An Introduction to Domaine Hugo
Hugo Stewart's farming story doesn't begin with fruit, but with pigs. The family farm; Botley's, had belonged to his grandmother and uncle, before the responsibility fell to him. So pigs it was, until twenty years ago. Needing a change of scenery he rented the farm out to a neighbour so he could spend a year in France. Or so he thought.
When a friend; Paul Old, visited Hugo in the Corbieres he fell hard for the area, insisting he & Hugo should make wine. A bolt from the blue that became Les Clos Perdus, an esteemed biodynamic domaine, ran collaboratively between the two for over a decade, with Hugo responsible for farming their plots of old vines.
Starting out on his viticulture journey and visiting other growers, Hugo had a handful of eye-opening experiences of conventional farming, deciding early on that it was not the way he wanted to work. Beginning with organics and quickly proceeding to biodynamics at the recommendation of a neighbour, Hugo's viticulture even caught the attention of biodynamic pioneer Nicolas Joly, who became an advocate for Hugo & Paul's wines.
Needing to return back to Wiltshire for his family in 2015, Hugo was confident that the windswept chalk soils of the family farm could make great vineyards. Deciding to plant a handful of traditional Champagne varietals (despite Nicolas Joly teasing him he should plant something different) Hugo set about working his own three hectares in accordance with biodynamic principles.
He remembers now whilst growing up on the farm, a tractor driver who would always plant his potatoes following the lunar calendar:
"Sure there's lots of muck and mystery with biodynamics, but at it's heart it's incredibly practical, it's a type of agriculture that has its roots in traditions passed down through farming families for generations. A plant is 90% water, you can't ignore the moon!"
Nearly twenty years of careful biodynamic farming in France had given Hugo the strongest footing for beginning the journey from scratch back in the UK.
In 2018 he took the fruit of his first home-grown vintage to the nearby Langham estate to be vinified by the young head winemaker there: Daniel Ham. So excited by the quality of fruit and the story of Hugo's viticulture, Daniel had soon talked himself into a new job: "have you ever considered building a winery?..."
From that chance encounter, the second winemaking collaboration of Hugo's life was born. Building the winery together at Botley's, Dan heads up the winemaking, with Hugo concentrating on the biodynamic viticulture.
Domaine Hugo is a shining example of how the future of wine should look in the UK: Hugo's attention to detail in the vineyards and Daniel's commitment to terroir driven wines are a special combination. It's a thrill to be able to play a part in sharing their wines.
Hugo 2018
The first wine of their collaboration, before Hugo and Dan built the winery together at Botley's. First pick off the farm in 2018 and made in the traditional method at Langham under Dan. Hugo says that he hopes to always bottle it as a field blend, with nature deciding on the ratio each year.
Pressed slowly and co-fermented in old barrels, with indigenous yeasts. Aged in barrel for 11 months before tirage with biodynamic Champagne Fleury yeast.
Disgorged May 2019, zero dosage and zero sulphur, unfined and unfiltered
2019 - Botley's
Dan came up with the idea of holding back the final pressings off the Coquard press for a Col Fondo, and inspired by JP Rietsch, used a little of the fermenting 2020 juice to spark a second ferment of the 2019 pressing.
Hugo hopes they can continue the experiment by using next year’s active ferment for the tirage of the 2020 traditional method :
'It's a risky business doing it this way, it's right on a knife edge. But you have to go to the edge to make something special, you need to take risks to make something distinctive. That's where the beauty lies"
The final draw of the 2019 pressing, about 15% of the total yield, fermented in a small 400 litre stainless steel tank. Bottled and topped up with a little of the lively 2020 ferment in October of that year. Rested in bottle over winter, second fermentation properly began in the spring of 2021 as the cellar began to warm up. No disgorgement, unfined and unfiltered. No added sulphur.