Langham Wine Estate: Award-Winning English Sparkling Wine on Dorset's Chalk Soils
Nestled in the rolling chalk hills of rural Dorset, Langham Wine Estate has quietly become one of England's most celebrated sparkling wine producers. From a single, pioneering planting in 2009, the estate has grown into a 34-hectare, single-vineyard operation whose traditional-method wines now beat established Champagne houses at international competitions. Visitors are welcomed year-round to a working winery, cellar door, restaurant and event venue that together form one of the most complete vineyard experiences in the south of England.
A Dorset Vineyard Built on Champagne Geology
Langham's home is Crawthorne Farm, north-east of Dorchester in rural Dorset, just off the A354 between Blandford Forum and Dorchester. The estate's soils are what set it apart. Beneath the vines lies 300 metres of belemnitic chalk laid down during the Cretaceous era - the same porous, mineral-rich chalk found under the Côte des Blancs in Champagne. As the team explains, the chalk acts as a natural sponge, draining away and storing water through the west of England's wet Atlantic winters and releasing it again during dry summers, lending the resulting wines their hallmark tension and salinity.
Today the vineyard covers 34 hectares (84 acres) of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier across more than 100,000 vines, with the most recent four-hectare planting at Ansty completed in 2024. Two of the newer blocks - John's Vineyard and Betty's Vineyard - are named after founder Justin Langham's parents, in tribute to the family origins of the project.
The Langham Story
Langham Wine Estate was founded by Justin Langham, who planted the first blocks of Crawthorne Farm in 2009. The venture was inspired by his father John's small hobby vineyard at the manor house in nearby Bingham's Melcombe - a Dorset wine lineage that the family has continued to honour ever since.
Small additions to the vineyard followed in 2011 and 2018, and then a significant expansion in 2022 added a further 18 hectares, including John's and Betty's Vineyards. The final planting at Ansty in 2024 brought the estate to its current 34-hectare footprint. With each vine requiring pruning, tying down, bud rubbing, wire lifting, tucking-in and hand harvesting, the vineyard team and contract workers carry out more than 500,000 individual vineyard interactions every year - a level of intimacy with the vines that underpins the estate's reputation for quality.
The team is small and dedicated. Vineyard manager Becky Bowyer oversees fruit production, supported by assistants Georgina, Lottie and apprentice Izzy. Head winemaker Tommy Grimshaw leads cellar production and blending, working with more than 130 individual still base wines each year. Justin Langham remains a director, with Calum heading sales and marketing, Carl and Anna in the tasting room, Emma on the tour desk, and even Blondie and Lottie looking after machinery. The result is a close-knit group of people who collectively embody the low-intervention, terroir-first ethos at the heart of the business.
A Low-Intervention, Grower-Champagne Style
Where many English sparkling producers emulate the large Grandes Marques of Champagne, Langham has consciously modelled itself on the Récoltant Manipulant - the small, often family-run grower-Champagne houses that bottle only their own fruit and intervene as little as possible. The result is a distinctive, more oxidative house style: softer, drier, and more characterful than the typical English sparkling.
The signature technique is an oxidative press cycle. Within hours of being picked, whole bunches of grapes are loaded into a three-tonne pneumatic press and gently squeezed over three hours. Instead of protecting the juice from oxygen, as most producers would, Langham deliberately exposes it, sacrificing delicate floral aromas in exchange for a dried-fruit, nutty, breadier character and a more open, textural palate. The clear juice is then left to settle overnight before being moved into a mixture of stainless-steel fermentation tanks and used French oak barrels from Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux. Fermentation is allowed to begin spontaneously using only the wild yeasts found on the grapes and in the winery, and the wines are regularly stirred on their lees to build texture.
After fermentation, the team tastes every barrel and tank and assembles the blends for the core range - Corallian, Culver, Rosé and Blanc de Blancs - alongside future special releases. A second fermentation in bottle creates the fizz, followed by extended lees ageing for bready complexity. After disgorgement the wines are topped up with a minimal dosage liqueur of less than 6 g/L across the full range, labelling them Extra Brut. No fining or filtration is used, making the entire range vegan- and vegetarian-friendly.
