Langham Wine Estate recently marked fifteen years since planting its vineyard at Crawthorne Farm, near Dorchester, and to celebrate friends of the winery and vineyard were invited for a day filled with wine tastings, tours and delicious Dorset seafood, prepared by The Langham Vineyard Café. Langham's core wines were poured along with their collection of old and rare wines, whilst tunes were played by Dorchester record store and local DJs, Vinyl Van.
Sommeliers, restaurateurs, hoteliers and chefs from both local and London-based establishments joined for the celebration, including guests from Weymouth's Catch at the Old Fishmarket, Dorchester's The King's Arms, Convivial Rabbit, Cerne Abbas Stores, London's OMA, London Shell Co, The Laslett (Notting Hill), Kerridges, Koko, Iné, sister restaurants St Barts and Nest, hotel group The Pig Hotels, Tavistock's Sovereign Wines, plus Wanderlust Wines and Lea & Sandeman.
Managing Director, Justin Langham, said: “I take immense pride in evolving what was once my father's hobby into the thriving Langham Wine Estate we see today and I am truly delighted to see the estate reach this milestone.
“After visiting many of the world's most regarded wine regions and having studied viticulture at Plumpton College, I decided to make my dream a reality. We planted 30 acres of vineyard in 2009 and have since expanded to 85 acres. In May, we planted 13,000 new Chardonnay vines on the final 10 acres of our planned expansion and are anticipating bountiful harvests in the years to come.
“Behind our success lies a dedicated team whose passion and expertise produce the exceptional wines within our portfolio. I am very proud of what we have achieved so far.”
With a south-facing aspect, chalk soils and a unique microclimate, Crawthorne Vineyard provides a perfect terroir for ripening the classic Champagne varieties - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Langham Wine Estate prides itself in making wines only using grapes grown on its estate, hand harvesting the grapes and taking a low intervention approach to winemaking.
The dynamic winery team is led by Tommy Grimshaw. Not your traditional winemaker, Tommy has worked his way up from labelling wine when he left school after his first year of A Levels before breaking new ground as the UK's youngest head winemaker when he was just 24 years old. Now 28, he continually strives to be creative in his winemaking, not bound by technical 'rules' with a focus on a low intervention approach, and the results he achieves are outstanding.
The winery makes exceptional wines which are not only recognised in this country but have also earned them the coveted Best Sparkling Wine Producer award at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) in 2020. Langham Wine Estate's core range of wines includes Corallian, Culver, Rosé and Blanc de Blancs.
Along with newly planted vines, 2024 has also seen Langham Wine Estate release its first still wine since 2020. The 2022 Chardonnay is named after 'Search for Enlightenment', a sculpture by Dorset-based sculptor Simon Gudgeon.
The winery's core focus is sparkling wine with the exception of only producing still wines in exceptional vintages, as 2022 undoubtedly was. At harvest, winemaking team Tommy Grimshaw and Andy Wiles agreed that the quality of fruit was great enough to make a still chardonnay, separating a portion of ripe juice from the heavier 'taille' fraction of the pressing. Langham's oxidative style, use of old oak and wild yeast fermentation has formed a wine of elegance, expressive of the cool-climate and pure chalk soils of this small corner of Dorset. This is the first wine from the estate to be bottled in reused glass bottles.
Looking ahead, Langham Wine Estate remains dedicated to producing exceptional wines that reflect the unique terroir of Dorset. With a focus on quality, sustainability and innovation, the estate will continue striving for excellence for many years to come.
