Showcasing the best of site-specific premium English still wine
Balfour Winery introduces its latest signature expression: a distinctive English Chardonnay crafted to showcase the character of Kent and the Hush Heath Estate, with a specific focus on the vineyard site, combining elegance, freshness and depth.
The range currently includes a Pinot Noir, and for the first time, this year, a Chardonnay from the 2023 vintage. This first Chardonnay to be included in the signature range comprises fruit from Clones: 548, 121, 130 and 95 – with a quarter of the fruit taken from each.
The signature range was created to express the best wines from within the best individual vineyards – these two firsts are from Balfour’s top sites in Kent, while the intention as the range evolves and grows, is to look towards the best of what lies beyond ‘home’.
From the Middle Strackney Wood vineyard, this wine brings together four Burgundian clones to create a wine style that feels layered, refined, and unmistakably English. Calm, focused, and quietly confident, this is Chardonnay with both richness and restraint – a wine that rewards time in the glass and conversation around the table.
A cool ferment, stainless steel wine, this was then aged in French oak for 10 months and was bottled in January 2025. All wines in the signature range are released only when declared ready by the winemaker – fitting into the top end of the winery’s portfolio, further emphasising the quality that these varieties, winemaker, and England are able to showcase under Balfour’s philosophy and ethos.
2023 was an exceptional year for Chardonnay at Balfour, producing some of the finest fruit the winery has worked with. The dry autumn helped deliver the ripeness we wanted while retaining the freshness that gives English Chardonnay its character.
The four clones used in this wine offer complementary qualities. 548 contributes concentration and texture, 95 brings weight and balance, and 121 offers bright fruit and freshness. Rather than assigning a separate flavour to every clone, the interest lies in how all four, including 130, work together to express the vineyard. The fruit was picked and pressed together, with the components coming together from the outset rather than being blended after fermentation.
Fergus Elias, Director of Wine says: “Our Signature Chardonnay is about precision and patience. We wanted to capture the character of our warmest Chardonnay site while preserving the freshness and tension that make English Chardonnay so compelling. The combination of Burgundian clones, full malolactic fermentation, and gentle oak ageing creates a wine with real texture and composure, but always with brightness at its core.”
Appearance: Pale gold
Nose: Citrus, stone fruit & subtle oak spice
Palate: Ripe orchard fruit with bright acidity and a gentle savoury complexity
Winemakers’ food pairing: Tarragon chicken or Délice de Bourgogne cheese
Technical information:
Vintage: 2023
Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Closure: DIAM 5
ABV: 12%
Titratable acidity: 6.4g/l
pH: 3.05
Region: Weald, Kent, South East England
Soil type: Wealden clay
Number of bottles produced: 2,500
Availability: Balfour Signature Chardonnay will be available from 12th October 2026 through select prestige accounts and from Balfour’s cellar door. RRP £40
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About Balfour Winery
The Balfour-Lynn family planted their first vineyards in 2002 on the beautiful Hush Heath Estate. Five years later, in 2007, Balfour Brut Rosé 2004 became the first English wine to win a gold medal and the Trophy at the International Wine Challenge.
Hush Heath Manor has been part of the Balfour-Lynn family since 1986. It wasn’t until Leslie purchased the 400-acre farmland attached to Hush Heath Estate in 2001 that Balfour Winery’s story began.
Over the years, the vineyards have expanded, the cellar has grown and Balfour has welcomed more people into their story through the wines, the winery experiences, and hospitality. At every stage, the focus has remained the same: creating something genuine, generous and rooted in the land surrounding. 75,000 visitors were welcomed through the winery doors in 2025, with expectations to host 100,000 in 2026. A regular shuttle bus connects the winery and nearby The Winemaker’s Pub to Marden Station, 45minutes from London Bridge.
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