Harry BALLMANNWe get to know Busi Jacobsohn, the new English winery on the block...
A lot has been said about Sussex based Busi Jacobsohn in recent weeks, most notably from Victoria Moore in The Telegraph, and high praise at the Decanter Awards. They are making some truly superb English Wine, clean cut and aromatic. Cépage is thrilled to stock them on our shop, so we took a little time to get to know a little bit more.
A commitment to nature and sustainability define Busi Jacobsohn. Located on a South Facing Sussex slope, they make the most of their access to sunshine over the site. Using solar power and biomass heating, a carbon-efficient way of creating heat, everything has been thought about to ensure the winery is as sustainable as possible.
Busi Jacobsohn is truly a family affair, with Douglas heading up viticulture whilst Susana works on the operational side. During harvest, the whole family pitch in to ensure every grape is picked over the estate. Using traditional Champagne methods of making sparkling wine, Burgundian vine cuttings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Swedish design and Italian heart, the wines produced are simply beautiful.
An elegant golden hue with crisp red apple, lemon peel and toasted almonds permeate the glass of the Brut 2018. A versatile wine for food, sunshines and long term cellaring. The Extra Brut (or, EXTRA DRY) sparkling rosé is poised beautifully for wondrous food pairings, for cellar ageing and indeed, summer time sipping. Combining floral and citrus notes with a traditional bouquet of strawberries and red summer berries, this wine is complex, offering something for everyone.
Finally, we asked co-founder Susanna about how they work their vineyards, and a little about the winemaking.
1) How did you pick the site for the vineyard, were vines growing already or did you plant them yourselves? We planted our vines ourselves 2015 when we bought the farm. The field is South West on a slope. When we bought this place we fell in love with the place and location itself. 2) What would you say are the core principles of wine making at Busi Jacobsohn? We want to work with nature, to make wine is an art for us so we try to listen to nature and our intuition. Sustainability is also important for us.
3) How would you describe your 'Sussex terroir’? Clay and sandstone very fertile 4) What proportion of oak do you use, if any, in your Cuvées? We do not have any oak in the 2018 Brut, however we do have in our Rosé 2018, 7%
5) What’s your favourite Cuvée, or vintage so far, and why? My own favourite is the Rosé at the moment as it is drinkable with everything , even meat and game, cheese and on its own. The colour is fantastic just the way we imagined for our Rosé! The Brut 2018 is very good as we had a very good weather conditions this year and so for the vines was fantastic. The wines will just get better and better in the bottle if you like to wait to drink it. Our first vintage was 2017 , so not so much to compare with yet, which again was another great vintage for us.