Viticulture: Honest Grapes from Honest Farming
Head of viticulture Becky Bowyer and her team take a pragmatic, low-intervention approach that minimises chemical inputs while maximising fruit quality. The canopy is meticulously managed - leaves are regularly trimmed and stripped to maintain airflow through the rows, which reduces disease pressure and concentrates flavours in the grapes. As the team is fond of quoting, "you can make bad wine from good grapes, but you can't make good wine from bad grapes."
With more than 100,000 vines now in the ground across four distinct sites, including the chalk-rich Home Block planted in 2009 by Justin himself, the winemaking style is symbiotically linked to this fruit quality. The Crawthorne chalk's ability to store winter rainfall and release it during summer drought is reflected in the wines' balance of ripeness and bright, saline acidity.
The Wines
Langham's core range is built around four cuvées, each named after the geological strata that shape the estate.
Corallian Classic Cuvée NV - £34.95
A Chardonnay-dominant blend (69% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 1% Meunier) named after the coral-rich limestone rock 300 metres below the vineyard. Corallian seeks to highlight a linear, oceanic salinity and bright fruit character in Chardonnay grown on chalk. The current release was Supreme Champion at the WineGB Awards 2025 and has won gold at both the WineGB and Sommelier Wine Awards. The nose opens with sweet jasmine, sea spray and charred lemon, giving way to a saline core of acidity on the palate - a wine that defines the estate's Chardonnay identity.
Culver Classic Cuvée NV - £34.95
A Pinot Noir-dominant blend (45% Meunier, 43% Pinot Noir, 12% Chardonnay) named after the Cretaceous chalk strata the vines are planted into. Culver shows the power and richness of its red varieties, with an opulence and depth that makes it a particularly gastronomic wine. It carries a Gold Medal and Best Classic Cuvée NV trophy at the WineGB Awards 2025, Gold at WineGB 2024, and Silver at the IWSC 2025. Tasting notes highlight chilled raspberries, blackcurrant leaf, lightly toasted panettone and bright red cherry, finishing with lemon mousse and a touch of Sichuan pepper.
Rosé NV - £37.95
Made in a mature, complex style - less floral, more structured - from 69% Chardonnay, 16% Meunier and 15% Pinot Noir. Aromas of raspberry and brown butter lead to a palate of mandarin, Greek yoghurt and baked stone fruit. The Rosé NV is Langham's most versatile wine, designed to pair with everything from shellfish soups to roast-beef sandwiches. It was awarded Wine of the Year 2023 by Susie Barrie MW and Peter Richards MW, a Gold Medal at the WineGB Awards 2024, and has scored consistently at the Decanter World Wine Awards and IWSC.
Blanc de Blancs NV - £47.95
A 100% Chardonnay from the ripest, richest parcels of the vineyard, often with a higher proportion of oak barrel fermentation and extended lees ageing. The nose opens with perfumed balsam, gooseberry and poached pear, giving way to toasted pumpkin seed, chestnut mushroom and oyster-shell savouriness. The palate is graceful and vinous, with velvety ewe's-milk lactic tones, waxy grapefruit peel and vibrant chalky acidity. It carries Gold Medals at the IWSC 2025, WineGB Awards 2024 and Sommelier Wine Awards 2024.
Perpetual - Chardonnay 2nd Edition - £109.95
Head winemaker Tommy Grimshaw's flagship project: the second iteration of a perpetual cuvée that blends the very best parcels of Chardonnay from each harvest, year on year, building depth and complexity in 2,000-litre Slavonian oak foudres. The current release comprises the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 vintages. Golden in colour, it opens with layers of dried persimmons, marmalade on toast, candied ginger, honey and soy, underpinned by cedar, woodland floor and jasmine tea. The palate is remarkably intense and textural, with apricot preserve, tobacco leaf and warm spice giving way to a long, savoury finish of caramelised puff pastry, oregano and chalky salinity. The first edition was WineGB Awards 2025 Supreme Champion and scored 18/20 from Jancis Robinson. Due to extremely limited production, orders are restricted to one bottle per customer.
