INTERVIEW WITH TILLINGHAM HEAD OF WINE, TIERNEY BEAMES
For a deeper dive on the new 2023 Vintage Launch, Read the Interview with Head of Wine Tierney Beames
image: Susan Bell
We’re excited about the launch of our 2023 vintage this month. Can you tell us what makes this vintage special?
A new winemaker is always an exciting moment. It’s a chance to reset, while respecting the foundations of what came before. 2023 also marked the tipping point of our vineyards maturing. A vine produces a little more fruit each year, up until it matures at around 8 years old. We’ve always supplemented the estate fruit with fruit bought in from other English growers. We did buy some in 2023, but it was the first time we had a majority of our own – 50 tonnes from Tillingham and 20 bought in. It’s at the mercy of the seasons, but I hope in 2024 it will all be estate fruit.
What were some of the unique challenges and highlights you experienced during the production of the 2023 vintage?
2023 was an unusual year weather wise. Perfect conditions through May and June meant pollination was very successful and then rain through July and August meant heavy fruit set. This backwards summer led to 2023 being the biggest grape harvest ever on record in the UK. We had 35% more fruit to pick than we had forecast so it felt like a very long harvest! It was a relief once we’d made it through.
Tillingham is known for its diverse range of natural wines. How do you decide which varieties to produce each year?
There are 21 varieties planted across the site, which is a much broader palate to work from than most vineyards in the UK. Probably the world really! Mas de Daumas Gassac are probably level pegging… Whilst a bit of a puzzle, it does give us a lot of options. Aromatic varieties for our white blend, classic varieties that can adapt with the vintage to go into still or sparkling, white, rosé or red. We go into harvest with a plan, but it’s really about letting the fruit lead the way based on taste and ripeness.
Are there any new or experimental wines you are particularly excited about?
We have one Qvevri wine from the 2023 vintage that is lovely. It’s an Ortega with no skin contact, so you really get a sense of the effect of the clay on the wine. Some of the same juice went into steel, and through fermentation we were regularly tasting the vessels. They ended up as two vastly different wines, the only difference being the fermentation vessel, which was really cool to see. 2023 was also the first year we took a sizable harvest of Gamay and Pineau d’Aunis from our vineyards, some of which went into a wine called R which I’m a big fan of. I’m excited to see how those varieties perform this year.
What should visitors expect when they come for a wine tasting at Tillingham? Are there any particular wines or experiences you recommend?
Try something you haven’t had before and ask questions about why it is the way it is. We’ll have some interesting skin contact (orange/amber) wines coming out in the coming months which are great to try if you aren’t familiar. Our wine tours are fairly relaxed, but the most informative way to learn about the farm and get stuck into the wines.
Can you share some tips for those new to natural wines on how to best appreciate their unique characteristics? Natural wine should be a method and not a style so they come in many different guises. You might be used to wine being sparkly clear – what’s in your glass might be cloudy, but is it delicious? It’s about being open minded, but led by your senses. Taste as much as possible. If you find something you like (or don’t!) ask your friendly local wine nerd to recommend something different and you’ll quite quickly start to build your palate. Learn about faults – brett, mouse, VA – so you can pick out a well made natural wine.
Where do you draw your inspiration from in your wine making? Are there any winemakers, regions, or practices that particularly influence your work?
I love wines that are understated, yet have complexity. I’m not generally a fan of bombastic flavours in wine. It may be a bit of a wine cliché, but the Loire Valley was a good jumping off point – Catherine & Pierre Breton come to mind… Stoic in producing solid natural wines. I love alpine wines – the Savoie. Wines with a story, and importance in cultural history. The lengths people go to keep making it. Whilst perhaps not particularly trendy, a bottle of 2003 Chateau Musar from Lebanon captured my imagination early on.
What has been the most rewarding part of your role as Head of Wine at Tillingham Winery?
