![\"marbury](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/05\/marbury-wine-300x225.jpeg\")
<\/div>\nAnd its potential for producing great still<\/em> wines, too, is now being realized. One high-profile investor from overseas\u00a0has been\u00a0California\u2019s Jackson Family Wines\u00a0(JFW),\u00a0maker of Kendall-Jackson and\u00a0owner of more than 40 wineries round the world,\u00a0which began quietly planting vines in\u00a0Essex in the east of England, in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0area they\u00a0homed\u00a0in on was the\u00a0Crouch Valley,\u00a0an expansive landscape of marshland and arable fields, that\u2019s\u00a0now\u00a0establishing itself as the\u00a0epicentre of the English still wine scene.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Blessed\u00a0with one of the warmest and driest micro-climates in the country, and\u00a0fertile\u00a0clay soils,\u00a0the Crouch, as it\u2019s known, is\u00a0particularly suited to ripening Burgundy\u2019s hallmark grapes\u00a0chardonnay and pinot noir.\u00a0My Financial Times<\/em> colleague, Jancis Robinson, has dubbed it the \u2018English C\u00f4te d\u2019Or\u2019, and fruit grown here is now some of the most expensive in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n See also: Interesting Wines To Order At Dinner, According To Sommeliers<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n JFW\u2019s\u00a0own\u00a0Crouch Valley\u00a0project, Marbury, unveiled its first\u00a0still pinot noir this week (the fruit comes from\u00a0neighboring\u00a0vineyards as its own\u00a0vines are\u00a0not yet\u00a0fully-established).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Marbury Crouch Valley Pinot Noir 2024<\/a> (\u00a345, (approx. $61) is\u00a0a light garnet wine very much in the\u00a0fresh, cool-climate style.\u00a0It has a\u00a0gorgeous\u00a0perfume \u2013\u202fmulberry, violet,\u00a0cherry\u00a0grounded by a little wet earth. The tannin is velvety but there\u2019s still lots of tension, reflecting what was a rather cool and wet year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Also coming soon is\u00a02024 Marbury Crouch Hill Chardonnay,\u00a0which marries\u00a0fine\u00a0white almond and lemon notes, with\u00a0subtle,\u00a0biscuity oak and an appetizing, saline finish. The riper, more stone-fruity 2023<\/a> (2023 was a much kinder year) is already on the market (\u00a340, (approx. $54).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe next big frontier for English wine is still wine, and chardonnay and pinot in particular,\u201d\u00a0says Marbury\u2019s winemaker Charlie Holland.\u00a0\u201cThat fresh, vibrant style that England specializes in is what people are wanting to drink right now.\u00a0The opportunity we have is huge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Holland was previously head winemaker at\u00a0Gusbourne in Kent, just to the south,\u00a0which produces\u00a0outstanding sparkling\u00a0wine,\u00a0and\u00a0which\u00a0was also one of the first to prove that\u00a0really classy\u00a0still English wines were possible.\u00a0Doing\u00a0good still\u00a0wines\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0year, though, was difficult, says Holland\u00a0\u2013\u202fthe combination of terrain and climate was just too marginal. And then, about\u00a010\u00a0years ago, he started noticing the quality and consistency coming out of the\u00a0Crouch Valley, even in tougher vintages.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n See also:\u00a0<\/em>Do You Need an AI Wine Cellar?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Crouch gives you about\u00a0two weeks extra of hang time\u00a0[for ripening]\u00a0and that\u2019s quite unique,\u201d\u00a0he says.\u00a0\u201cAnd the clay has magical properties:\u00a0it holds onto water when you need it at the beginning of the season and then coming into the back end\u00a0of season\u00a0[it hardens]\u00a0and creates an impermeable layer. The water isn\u2019t taken\u00a0up by the\u00a0roots\u00a0so you don\u2019t get\u00a0the grapes\u00a0splitting\u00a0and getting diseased.