A significant wine estate with a 19th century country house, 137 acres and considerable potential to build on a successfully established business has come to the market on the edge of Monmouth.
The business has evolved from the first plantings in 2006 and 2007, and Ancre Hill Estates has become one of the UK’s prime wine estates with two vineyard sites comprising 30,000 planted vines; a state of the art, modern, fully-equipped winery; and a full range of vineyard operating assets. The vineyards are planted with 90% Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with Albarino making up the bulk of the remaining 10%.
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The combination of the two sites at Ancre Hill and Newton Court Farm extends to over 137 acres of land in total. 29.5 acres is currently down to vines, with an additional 57 acres identified as being prime planting land at Newton Court. New vineyard plantings on available prime land could take the current annual production potential from 100,000 bottles up to 300,000 per year, making Ancre Hill one of the biggest wine estates in the UK.
Ancre Hill has been recognised in some of the top international wine competitions in the world and won the Bollicine del Mondo in 2012 when its 2008 sparkling wine was voted the best white sparkling wine in the world.
Biodynamic accreditation was awarded for Ancre Hill in 2014 and organic accreditation in 2013. The winery is also certified biodynamic and no chemicals are used in the vineyard or winery. In addition to the wine, the business makes around 5,000 litres of cider per year.
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At the heart of the estate is a substantial period six bedroom house with swimming pool and tennis court. Ancre Hill is understood to have originally been a Welsh long house, dating back to around 1700. The estate was bought in 1998 by the current owners who spent six years renovating the house, which is a wonderful family home overlooking the surrounding vineyards and beyond.
Newton Court Farm also includes a newly renovated four bedroom farmhouse along with an extensive range of traditional buildings with potential for alternative uses, but would certainly lend themselves to wine tourism or other complementary income earning business streams.
David Powell, managing director at Powells, comments that: “Ancre Hill Estates offers an excellent opportunity for both established wine market buyers, and investors looking for a superb country house estate with vine yards and benefiting from a celebrated premium wine brand to call their own.”
He continues: “Ancre Hill is an outstanding wine estate projecting a global brand from the Welsh Borders and with the opportunity to significantly develop the existing volume of Ancre Hill Estates wine with further expansion, all of which lies within the existing estate
“If so desired this a boutique premium brand offering the opportunity for unlimited scope in developing new domestic and global export markets, offering a very exciting business opportunity”.
Dan Rees, head of Savills residential and rural estates division in Cardiff said: “An open market vineyard sale on this scale is unusual to say the least. Ancre Hill’s biodynamic and organic attributes are entirely in tune with viticulture market sentiment at the moment; current owners Richard and Joy Morris and their team have been demonstrably successful in this regard. They have paved the way for a new owner to take Ancre Hill to the next level and build on a brand that has potential to become a dominant force in the UK viticulture market.
“Monmouthshire has become increasingly attractive to buyers in recent years, particularly since the lifting of the Severn Bridge tolls. The unspoilt countryside is a huge draw, especially given the great value Monmouthshire offers in comparison to some of its neighbouring counties. We are delighted to be handling such a fascinating and prestigious sale.”
The Ancre Hill Estates is being offered for sale as a whole with a guide price of £15 million.
