Tom Cannavan in Wine Pages "Palate Has Excellent Freshness / Nutty Character / Pleasing Long Finish.”

Weyborne Estate is situated at the highest point of the South Downs in West Sussex, on a terroir of mixed clay, greensand and chalk. The site enjoys a micro-climate that offers protection from frost to their south facing slope, as well as natural drainage and early ripeness. This is a single site of 25 acres planted to around 50% Chardonnay, plus Pinot Noir and a little Pinot Meunier.

I met up recently with William Sharpley, Commercial Manager, and Benjamin Abric, Winemaker.

From a family estate in France, Benjamin trained in Montpellier and has worked throughout France, including Champagne, as well as the USA.

The Weyborne Way

No herbicides or pesticides used on the estate, with all work done manually: “everything on our estate is done by experts,” says Benjamin. He also says that only organic products are used in the vineyard, though in a year like 2024 when several months worth of rain fell in a week, there was no option but to use products to protect the fruit. Organic certification of the estate is not currently on the cards. Weyborne does not have its own winery, so for now wines are made in cooperation with nearby Hambledon and Wiston Estates.

The portfolio consists of three cuvées, the Family Reserve, the vintage dated Oriana, and Oriana Golden Spur. Future plans include a Blanc de Blancs to be released in 2027. For this tasting we concentrated on the first ever release of Oriana Golden Spur. It is essentially an early release of the wine that will be the 2022 vintage Oriana. Benjamin tasted the wine in June, thinking: “It was almost where I wanted the Oriana to be, and was very exciting.” Having let a few other people taste the wine he decided to bottle some of the production as an early release. He confesses this was also helpful: the success of the previous vintage of Oriana meant low stock makes it difficult to service their markets.

Weyborne, Oriana Golden Spur.

West Sussex, England, Sparkling White, Cork, 12.0% abv.

(2026) The ‘Oriana Golden Spur’ is described as a ‘pre-release’ of the 2022 vintage of Oriana, which will be released as a vintage wine after further ageing. This was bottled in July 2023 and disgorged August 2025. It is composed of 53% Pinot Noir, 46% Chardonnay and 1% Pinot Noir. Just 3% was fermented in barrel and the dosage is low at 4g/l. Light gold in colour, there's plenty of nuttiness and bruised Cox’s pippin on the nose, in a creamy and forward, gently oxidative style with a hint of honey. The palate has excellent freshness. Real zip here, with a lick of salt and biting citrus, but it does sit over that nutty character and a suggestion of yellow plum fruit into a pleasing, long finish.

£45.00, weyborne.com, See all stockists on wine-searcher.com.Similar Wines: 91 – 95

Tom Cannavan in Wine-Pages.com, 20th February 2026