2026 Sussex Vintage Review
2026 delivered a fantastic summer and has had winemakers and wine lovers excited at the prospect of tasting the wines produced this year. We were intrigued to find out from the growers themselves how they feel now that this year’s harvest is in the tank. We reached out to some of our favourite local producers with a few pressing questions on how they view this year’s vintage.
Hugo at Court Garden: Head Winemaker
Phil at Bolney: Vineyard Manager
Jake at Roebuck: Head of Viticulture
Olivia at Nutbourne: Sales & Hospitality Manager
Tony at Rathfinny: Head Winemaker
Where does 2026 sit as a vintage for you? One of the best, above average, average, could be better or diabolical?
Hugo at Court Garden: In terms of ripeness and flavour profile 2026 is up there as one of the best. In terms of yield in ranks as below average.
Phil at Bolney: It has certainly been a challenging vintage, particularly with the early spring frosts. We also saw lower acidity than usual and relatively average sugar levels. Overall, it has been an unusual growing season, with extreme weather conditions.
Jake at Roebuck: If you look at the last 10-15 years it definitely sits above average and maybe one of the very best – time will tell!
Olivia at Nutbourne: 2026 will be a memorable vintage - three days of late frost in May severely reduced our crop, then the heatwaves of the Summer meant that the fruit which did come through ripened beautifully and we started harvest earlier than ever before, with amazing sugars, and filled the red wine fermenter twice, making both a still red Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
Tony at Rathfinny: One of the best, sitting alongside 2018,2025. That record breaking hot dry summer gave us very good growing conditions.
What challenges has the 2026 vintage brought?
Hugo at Court Garden: Spring frost was the worst we have experienced since we planted in 2005.
Phil at Bolney: The season started with frost, resulting in some crop losses. This was followed by a prolonged period of warm weather and rapid ripening, which brought harvest forward significantly. In fact, we experienced our earliest harvest to date, presenting some unique challenges in managing picking schedules and grape maturity.
Jake at Roebuck: Very cool temperatures around budburst, followed by 5 heatwaves made it difficult for the vines and yet they still went on to produce high-quality grapes.
Tony at Rathfinny: For many there was frost and drought, however at Rathfinny we have proximity to the sea to reduce frost risk, and lovely chalk to keep the vines supplied with water. However, the drought breaking rain late in the seasons did cause some berry swelling and splitting which was unfortunate.
Which vines have produced the most exciting/best quality grapes this year?
Hugo at Court Garden: Pinot Meunier. This has produced wonderful fruit this year.
Phil at Bolney: Our still wine varieties have been particularly exciting this year. The long, hot summer and higher sugar levels have created some promising potential for these varieties.
Jake at Roebuck: Pinot Meunier really stood out this year.
Olivia at Nutbourne: The black grapes of our French varieties have really come through to produce what will be wonderful sparkling wines, as well as still reds with amazing depth of fruit.
We picked the Germanic varieties like Bacchus, Huxelrebe, Reichensteiner very early to keep their acidity and delicate aromatic flavours.
Tony at Rathfinny: Our Pinot noir Précoce vines had a bumper year, producing good tonnage of ripe dark fruit. As we only make Cradle Valley red wine in a good years, we will be producing some barrels again this year. Across the board Meunier, pinot noir and chardonnay all produced good crops, ripe fruit and importantly good levels of fresh acidity
What wine styles do you think will benefit the most from this vintage?
Hugo at Court Garden: Our still wines and our sparkling Rose.
Phil at Bolney: We expect our still wines to benefit the most from this year's conditions, particularly given the extended warm weather and resulting grape development.
Jake at Roebuck: 2026 vintage will be characterised by very ripe fruit flavours of baked apple and stone fruit, complemented by soft acidity which really make our BdN and RdN really standout.
Tony at Rathfinny: The more structure wines benefit the most form the glorious summer, so 2026 Blanc de noirs should be a great gastronomic sparkling wine
What are you looking forward to now that the harvest is in, and the wine is in the tanks?
Hugo at Court Garden: The fermentations to finish and a few days off before the festive season starts.
Phil at Bolney: The blending process will be particularly interesting this year. Given the unusual growing conditions and variation in grape characteristics, it could be quite challenging, but we're looking forward to seeing how the wines develop and bringing out the best of what the vintage has given us.
Jake at Roebuck: There is lots of planning for the year ahead and reflecting on what could have been done better in the previous season. It is also a time where we can manage woodland, repair trellising, spread fertiliser and of course welcome sheep into the vineyards – the sight and sound of these lovely animals brings a welcome change to the landscape (and their mischievous behaviour is always entertaining to observe!).
Olivia at Nutbourne: The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are developing beautiful texture as they age in oak barriques and foudres, we'll enjoy seeing their profiles change over the Winter.
We're currently focussing on gearing up for Christmas and peak trading season! Then it all begins again, with pruning, bottling and new labels to order so we can release our first wine from this vintage in Spring - the Blush still rosé.
Tony at Rathfinny: Vintage this year was early but also long, so my plans for relaxed September went out the window. Sop once MLF is finished I am planning to take a few mini breaks and get ready for Xmas.