Sparkling Mixed Case - £214.95 (was £225.50)
A six-bottle case containing 1 × Blanc de Blancs NV, 2 × Corallian Classic Cuvée, 2 × Culver Classic Cuvée and 1 × Rosé NV. Free UK delivery is included. It's the most economical way to taste the full Langham range in one go.
Library Magnums
Two older library releases are listed in the shop. The Blanc de Blancs 2017 Magnum (£114.95, 1.5 L) is a special late-disgorged edition from the 2017 vintage - the first year of Langham's current low-intervention era - offering toasted sourdough, candied peel, granola and porcini mushroom on the nose with gooseberry fool, mandarin peel and roasted peach on the palate. The Classic Cuvée 2014 Magnum (£79.95) shows a golden colour with a fine stream of bubbles, red apple and brioche aromatics, and a palate of honeydew melon and poached pear. Both magnums are currently listed as sold out.
Gifts, Accessories and Vouchers
Langham's online shop extends well beyond the wines themselves.
Gift Boxes
- Magnum Wine Gift Box - from £5.95
- Single Wine Gift Box - from £5.45
- Double Wine Gift Box and Triple Wine Gift Box are also listed for customers building larger gift orders.
Gifts and Accessories
- Upcycled Bottle Candle - £27.50
- Sparkling Wine Stopper - £6.95
Vouchers
Vouchers are redeemable online, in the cellar door shop, on guided tours, or against lunch at Smiths Kitchen.
- Guided Tour Experience Voucher - £25.00
- Winemaker's Tour Experience Voucher - £37.50
- The Dorset Experience Winemaker's Tour Voucher - £195.00
- Gift Voucher - £25.00 (flexible; can be used against wine, tours or a café bill)
Visits, Tours and Tastings
The Langham experience is built around four bookable formats.
Self-Guided Tasting and Vineyard Walk - from £15.00
A tasting flight of three Langham wines to enjoy at your own pace, plus access to the vineyard and interpretation boards. Up to 20 people per day between 10:30 am and 3 pm. Dogs are welcome, and most visitors allow around an hour to an hour and a half.
Guided Tour - from £25.00
A two-hour educational tour for groups of up to 24, taking in the vineyard, winery and cellar, finishing with a tutored tasting of the core range. Tours run daily and must be booked in advance, especially during the summer months.
Winemaker's Tour and The Dorset Experience - from £37.50
A deeper dive into the winemaking philosophy, paired with a long, leisurely lunch from Smiths Kitchen that celebrates local Dorset produce. This is the most complete visitor experience.
Private Tour - price on application
The Langham team will tailor a private tour to suit any group, with the option to add lunch. Enquiries can be sent to info@langhamwine.co.uk.
Smiths Kitchen - The Vineyard Café
Smiths Kitchen is Langham's on-site restaurant, run by chef Mel Smith and located in the Wine Barn with full-height windows looking straight out over the Home Block vineyard - the original 2009 planting. The barn itself has been carefully converted from a simple farm building into a fully heated, all-year-round venue with a bar, a stage and full PA system for live music and events.
The menu is built around local Dorset and south-west suppliers, including Rawston Farm Butchery, The Real Cure Charcuterie, Davy's Locker Fish, The Book & Bucket Cheese Company and Oxfords Bakery. Smiths Kitchen also grows its own herbs and edible flowers. Sample menus include a Spring à la carte and a midweek (Wednesday to Friday) set lunch, both of which are available to view on request. Dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for with advance notice.
For summer Fizz Friday events, the outdoor wood-fired pizza oven turns out fresh pizzas alongside seafood platters and charcuterie boards, while local musicians provide the soundtrack. Café reservations can be made via the SimpleERB booking system, and large groups (eight or more) should email cafe@langhamwine.co.uk.
