Flint Vineyard Bacchus 2022

This wine is full of sherbet lemon, elderflower and rose petal that is zingy on the palate, with a saline and tropical pineapple finish. An extremely dry Summer with record temperatures and some water-stress resulted in low yields, exceptional ripeness and superb aromatics. Flint harvested between the end of September and early October, hand-picking across six parcels. 68% of the fruit was taken from their own estate and the rest from partner vineyards in Essex and Oxfordshire, including the celebrated Martin’s Lane Vineyard in Essex. Individual batches of fruit were pressed under nitrogen, either as whole bunches (31%) or crushed berries (69%), and fermented in stainless steel using different yeast strains and fermentation temperatures. No sugar additions were made and malolactic fermentation was blocked to leave a fresh, perfumed and linear wine.

Based in the sunny and sheltered Waveney Valley in South Norfolk, overlooking the villages of Earsham and Bungay, Flint Vineyard’s winemaker Ben Witchell crafts wines using a blend of innovation and a respect for tradition. The vineyard site was selected as one of the driest and sunniest regions in England and the south-east facing vines are planted on free-draining gravel and flint soil.