Kent may be the garden of England, but perhaps it's the cradle of ambition too. Whether Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Balfour, Domaine Evremond or others, there's no shortage of wineries with big ambitions. However, perhaps the biggest player coming is one that has been shouting the quietest so far … It's Silverhand Estate.
Established in 2017 by MDCV, which owns other estates in England and Provence, Silverhand is located in Luddesdown, close to Meopham, in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Luddesdown Court
Silverhand takes its name from King Lud, a pre-Roman, first century, mythical Celtic King who founded London. According to legend, after losing his hand in battle, a new one was made for him out of silver by Gorfannon, the divine-smith god.
Luddesdown Court, the medieval manor house standing proudly on the grounds, dates back to 1090 with renovations and additions throughout the centuries after. There's even a copy of the Domesday Book here, a fitting nod to the nobility associated with the place.
The elephant in the room at Luddesdown Court!
The estate owns in excess of 400 hectares of the local area, which is essentially all the non-privately owned land, as well as the original plot mentioned in the Domesday book.
First planted with 170 hectares of vines in 2019, they now have over 360 hectares under vine. Earlier this year, they planted 42 new hectares (that's 250,000 new vines), with plans to add another 40 hectares next year. As a result, Silverhand is the largest single vineyard in the UK.
In the early 1980s, the Ministry of Defence bought three large farms in Luddesdown that the owners could no longer afford to run, with the aim of converting the land to a military training site. The villagers objected and won the resultant court case.
A Norwegian millionaire, Jan Sundt, who had read about this, bought the land and turned it into an organic vegetable farm. When he retired, it was purchased by MDCV owner, Mark Dixon, who turned it into an organic vineyard. Although the vines have been grown organically since the beginning, the winery was officially certified at the end of 2022.
Chalet overlooking the vineyard, with a unique design based on a mix of a Norwegian wooden stave church, English farm and modern architecture
They grow several grape varieties at Luddesdown on gentle, low-lying, south-east or south-west facing slopes, but the majority is Chardonnay at 70% of plantings, followed by Pinot Noir. The soil base here is solid chalk with a thin layer of topsoil, the same as in Champagne, so it comes as no surprise that the majority of grapes are used for sparkling wine.
Silverhand Estate produces more Chardonnay by volume than any other producer in the UK. Tourism Manager, Jamie Hughes explains further: "The reason we focus so much on Chardonnay - 80% of the wine made here - is because it's a real untapped market in English wine. It's what we're focusing on in the on-trade and is what we sell most of the year."
Peter Bawn, Vineyard Operations Manager, emptying a bucketload of hand-picked Pinot Noir grapes
Silverhand Estate is farmed organically with hand-picked grapes, a strong sustainability programme and a dedicated conservation team. They recently built six wildlife towers and use a flock of over 400 sheep to graze and fertilise the fields, keeping the soil healthy.
In addition to the sheep, bats provide natural pest control, particularly against caterpillars and aphids, while sulphur, copper and seaweed sprays maintain plant health and protect against mildew.
The estate also owns The Lion, originally a pub, but relaunched as a restaurant on September 25th this year, with a farm-to-fork approach, organic food and no wastage. Naturally, Silverhand wines are sold there too.
Silver Reign was Silverhand Estate's first wine, released at the end of 2022. The bottle proudly displays the strapline 'Charmat of England'. Using the tank/Charmat method, the grape varieties are ones associated with traditional method fizz - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier - like most English sparkling wine and Champagne. The focus of some controversy, at Silverhand, they're not afraid to do things differently. Indeed, they are the biggest producer of Charmat sparkling wine in Britain by volume, with 80% of their wines made by this method.
Silverhand wines are available to buy online from The Wine Caverns in cases of six or twelve and many are now on sale. All prices shown below are the current equivalent price per bottle in a case of six, unless otherwise indicated.
Made using the Charmat method, Silver Reign Brut spends around three months on its lees before bottling. The wine was featured as the Write Taste's Tipple of the Month for December 2023.
"This wine", says Jamie Hughes, "is at a price point that's above Prosecco but below Champagne, which is a big gap in any wine list. What we're really proud of is that not only are we focusing on the environmental and sustainable aspects of the business, but also we're trying to make local wine more affordable to the public, which means that we're retailing this wine at just £17 a bottle. We're literally halving the price of an entry-level English sparkling wine and this is the most popular wine that we sell, both to customers and to the on-trade."
🍇 Blend: Chardonnay (62%), Pinot Noir (19%) and Pinot Meunier (19%).
🍬 Residual Sugar: 12g/L.
🎚️ ABV: 12.5%.
👃 Nose: Aromas of pear, stone fruit, citrus and white blossom.
😋 Palate: Light, clean and fresh with notes of citrus, crunchy green apple, pear and peach, there's a good balance between sugar and acidity, while the short lees ageing adds a touch of body to the wine.
