Leonardslee Family Vineyards

Leonardslee Family Vineyards launched its first English sparkling wines in June 2024. The 750-acre Leonardslee Estate near Horsham in West Sussex is owned by wine and hospitality entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE: 

“This has been an immense undertaking and a project of love since the family first purchased the estate in 2016 with the vision of creating a vineyard destination that celebrates wine, nature, food, arts and design. We make wine only from fruit grown and nurtured in our vineyards. Everything is managed to ensure the highest quality and a fully sustainable approach from the outset.” 

The vineyard focuses on the classic Champagne varietals: 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier. Overseeing production are Barry Anderson, managing director of the UK wine business, and winemaker Johann Fourie, who brings his expertise from Penny's award-winning Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate in South Africa, an eco-tourism destination voted one of the Top 100 World’s Best Vineyards. 

The vineyard has launched three sparkling Sussex wines: Leonardslee Blanc de Blancs 2020 (RSP £60), Leonardslee Brut Reserve 2021 (RSP £45) and Leonardslee Brut Rosé 2021 (RSP £45). 

The Leonardslee wine labels feature the migratory barn swallow, which can end its long journey from Africa in Sussex. It symbolises Penny’s own journey between her home and vineyards in South Africa and her English sparkling wine estate. 

At Leonardslee Family Vineyards there are some 70,000 vines over 38 acres under cultivation. Visitors can enjoy a golf buggy tour of the vineyards, set in the beautiful Sussex landscape. The estate harvested 170 tonnes of grapes in 2023, with an anticipated average annual production of 100,000 bottles of sparkling Sussex Wine. 

Leonardslee Visitor Experiences 

With its gourmet dining, wine tastings, vineyard tours and art and music events, Leonardslee offers a range of leisure experiences for visitors. 

At Leonardslee House on Brighton Road, the Grade II listed Italianate mansion features Restaurant Interlude, which has won a Michelin Star every year since 2018 and its first Green Star in 2024. 

Chef Jean Delport’s seasonally inspired tasting menu, for lunch or evening dining, enables guests to intimately connect with Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens through ingredients that are foraged on the estate and sourced from local producers. Visitors can then retire for the night to the luxury accommodation, to one of the ten beautiful bedrooms, each individually designed with a quintessential garden theme. 

The 240-acre Grade I listed woodland gardens were first planted in the 19th century by eminent Victorian plant collectors, the Loder family. Many rare trees and exotic plants gracing the gardens today are now endangered in their native habitats. Meandering pathways reveal seven interconnecting lakes tucked into the valley below. Walks through the woodlands and parkland offer sightings of grazing wallabies and other wildlife. 

Then at the Vineyard Kitchen and Hotel on Hammerpond Road guests can enjoy a gourmet lunch or classic afternoon tea, as well as wine tastings and pairings in the Tasting Room, and then a luxury overnight stay in the new hotel accommodation. 

Leonardslee is also home to the Mannings Heath Golf Club and features 9 and 18-hole golf courses. The estate offers an exciting calendar of arts, music and wine-themed events throughout the year. The programme includes popular family attractions such as the spectacular spring flower displays and winter festivals when the gardens are illuminated at night, attracting thousands of visitors. 

The estate now hosts weddings both at the Vineyard Hotel and also at Leonardslee House, where couples can plan their ceremony, reception and a luxurious getaway with Michelin Star dining in an all-inclusive, three-day wedding experience amid the beauty of this iconic country estate in West Sussex. 

English Sparkling Wines 

·     The Blanc de Blancs 2020 features Chardonnay clones Fr155, INRA 96, Gm 52, INRA 76, and INRA 548 on SO4 and Fercal rootstocks. The grapes were handpicked into bins in the cool of the morning. They were then whole-bunch pressed: 75% into stainless-steel tanks and 25% into French oak barrels. Selected yeasts were used for the primary fermentation with MLF blocked. Only the free-run juice was used to make the base wine, which underwent the second fermentation in bottle. The wine stayed on lees in the bottle for about 36 months before disgorgement, corking and labelling. The next batch will be disgorged after 48 months. The £60 wine has a dosage of 6g/L. The dosage is just for balance and is lower than in the other wines because of the oak-fermented portion, which adds richness. 