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Marbury style is all about\u00a0\u201cfreshness and vibrancy,\u201d\u00a0says Holland.\u00a0\u201cWe don\u2019t\u00a0want to make hugely oaky,\u00a0extracted,\u00a0big styles of wine. Partly\u00a0because\u00a0I don\u2019t think it suits the grapes we\u2019ve got but\u00a0also\u00a0because\u00a0it would be kind of missing the point. Think of the fruit we grow here in England:\u00a0raspberries\u00a0and\u00a0strawberries, which have all that great acidity. That\u2019s\u00a0what we do\u00a0really well\u00a0in this country:\u00a0really perfumed, pretty,\u00a0aromatically interesting wines.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To\u00a0amplify this,\u00a0Holland recommends\u00a0drinking\u00a0Marbury pinot noir on the cool side.\u00a0\u201cOr you lose the prettiness \u2013\u202fif it\u2019s slightly chilled you get a bit more texture and viscosity and it\u2019s a lot fresher. Put it in an ice bucket and then take it out 10 minutes before you serve it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Next year,\u00a0JFW\u00a0will launch a\u00a0separate\u00a0sparkling wine brand, made from\u00a0grapes\u00a0grown in\u00a0different terroirs around the east and south-east of England.\u00a0\u201cMarbury is\u00a0very much about typicity\u00a0of\u00a0the local area, whereas our sparkling will be more in the Champagne model, which involves\u00a0picking all the best bits from different areas and\u00a0creating a blend,\u201d\u00a0says Holland.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Some of\u00a0the\u00a0fruit will come from\u00a0chalky South Downs\u00a0in West Sussex, where JFW has now also planted vines.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ll also have some fruit from the Weald on clay, stuff on the North Downs which is warmer chalk \u2013 cool chalk gives you vibrant backbone structure,\u00a0while warm chalk\u00a0gives\u00a0you\u00a0something a bit\u00a0more ripe and rounded\u00a0and fruity, like\u00a0ripe lemon,\u201d\u00a0says Holland.\u00a0\u201cThere will also be\u00a0a bit of fruit\u00a0from\u00a0the Crouch Valley,\u00a0for\u00a0extra body and weight and texture. And vines grown on green sand\u00a0which\u00a0contributes\u00a0really\u00a0well\u00a0to the blend in terms of that core of fruit you get from it. It\u2019s about layering it all up.»\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n See also:\u00a0<\/em>Why Runners Are Falling in Love with Wine, Beer, and Whisky Regions<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The brand will debut with a\u00a0multi-vintage classic cuv\u00e9e, in both\u00a0blanc\u00a0and ros\u00e9.\u00a0\u201cThere will also be a vintage\u00a0blanc\u00a0de\u00a0blancs\u00a0and a\u00a0blanc\u00a0de noirs. Way down the line we also have prestige cuv\u00e9e planned but we\u2019re still a million miles away from that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n JFW doesn\u2019t currently\u00a0have its own\u00a0winery\u00a0in England\u00a0\u2013\u202fall the wines are made at\u00a0Defined Wines, a contract winery in neighboring Suffolk.\u00a0And any discussion of a\u00a0physical home\u00a0for their wines are\u00a0\u201cat least three or four years off,\u201d\u00a0says Holland.\u00a0\u201cFor now, we\u2019re taking it slow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Danbury Ridge<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n What started as a retirement project for a local investment banker, has become one of\u00a0England\u2019s\u00a0top\u00a0producers\u00a0of\u00a0still wine. The pinot noir is particularly lovely, with a concentration and elegance that\u2019s still quite rare in English reds.\u00a0A collaboration with Domaine\u00a0Duroch\u00e9\u00a0of\u00a0Gevrey-Chambertin will be released in 2028.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Marbury\u2019s](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/05\/essex-marbury-wine-2560x1920.jpeg\")
![\"Marbury](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/05\/england-still-wine-1920x2560.jpeg\")
![\"marbury](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/05\/still-wine-essex-1920x2560.jpeg\")
Other Essex wineries to know<\/h2>\n