Taittinger comes to Kent - the planting of Domaine Evremond
The long-awaited wine from Domaine Evremond should be hitting the market in April. Here’s the first of a two-parter telling its story.
On a blustery unseasonably cold May day in 2017 the cream of Britain’s drinks press descended on a field just outside Faversham in Kent for a milestone event in the history of English wine. The great champagne house of Taittinger was planting vines in southern England at Domaine Evremond and we had been invited to take part.
The week before the event late spring frosts had damaged vines across the country. Some growers had lost 80% of their crops. Combine that with all the uncertainty about the previous year’s EU referendum and you might say that Taittinger’s timing could have been better. Though in retrospect the late noughties looks idyllic.
We piled out of the buses from Ashford station at a nondescript muddy field in what felt like the middle of nowhere. We had been warned in the invitation to dress casually and be “prepared for the unpredictable British weather. The event is taking place in a field and we have very limited cover.” And yet many London types had not heeded the advice, wearing smart shoes and even heels.
Shivering outside, we sipped tea to warm us up and then strode out somewhat gingerly into the fields for the planting of the vines. The rain was horizontal like on the Scottish islands. Patrick McGrath from Hatch Mansfield, Taittinger’s UK distributor and partner in the venture, stood on a box and tried to make himself heard above the wind. Then it was the turn of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, dressed up as an English gent in that charming way certain Frenchmen in the wine trade still do.
He insisted that bonds between Britain and France, and more specifically Champagne, would endure despite Brexit. As the rain got heavier, the PR team cut the speeches short. We were handed ceremonial trowels, given vine cuttings and shown where to plant them.
Our job done, we hurried into the marquee. Obviously, we couldn't taste wines from Domaine Evremond, they won’t be released until later this year so in a clever bit of publicity, Taittinger had invited Kentish producers to show off their sparkling wines. With everyone thoroughly refreshed, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger stood up and gave the speech that I think he was meant to give out in the muddy field. He clearly, gloriously, had had no media training; he rambled from his recollection of English women he had known in his misspent youth, to how Kent had some advantages over Champagne, not least the lack of unexploded world war one shells in the vineyards.
For years there had been rumours that French companies were investing in English vineyards and indeed some such as Billecart-Salmon had come close. Such was the level of press interest that when Patrick McGrath and Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger were scouting for land in England, they made sure they spoke English, so no one would get wind of what they were up to. Though M. Taittinger is so outrageously French that it’s hard to imagine him passing for anything else. Maybe the two of them dressed up like the Thompson Twins from Tintin in a bid to look more British. You can see why the press would be interested though, the idea of the French making ‘champagne’ in England, is almost too good to be true.
The official announcement of a partnership between Taittinger and Hatch Mansfield came in 2015. They had bought 120 acres of prime fruit growing land near Chilham in Kent. The family they bought from were the Gaskains who came over the last time the French were interested in acquiring large amounts of English countryside, the Norman Conquest. Domaine Evremond is named after Charles St. Evremond, a French diplomat and rogue who in exile from France is credited with introducing the wines of Champagne to the court of Charles II of England. His parties, known as petites soupers, were notorious for scandalous behaviour. There are certain similarities between Evremond and Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger which will be clear to readers of the British tabloid press.
In contrast to the planting party, my next visit was on a glorious summer’s day in 2022 when I was researching my book. The domaine had certainly changed a lot since then, rather than a muddy field, there were vines and as it was July, there were grapes galore. It looked like it was going to be a superb harvest though according to Patrick McGrath, they were desperate for rain, the lack of water might have an effect on the crop. McGrath is one of those Englishmen that you can immediately recognise as ex-army. Tanned and lean and in his early ‘60s, one can imagine him wearing a Keffiyeh and fighting in the deserts of North Africa. He was a little tender on the day, however, having just hurt his ribs water skiing
He said the idea for Domaine Evremond came from a “friendly discussion" with Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger. We tasted some wine and decided to do something together. The aim was to create something like Domaine Carneros”, the Taittinger family outpost in California. It was important that they do this from “scratch and long term. We weren’t interested in buying an existing estate. Or doing what Pommery had done and collaborate with an English winery.” They bought the land in 2014 and the first bottle is only just now coming out. This is very much a long term investment. The first planting in 2017 was 24 hectares with more vines going in the ground in 2019, 2020 and 2021, with 52 hectares in total. They produced around 130,000 bottles in the first two vintages 2019 and 2020 but the plan is to make around 350,000 a year. The 2019 was made at the nearby Simpsons winery before Taittinger built a temporary winery on site. It’s in an old farm building on site and quite rudimentary when you consider how much money Taittinger must have.
