Lurgashall Winery

Meadery in Lurgashall, West Sussex, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Established in 1985

Contact
Dial Green Lurgashall, Lurgashall, GU28 9HA, England
Description
Housed in a complex of 17th and 19th century rustic farm buildings on a 38-acre estate, the Lurgashall Winery is a family-run business specialising in fruit wines and meads. However, inside, it's anything but rustic, being self-contained with fermentation, maturation and bottling vats, and modern, high quality equipment in a sterile bottling room and fully equipped laboratory – all elements of the process that will be learned about when taking a tour around the facility.

Lurgashall has come a long way since it began production in 1985 and produced a thousand bottles. Annual production is up to half-a-million bottles and the visitor experience is thriving.

With 10 meads, nine fruit liqueurs and nine fruit wines, including the delicate Rose Petal Wine and more decisive Silver Birch Wine, there's no monoculture here. Visitors will find out about the way that time-honoured recipes are followed as closely as possible, in the continued quest for authentic flavours.

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5.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5

Bottled at Akkurat, Stockholm. Pale straw colour. Evident honey pastille aroma and flavour. Sweet and soothing, mildly herba with a touch of menthe. Warmng, but well sweet for me.

Tried from Bottle on 15 Sep 2007 at 07:43


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Honey aroma. Light spices with sweet honey. Some nutmeg, fruit, a little cinnamon, my 2nd favorite from Lurgashall.

Tried on 23 Aug 2007 at 16:55


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

My favorite of the lurgashall meads. Full honey aroma. Some carbonation. Sweet, but not sugary, and not as sweet as some others. Flavor has honey and apple, with just a hint of alcohol that does not detract from the experience.

Tried on 23 Aug 2007 at 16:53


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

It has a pleasant, slightly funky honey aroma. Flavor is a little sweet and the spices come through as somewhat medicinal.

Tried on 23 Aug 2007 at 16:51


7.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

I enjoyed this much more than I expected. The whisky makes this thin and almost watery. Whisky flavor compliments rather than overwhelms the honey. Not very sweet for a sweet mead, but not quite dry.

Tried on 23 Aug 2007 at 16:50


5.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4

Bottle at Sunset Grill on 8/5/06, unsure of the age.
Medium-tinted golden mead with some hay-colored tints and some pencil-yellow tones as well. Clear, filtered, leaves minimal legs on the glass.
The nose is very fragrant, with a dash of almond and sweet wildflower honey initially and then blossoming in to a huge, cherry-sweet, spice/honey mixture that, while probably lacking complexity, is certainly unique (to my inexperienced mead nose, anyway). Dries out at the very end, with some anise and hints of white pepper-like notes, maybe chamomille too. No alcohol or much yeast influence.
The flavor, it seems, has the force of the aroma, but that’s where it ends. Sticky, rich, powerfully sweet honey coats (cloys?) the palate and a bold, brash spice/herbal note strikes in to this. Anise, vanilla, chamomille and who knows what else. Very strong, domineering and unbalancing. Much like barrel-aging is currently used in the brewing industry. Rather plain, sticky texture is not overly supportive, no doubt filtered/pasteurized. Alcohol is only slightly warming in flavor but provides a nasty sharpness post-finish.

Tried from Bottle on 07 Aug 2006 at 18:45


5.1
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5

375 ml bottle poured into a port glass. Color is a clear Bud Light shade. Aroma is strong but not too pleasant. A slight paint thinner-like aroma dominates. Not promising. Taste is thin and watery, flat soda mixed with some sort of chemical/medicinal stuff. Its good to know a bad mead for future reference.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Jun 2006 at 21:23


7.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

75cl bottle shared with Haddonsman in Reading. Pale gold, honey, sweet nougat aroma. Nicely sweet, but some sourness on end. Bit of nail varnish. Bit naive, but drinkable.

Tried from Bottle on 01 May 2006 at 05:06


6.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

175ml glass at Reading BF 06. Medicinal honey sweet aroma. Not subtle, some nut and white choc. Honey in mouth and some more medicine on end. Not as good for me as a straight mead.

Tried on 01 May 2006 at 04:26


7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

750ml bottle from Utobeer, London. A friend bought this for me for Christmas and I have been savingit for a special occasion, which for me is Easter Sunday late afternoon. Let me straight away that I love mead. This is deep luminous gold wiht no head. Some nail varnish (acetone) but then nutty nougat. Thick unctious in mouth with rich honey and then white choc, nougat and praline. Deep, rich and satisfying, but light and agile at the same time. Oh and then it is very sweet. Rather gorgeous

Tried from Bottle on 16 Apr 2006 at 11:38