We are already in June I haven’t been to a vineyard for a while, actually since the end of last year and that’s a record! A visit to Exton Park Vineyard was a rare treat last week; as they are not open to the public, I visited as part of a press trip.
Despite the constant rain, it was great to get to know more about Exton Park and meet the team behind this award-winning winery based in the chalky Hampshire South Downs.
A tour at Exton Park Vineyard
We had a tour of the vineyard lead by Fred Langdale, who manages and oversees the estate. Fred has recently planted 5 additional acres of Pinot Meunier I look forward to hearing what they are planning to do with that crop.
It was a delight meeting Corinne Seely, an experienced international female winemaker and currently the head winemaker at Exton Park vineyard, despite being French, Corinne seeks to make a distinctive style of English sparkling wine and not champagne.
Corinne is focused on terroirs, and the challenges of the local weather bring to making fine and exceptional English sparkling wine, is where she thrives and gets very excited.
Interestingly, Corinne keeps some of the wines in a ‘reserve room’ in special vats to build a wine library. This enables her to blend the different wines to create a consistent taste in their wines.
It takes about 3 months for Corinne to blend wine to a precise taste specification. We also learned that they released their first wines in 2015. Since then, they have won a few wine competitions. Even though they are a very young vineyard, they have positioned themselves at the high-end market.
Tasting Exton Park Rosé Brut
Back in 2018, Exton Park Vinery won a gold medal at the blind taste by DWWA Judges (Decanter World Wine Awards) with their Rosé Brut – I must say that was my personal favourite bubble of the day.
Their medium bodied Rose Brut is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier grapes, it is a gorgeous and delicate pink with fine and persistent bubbles – it’s a party in your mouth. On the palate, it has a long and a pronounced finish, elegant and fruity.
Curiously, this wine was paired with fine charcuterie like Lomo, Bresaola and Smoked Salmon. I thought it went very well with the saltiness of the cheeses too, especially the creamy goats’ cheese.
I would think it would match with red fruits, not too sweet desserts, white and light meats, shellfish or served as simply an aperitif.
Well priced at £32/bottle, it’s a fantastic commemoration sparkling wine.
Other wines we tasted at Exton Park Vineyard
Exton Park Brut Reserve NV, chardonnay and pinot noir, a very easy drinking straw coloured fizz that was served as an aperitif and later paired with crab and avocado salad for lunch. Priced at £30/bottle
Exton Park Blanc de Noirs NV, from 100% Pinot Noir grapes, rich and well structured, retails at £32/bottle. This English sparkling wine was matched with a cheese board, grapes and celery sticks and chutney.
Exton Park Pinot Meunier Rosé (out of stock), 100% Pinot Meunier, according to Corinne this grape expresses their terroir very well. Fine and peachy, this wine was the perfect ending to our tasting. It was a pleasure to visit Exton Park Vineyard.
To find the nearest stockist:
https://www.extonparkvineyard.com/stockists/
Disclosure: I was a guest at this day-long press trip to Hampshire, UK. Everything you are reading here are my words, my opinions and unless otherwise stated my pictures.