The reason we were making wine in such cramped conditions is because of the usual British problem in getting planning permission. Apparently one local lady has held things up for years with objections that keep getting thrown out but have delayed the process of building a proper winery considerably. McGrath described her as a “serial objector”. He added, “she cost us a fortune as construction costs went through the roof.” Entrenched nimbyism is another reason why it pays to have deep pockets in English wine, otherwise nothing would get built. Now though work is under way and it’s clear that they are not doing things by halves. Hard hats and high viz on, safety first, McGrath led me towards what looked like a chalk quarry.
It was a huge hole in the ground, nearly 30m deep, with a treacherously steep path winding down to the bottom. It was a very hot sunny day, and this hole was pure white chalk. At the bottom of the hole I had to squint from the glare. Everyone else had sensibly brought sunglasses. It felt like the set for a low budget BBC sci-fi television series from the 1980s, I could almost imagine Sylvester McCoy or Tom Baker as Doctor Who doing battle with Daleks. The planned winery will be two thirds underground so rather like the chalk cellars of Champagne, will require no cooling. According to McGrath, it took eight weeks to dig out and the construction work should be finished in 2023 just in time for the harvest.
Though the scale of the winery is impressive, they’re not planning on turning Evremond into a tourist attraction. There won’t be a restaurant or bar on site. Visitors can come and taste the wines but then will be encouraged to visit local restaurants and pubs. They’re clearly popular in the local community, everyone at the Woolpack seemed to know Patrick. It would have been very easy and understandable as a Champagne house to stand somewhat aloof of English wine, instead Domaine Evremond was a founder member of the Wine Garden of England group, and at the press event in 2017, they served local wines alongside Taittinger champagne and Californian sparkling wine.
We then went for a stroll around the site including a visit to the field where I planted my vine in 2017. Apparently on the press day there had been a mix-up and some journalists had planted chardonnay where they should have planted pinot noir. All I can say is sorry, and I hope it doesn’t affect the quality of the wine. Where before there was a muddy field, now there are rows and rows of vines, but it’s not a monoculture, there’s still patches of land containing fruit trees. They’re working with a local ecologist to make sure the site is as biodiverse as possible. There are also wild flowers and a pond. When I asked McGrath whether this actually helps the vines he said “no” and then added that he wasn’t sure. Though Rupert Ponsonby from the PR agency who is also an organic farmer in the Cotswolds thought that it did. The power cables had been buried to make the site look more beautiful.
Though the Gaskain family sold the land to Taittinger, they have stayed on to look after the grapes. According to Mark Gaskain, “as the fifth largest fruit grower in Britain, we bring local knowledge and challenge them and they challenge us.” Taittinger’s own vineyards in Champagne are organic but at the moment the vines at Evremond are farmed conventionally using synthetic fungicides, important in England’s damper climate, though the aim eventually is to go organic.
There are other things that are done differently in England. The vines are planted further apart so that they get as much light as possible. Gaskain referred to plants as “farmers of light, the leaves are solar panels.” Less crowding also reduces the chance of a fungal infection. Removing excess leaves to allow the grapes to air is another important part of keeping them disease free. Overall yields are approximately a third less than in Champagne.
Yields might be lower but the land is significantly cheaper than in Champagne where a hectare, 2.5 acres, of prime vineyard could set you back £1 million. Compare that with £20-30,000 for South Downs chalk. Despite the lower land prices, it’s still not cheap buying the right vineyard land. McGrath said “we want more chardonnay and are looking for land but people hear the name Taittinger and the price goes through the roof”. Most of the sales will take place in England where there seems to be plenty of demand, at least at the moment, but McGrath reckons that they could export between 10-15% taking advantage of Tattinger’s “ready made distribution channels.”
The English wine world has been waiting with bated breath to see what the wines will be like when they are released next month. The way Taittinger has handled the PR for Domaine Evremond has been masterful, building up anticipation but can the wines live up to all the hype? I have a feeling that anything less than straight into the front rank of English sparkling wines alongside Nyetimber will be seen as a failure. McGrath replied: “We know that the expectation surrounding the release of the first bottle will be very high but we also firmly believe that it will be very good. Will it be as good as it will be in five years ? Clearly not as there will no reserve wine in the blend and the vines will be very young. However, we believe that the UK trade will take that into consideration”. He added: “If you never try, you never succeed!”
Read part two to find out how they got on.
Adapted from Vines in a Cold Climate: The People Behind the English Wine Revolution
You forgot the bit where I looked for sites and found the one that was eventually planted.