At Exton Park, we know that extraordinary flavour starts with our soil.
Our vineyard is built, quite literally, from the ground up, on the distinctive chalky soil that sets our sixty acres of Hampshire apart. Our single vineyard has nine plots, carefully nurtured by Fred and his team, each planted at a different altitude and aspect, offering exceptional flavour variation in our grapes.
We nourish and nurture our vineyard using the most natural methods possible, by planting wildflowers, grasses and cover crops and meticulously hand-pruning our 120,000 vines. Come harvest time, only the ripest fruit is selected and swiftly transported to our purpose-built winery at the top of vineyard.
The grapes are picked and pressed plot-by-plot, to retain the variety of distinctive flavours.
The fresh juice is then fermented for the first time, creating still wines which we add to our reserve library. The wines are now ready to be transformed into our exceptional English sparkling wine through the skill and experience of our Wine Director, Corinne Seely.
Reserve Blend
Our Signature Style
At Exton Park, we’ve pioneered a new approach to traditional method English sparkling wines – our signature Reserve Blends.
Click on the different map sections below to explore our single vineyard, plot-by-plot.
Ash Ridge
Plot 1 of 9- ALTITUDE: 70-90m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
- DENSITY: High
- ACREAGE: 8.5
- SOIL DEPTH: 4 to 8 inches
- ASPECT: South to South East facing
- PRUNING: Guyot
- MICROCLIMATE: Steep gradient in opposite direction from the prevailing wind. Warm mornings with cooler afternoons. Grapes can be exposed to the sun to encourage ripeness. Higher density plantings resulting in warmer microclimate
Orchid Copse
Plot 2 of 9- ALTITUDE: 70-90m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
- DENSITY: Low
- ACREAGE: 10
- SOIL DEPTH: 4 to 8 inches
- ASPECT: South to South East facing
- PRUNING: Vertically spur prunned and Gyote
- MICROCLIMATE: Steep gradient in opposite direction from the prevailing wind. Warm mornings with cooler afternoons. Grapes can be exposed to the sun to encourage ripeness
Home Field
Plot 3 of 9- ALTITUDE: 80-100m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
- DENSITY: Low
- ACREAGE: 7
- SOIL DEPTH: 4 inches
- ASPECT: South facing
- PRUNING: Guyot
- MICROCLIMATE: Cooler with more exposure to prevailing wind. A dry canopy which allows different canopy management ideas and cover crop experimentation
High Field
Plot 4 of 9- ALTITUDE: 100-120m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
- DENSITY: Low
- ACREAGE: 3
- SOIL DEPTH: 4 inches
- ASPECT: South facing
- PRUNING: Guyot
- MICROCLIMATE: Cooler with more exposure to prevailing wind. A dry canopy which allows different canopy management ideas and cover crop experimentation
Solent View
Plot 5 of 9- ALTITUDE: 90-120m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Pinot Meunier
- DENSITY: High
- ACREAGE: 1.5
- SOIL DEPTH: 4 inches
- ASPECT: South facing
- PRUNING: Chablis
- MICROCLIMATE: At the top of the vineyard. Woodlands protect from the prevailing winds. Higher density resulting in warm microclimate even though the vineyard plot is situated at the highest point
Meonwarra
Plot 6 of 9- ALTITUDE: 60m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
- DENSITY: Low and High
- ACREAGE: 25
- SOIL DEPTH: 15 inches
- ASPECT: South facing
- PRUNING: Guyot
- MICROCLIMATE: Warm, blocked from prevailing wind
Chestnut Henge
Plot 7 of 9- ALTITUDE: 65m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
- DENSITY: Low and High
- ACREAGE: 25
- SOIL DEPTH: 15 inches
- ASPECT: South facing
- PRUNING: Guyot
- MICROCLIMATE: At the bottom of the vineyard and protected from the prevailing winds. Warmest part of vineyard. South facing but exposed to the East allowing for lower pruning heights
Battle Field
Plot 8 of 9- ALTITUDE: 70m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
- DENSITY: Low and High
- ACREAGE: 25
- SOIL DEPTH: 15 inches
- ASPECT: South facing
- PRUNING: Guyot
- MICROCLIMATE: At the bottom of the vineyard and protected from the prevailing winds. Warmest part of vineyard. South facing but exposed to the East allowing for lower pruning heights
Holloway
Plot 9 of 9- ALTITUDE: 70-120m
- VARIETIES GROWN: Pinot Meunier
- DENSITY: Low
- ACREAGE: 5
- SOIL DEPTH: 4 to 10 inches
- ASPECT: East facing
- PRUNING: Guyot
- MICROCLIMATE: Steep gradient. Exposed to the easterly morning sunlight. Bottom half is protected from the prevailing wind, keeping the microclimate warm with slightly cooler conditions at the top
If the grapes are born in the vineyard, they come of age in our winery.
This gleaming labyrinth of small-batch tanks has been meticulously designed by Corinne, to house Exton Park’s rarest treasure – our library of reserve wines, curated with care since 2011. It’s here that, every year after the annual harvest, the winemaking team cloister themselves away to begin the delicate science of composing our English sparkling wines.
Our wines are artfully blended from our archive of reserves that we have built up over 10 years. We don’t use a base vintage, relying instead on our unique library to offer a complexity rarely seen in English sparkling wine. This guarantees the quality of every bottle, irrespective of the year’s weather or yield. It also provides exceptional consistency of flavour, ensuring that every sip is the purest possible reflection of our Hampshire vineyard.
Once a Reserve Blend has been crafted by our winery team, it is bottled and laid to rest in our wine cellars for at least 3 years. It’s here that the wine matures, evolves and ferments for the second time, creating the delicate pearlescent bubbles, complexity and iconic Exton Park style.
60 acres of Hampshire, bottled.
SHOP
Find all of our exquisite English wines including our signature range of Reserve Blends, Limited Releases, mixed cases and gift ideas in our online store.
