Chapel Down

Wine producer appreciates having a trusted adviser by its side

“Creaseys is very much part of the team”

It’s official, the best Rosé Brut sparkling wine in the world doesn’t come from France or even Australia – but from Kent! Chapel Down, the Tenterden-based winery recently won a Gold Medal at The International Wine Challenge – the wine world’s ‘Oscars’ - for its Chapel Down Rosé Brut.

Listed company Chapel Down has been an audit client of Creaseys for a number of years now.

“Chapel Down is a fascinating client and we are really proud of how the company has developed and the recognition it has received due to its successes,” says James Pearce, a partner at Creaseys, who looks after the Chapel Down account.

Chapel Down is now the largest winery in the UK by sales, producing in excess of half a million bottles a year. It owns 22 acres of vines in Tenterden and 70 at Kit’s Coty, near Aylesford in Kent – where the soil is very similar to that found in the Champagne region. Grapes are also sourced from other growers in Kent, Sussex, Essex and Hampshire.

In addition to the Gold Medal for its Rosé Brut at the International Wine Challenge, other award-winners were its Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2006 and Bacchus Reserve 2009, which both won Silver Medals; while Bronze Medals were awarded to its Vintage Reserve Brut, the Pinot Reserve 2004, the Lamberhurst Estate Bacchus Reserve 2009 and the Trilogy 2008.

One particular success is its Bacchus grape, which Chapel Down views as England’s answer to New Zealand’s iconic Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

As the business develops, Chapel Down increasingly needs a team of trusted advisers – such as Creaseys – by its side.

“Creaseys always reacts very quickly when we need them and responds well,” says Richard Woodhouse, finance director at Chapel Down. “Our annual accounts always present a number of challenges – particularly having to hit the fairly tight deadlines – but we all pull together and work through that. Creaseys is very much part of the team.”

Chapel Down is very proud of its home in Tenterden and takes its responsibilities as a wine producer very seriously. It supports farmers by offering long-term contracts to grow grapes, giving them greater security; and it works to improve the quality of both the fruit and the winemaking by employing the best people available and encouraging them to share that knowledge with its partners.

The company also supports other local businesses whenever it can and stocks a wide range of produce from local suppliers in its winery shop – such as beer, juices, handmade chocolate, ice-cream and smoked meats.

“It is important to us that Creaseys is a local Kent firm,” says Richard. “Why go to London when we can receive excellent advice on our doorstep? I’d also say that we get a really personal service from Creaseys and I doubt that we could say the same of working with a City firm.”

Chapel Down welcomes around 40,000 visitors each year to its winery. Not only can people enjoy guided tours and various ‘gift experiences’ but there is an opportunity to rent your own vines. Each lease includes the opportunity to harvest your own grapes, attend an annual ‘vine lease holders’ event and, in time, enjoy your very own wine with personalised labels.

The profile of Chapel Down has also risen over recent years with the opening in 2008 of the Richard Phillips at Chapel Down Restaurant & Bar. Already well-known for his success with Thackeray’s in Tunbridge Wells and Hengist in Aylesford, at Chapel Down he offers high quality, modern English cuisine in a contemporary restaurant. The restaurant has already been awarded two AA rosettes.

Today, Chapel Down wines can be enjoyed in some of the best hotels and restaurants in the UK, as well as bars, restaurants and wine stores in Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Customers can also purchase the wines in some of the country’s most popular supermarkets including Waitrose, M&S and Morrisons.

“We are really proud to have Chapel Down as a client and enjoy seeing them receive the accolades they deserve for their many years of hard work,” says James Pearce.

Adds Richard Woodhouse: “I like the continuity of working with Creaseys and building a long-term relationship with the team. We are a complex business and Creaseys has taken the time to the get to know us well and understand what we do.”