English White Wines
Flint Vineyard Chardonnay 2022
Pithy lemon, white peach, and vanilla, with a background of subtle woodsmoke and toast
Flint’s first still Chardonnay is made from, as Flint report, ‘the best Chardonnay we’ve ever seen’, picked by hand from Martin’s Lane Vineyard in the Crouch Valley, Essex. It has notes of pithy lemon and white peach combined with vanilla pod and butterscotch. The palate has a fleshy texture, flavours of ripe apricot crumble, a hint of cinnamon, leading to a toasty finish, underpinned by subtle woodsmoke and fresh acidity.
The vintage was hot and dry, so yields were low and ripeness exceptional. The grapes were whole-bunch pressed and only the ‘heart’ of the free-run used. The wine was fermented and aged in new French oak for 17 months with 50% weekly bâtonnage. It was bottled in March 2024 before being aged for a further six months under cork. No fining or filtration, so it may throw a deposit over time.
The wine is dedicated to Roy Martin, founder of Martin’s Lane Vineyard, who sadly passed away in June 2023.
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.
