Dermot Sugrue makes the finest sparkling wines in England; it’s as simple as that. The Irish winemaker played no small part in turning both Nyetimber and Wiston into what they are today before branching out on his own. He now runs Sugrue South Downs with his wife Ana and in the past few years the duo have released hit after hit, raising the bar for what English sparkling wine can be.
Dermot has been building his stocks of reserve wines at Sugrue South Downs since the first vintage – 2009 – and the latest release of The Trouble With Dreams is their first multi-vintage wine offering, with the reserve wines adding considerable complexity and depth.
It is based on the 2021 vintage with a whopping 60% of reserve wines that go back as far as 2011 making up the blend. We tasted it last week and were unanimously impressed by the evolution in style. The reserve wines add body, savour and depth and this is the most complex and complete Trouble With Dreams we have tasted: a step forward for what was already a brilliant wine.
The price remains the same as past releases at £200 per six in bond – this is despite the added complexity and resource required to produce it. It's already delicious, though will reward further time in the bottle.
We have a parcel of six packs en route to us that will be available for UK delivery in time for Christmas.
The first vintage where Trouble With Dreams moves to a multi-vintage blend with significant (in this case 60%) reserve wine is an absolute triumph, cementing Sugrue as one of English sparkling wine's elite. The base vintage is 2021, and the reserve wines come from 2011, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Pale straw in the glass, with real complexity on the nose already - biscuity and lightly nutty but so pure and fragrant in its fruit at the same time. The palate is chiselled by vibrant acidity, ample in creamy mousse and silky with the added body of the reserve wines. The flavours unfurl with notes of brioche, roasted chestnut, zippy citrus and a little stone fruit. Fantastic in structure, flavour and length, this could be our favourite Trouble With Dreams to date. Moreish and layered on the finish, you can drink this tonight, or age it for a decade or more.
