Lyme Bay Bacchus Block

Description

Lyme Bay Bacchus Block is 100% Bacchus sourced from grapes from Missing Gate and Martin’s Lane Vineyards in the Crouch Valley wine-growing area in Essex. Lyme Bay Bacchus Block is characterised by powerful grapefruit freshness, broad tropical-fruit notes and herbal undertones. Bacchus has its origins in Germany and is, in fact, a Silvaner & Riesling cross which is  crossed with Muller Thurgau. In England, due to the cooler climate, higher acidity and lower yield, Bacchus tends to produce wines that seem to share much more in common with Sauvignon Blanc. 

The Lyme bay Winery was founded by Nigel Howard and has made its name over the years for the production of a wide range of fruit wine, ciders, meads and liqueurs from their base in the Axe Valley in Devon. Whilst they still produce a wide range of these products, Lyme Bay Winery planted 26,000 vines in 2009 and 2010 within a stone’s throw of the winery and have since branched out with a good range of still and sparkling English wines. As well as farming their own vines, they also buy grapes from other grape growers in the South of England and argue that “truly special wines are born from grapes with diverse backgrounds.” Lyme Bay work with group of outstanding growers with vineyards all over England who plant the right grapes for the climate they are in to obtain the best ripeness for wine production.

As mentioned above, the grapes for the Lyme Bay Bacchus Block came from two blocks of Bacchus in the Missing Gate and Martin’s Lane Vineyards. The grapes here showed exceptional intensity and ripeness on arrival at the winery and were separated out to make a premium wine by our Lyme Bay’s winemaking team. After harvest, the grapes were fermented in stainless steel to keep the delicate aromas. Gentle whole bunch pressing and 6 -9 hours skin maceration was used to maximise the varietal characteristics and intensity. The extended maceration process helps extract more intense pungency, texture & weight, producing a richer style of Bacchus. Fermentation was undertaken using thiol enhancing yeast strains to further develop the aromatic nature of the varietal. The wine was aged on fine less to accentuate the complexity and mouthfeel and give generous depth and mouthfeel.