The High Slopes of Excellence: Weyborne Estate's Oriana 2022

The High Slopes of Excellence: Inside Weyborne Estate

High on the South Downs, Weyborne Estate looks across the Sussex countryside from slopes that rise towards a thousand feet above sea level. Its history reaches back to around 1600, when an early ironmaster used local ore to forge axes and spikes. By the mid seventeenth century, the estate was held by William Yaldwin, a Parliamentarian who hosted Oliver Cromwell during the Civil War. Victorian owners added a residential wing in 1840 and, around 1890, a wood-panelled ballroom intended to help the owner’s daughters make advantageous marriages.

When entrepreneur Nick Clarke acquired Blackdown Park in 2010, the ballroom was piled waist-high with discarded junk. Clarke, a mining engineer who had worked in the uranium trade, found period fireplaces beneath the clutter. It is hard to picture that scene now. The ballroom has been restored to an elegant, light-filled room, its grandeur matched by views across the grounds. It was here that we enjoyed a drinks reception, looking out towards the sloping fields where sheep grazed when Clarke first saw the estate.

The restoration becomes apparent as you walk up the lawn towards a large horse’s head by British sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green. It stands above the vines, one of several equestrian works across the property. Clarke is a horse lover and polo pony enthusiast, and his interest is visible throughout the grounds. From the sculpture, turn back and the full scale of the mansion comes into view.

But Clarke was interested in the land as much as the building. The estate sits where sandy soils meet heavy clay, above the spring that forms the source of the River Wey. He saw potential in its elevated, south-facing slopes and decided to plant vines.

Some questioned whether vines could succeed at 660 feet, let alone on parcels rising higher. Clarke was less concerned with volume than with the quality the site might produce. He found a fitting expression of that resolve in Alfred Lord Tennyson, who lived nearby and walked the estate’s fields. A line from Ulysses became Weyborne’s guiding words: “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

A Relentless Drive for True Excellence

It is this precise refusal to yield that anchors Weyborne’s ultimate ambition: to achieve true excellence and establish itself as a world-class sparkling wine producer. Rather than mimicking the established houses of the region, Clarke viewed these extreme, high-altitude slopes not as a barrier, but as a place for making something extraordinary. Every detail of the estate's restoration and agricultural philosophy is designed to challenge global standards, treating this unique pocket of West Sussex as a premier grand cru terroir capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the finest sparkling wines on earth.

To turn this world-class vision into reality, Clarke assembled a team led by General Manager Benjamin Abric, who grew up on a family wine domaine in France. Abric has spent more than three decades directing vineyards and wineries in Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire, California, and South Africa. During our visit, he joked that his enthusiasm for English wine makes him persona non grata among some winemaking colleagues back home.

His approach at Weyborne excludes synthetic sprays and weedkillers such as Roundup. The estate also manages hives and encourages native woodland flora. Alongside him is Commercial Director William Sharpley, who has spent four decades in the wine trade. Weyborne has already won international medals, and Harrods selected its wine for the retailer’s first own-label English sparkling release. An impressive start indeed. 

Oriana 2022

At the core of the range is Oriana, named after the heroine of Tennyson’s The Ballad of Oriana. Greg and David created its visual identity and label design. The newly released Oriana 2022 follows an earlier preview of the vintage under the Golden Spur name. Sharpley described Golden Spur, disgorged after two years on the lees, as the engagement party. Oriana, given longer to develop, is the main event.

The warm, dry summer of 2022 produced a blend of 53% Pinot Noir, 46% Chardonnay, and 1% Meunier, drawn from Diddy Field and the estate’s lower slopes. Abric begins fermentation in an open tank, ages 3% of the base wine in oak, and allows full malolactic conversion. After three years on the lees and three months on cork, the wine is finished with a dosage of four grams per litre. It opens with generous baked quince and bergamot, followed by flint on the mid-palate. Roasted hazelnut and candied ginger linger on the finish, giving a well-rounded wine, deserving of the Oriana name.

The Wayward Collection

We tasted the Wayward wines on the other side of the house, looking through the trees across the lake towards the mansion. It was a view Tennyson is said to have known well, and is simply stunning. The setting suited a pair of wines that show another side of Weyborne’s vineyards.

Both Wayward releases come from the 2020 vintage (although this isn’t stated), when a mild spring and warm summer preceded an early autumn harvest of concentrated, low-yielding bunches. Unlike Oriana, neither wine sees oak. Whole-bunch pressed fruit from Diddy Field was naturally settled, fermented in stainless steel, held on lees in tank for nine months, and then matured in bottle for five years.

Each is a blend of 86% Chardonnay and 14% Pinot Noir, with just 1,000 individually numbered bottles produced. Wayward No. 1 Brut has a dosage of four grams per litre. Pale straw in colour, it has hints of white currants and toasted sourdough crust, followed by lively acidity and clean, bright crabapples.

The companion Wayward No. 1 Demi Sec carries 33 grams per litre of dosage, yet the sweetness works beautifully against its bright acidity. The nose opens with rich aromas of baked quince and vibrant persimmon, layered with frangipane and toasted cinnamon brioche. On the palate, it has structural weight and expansive texture, showing excellent balance before resolving into a long, sophisticated finish with hints of grapefruit zest. Abric likened it to a well-assembled aperitif cocktail. It is delicious.

Oriana and Wayward each draw something distinct from this high Sussex site. Standing above the lake with the house framed by trees, it was easy to see why Clarke looked at these slopes and imagined more than land used to graze sheep - he saw the possibility of making truly delicious and world class wine. I look forward to following the Weybourne Estate as it continues its journey and enjoying a lot more of their wines.