·     The Brut Reserve 2021 is a blend of 70% Chardonnay (INRA 76, FR155), 20% Pinot Noir (INRA 777, GM 1 Fr155, Fr 1801) and 10% Pinot Meunier (WVWL 32, WE 163). The main differences in the winemaking include full MLF to soften the 2021’s natural acidity and add a creamy texture and depth. The wine also had 6% of reserve wine to help create the signature Leonardslee house style. Ageing on lees was for 30 months. The £45 wine has a dosage of 7.5g/L. 

·     The Brut Rosé 2021 is a blend of 56% Chardonnay, 31% Pinot Noir (Fr1801, INRA 777, Gm 1, Fr1801, F105), 3% Pinot Meunier and 10% Pinotage (5C). This wine also underwent full malolactic conversion and 24 months of bottle ageing before disgorgement. The £45 wine has a dosage of 9g/L. 

Leonardslee Family Vineyards in numbers: 

• Sparkling wine cultivars 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier   
• Leonardslee Blanc de Blancs (RSP: £60); Brut Reserve (RSP: £45); Brut Rosé (RSP: £45)·     
• Vineyard planted 2017   
• Total Estate 750 acres  
• 38 Acres of vineyard, 73,000 vines    
• 2023 harvest, 170 Tonnes of grapes  
• 100,000 bottles produced annually  
• 2024 First release of wine    
• Owner: Penny Streeter OBE  
• Winemaker: Johann Fourie   
• MD UK wine operations: Barry Anderson 

Vineyards: www.leonardslee.co.uk Tag: @leonardsleewineestate  

Gardens: www.leonardsleegardens.co.uk  

Ends

Editors notes

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is a family-owned vineyard estate, near Horsham in West Sussex, which features ‘the finest woodland gardens in England’, Grade I Listed, as well as a Michelin Star restaurant and luxury vineyard accommodation. 

The 240-acre estate was established by Sir Edmund Loder, the great Victorian plant collector, and now includes a Sussex Wine vineyard, with the first release of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier sparkling wine in 2024. 

The estate features outstanding displays all year round. In the spring this includes rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, magnolias and bluebells. The collection is exceptional in its diversity and maturity, with several rare ‘champion’ trees, threatened in their natural habitat. 

The gardens offer a protected ecosystem for rare wildlife such as Emperor Dragonflies and Damselflies, White Admiral and Purple Hairstreak butterflies and migratory and native birds - Kites, Great Tits, Tree Creepers, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and Nightingales. 

The estate reopened in April 2019, following acquisition and two years’ intensive work by entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE to restore the woodland gardens after eight years of closure and neglect under previous ownership. It was the largest garden restoration project in the United Kingdom since Heligan 30 years before. 

Since further restoration work in 2021, visitors can also stay in the luxury vineyard hotel after dining at Restaurant Interlude in Leonardslee House, the Grade II Listed Italianate mansion house, to experience the Michelin Star multi-course tasting menu created by chef Jean Delport. 

The estate offers a great family day out and is one of the top places to visit in West Sussex. Visitors can view a magical world in miniature at the Beyond the Doll's House exhibition, which depicts the Edwardian estate and neighbouring villages at 1:12 scale. There is also an exciting new 2,500 sq m play park designed to mix recreational play with the natural attractions of the Grade I Listed woodland gardens, and a spectacular winter festival annually when the gardens are illuminated, attracting many thousands of visitors. 

For great days out, there is an extensive programme of entertainment that includes winter garden illuminations and light trails, wine and beer festivals, photo and art exhibitions, live music events, cooking and gardening demonstrations, arts and crafts fairs, modelling and toy shows, and children’s events and adventure trails.