On Lammas Day, 1st August 2024, Fielden Whisky released its Harvest 2019 Rye Whisky.
Fielden, an Old English word meaning ‘of the field’, is bringing England’s fields back to life with heritage grains grown on regenerative farms, using traditional farming techniques which revitalise the land, without chemical inputs. With wildlife able to thrive above and below ground, Fielden believes whisky can change farming for the better, field by field, harvest by harvest.
Harvest 2019 Rye Whisky is the first edition in a new annual series celebrating Fielden’s grain harvest which expresses the distinct and differing characteristics of its heritage grains. The vintage indicates the year in which the grains were grown and harvested, and so reflects the weather patterns and their influence on the grain in the given year. Fielden plants a mix of heritage varieties, with tiny genetic differences, which grow tall and strong, and can adapt naturally to the soil and weather, creating diverse flavour profiles in the grain.
Each year Fielden will launch a new edition for Lammas Day (1st August), a date in the calendar traditionally marking the start of the harvest and a time to honour the first crops. This whisky, and the whiskies to follow in the series, will celebrate the flavour nuances of the grains from one growing season to the next.
Mild weather and summer rain in 2019 meant the rye gathered that autumn was brighter and more delicate in its character. Harvest 2019 Rye Whisky is made from diverse populations of rye (73%), wheat and barley, with small amounts being malted. The mash was fermented for five days in stainless steel tanks and then double distilled in pot and column stills. The resulting spirit matured in a combination of nine casks: mostly American oak (STR and second-fill casks), with a Sauternes barrel and a Ramandolo barrique. After a slow marriage, the spirit was gradually reduced to 50% abv. The resulting whisky tastes of early summer: fresh, floral and full of fruity flavours with a hint of zesty spice on the finish.
Master Distiller, Chico Rosa comments: “Weather variations don’t necessarily impact the quality of the whisky in a good or bad way, but it certainly impacts the composition of the grains we use. The growing season reacts to conditions (rain levels, temperatures, sunlight hours, etc.) and this gives variable yields and quality parameters, such as levels of starch (sugars) and proteins that are direct factors impacting the whisky-making process. Despite the heat spikes that year, the cooler, wet summer and wet harvest season allowed for a higher yield of grain in 2019 compared with the previous year and the UK average*. It had a particular vibrancy, and it has created a refreshing, delicate and yet rich complexity in this year’s whisky.”
The rye, wheat and barley used by Fielden is grown exclusively for the distillery on farms stretching from Cornwall to Warwickshire. The mixed crops they grow were common before the turn of the 20th century when the hybrid varieties now used in both conventional and organic farming were created. Fielden’s fields look very different to industrially farmed fields, they are full of wildflowers, birds and insects as heritage grains thrive without the need for the pesticides and fertilisers essential in intensive arable farming. They take more nutrients in from the soil and deliver a flavour profile unique to its heritage grains.
Harvest 2019 Rye Whisky is priced at a RRP of £80.00 for 70cl and it is available to purchase via fielden.com, Berry Bros. & Rudd and specialist retailers from 1st August 2024.
In May of this year the distillery launched its flagship expression Fielden Rye Whisky. Fielden’s whiskies are exclusively distributed by Berry Bros. & Rudd in the UK.
