Our part of Sussex is all about ridges with commanding views over the intimate folds of our hills and valleys.  Hobdens nestles below the flank of its hill, rolling down from 83 m above sea level to 69m,  with stop-and-stare views sweeping across the valley, surrounded by bluebell woods and ancient meadowlands.

This is our most treasured vineyard, it’s a true  “hidden vineyard”, tucked away just south of Mayfield. It’s a lovely spot: protected by the Mayfield ridge to the North East and the looming bulk of Crowborough Hill to the north west. Between them they keep icy winds off the vineyard in winter and hold back the drenchings of the wet summer westerlies.

The remarkable thing about the vineyard is its age (twenty one this year, 2025)  and its mix of old and young vines which gives our wines unrivalled depths of flavour and complexity. In 2021 we substantially increased our Chardonnay plantings as well as adding more  Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier.

• Four varieties of classic grapes
• Elevation: 69m to 83m above sea level
• Orientation: South-South-East
• Slope: 5% evenly across the vineyard
• Soil: Clay over sandstone with shallow beds of iron-bearing shale and fingers of greensand
• Microclimate: sheltered, warm
  

This is our oldest parcel of vines dating back to our first small planting in 2004 and completed in 2005. It’s a south-south-east facing field.  Prior to 1914  it grew hops for the local brew. It is lovely to work in as it is well drained, with a herringbone pattern of land drains, and has a uniform, gentle 5 degree slope.

The clay loam over Wealden clay soils, shot through with iron rich shale, are slower to warm up in spring, generally delaying budburst at Hobdens until the risk of frost is over and then staying warm well into late Autumn as the grapes ripen.

Hobdens is planted with classic varieties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and historically: Pinot Gris. We carefully selected clones that would ripen well with lush flavours and bring different characteristics to the wines. We’ve also trialled different rootstocks to gauge their impact on the vines and wines.

Vines are trained to the Double Guyot system (for those that like such details) and by mid-summer they form clipped “hedges” above the trunks, carefully spaced so that they don’t cast shade on each other.  We do a vast amount of work by hand to optimise each vine’s exposure to the all-important glorious Sussex sunlight. Each vine is tended by human hand about 19 times each year.