As with all Bentleys, there’s a high level of personalisation available from the choice of hides (15 standard) and paint colours to a special Breitling by Bentley self-winding tourbillon clock (around £150k – making it “the most expensive watch winder in the world”).
“The Bentayga’s cabin design allows the wood to flow from the dashboard and wrap itself into the door space, with accents to the liquid amber veneer created by metal inserts,” says Darren. “We can now offer clients a special colour split on the V8 with Beluga black leather and colour inserts on the seats. And we now offer a more affordable Breitling clock,” he smiles.
From initial project brief to the start of manufacture the Bentayga was 48 months in the design studio.
Perfect for picnics and Polo, I love the leather-trimmed folding seat at the rear that turns the tailgate into a viewing platform. Mulliner recently announced front and rear seats in different hides and colourways, plus duotone exterior paintwork. The options are endless if you have the cash. You can even have a Linley Hamper, complete with refrigerator, bespoke fine Linley china cutlery, crockery and crystal glass, and a storage area for dry goods.
After the best night’s sleep in my treehouse eyrie, we made our way after a sumptuous breakfast to the Manincor vineyards at Caldaro, south of Bolzano.
The methods here are completely biodynamic – as evidenced in the flavours the previous evening where we sampled the Rosé, the Moscato, the Réserve della Contessa and the Mason and Le Petit – all delicious on the palate and very refined.
The Count has created an underground winery that uses gravity feeds instead of pumps. And classical music is piped in as the precious liquid settles in pure oak casks. Camomile tea is also fed to the young vines to keep them calm, and crystals and copper are sprayed onto the leaves. Genius.
His mantra: “No birds, no bees, no flowers no trees” is thought provoking (you can buy honey here too). “And we will never use aluminium,” he adds. “The wine must be able to breathe.” The care and love that goes into the cultivation, picking and making of this beautiful wine has produced exemplary results. Small wonder that their logo is Man in cor (literally hand on heart).
There was no tasting here since we needed our faculties for the mountain drive to lunch at Pretzhof restaurant.
Before us lay ice, snow and almost zero visibility. Challenging conditions resulted in a few wrong turns, resulting in a hair-raising three-point turn on a narrow mountain road. Yet despite its size, the Bentayga handled the manoeuvre with ease and I received admiring looks from a bemused farmer who clearly thought I wouldn’t make good my escape.