This has been a project of love and immense undertaking since the family first purchased Leonardslee in 2016 with the vision of creating a spectacular wine estate which celebrates wine, nature, food, arts and design. Nestled in the heart of West Sussex, and with 38 acres of vineyard, Leonardslee Family Vineyards only makes English sparkling from fruit grown and nurtured in its own vineyards, and aims to combine the best efforts of earth and man to produce beautiful English wines.
Sustainability across the estate is key and everything has been carefully managed to ensure a fully sustainable approach from the outset.
Leonardslee is launching three sparkling wines, all made by traditional method: Leonardslee Blanc de Blancs (RSP:£60), Leonardslee Brut Reserve (RSP: £45) and Leonardslee Brut Rosé (RSP: £45).
The wines have a very distinct, uplifting label which features a barn swallow, this is symbolic of Penny herself, and the migration she makes between her two loves; her home in South Africa and her English sparkling wine estate. The swallow is also significant due to its long, established relationship with Sussex; the birds feature on the county crest and many end their long journey here from Africa.
The Leonardslee vineyards themselves were planted in 2017 with Chardonnay (60%), Pinot Noir (30%), Pinot Meunier (10%), alongside a trial planting of Pinotage, which was the first of its kind in the UK.
Penny and her family are not new to the world of wine having created the highly successful Benguela Cove Wine Estate in South Africa. With an established reputation as a leading wine and eco-tourism destination, Benguela Cove produces award-winning wines under the leadership of the Leonardslee winemaker Johann Fourie.
The Streeter family has extremely high standards for the Leonardslee estate which in addition to the wines and vineyards also includes; Leonardslee House, Interlude Restaurant (Michelin 1* & Michelin Green Star), the Vineyard Hotel, Mannings Heath golf and Leonardslee Lake and Gardens. With such an inspirational woman at the helm, everything at Leonardslee reflects Penny’s passion for excellence across all the family’s ventures.
Penny Streeter OBEsadi: “The last five years have been an incredible journey for us and the launch of our first Leonardslee English Sparkling wines is a real testament to the hard work of our amazing team and this magical location we have. We believe we have something very special in Leonardslee and we’ll bring something new to the English Sparkling sector.”
The first wines will be ready for release early May, and the official launch of Leonardslee Family Vineyards will take place the first week of June with a series of launch events at Leonardslee House.
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