Furleigh Estate | Dorset

Furleigh Estate sits in the rolling countryside of Salway Ash near Bridport in West Dorset, just five miles inland from the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Spanning eighty-five acres of south-facing vineyard slopes, spring-fed lakes, and ancient woodland, the estate occupies a sheltered valley that traps warm southern sunshine while enjoying cooling maritime breezes off Lyme Bay. Beneath the vines lies a geological seam of Greensand, marine clay, flint, and fossilised limestone. Formed millions of years ago on the bed of a prehistoric sea, these free-draining coastal soils hold just enough moisture during dry summers while locking a distinct, stony minerality into the fruit.

Every wine in the collection is crafted exclusively from the estate's twenty-two thousand vines, giving the winemaking team complete control from vineyard to bottle. While the classic trio of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier forms the backbone of their traditional-method English sparkling wine, the mild West Country microclimate also ripens Bacchus and Rondo generously for vibrant English still wine. Inside the purpose-built winery, hand-picked grapes undergo gentle whole-bunch pressing in a specialist pneumatic press to extract only the purest first-press juice. Extended lees ageing inside the temperature-controlled bottle store—stretching well beyond standard regional minimums on vintage releases such as the Blanc de Noirs and Blanc de Blancs—builds a remarkably fine, creamy mousse and savoury toasted brioche depth around the crisp orchard fruit.

The estate also carries a true homecoming story. In the early 2000s, owners Rebecca Hansford and Ian Edwards left behind their careers as London actuaries and bought back the exact dairy farm where Rebecca had grown up as a child, planting their first vineyards in 2005 after Ian retrained in winemaking at Plumpton College. Today, the old milking barn where the family cattle once stood serves as the cellar door tasting room, while the bottles pay playful tribute to the prehistoric coastline on their doorstep. Every label bears the emblem of a plesiosaur - the long-necked marine reptile made famous by fossil hunters along the nearby cliffs of Lyme Regis and Charmouth - and the estate even names its bright, juicy summer red Tyrannosaurus Red.

FURLEIGH ESTATE