Rathfinny Estate joins Liberty Wines
Liberty Wines has been appointed exclusive agent in Ireland and the UK for Rathfinny, the family-owned Sussex estate established in 2010 by Mark and Sarah Driver. Rathfinny’s estate vineyard extends to over 93 hectares in the South Downs. The vineyards are predominantly planted with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier on free-draining chalk soils which provide the ideal conditions to ripen grapes for sparkling wine.
Rathfinny uses only estate-grown fruit for their four traditional-method Vintage Sussex sparkling wines: Classic Cuvée, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs and Rosé. The hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed grapes are vinified with as little intervention as possible, including 24-36 months’ ageing on lees and in bottle to develop rich autolytic notes, and a low dosage to preserve the purest expression of place and vintage.
Mark Driver, co-owner of Rathfinny, says: “It has always been our aim to be one of the on-trade’s favourite English sparkling wines and Liberty Wines, who specialise in selling to both the on-trade and independent off-trade, are a perfect distribution partner for Rathfinny. They supply some of the top hotels, bars and restaurants across Ireland and the UK, many of whom are already serving our wines by the glass. Over the coming years, we hope to deepen those relationships and welcome new customers to our wine estate in Sussex.”
The 2017 vintage sparkling wines from Rathfinny will be released and available through Liberty Wines in April/May this year.
