Soil & Climate

The white cliffs of Dover are made of chalk, and the same rock underlies the hills of the North Downs in Kent. Domaine Evremond sits at the edge of these hills near Chilham. In 2023, a ten-hectare, south-facing chalky plot on Hogbens Hill was added. Chalk drains rainwater quickly and gives the vines few nutrients, which slows their growth and keeps the grapes small and aromatic.

Further west, near Aylesford, lies Kit's Coty, a Chapel Down vineyard planted exclusively with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. According to the company, the vines there grow on the chalk of the North Downs. In Tenterden, in southern Kent, the soil looks different: nine hectares grow on south-facing slopes on loamy soil over sand. So a single county already shows two faces, chalk in the north and loam in the south.

In Hampshire, the chalk of the South Downs begins. The Hambledon estate describes it as the same chalk found in the soil of the Côte des Blancs. Hattingley Valley farms 24 hectares across two sites near Lower Wield, while Pommery works the Pinglestone site near Alresford. Anyone who sees vines growing on this pale soil understands immediately why Champagne houses came looking here.

Then there's the climate. The English Channel moderates winter temperatures, and the southeast is one of England's sunnier corners. The vines ripen slowly, and acidity stays high. It's precisely this acidity that later supports the long lees aging. The danger lies in spring: a late frost after budbreak can cost an entire year's harvest.

There are no chalk cellars in Kent like those in Reims. The bottles age in newly built wineries, Domaine Evremond only opened its own in 2024. The chalk here works mainly in the vineyard, not in the cellar, and that's precisely what makes the comparison with Champagne so compelling.