An elegant English Pinot Gris, full of white stone fruit, juicy pear and flowers, threaded with a pinch of spice. There's a touch of honey on the palate (which will develop in bottle over time), balanced by a fine citrus acidity, minerality and a long finish.

Freedom of the Press is an urban winery in the Cotswolds, just 15 miles outside of Oxford. Owned and run by Gavin Carver, the winery makes small batches of beautiful still wines from exquisite English grapes, selecting techniques and vessels best suited to crafting each wine’s distinctive style.

Not owning his own vineyards, Gavin sources his fruit from Essex, a county that is acknowledged as having the best sites for growing grapes for still wines in the country. In a typical year Essex is drier and sunnier than anywhere else, meaning the grapes become riper. Furthermore the London clay is proving to be a perfect soil to develop powerful complex flavours in cool-climate still wines.

Although a very small winery, Freedom of the Press have a range of vessels for fermentation and maturation. Steel tanks, earthenware jars, a concrete egg and old French oak barrels give Gavin the flexibility to shape his wines into a desired style. 

The grapes come from two Essex vineyards, the majority come from Bromley Brook vineyard, near Colchester, the smaller potion from Martin’s Lane in the Crouch Valley. They were destemmed, not crushed, and gravity fed into the press where they received a gentle press cycle. The wine was fermented to dryness in a combination of old Burgundian oak (30%) and concrete egg (70%) over two weeks. After fermentation the wine was put in the egg to age on its lees for 6 months, then old oak barrel for a further 3 months. About 33% of the wine has undergone malolactic conversion, slightly changing the acid profile to a softer lactic acid. Low sulphite additions, and only light fining to preserve flavour.

Their Pinot Gris, aged for 12 months in concrete egg and old oak barrels, offers clean, fresh citrus and meadow flavours with a linear minerality.

It pairs well with rich white meat, creamy pasta dishes, gratins, and chicken pie.