travel
M
alcolm Isaac, the owner and local businessman, bought Exton Park in
2009 after selling his successful cress and salad company that supplied the supermarkets. Far from retiring he has simply followed his passion into this vineyard, making further use of his intimate knowledge of the local area and the terroir. He originally sold all the fruit to nearby winemakers Coates and Seely and then hired Corinne Seely to make their own wine. Corinne is somewhat of a coup, she has a Masters degree in mineral chemistry and soil formation at the P&M Curie University in Paris and qualified as an oenologist
at the Institute of Oenology in 50
surreymagazineonline.co.uk
Bordeaux. Many women are actually now breaking into the business, but she was one of the first and has made wine for fine houses all over the world, from Bordeaux to Australia.
Corinne works closely with viticulturist Fred Langdale, who like many in the British wine trade studied at Plumpton College. Initially working for Davenport vineyards, then in South Africa on a 55 hectare vineyard in Stellenbosch, before returning to England where he worked at Nyetimber managing one of their 32 hectare plots. Fred is just as enthusiastic about the land and the vines and his local knowledge of the terroir goes hand in hand
with Malcolm’s and Corinne’s. Chatting to him and Corinne as we drive the Bentley across the vines looking for a suitable shot is a pleasure. Their passion for this stunningly beautiful valley is apparent in the way they extoll this corner of England and how they gaze fondly at the different plots scattered over these magnificent flowing hills. It looks like a film set, with a stream to the east, high metal gates at the south entrance and the vines spiralling out to the north and west. All gleaming and sparkling as the sun starts to penetrate the clouds and catch the water droplets spattered everywhere. We photograph the Bentley Flying Spur with Corinne and Fred near a copse of trees with
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