Exton Park RB|23 Rosé is a beautifully expressive English sparkling rosé that combines delicate red fruit with considerably more depth and savoury complexity than its pale salmon colour might suggest. Made from 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier grown entirely at Exton Park’s Hampshire estate, it is assembled from 23 individual reserve wines before spending a minimum of three years on its lees. Strawberry, redcurrant and ripe red berries lead into white peach, rose petal and the wine’s wonderfully distinctive strawberry-liquorice note, while extended lees ageing adds hints of baked apple, pastry and subtle savouriness. The palate is creamy and rounded but remains beautifully energetic, with England’s naturally bright acidity and chalk-derived mineral character cutting through the ripe fruit. Unlike many sparkling rosés, the colour comes from exceptionally gentle direct pressing of the black grapes rather than blending finished red wine into a white base, helping give RB|23 its particularly delicate colour and seamless fruit character. With 10g/L residual sugar, it has enough generosity to soften the acidity while still finishing fresh and precise. This is a rosé that works perfectly as an aperitif, but its texture, acidity and savoury complexity make it even more interesting at the table.

Exton Park RB|23 Rosé, Producer

Exton Park is a single-vineyard English sparkling wine producer based on 60 acres of chalky hillside in Hampshire’s South Downs National Park. The modern estate was established in 2009 by the late Malcolm Isaac MBE, a successful Hampshire farmer who recognised that the vineyard’s chalk soils and cool climate could produce sparkling wine of genuine international quality. Head winemaker Corinne Seely joined in 2011 after a career that included work at Château Lynch-Bages and Domaine de Chevalier in Bordeaux, and one of her most important decisions was to begin creating an extensive library of reserve wines. Rather than allowing the unpredictability of any single English vintage to dominate the finished wines, grapes from Exton Park’s nine individual vineyard plots are harvested and vinified separately, with selected components retained year after year. The Reserve Blend range, launched in 2021, uses this library almost like a painter’s palette, combining parcels and vintages to build consistency, complexity and a recognisable house style. Everything is estate-grown and made on site, giving the team control over the entire process from vineyard to bottle.

Exton Park RB|23 Rosé, Terroir & Winemaking

All the fruit for RB|23 comes from Exton Park’s own vineyard in the South Downs, where chalk lies at the heart of the estate’s identity. The cool English climate allows Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier to ripen slowly while retaining naturally high acidity, while the free-draining chalk encourages concentration and contributes to the fresh, mineral profile that runs through the Reserve Blend range. The vineyard is divided into nine plots with different aspects and elevations, and each is handled separately in the winery before selected reserve wines are brought together for blending. RB|23 combines 23 individual reserve components and is currently made from 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier.

The rosé is made by gently pressing the two black grape varieties rather than relying on the more common Champagne technique of adding red wine to a white base. One detailed account of the production describes an exceptionally gentle press lasting around nine hours, extracting just enough pigment from the skins to create its pale salmon colour while avoiding heavy tannin. After secondary fermentation in bottle, RB|23 spends a minimum of three years ageing on its lees, developing texture and subtle autolytic complexity. The current release contains 10g/L residual sugar, providing enough softness to balance the vivid acidity while leaving the wine fresh and dry in overall impression.

Exton Park RB|23 Rosé, Tasting Notes

Pale salmon to English-rose pink, with a fine and lively mousse. The nose is immediately inviting, with strawberry and redcurrant joined by ripe cherry, white peach and rose petal. Exton Park highlights a particularly distinctive strawberry-liquorice character, while time on lees brings more savoury notes of baked apple, fresh pastry and gentle breadiness. With air, the fruit becomes broader, moving towards plum and ripe peach rather than simply fresh berries.

The palate is creamy but vibrant, with ripe red berries and peach sitting against brisk acidity and a fine mineral tang. Pinot Noir gives the wine its richer plum and cherry character, while Pinot Meunier brings softness and fragrant fruit. Three years on the lees adds enough breadth to make the wine feel substantial, but the chalky acidity prevents it from becoming sweet or heavy. The finish is long, refreshing and slightly savoury, with red fruit, peach and a subtle umami quality lingering behind. Decanter has previously scored RB|23 as high as 92 points and has noted both its creamy texture and capacity to develop in bottle.

Exton Park RB|23 Rosé, Food pairing suggestion: Seared Scallops with Crispy Pancetta, Pea Purée and Lemon Butter.