine

Founded in 1993 by Nigel Howard, the Lyme Bay Winery has become one of Devon’s premier wineries. It is nestled just outside of Axminster in the heart of Devon’s beautiful Axe Valley, just a few miles from the Jurassic Coast. Over the decades, the estate has evolved from a producer of cider, fruit wine, and mead into a prestigious English winery. While they still craft those original favourites (they are the largest mead and fruit wine maker in the UK) and English Gins and rums, they have become renowned for their excellent range of English red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines.

Change From Grower to Negociant

Lyme Bay Winery planted 26,000 vines in 2009 and 2010 in Devon and Dorset, which were eventually sold. Today, the winery only purchases grapes from other growers in the South of England, arguing that “truly special wines are born from grapes with diverse backgrounds.”

Lyme Bay works with a group of outstanding growers with vineyards across England who plant the right grapes for their climate to achieve the best ripeness for wine production. Their growers are located not only in Essex, but also in Kent, Herefordshire, Devon and Oxfordshire.

Sourcing Burgundian Clones Of Pinot Noir & Chardonnay

The winery’s success with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines can partly be attributed to Managing Director (and ex-winemaker) James Lambert’s deliberate choice to work with Burgundy clones. This is a decision that sets them apart from many English producers whose vineyards are planted primarily with sparkling wine in mind. Where sparkling-focused clones prioritise high acidity and structural backbone, he sought out Pinot Noir clones that deliver lifted aromatics, elegant fruit and early ripening and Chardonnay clones that bring richness, phenolic complexity and concentrated flavour.

Clem Yates MW became the new winemaker at the beginning of 2025.