Claire Drinks Recommended : Sugrue South Downs Dear Noodles
Dear Noodles from Sugrue South Downs — a rosé that’s anything but lightweight.
Rosé has developed something of a reputation for being all about pale colour, lightness and delicacy. But every now and then, a wine comes along that makes you stop and reconsider what rosé can be.
Dear Noodles is one of those wines.
Made from equal parts Pinot Noir and Meunier, its gorgeous deep pink colour comes from the exceptionally ripe 2023 Sussex vintage. And while much of the modern rosé world seems to be competing to see just how pale a wine can be, winemaker Dermot Sugrue takes a very different view: colour equals flavour.
For Dermot, chasing pale means potentially sacrificing intensity. So rather than giving the grapes and juice the 3-6 hours contact that is typical in Provence, Dear Noodles has a substantial 24–36 hours. That brings not just colour, but flavour, tannin and texture, giving the wine considerably more presence.
At just 12% alcohol, it’s also a lovely reminder that you don’t need high alcohol to give a wine weight and substance. There’s plenty of body here, with ripe red-fruit character and a lovely textural quality that keeps you coming back.
And despite all that colour and flavour, it’s bone dry, with just 0.9 g/L residual sugar.
Then, there’s the oak. Dear Noodles spends 12 months in small, old oak barrels, adding another layer of creamy complexity without overwhelming the fruit. It’s a really clever combination of fruit, texture, freshness and savoury complexity.
And that, ultimately, is what I love about it.
This isn’t a rosé I’d drink simply because it happens to be summer. It has the concentration and texture to work beautifully with food, and enough complexity to make it just as compelling on a cold winter’s evening.
There’s also a lovely story behind the bottle.
Rather than a traditional front label, Dear Noodles carries a tribute to Noodles, Dermot and Anna Sugrue’s Lurcher. It’s a small but rather lovely reminder that wine is about more than what’s in the glass. It’s also about the people, places, animals and stories that become part of a vineyard’s life.
Sadly, this was my last glass of Dear Noodles — and having scoured the internet, I can’t find another bottle anywhere.
But, I’m told that Dear Tara will be released next spring.
I shall be waiting in line.
In the meantime, if you like your rosé with a little more substance, look towards wines made in a similar style — particularly Bandol, Corsica and some of the more serious rosés from Rioja.
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