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Exton Park Blanc de Noirs 2014 Vintage is a rare English Sparkling wine, released only in great vintages when the quality of the Pinot Noir is exceptional. The 2014 is exactly that: 100% Pinot Noir fruit from a single estate plot, aged seven years on lees, with a nose of orchard fruit, red apple and warm pastry with the unmistakable Hampshire chalk running clean through the finish. Hampshire grown, Hampshire bottled – and now available at Fareham Wine Cellar, just a few miles from the vineyard itself!
Six years passed between this and Exton Park’s previous Pinot Noir vintage, and with only a limited number of bottles now available, the 2014 represents a genuine collector’s opportunity for lovers of English sparkling wine.
Exton Park Vineyard’s story is rooted in the Hampshire countryside long before the first vine was planted. When Malcolm Isaac MBE acquired the estate in 2009, he brought with him decades of farming the land and a sharp commercial instinct honed through building one of the UK’s leading bagged salad businesses, starting, as these things often do, with something far simpler: supplying watercress to supermarkets. With that chapter closed, Isaac turned his attention to a new ambition: establishing one of Hampshire’s finest sparkling wine producers on land he already knew intimately.
The vines themselves date to 2003, planted by the estate’s previous owners, giving Exton Park a head start in the slow business of growing great fruit. Today, the 60-acre vineyard operates with quality firmly ahead of volume at every turn — from how the fruit is grown to how the wines are aged, packaged and presented. That commitment extends to sustainability; Exton Park is a founding member of WineGB’s Sustainable Wines of Great Britain accreditation, a mark of how seriously the estate takes its responsibility to the land it farms.
Exton Park is situated in the South Downs National Park just outside the small village of Exton, approximately 11 miles north of Fareham Wine Cellar. The single vineyard estate is planted on the same chalk soils of the South Downs as other notable Hampshire sparkling wines such as Hambledon Vineyard, The Grange and Raimes.
Initially, 12 acres of vines were planted in 2003, with another 25 acres planted in 2009. The vineyards are planted on deep cretaceous white chalk slopes with classic English sparkling wine varieties – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The estate straddles one ridge of the Meon Valley, looking across the Meon River over to Old Winchester Hill.
Behind every bottle of Exton Park Hampshire Sparkling Wine is a winemaking team with a genuine international pedigree. Vineyard Director Fred Langdale has shaped his craft across three continents, from the Pinot Noir country of Central Otago at Peregrine, to L’Avenir in South Africa, before bringing that experience closer to home at Nyetimber.
Head Winemaker Corinne Seely’s credentials span Château Lynch-Bages and Domaine de Chevalier in Bordeaux, as well as time in Australia and the Douro Valley. Perhaps Corinne’s most quietly significant contribution has been one of patience, reserve wine library begun in 2011 that now spans more than thirteen vintages, adding depth and complexity to every blend. It is exactly the kind of long-term thinking that separates serious producers from the rest.
The winery is located just 20 metres from the vineyards, which ensures the fruit arrives at the winery in tip-top condition. The press used is a Bucher inert press. This press allows Exton to do a press cycle with almost no oxygen contact with the grapes. As a result, the grape juice has no chance to oxidise in the press, which helps preserve the juice’s natural colour. The press cycle is extremely gentle, extracting juice only from the ripest grapes without bruising the skins or stalks.
Appearance: Exton Park Blanc de Noirs 2014 Vintage is a pale lemon colour in the glass with fine, persistent bubbles
Nose: The nose is inviting with crunchy red apple and ripe pear aromas alongside hints of almond pastry and a subtle note of toasted brioche. The whole thing is lifted by distinctive chalky minerality in the background.
Palate: On the palate, a bright, precise acidity carries flavours of orchard fruit and citrus zest before giving way to a richer, creamier mid-palate with notes of marzipan and hazelnut. The finish is long, clean and satisfyingly dry, with chalk and a whisper of smoke lingering well after the glass is set down. A decade in the making, and it shows.
This Hampshire Blanc de Noirs is perfect served as an aperitif or toast but it is also a versatile food wine.
It is particularly well suited to Basque-style poached salmon, where the chalky minerality mirrors the delicacy of the fish, or a wild mushroom, asparagus and pancetta risotto that plays beautifully to the richer, creamier mid-palate.
Lamb chops with tomato and thyme are a confident match for the wine’s structure and length.
For a more relaxed occasion, a charcuterie board with aged hard cheeses needs little else alongside it.
What is a Blanc de Noirs?
Blanc de Noirs, which translates from the French literally as “white from blacks”, is a white sparkling wine made entirely from red-skinned grapes. In this case, 100% Pinot Noir. In most cases, it would be a Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier,
How Do Red Grapes Produce White Wine?
The skins are removed quickly after pressing, so very little colour is extracted, producing a pale, delicate wine that nonetheless carries the structure and depth that Pinot Noir is prized for.
How long has this wine been aged?
The 2014 vintage was aged for seven years on lees before disgorgement – a significantly longer maturation than most English sparkling wines. This extended contact is what gives the wine its complexity, creaminess and toasted pastry character.
How does the 2014 vintage compare to previous Exton Park Blanc de Noirs releases?
The 2014 is only the second vintage Blanc de Noirs Exton Park has ever released, arriving six years after its predecessor. It is considered the more refined and complex of the two, benefiting from an exceptional growing season and additional bottle age.
Should I drink it now or keep it?
It is drinking beautifully now, with a decade of development already behind it. That said, it has the structure and acidity to continue evolving in the cellar for several more years if stored correctly.
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