Nyetimber has a rich and glorious history. The valley of Nitimbreha was mentioned in the Doomsday book in 1086, and was one of the estates given by William the Conqueror to Norman feudal baron Roger de Montgomery. Later the manor house was granted to Anne of Cleeves as part of her marriage annulment to Henry VIII in 1540. Nyetimber is located in West Chiltington, nestling in the lea of the South Downs in West Sussex. Fast forward to 1988 when American couple Stuart and Sandy Moss had a vision; to to craft Traditional Method sparkling wine in England that could stand against the best of Champagne. This was a pioneering venture: planting the holy trinity of sparkling wine grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. They were the first UK producer to craft wine exclusively from these grape varieties. Interestingly, at the time the so called experts told them that there was no way that Chardonnay would ripen in the English climate, and Pinot Noir would just rot! But they planted anyway with such amazing results that others followed suite. The Moss' worked with Champenoise winemaker Jean-Manuel Jacquinot, releasing their first vintage in 1993 to critical acclaim and success rapidly followed. In 2001 the estate was sold to songwriter Andy Hill of Buck's Fizz fame. ( He co-wrote and produced “Making Your Mind Up”, the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest for the group in 1981). So with the group's name it was rather fitting that Andy should own a sparkling wine estate! Under Andy, with Dermot Sugrue as winemaker, Nyetimber's reputation continued to soar. Nyetimber has been owned by Dutch-born Eric Heererma, heir to a shipping business, since 2006, and they have continued to go from strength to strength. Today Nyetimber have 372 hectares of vineyards spread across Sussex, Kent and Hampshire, and only use estate grown fruit for their wines. Some of their Chardonnay vines, planted by the Moss' are the oldest in the UK. Here in the South of England the grapes flourish on the greensand and chalk soils, and ripen slowly with balanced acidity. Head Winemaker, Cherie Spriggs and her winemaking husband Brad Greatrix, both Canadians, have crafted the wines since 2007 and have continued to innovate. In 2013 the sublime single vineyard Tillington was released . Nyetimber are world-renowned for their multi-awarded wines. These are serious wines, complex and elegant with great finesse. It is believed that the name Nitimbreha refers to a newly timbered house, which is rather fitting as Nyetimber have lovingly and meticulously restored their 15th century Mediaeval barn to its former glory, restoring the beams originally felled in 1463 – the estate is as exquisite as their wines!