Exton Park premiumises to buffer ‘turbulent’ English fizz market

Hampshire-based winery Exton Park has joined the Mentzendorff portfolio, marking a strategic move towards premiumisation. Commercial director Kit Ellen tells db the winery aims to position itself as a “super-premium” brand, a step he believes is key to navigating the increasingly competitive English sparkling wine market.

It comes at a volatile time for British fizz. While English wine sales grew 3% last year, a slew of wineries have reported financial difficulties. Just last week, Chapel Down axed plans for a £32m winery, citing planning delays and shifting market realities, and recent research from Wine Lister warned the category faces hurdles in price perception and category recognition. Chris Spofforth, a wine estate agent at Savills, told The Telegraph: “Sales of UK wine are increasing, but not at the same rate production is increasing.”

To thrive amid choppy waters, Exton Park, which leads its offer with Reserve Blend wines including a Brut, Blanc de Noirs, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé, is establishing itself as super-premium.

Speaking to the drinks business, Ellen forecasted: “In English sparkling producers, we’re likely going to see a real squeeze on the middle ground. Our theory is premiumisation gives us a buffer from a turbulent market.”

The producer, founded in 2009, boasts a 60ha single vineyard nestled in the South Downs, using only grapes from these vines for their wines. In August, importer Mentzendorff onboarded the winery to its portfolio. Ellen called the partnership “incredibly exciting”.

He said: “We’ve been doing our own distribution for a couple of years now, and that’s been fantastic, we’ve seen some growth in what has been a challenging market. But we know we’ve still got to take it to the next level, and to have someone like Mentzendorff who has a great reputation, but also the infrastructure, network and portfolio of extraordinary wines, captures everything we need.”

Competitive market

Exton Park will be the sole English sparkling wine producer in Mentzendorff’s portfolio. This is “key”, as it offers the winery exclusivity and a focal selling point. There’s a clear appetite for sparkling wine in the UK, but Ellen thinks English consumers can be “stubborn”, and often stick with Champagne, leaving English fizz producers “scrabbling for a small piece of the pie”.

He hopes establishing itself as a luxury brand will set Exton Park apart. This has been key from the business’ origins, when founder Malcolm J. Isaac, who died last October, outlined three core principles: (i) the estate remains private, (ii) it doesn’t host weddings and (iii) it doesn’t work with supermarkets.

It’s why Exton Park caps visitor numbers at 5,000 per year. This flies in the face of the norm, with many wineries expanding their tourism offering amid booming UK wine tourism, with 1.5m visits recorded last year. Hampshire’s Hambledon Wine Estate is offering more food-led visits, for instance, and plenty of others, from Chichester’s Tinwood, to Rye’s Tillingham, are hosting overnight stays and harvest experiences to boost revenue.

Quality over quantity

While Exton Park does offer vineyard tours, they’re priced at £50 per person. “At the estate, it’s interesting, as it’s a proven model to open the doors to tourism,” said Ellen. “We see a lot of our peers do that, but we have a space that is so luxurious and beautiful, and is tailored towards people having really special experiences, so we charge a bit of a premium for that.”

And the strategy for the estate aligns with its wines, with the focus on selling not to supermarkets, but to Michelin Star restaurants and hotels. Exton Park has made headlines for its fresh winemaking techniques, with their ‘60 Below’ Blanc de Blancs 2014 touted as the first ever sea-aged English sparkling, matured for 12 months at a depth of 60 metres below the English Channel. Additionally, the winery’s Cuvee M. Isaac Blanc de Blanc 2011 – named after founder Malcolm Isaac – is its super-premium, late-disgorged vintage. It is aged for seven years on lees and three years under cork.

“It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality,” explained Ellen. “It’s about getting the right people up here, and making sure when they’re here it feels like a really special occasion.”

As English wine continues to establish its own identity, Ellen warns against drawing parallels: “The comparison of English sparkling wine more broadly but certainly at Exton Park with Champagne is not productive. A constructive comparison is with premium, good quality, traditional method sparkling wines from around the world.”

Global competition

There are places making “fantastic quality” traditional method sparkling wine. Take Tasmania, for instance – renowned as a high-quality, cool-climate sparkling wine region – and the respected Italian producer Ferrari Trento. “We hope to be competing with those top traditional sparkling methods,” added Ellen.

Speaking on the new partnership, Justin Liddle, MD of Mentzendorff, said: “It is without a doubt that English sparkling wine is an incredibly exciting category at present, and the pioneering Exton Park forms a natural addition to our portfolio of exceptional producers.

“Exton Park has already achieved great things, and we see a strong alignment in our values, vision, and approach. It is an honour for us to be able work together, and we look forward to building on their successes.”

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