Sugrue South Downs sells over three-quarters of its 2024 Crouch Valley Pinot Noir within days of release.

Sugrue South Downs has sold 80% of its new Crouch Valley Pinot Noir 2024, following an enormously successful advance allocation and strong demand from the UK wine trade.

More than 2,500 bottles of the Essex-grown Pinot Noir, from a total production of 5,000 bottles, were pre-ordered by customers through a special advance allocation offered to Sugrue’s mailing list and cellar door visitors ahead of the wine’s general release in October 2026. A further 1,500 bottles have since been sold to trade customers, leaving just 1,000 bottles available.

The initiative echoes elements of the traditional en primeur model associated with Bordeaux and Burgundy, with customers committing to a young wine ahead of general release. It follows the extraordinary success of Sugrue’s inaugural 2022 Crouch Valley Pinot Noir, all 1,000 bottles of which sold out in just three hours last year.

“Even a few years ago, the idea of customers buying a still English Pinot Noir by the case before they’d even tasted the new vintage would have seemed extraordinary. Now we’re seeing exactly that. People aren’t just curious about England’s still wines anymore – they’re putting their money where their mouths are,” said Sugrue South Downs founder and winemaker Dermot Sugrue.

While the 2024 growing season proved challenging across much of England, the Crouch Valley – one of the warmest and driest regions for grape growing in the country – enjoyed comparatively favourable conditions, with a long, slow ripening period culminating in a remarkably late harvest across Sugrue’s partner vineyards in mid-November.

Made from fully destemmed fruit with gentle extraction, one-third of the wine was matured in new French oak barriques, with the remainder aged in a seasoned oak foudre from Tonnellerie Rousseau in Gevrey-Chambertin. The wine was bottled at the Sugrue South Downs winery in East Sussex after two winters.

Sugrue’s 2024 Crouch Valley Pinot Noir has already attracted critical acclaim, with wine critic Anne Krebiehl MW of Vinous awarding the wine 93 points, and describing its character as “flinty and sexy on the nose”, with notes of cranberry, redcurrant and white pepper.

Unlike the 2022 release, which was sold exclusively through the Sugrue South Downs website, the 2024 vintage will also be available through a select number of independent wine merchants in the UK, including Berry Bros. & Rudd, Lea & Sandeman, Hedonism Wines and Hennings. Sugrue has also secured listings at some of the country’s most celebrated restaurants and hotels, including Heston Blumenthal’s three-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck, Chez Bruce, Angela Hartnett’s Café Murano and Lime Wood.

Internationally, the wine will be also be available through Sugrue South Downs’ distribution partners in Ireland and Norway.

Crouch Valley Pinot Noir 2024

  • RRP: £49 per bottle
  • Case price: £264.60 (10% saving, direct from Sugrue South Downs)
  • Production: 5,000 bottles
  • Retail stockists: Sugrue South Downs, Hedonism Wines, Berry Bros & Rudd, Lea & Sandeman, Hennings
  • Selected restaurant listings: The Fat Duck, Chez Bruce, Café Murano, Lime Wood, Myrtle, Lumière, Thyme, Etch