Meopham Oakmead

Meopham Valley Vineyard lies between Rochester and Sevenoaks amidst the rolling hills and valleys of the North Downs of Kent. There are about 5 acres of vines, planted by the original owners in 1991, which are now fully mature and produces grapes in good quality and intensity. The vineyard is on a steep, naturally terraced, slope and so is fairly protected from ground frosts. The valley side faces east South-East so warms up early in the day and is open to the warm and rays of the sun for most of the day.

The current vineyard makes up a quarter of the land owned by the current owners, who have ambitions to extend the vineyard to the more southerly facing slopes. The vines planted in the early 1990s included the regular varieties for sparkling wine like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but also Pinot Gris, Madeleine Angevine, Leon Millot, Triomphe and Reichensteiner. It is quite rare to see such an array of varieties so we have selected a couple of wines from the estate to highlight the diversity of these rare varieties.

The Meopham Oakmead 2019 shows the full aromatic range of the German variety Reichensteiner and the French Madeleine Angevine. There is a lovely fruit salad nose with plenty of floral notes and the light, just dry yet crisp wine dances across the palate. This is a terrific, light drinking wine but also one to partner with Thai fish dishes or spicy chicken dishes. The blend is made up of 54% Madelaine and 46% Reichensteiner. The 2019 wine was made by Defined Wines in their first year as makers for Meophams and shows a beautiful clean line with length and poise.