Barclay brothers
Sir David Barclay (left) and Sir Frederick Barclay receiving their knighthoods in 2000.
(Image credit: Michael Stephens / AFP / Getty)

The billionaire Barclay brothers have delayed launching a sparkling wine produced on the island of Sark in the English Channel, but said the move was is due to 'quality potential' rather than any problems.

Twins Sir David and Frederick Barclay own around 100 hectares of land on Sark, a car free island off the coast of Normandy that describes itself as the ‘jewel’ of the Channel Islands.

The pair, who also own the Daily Telegraph newspaper and the Ritz London, were expected to launch a Sark sparkling wine next year. But, the first bottles are now not expected to hit the market until 2018.

‘The quality signs are extremely good,’ consultant Alain Raynaud, who has worked on the project since its inception in 2011, told Decanter.com.

‘The unusual blend of mainly Chardonnay and Savagnin grapes, together with the excellent acidity levels and interest of the base wine, mean I am fully convinced that we have excellent quality potential. We are now intending to give the wine a full five years of ageing sur latte to ensure it can delivery the complexity that it promises.’

The vineyards on Sark cover 60 acres of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon, Gamay, Muller-Thurgau and Albarino, up from 25 acres initially planted.

Sark

Sark island off the coast of Normandy, but a protectorate of the English Crown.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Alongside Raynaud are two viticulturalists from Champagne, Louis Wicke and Elsa Tichaudr who live full-time on the island.

The sparkling wine is likely to be bottled under the name Vin de L’Ile de Sark, and should produce 8,000 bottles in the first year of release, with a potential for 150,000 bottles in the future.

The Barclay brothers live on neighbouring Brecqhou island.

See recent Decanter articles on English sparkling wine:

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(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

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Gerard Basset, Decanter World Wine Awards vice chair, at judging week.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

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Jane Anson
Jane Anson

Jane Anson was Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent until 2021 and has lived in the region since 2003. She writes a monthly wine column for Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, and is the author of Bordeaux Legends: The 1855 First Growth Wines (also published in French as Elixirs). In addition, she has contributed to the Michelin guide to the Wine Regions of France and was the Bordeaux and Southwest France author of The Wine Opus and 1000 Great Wines That Won’t Cost a Fortune. An accredited wine teacher at the Bordeaux École du Vin, Anson holds a masters in publishing from University College London, and a tasting diploma from the Bordeaux faculty of oenology.

Roederer awards 2016: International Feature Writer of the Year