Ripe, fleshy pear and English apple on the nose with hints of violets and
turkish delight. The palate is soft and textured but also fresh and crisp. A
generous length of pink grapefruit, almonds and biscuit pastry rounds off this
complex wine.


The use of barrels in the Fumé is to encourage aromatic development and softness
rather than oak flavour. Barrels can push Bacchus towards the style of its
parent variety, Riesling, and the 2023 Fumé demonstrates this.

Owner and winemaker, Ben Witchell has had a lifelong passion for wine. What
started as a desire to learn more about the vinous world quickly spiralled out
of control, leading Ben to quit his job in IT and work out how to make wine in
2007. Having since extensively travelled the wine-making world, gained a
first-class degree in Oenology and Viticultureat Plumpton College and spent
three years in Beaujolais as an assistant winemaker, he is indeed a winemaker,
with great respect for both the creative art and the fascinating science of the
profession.

With the aim of starting his own winemaking venture in the UK, Ben pinpointed
south Norfolk or Suffolk as being potential spots to craft outstanding English
wines. With pockets of suitable vineyard soil, and a combination of being the
warmest, driest most consistent climate in the country, East Anglia showed great
potential. A chance email sent to a local farmer resulted in Ben taking on a
plot of vines already planted in thesunny and sheltered Waveney Valley, Norfolk
in 2015. Flint Vineyard was born, named after the stony soil on which it is
planted.

Since then Flint Vineyard has flourished. There are now over 26,000 vines
covering 6 hectares and a state-of-the-art winery allows wine production at the
highest level. Flint has gained a solid reputation for producing some of the
best premium English still wines. It has also innovated with methods in the
winery and products such as the Charmat Rosé, the first sparkling wine to be
made using the Charmat method, most commonly used in Prosecco.