Exton Park Vineyard, overlooking Exton village in the Meon valley of the South Downs, was planted in 2003. Initially, just 12 acres were laid down and early experimentation proved successful with obvious beneficial characteristics present in the land. In 2009, Malcolm Isaac purchased the vineyard, having operated a successful salad a cress operation on neighbouring farms. He understood the terroir and set about further planting. While bringing the vineyard to maturation, he supplied mainly to the nearby Coates & Seely operation – an indicator of excellence if there ever was one!
Today, Exton Park Vineyard focusses on sparkling white and rosé, and the focus and attention to detail that goes into grape growing is extreme. Everything is done by hand and monitoring of buds and vines is meticulous. Control over the grass and weeds on the land is also scrupulous so that vines are afforded optimum growing conditions.
This painstaking attention to detail is evidenced in the quality that ends up in the bottle. The vineyard has chalky characteristics, just like Champagne, and this is apparent in the wine. Made from 60% Blanc de Pinot Noir and 40% of Chardonnay wines, this sparkler presents a clear, pale green colour and a nose of flowers and fruit. It has a strong citrus flavour with powerful lemon and lime notes and it has the yeasty, bready, doughy features of a good Cava. It’s dry and earthy and boasts a beautiful long finish. This wine has also been awarded medals by Decanter and IWSC, backing up its credentials as one of the best.