2022 is the Perfect Year for Three Choirs to Produce a First Release Wine

We first produced a “New Release” in the late 80’s, early 90s. It was a tongue in cheek response to the then popular Beaujolais Nouveau red wine that was always released on the Third Thursday of November. People would rush across the channel to grab their bottles and race back for parties and gatherings in the UK.

As society has become more responsible (in theory), the cost of travel along with the tightening of drink-driving and speeding regulations has seen “Beaujolais Day” diminish and disappear from the wine buff’s calendar. Yet in the 90’s and Noughties we continued to produce our New Release and have the fun of an english vineyard exporting it to France and raising a few eyebrows along the way.

But it wasn’t a gimmick from a winemaker’s perspective and the wines were generally very well received from wine writers such as Malcolm Gluck, Matthew Dukes and Oz Clark to name a few. The wines were made from the first grapes to be picked, usually some of the ripest and flavoursome, producing a crisp, fruit driven wine bursting with youthful exuberance.

We now only produce it in exceptional years when the feeling is right in the winery. An early harvest gives us so much more choice when putting the blend together. This year we are selecting the best combination from Siegerrebe, Solaris and Madeleine Angevine.

The quality is very good this year. A long hot, dry summer, followed by some gentle rain and a dry, mild picking season has produced some of the best grapes we have seen for several years. So this is the perfect year to produce our First Release White wine. A crisp, fresh, zesty wine with a hit of aromatic fruit character and an off dry, lingering finish.

Our First Release will be available from Thursday 17th November, following in the tradition of the Beaujolais Nouveau release day (3rd Thursday in November) It will sell at £14.99 / bottle.



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