A hermit, the first recipient of a degree in agriculture from the fledgling Newcastle University and a 45 year love affair with a very special place on the South Downs! What’s the connection I hear you ponder? I shall reveal all in due course!

The #bigenglishwineeaster #BEWE in on 3rd April 2021. Following on from the success of last years event I wanted to learn more about one of English Wine’s most charismatic characters, Peter Hall of Breaky Bottom near Lewes, East Sussex.

After just fifteen minutes of telephone conversation with Peter I was mesmerised! Peter loves telling stories as much as he loves making wines and his beloved Breaky Bottom!

A quick adjustment to the diary and the very next day we were headed down to meet him and his wife Christina.

Peter’s French grandfather hailed from Normandy, a region known for its gastronomy, cider and of course Calvados but not wine! This however, proved to be an advantage; one that was to have a positive impact on the young Peter. Back in the 1900s the region you lived in France largely dictated the wines you drank. If you hailed from Bordeaux you would have drunk Bordelaise reds and crisp white wines from Sauvignon Blanc and or Semillon. If you lived in Alsace the only red you would have drunk was Pinot Noir!

However, if you were a Normandise then you had the full cellar of France at your disposal unencumbered by the constraints of regional loyalty!

In his later years Peter’s grandfather lived in the Côte d’Azur town of Juan-les-Pins where he would entertain Peter and his brother Remy. Before opening a bottle they were taught to appraise the label, pay respect to the vigneron or Château that produced it and evaluate it thoroughly before tasting it!

Peter recalls his grandfather then telling them ” Remember boys it’s only fermented grape juice!” Before asking them to taste and judge the wine on its smell and taste dismissing the former appraisal! Something that has stayed with Peter ever since.

Peter grew up on a mixed farm in Gloucestershire an influence that would come to bear when he embarked on his own agricultural career! He studied Agriculture at Durham University’s new King’s College, Newcastle that became Newcastle University, the only member of his peer group of forty students to shun a “Dunelm” degree in favour of a “Newcs” on graduation.

Peter strikes me as a man that is not impressed by money, power or influence and is therefore released from the shackles that these bestow on us.

After graduation he worked as a farm post graduate at Northease Farm. With digs in Brighton he would have a long commute and 2 bus journeys to get to the farm to start work at 7am.

After several months of long days and an excess of travel Peter noticed one day from his tractor, the derelict cottage at Breaky Bottom, which nestles in a cleft in the downs.

He persuaded the farmer to let him stay there! It had no electricity and just a stand pipe for running water!

Peter was only due to spend a year there working but had this extended to three years. Way before chatrooms and ClubHouse Peter exchanged information with the other farm hands. He would offer his wisdom on what he considers the greatest of the arts, Music from Schubert to Miles Davis, in exchange for information about the land, the soil and the terroir.

Peter married the farmer’s daughter and in doing so set in motion his permanent residency at Breaky Bottom, his father-in-law offering him a tenancy on Breaky Bottom and its 30 acres.

Peter embarked on his career as a farmer with chickens, turkeys and sheep. He had always enjoyed gardening and it was on a visit to the local nursery in Lewes where the owner showed him an advert in a gardening magazine for a book by Nick Poulter ” Wines from your Vines”

Peter invited Nick down to Breaky Bottom for a consultancy visit but after enjoying a few incredible bottle of wine from Peter’s cellar, exchanging stories and Peter’s food and hospitality the fee was waived!

Peter set about planting Müller-Thurgau and Seyval Blanc. His maiden vintage was in 1976, when as a ten year old I was enjoying a balmy English summer so hot that we had a water shortage. At the time there were only 6 vineyards in England making wines …. today there are several hundred!

Awards in the 1980s followed and his 1990 vintage Seyval Blanc won a Gold Medal in the 1993 International Wine Challenge.

Peter always thought that Seyval Blanc would make great English fizz and so he embarked on making one in 1995, released in 2000 as ‘Millennium Cuvée Maman Mercier’, dedicated to his French mother.

After reluctantly pulling up the Müller-Thurgau he has since planted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in 2002 and 2004 and switching his focus to just producing sparkling wines.

Jack Pike 2015 Seyval Blanc disgorged in October 2020.

Appearance: Pale lemon.

Nose: Medium plus notes of apple blossom and pear.

Palate: Dry, high acidity, medium alcohol, medium plus body and a long finish. Pronounced aromas of both fresh citrus and caramelised lemon with a hint of tart lemon curd. Apple and pear too. All woven together and wrapped up in a lovely envelope of minerality. Lovely brioche and bready notes from the extended lees ageing. An excellent example of English sparkling Seyval Blanc drinking well now with great ageing potential.

Reynolds Stone was the greatest wood engraver in the world, Peter sought him out to produce the Breaky Bottom Logo. His work can also be found on the tombstone of Sir Winston Churchill in Westminster Abbey.

Appearance: Pale gold.

Nose: Pronounced Lemon tarte/tarte citron notes, brioche, redcurrants and whitecurrants.

Palate: Dry, high acidity, medium alcohol, medium plus body, long finish. Pronounced intensity aromas of brioche and pastry continue from the nose with more tarte citron, whitecurrants, raspberry and redcurrants. With all the key components of balance, length, intensity and complexity this is a sensational and a truly outstanding wine.

Peter was recently asked in an interview what was the secret of making great wine. ” I don’t know!” he said shrugging his shoulders with an impish grin! Having spent two hours in his company I have a hunch I know what the secret is…… He’s at one with nature. He understands more than anyone how the elements shape the growth of his vines and shape each vintage. He has lived and breathed this landscape day in day out for the best part of fifty three years! His respect for nature is born out of love and compassion for his environment.