Meet the Maker: Giffords Hall

A favourite of Oz Clarke, Giffords Hall is a new addition to Barbury Hill’s growing selection of handpicked English wine producers. This small but certainly superior wine estate has a range of award-winning vintages we’ve been lucky enough to taste, and we’re delighted to bring the very best of them to Barbury Hill customers.

From ancient glacial riverbed to award-winning wines

The sandy and clay soils of Long Melford in Suffolk have proven themselves ideal for the Madeleine Angevine, Bacchus, Reichensteiner, Rondo, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc grape varieties planted 25 years ago. The vines thrive on the ancient glacial riverbed site, producing exceptional sparkling and dry, aromatic still wines that feature in Oz Clarke’s new book, 'English Wine: From Still to Sparkling’.

Multiple award-winning wines

While many of Barbury Hill’s small independent producers have trophy cabinets even the best sports teams would envy, Giffords Hall’s haul of awards is particularly impressive. From the Great British Food Awards to Decanter, the Independent English Wine Awards to a Waitrose Trophy, they’re certainly well decorated.

But having tasted their fleet of award-winning wines, we can affirm that those awards are well-earned. From the rich fruity notes of St Edmundsbury Pinot Noir to the crisp acidity and smooth finish of the Madeleine Angevine, their wines have earned praise from Barbury Hill customers as well as judges.

Giffords Hall’s Madeline Angevine

Barbury Hill is proud to stock Madeleine Angevine, a multiple award-winner that’s fast becoming one of the UK’s ‘signature varietals’. Originally a Loire Valley grape, this version has arrived from Switzerland and Giffords Hall is one of the biggest producers of the variety in the UK, where it grows in abundance on the soils of their Suffolk vineyard.

A dry, crisp and refreshing wine, the delicate aromatic floral notes and aromas call to mind the scents of an English garden after a light summer shower. A smooth finish and crisp acidity make it equally at home as an aperitif or served as part of a main meal with a summer salad or white fish.

Giffords Hall’s St Edmundsbury Pinot Noir

This rich, fruit-forward red pays homage to Gifford Hall’s home town. We may think of wine as a fairly recent introduction to the British Isles, but vines have been grown within the Abbey walls of St Edmundsbury Cathedral for centuries, with a third of the Tithe to Rome paid in casks of wine during medieval times.

While white and sparkling wines are now found in abundance across the UK, it can often be trickier to find a good English red wine. This flavour-packed wine certainly bucks that trend, boasting a generous nose and deep notes of plum, cranberry and rhubarb. We love it with game or a Sunday roast where its warm ruby flavours complement the food without overpowering it.

Giffords Hall - an English wine to rival the finest French

Those awards don’t lie, Giffords Hall’s Pinot Noir and Madeleine Angevine are standout English wines of quite exquisite complexity, with rich, rounded flavour profiles and delicious character. Perfect as a wine for a celebratory lunch, as a gift that’s a little out of the ordinary for a wine-lover, or simply as an accompaniment to a special family meal.

Discover Barbury Hill’s collection of Gifford Hall wines here.