🍴 Food pairings: Salads, soft cheeses, light fish dishes.
💷 Bottle price: £17.
Silver Reign Organic Rosé Brut is Silverhand's newest wine, released in June this year. Also made by the Charmat method, with just under three months on the lees, it's already become a hugely popular wine, particularly at cellar door.
🍇 Blend: Pinot Noir (100%).
🍬 Residual Sugar: 10g/L.
🎚️ ABV: 12%.
👃 Nose: Enticing aromas of strawberry and summer pudding.
😋 Palate: A little more rounded than the original Silver Reign, this oozes red berry notes with a softening, creamy and fruity touch of Eton Mess plus a hint of crunchy rhubarb.
🍴 Food pairings: Scones with strawberry or raspberry jam, feta cheese salads.
💷 Bottle price: £19.
Silver Reign Classic Brut is made by the traditional method, spending three years on its lees.
🍇 Blend: Chardonnay (60%), Pinot Noir (20%) and Pinot Meunier (20%).
🍬 Residual Sugar: 5g/L.
🎚️ ABV: 12%.
👃 Nose: Gentle aromas of lemon cream with a touch of apricot and peach.
😋 Palate: Creamy and fruity with well-balanced acidity, this shows notes of stone fruit and citrus plus hints of honey and lemon pie.
🍴 Food pairings: Fish and chips, fried lemon sole goujons.
💷 Bottle price: £25.
With the fruit quality so high in the excellent 2018 vintage, this wine did not need any dosage.
🍇 Blend: Chardonnay (100%).
🍬 Residual Sugar: 0g/L.
🎚️ ABV: 12.5%.
👃 Nose: Notes of lemon, brown butter and brioche.
😋 Palate: Fresh, rounded and creamy with juicy notes of apple, butterscotch and lemon plus a hint of white peach.
🍴 Food pairings: Chicken and mushroom risottos.
💷 Bottle price: £41.67.
Although Silverhand's motto is 'The Future Is Sparkling', they also currently make three still wines.
🍇 Blend: Bacchus (100%).
🍬 Residual Sugar: 0g/L.
🎚️ ABV: 11.5%.
👃 Nose: Notes of elderflower, lychee and citrus.
😋 Palate: Refreshing and bright, but with quite low acidity for a Bacchus, the palate displays elderflower and citrus notes with a light touch of tropical fruit and a hint of gooseberry.
🍴 Food pairings: Asparagus or green pepper-based vegetarian dishes.
💷 Bottle price: Currently available from cellar door only for £21 per bottle.
🍇 Blend: Solaris (100%).
🍬 Residual Sugar: 0g/L.
🎚️ ABV: 12%.
👃 Nose: Notes of stone fruit and citrus.
😋 Palate: Dry and crisp with notes of underripe peach, lemon and a touch of mango.
🍴 Food pairings: Versatile with many types of food, particularly chicken and goats cheese.
💷 Bottle price: £18.
Unlike the other still wines, this Chardonnay has gone through malolactic conversion, remaining for eight months in Portuguese diamond-shaped concrete tanks, allowing for micro-oxidation without any woody flavours developing.
🍇 Blend: Chardonnay (100%).
🍬 Residual Sugar: 0g/L.
🎚️ ABV: 12%.
👃 Nose: Aromatic with notes of pineapple and a hint of white peach.
😋 Palate: Dry, crisp, creamy and very quaffable with tropical fruit notes, a touch of roasted pineapple and honey plus a slight hint of dried herbs in butter on the finish.
🍴 Food pairings: Roast chicken, gammon, grilled halloumi.
💷 Bottle price: £18.
… and for a decadent touch of luxury, there's Silverhand Estate Kyng 2018, a traditional method vintage Blanc de Noirs, made from 100% Pinot Noir and aged for five years on its lees. Around 600 bottles were made and each is packaged in a Norman Foster-designed wooden box that also serves as a wine cooler with a personalised plaque. RRP £395.
Unfortunately and not surprisingly, I wasn't able to taste this when I visited the estate!
Sauvignon Gris grapes at Silverhand Estate: there are two rows here at Luddesdown
A train from London Victoria to Meopham and a taxi to the vineyard will only take around one hour. A 15-minute journey from St. Pancras to Ebbsfleet and a 15-20 minute drive to the vineyard is even quicker, so the estate is in an easily accessible location.
A guided tasting costs £20 per person, which includes five wines. Alternatively, wine flights with notes on the table to read are available as well. Vineyard and winery tours retail at £35, but there is also the option to have a winery tour only.
So, if you want to see largescale English wine ambition close up, Kent would seem to be a good place to start … and you could always raise your glass to the heroic spirit of King Lud while you're there. Cheers! 🥂