Seeing the wines labelled and heading out into the wild. So so much goes on behind the scenes to get to that point that it’s great to see people enjoying the wines when they’re finally released.
In your opinion, what makes Tillingham Winery’s wines unique and special?
There is experimentation in our DNA. Our focus has been on still wines, not sparkling, which makes us an outlier in the UK wine industry. When you’re in a sometimes challenging climate (for growing grapes) such as in England, that forces innovation when choosing your styles outside of traditional method sparkling. Having an open mind is surprisingly rare in the world of wine.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about the winery, the wines, or your role that our readers would find interesting? We get asked a lot about our labels! They are designed by Kellenberger-White and I think really nicely frame the aesthetic of Tillingham and our approach to the wines.
What makes Tillingham, Tillingham?
Whilst the wine is the starting point for everything we do, when you visit Tillingham it’s about more than that. Having access to nature and being in a beautiful setting.
To find out more about the Tillingham wine making process, why not book a Tour & Tasting with us? Bookings here
JUNE 2024
To celebrate English Wine Week this month and the launch of our 2023 Vintage, we have introduced two wine flights on the bar this month for our guests to enjoy:
Tillingham Still Wine Flight
Endgrain 2023
Elderflower, lime and fresh gooseberry fruit aromatics on the nose, reflected on the palate with a mouth watering
linear acidity. Crisp & dry. 45% Bacchus, 26% Auxerrois, 12% Ortega, 12% Siegerebbe, 5% Schönburger. All varieties
were whole bunch pressed, with the Bacchus being pressed over the Siegerebbe and Schönburger skins, before all
fermenting separately in stainless steel.
Rosé 2023
A bright and refreshing rosé. English hedgerow flowers and summer fruit fromage frais. A long and elegant finish,
this wine is calling out for those sunnier days. When we get them… 97% Pinot Noir, 3% Bacchus. Pinot Noir from our
Saw Pit and Phipps vineyards. 40% press juice to enhance the aromatics and 60% cuvée for freshness. The Bacchus
was whole bunch pressed. All were spontaneous fermentations in stainless steel.
R 2023
Vivid juicy berry fruit aromatics and a herbaceous edge, typical of a whole bunch fermentation. Light peppery
tannins that encourage another sip, this wine lends itself well to being served with a slight chill. 71% Regent, 16%
Gamay/Pineau d’Aunis, 13% Dornfelder. Carbonic maceration Regent in concrete. The Dornfelder was part whole
bunch, part crushed and destemmed. The Gamay and Pineau d’Aunis were crushed and destemmed and co-fermented
on skins for a week before being pressed to concrete. Blended and bottled after 5 months.
Tillingham Sparkling Wine-Flight
Traditional Method 2018 – from Magnum
Pale gold in appearance. Brioche and melon on the nose. Gentle perlage leads into a generous, round palate, with a
saline, fresh citrus character. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were whole bunch pressed, 20% of which was fermented
and aged in old oak barrels and the rest fermented and aged in stainless steel. Blended and bottled in July 2019
with an addition of 20g/l of sugar and champagne yeast. Disgorged on 9 February 2020 with zero dosage.
Col’22
Col is short for Col Fondo, the Italian term which describes the ancestral method of re-fermentation in the bottle
without disgorgement. This wine is a blend of 48% Auxerrois and 52% Serval Blanc that were whole bunch pressed
and fermented in stainless steel tank. Fermented to dryness then aged on gross lees for eight months before
bottling with a small amount of sugar to re-ferment in bottle. Hazy, pale green gold in appearance. Salty lemon and
floral green apple aromas lead to a zippy palate. Bright and slightly creamy with good length and grip.
One Hundred 2022
Rose gold in appearance, with aromas of magnolia and baked quince. Gentle bubbles and balanced acidity elevate the
palate, which has hints of apple and citrus zest. Pinot Noir rosé from stainless steel tank was blended with fresh
organic apple juice and re-fermented in bottle.