Balfour champions English still rosé with Nannette’s 2024 vintage
Nannette’s Rosé from Balfour Winery showcases a small-batch winemaking philosophy, utilising traditional Champagne varieties grown in Kent, in southeast England.
Since the early 2000s, Balfour Winery in Staplehurst, Kent, has garnered attention for its English wines. Although the winery is best known for its sparkling wines, particularly rosé, it also produces still wines, which now account for about 50% of its output. Nannette’s Rosé is a great example that showcases Balfour’s dedication to small-batch winemaking, emphasising both the unique terroir and the accessibility of English still wines.
Introduced in 2010, Nannette’s Rosé is a bright and playful example of skilful English winemaking, bursting with fresh summer fruit and effortless charm, reminiscent of English summer orchards. Crafted from hand-picked Kentish grapes of traditional Champagne varieties, the blend consists of 39% Pinot Meunier, 39% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Noir, and 4% Reichensteiner. The rosé is said to embody lightness, vibrancy, and the joyful spirit of Balfour Winery.
According to Fergus Elias, head winemaker at Balfour, “Nannette’s showcases the incredible potential and quality of English rosé.”
The vegan-friendly 2024 vintage rosé presents a dusty pink hue and offers aromas of red fruits, with hints of strawberries, raspberries, and rose petals. The Chardonnay contributes a zesty freshness, lending a light, dry sensation on the palate. Meanwhile, the Pinots impart summer fruit notes, including ripe red cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, complemented by aromatic herbal hints, particularly thyme.
Nannette’s Rosé 2024 is meant for sipping and savouring. It is described as an ideal choice for alfresco dining, pairing well with summer salads, grilled chicken, light seafood dishes, and soft cheeses.
The elegant and lively rosé retails for £25 (US$33) for a 750ml bottle. For every bottle sold, Balfour Winery donates to support the Kent Wildlife Trust’s efforts to restore local nature in a campaign to ‘give back to the earth that produces its inimitable wines’.
Kentish estate
The story of Balfour Winery began when Leslie Balfour-Lynn purchased the 400-acre farmland associated with the estate. The first vines were planted in 2002, with co-founders Leslie and Richard aiming to create a sparkling wine that could rival Champagne. After winning several awards for its first vintage in 2004, Balfour invested in a state-of-the-art winery and tasting room on the Hush Heath Estate in 2010, followed by an expansion in 2018. Today, the winery is a premier destination for wine lovers and enthusiasts, welcoming more than 75,000 visitors each year.
Balfour’s philosophy of small-batch winemaking is rooted in clonal selection. Each vineyard is monitored individually throughout the year, with each clone of each variety harvested separately. The vineyards on Hush Heath Estate account for more than half of the winery’s total, featuring over 100 different clonal and varietal combinations.
Each vineyard has been carefully selected and planted to align with Balfour’s winemaking philosophy. Positioned on clay, chalk, or greensand soils, every site reflects its unique terroir. Balfour also manages additional vineyards in Kent, cultivated by long-term grower partners.
The father-and-son duo of Owen and Fergus Elias oversees all aspects of winemaking at Balfour. The winery maintains control over the entire process, from the receipt of grapes to pressing, fermentation, bottling, riddling, disgorging, labelling, and packaging.
The winery’s award-winning portfolio today includes still wines such as Nannette’s Roséand even Sauvignon Blanc, as well as vintage sparkling wines, Leslie’s Reserve Collection, and the Winemakers’ Collection.
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