Exton Park Blanc de Blancs 2011

Harvested from the oldest vines at the highest point on the estate vineyards, this cherished area is home to pure chalky mineral rich soils. The Blanc de Blancs 2011 is also the first ever-vintage release from Exton Park, and was a small production of just 2,500 bottles. The wine is made from 100% Chardonnay and will be made only in exceptional years.

First impressions can be everything, and this starts well with tiny streams of very persistent bubbles demonstrating suitable finesse.

And then there’s the nose; fine, clean, elegant and pronounced are all words that come to mind. Citrus, crisp apple and baked bread notes are there, with a charming autolytic yeasty background. Perhaps most distinctive is the mineral character thanks to the chalk rich soils that the vines are grown in.

Onto the palate, there’s a delightful fusion of fresher green apple and citrus fruit clarity leading to a more rounded baked apple mid-taste. These flavours really linger, providing a vibrant profile with those ever present lemon citrus notes.

It’s a beautifully expressive Blanc de Blancs, perhaps a little more vivid and fruit focussed than some. These qualities really help to makes this superb sparkling wine stand out, as does its lingering lasting length and that clean elegant mineral backbone.

Exton Park have also just won a much deserved Gold Medal for this wine in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2016!