Whitewolfe Estates: an exciting new Chardonnay-based project in Kent, England
Website: https://whitewolfe-estates.co.uk/
Whitewolfe Estates is a still Chardonnay project founded in 2019 by Clare Whitehead and Luke Wolfe, and the first wines have now been released.
Luke and Clare met while they were studying at Plumpton in 2009. At the time, she was working for Bibendum while he was a mortgage advisor, but he was about to change careers. He began working in vineyards and wineries, and then took a job at Chapel Down where he stayed for 7.5 years. He then set up a vineyard management consultancy called Agropro, mostly focusing on work in the southeast of England.
Clare now works for Liberty Wine, but they decided they’d like to start their own project. Their first attempt was in 2012 when the plan was to buy grapes. But it was the worst vintage in living memory and there weren’t any grapes available. In 2019 they resurrected the dream, but this time wanted to plant land.
They leased some land in Kit’s Coty in the North Downs, and planted 10 hectares of Chardonnay in 2020. Kit’s Coty is a name made famous by Chapel Down for their prestige still and sparkling Chardonnays, and there are now 1000 acres of vineyard here. The place has its own microclimate.
Luke and Clare are growers first: they sell 80% of the crop for sparkling and still wine, and the remaining 20% is what they can afford to play with (this project is entirely self funded) for the Whitewolfe wines. They make the wines with Ben Smith at Itasca, and 2022 was the first vintage.
They have planted 7 different Chardonnay clones, and they also use a range of different yeasts, and play around with press fractions. The result of this matrix of opportunities is a range of three Chardonnays, which represent different stylistic takes on what their site can deliver. They won’t be making all three every year: for example, in 2023 there was no KC1. KC3 will be made every year, and KC1 and KC2 will be vintage dependent.
They are in the middle of acquiring a new piece of land. The cost for leasing is typically £300-400 per acre on a 30 year lease, and then there is the cost of planting and management each year. They farm conventionally, but don’t use herbicides. They cultivate under vine as they go through mowing the mid-rows. They are members of sustainable wine GB.
Canopy management is key and there is no expense spared when it comes to manual labour, says Luke. They average 8 sprays a year. They have no frost protection. ‘It’s as frost-free as a site can be,’ says Luke, although he says they are seeing bud burst ever earlier, and it’s getting near the beginning of April, which is problematic.
‘We went into this with our eyes wide open,’ he says. ‘We factored in that two out of 10 years we might not get anything.’ They contract work out so there is no capital outlay, and with the size of the plot a contractor can do everything in one day: it’s the optimum size for most vineyard activities.
Soils are clay loam over chalk, and there are three levels, with deeper soils at the bottom. At the top, the chalk is 500 mm down; at the bottom it’s more than a metre. Drainage is good. They use a roller hacker as part of the under-vine weed control and the organic material here has increased from below 3% to 4.25/4.5%. The vines are planted at 2.2 m x 1 m (4500 per hectare) and pruning is single guyot.
These wines are specific barrel selections. The clones are picked separately and the wines are aged in used barrels for a year, with each barrel graded to determine its destination. KC1 is more elegant; KC2 is more powerful; KC3 is more expressive.
Whitewolfe KC3 Chardonnay 2022 Kent, England
Lively and quite powerful with nice citrus drive. Some pear and lemon fruit with a stony twist. Lovely brightness here with great precision, showing a bold acid line. There’s some richness here with subtle hazelnut and a twist of white peach richness, finishing with brisk acidity. 92/100
Whitewolfe KC1 Chardonnay 2022 Kent, England
Lovely aromatics of pear and apple, showing depth but also freshness on the palate. Layered citrus fruit with some creamy hints and a bit of nuttiness, but then some oystershell and flint minerality. Such precision. This really comes alive on the palate showing good detail and integrated flavours. 94/100
Whitewolfe KC2 Chardonnay 2022 Kent, England
Rich and toasty with citrus and lemon curd aromas and a nice spicy dimension. Good depth on the palate without sacrificing freshness. This has energy and saltiness with fine spicy notes and a really long finish. Quite crystalline, showing finesse and depth. 95/100