Fizz Friday and the Events Calendar
Langham's flagship summer event is Put Some Fizz In Your Fridays, a weekly evening held every Friday from 4:30 pm (last food orders at 8 pm) through the summer. Expect wood-fired pizzas from the outdoor kitchen, Langham sparkling wines poured from the Tasting Room, and live music from talented local musicians. Walk-ins are welcome, but booking ahead is recommended.
The current Fizz Friday season runs from 15 May to 4 September. Outside of summer the events programme typically includes one-off concerts, Bank Holiday celebrations and bespoke private hire. To stay up to date, visitors can sign up to the Langham mailing list.
Private Hire at The Wine Barn
From 2025, The Wine Barn and Tasting Room are available for private hire for up to 200 guests. The space is suitable for weddings, birthdays, corporate events, movie screenings and talks, with feasting menus from Smiths Kitchen and a fully stocked bar of estate sparkling, still wines, beers, ciders and soft drinks. The barn also has a stage and full PA system for bands and DJs. Enquiries should be directed to info@langhamwine.co.uk.
Awards and Recognition
Langham's trophy cabinet is genuinely remarkable for an estate of its size. The most recent highlights include:
- IWSC Sparkling Wine Producer Trophy 2025 (also won in 2020)
- WineGB Awards Supreme Champion 2025 and Best Producer 2025
- The Real Review Winery of the Year GB 2024
- WineGB Awards 2024 - Trophy Winner across multiple categories
- Decanter World Wine Awards 2022 - medals for the Rosé and Culver
- IWSC - Gold for Culver (2025), Blanc de Blancs (2025) and Corallian (2025)
- Sommelier Wine Awards 2024 - Gold for Corallian and Blanc de Blancs
The wines have also been featured in The Financial Times, in Henry Jeffreys' book Vines in a Cold Climate, and in Vineyard Magazine, where the Rosé was highlighted as one of the UK's best sparkling rosés.
How to Visit
Langham Wine Estate is at Crawthorne, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 7NG, just off the A354. From the west, take the A35 towards Poole/Bournemouth and join the A354 to Blandford; from the east, take the M27/A31/A35/A354; from the north, follow the A350/A354 to Blandford. The estate is on the right-hand side shortly after Milborne St Andrew.
For trade enquiries, email sales@langhamwine.co.uk. For café bookings, email smiths@langhamwine.co.uk. For everything else, including general visits and private hire, contact info@langhamwine.co.uk or call the vineyard on +44 (0)1258 839095.
The estate maintains a list of local partners covering accommodation (from Shepherd's huts and glamping to country-house hotels), local taxi firms and recommended restaurants - useful for visitors planning to stay overnight and explore Dorset. Langham's wines are also stocked at farm shops, independent wine merchants and restaurants across the UK.
Shop Online and Delivery
The full range of wines, gift boxes, accessories, candles, vouchers and tour experiences is available to buy online at the Langham Wine Shop. UK mainland delivery is charged at £5 per order, free on orders over £100, and the team aims to fulfil orders within five working days. Mixed-case orders include free delivery. Deliveries are made on weekdays only, and an adult signature is required at the point of delivery.
Sustainability and Philosophy
Across both vineyard and winery, the guiding principle is minimal intervention. In the vineyard this means targeted, proactive canopy management that reduces the need for chemical inputs. In the winery it means spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts, fermentation and élevage in French oak, no fining and no filtration, and ultra-low dosage. The estate is also built around vegan- and vegetarian-friendly winemaking, and the team continually reviews its environmental impact as the vineyard footprint grows.
Langham describes itself, quite simply, as a house of wine-growers - people who farm the vines as carefully as they farm the wines. It's an ethos that has earned the estate a fiercely loyal following among UK sparkling enthusiasts and the kind of international recognition that turns a small Dorset chalk pit into one of the most respected sparkling-wine addresses in England.