Marlborough
Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (1x 75cl)
The 2016 vintage was awarded 90 points and Highly Recommended status by Decanter (www.decanter.com) in their August 2017 edition review of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs (see blue link below).
Ata Rangi SB 2016 - August 2017 Decanter review
Ata Rangi is owned and run by Clive Paton and his wife Phyll, together with Clive's sister Alison and winemaker Helen Masters. Clive planted the bare, stony five hectare home paddock at the edge of Martinborough in 1980 and, in doing so, was one of a handful of people who pioneered grape growing in the area. Renowned for their Pinot Noir, which is consistently ranked as one of New Zealand's best, Ata Rangi also produces a range of white wines including Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
The Ata Rangi vineyards are situated in Martinborough, to the north of Wellington. The grapes for this wine come from Waiora, Walnut Ridge, Hau Ariki Marae and Southdowns Estate. Vineyard husbandry is important to Ata Rangi, including leaf plucking to keep the canopies open. Naturally low yields, older vines, small canopies and judicious, labour-intensive hand picking of the entire crop are all factors in producing this uniquely Martinborough style of Sauvignon Blanc. Lean, stony soils are low in vigour and fertility. The vineyards are in conversion to organic certification and are accredited as 100% sustainable.
Fruit was hand-picked and crushed with around half given a few hours of cold soak skin-contact before draining and pressing. Four separate ferment components make up the final wine. A small portion of de-stemmed whole berries were loaded into a super-sized oak barrel where the juice fermented in contact with the berry skins. Adding further complexity and savoury notes, around 30% was fermented in neutral oak barrels.
The on-skins component has highlighted beautiful citrus florals, with a hint of fresh fennel and lime zest. The wine has an impressive textural quality with mouth-watering drive and a tight, flinty, satisfyingly long finish.
Framingham Pinot Gris 2016 (1x75cl)
Rich gold in colour, this wine delights with mellow aromatics, which are reminiscent of pear, apple, quince, dough and cream, with a touch of wood smoke. On the palate, generous flavours of baked apple, quince, cream, nuts and pastry. The intense, complex and rich palate balances acidity with good weight and a silky texture, culminating in a spicy, leesy finish.
Frostpocket Sauvignon Blanc 2016 (1x75cl)
Deliciously crisp and fresh, packed full of vibrant and long lasting lime, gooseberry and tropical fruit flavours. Try this with Asian fish dishes like scallops or prawns in spicy sauces such as thai green curries. Grilled squids or swordfish as well as goat cheese salads. It works well with herbs such as dill, basil and coriander.
Frostpocket Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (1x75cl)
Deliciously crisp and fresh, packed full of vibrant and long lasting lime, gooseberry and tropical fruit flavours. Try this with Asian fish dishes like scallops or prawns in spicy sauces such as thai green curries. Grilled squids or swordfish as well as goat cheese salads. It works well with herbs such as dill, basil and coriander.
Greywacke Chardonnay 2014 (1x75cl)
This wine was awarded 89 points and Highly Recommended status in Decanter's February 2018 review of New Zealand Chardonnay. They say "An elegant Chardonnay beaming with tropical fruit, pineapple, ginger and creme brulee sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts, finishing with a warm lick."
Greywacke was created in 2009 by Kevin Judd, chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay from its inception for 25 years and instrumental in the international recognition which Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc enjoys now. The name 'Greywacke' was adopted by Kevin for his first Marlborough vineyard located in Rapaura in recognition of the high prevalence of rounded greywacke river stones in the soils of the vineyard, a sedimentary rock which is widely found in Marlborough. Kevin Judd is also New Zealand's finest wine photographer and has recently published a book 'The Landscape of New Zealand Wine'.
The grapes for this wine are primarily sourced from the low-yielding Mendoza clone, known for its concentration of flavour and crisp acidity; the balance were from Clone 95. The majority of the fruit was sourced from the lower reaches of the Brancott Valley and Fairhall, grown in gravelly, clay-loam soils, the remainder coming from Rapaura, grown in young alluvial soils containing high proportions of New Zealand’s ubiquitous greywacke river stones. All vineyards were trained on a two-cane VSP trellis.
The vineyards were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and fruit was whole bunch pressed. The resulting juice was lightly settled and racked to French oak barriques (20% new).The juice underwent spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation, the final phase continuing for many months. The wine received occasional lees stirring and underwent a complete malolactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak after 18 months and bottled in December 2015.
A deliciously rich amalgam of pink grapefruit, figs and baked apples intertwine with more savoury characters redolent of meadow hay, toasted hazelnuts and buttered brioche. This grapefruit and nutty savouriness pervades the crisp, dry palate, while the power and concentration of the Mendoza clone creates an extraordinarily long finish that lingers and lingers.
Greywacke Marlborough Riesling 2015 (1x 75cl)
Greywacke was created in 2009 by Kevin Judd who was the chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay for 25 years. The name 'Greywacke' was adopted by Kevin for his first Marlborough vineyard located in Rapaura in recognition of the high prevalence of rounded greywacke river stones in the soils of the vineyard, a sedimentary rock which is widely found in Marlborough. Kevin Judd is also New Zealand's finest wine photographer and has recently published a book 'The Landscape of New Zealand Wine'.
The fruit for this wine was grown at the organically-farmed Ashmore Vineyard in Fairhall, adjacent to the mouth of the Brancott Valley on gravelly clay-loam soils, conditions more typical of the Southern Valleys than the Wairau plains. The 17 year old vines were trained on a two cane VSP (vertical shoot positioning) trellis and careful shoot and bunch thinning was carried out. All Greywacke wines are produced from vineyards that are accredited to the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) program and most of the vineyards are in conversion to become certified organic.
The grapes were hand-picked at moderate ripeness levels and were whole bunch pressed using a very low maceration press cycle. The resulting juice was cold-settled, then racked to fermentation vessels. Half of the juice was inoculated in a stainless steel tank using cultured yeast and the balance was filled into old French oak barriques where it was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation. Towards the end of fermentation all the wine was transferred to a stainless steel tank where the fermentation was stopped, retaining 20 g/l residual sugar. The blended wine was then put in old barrels where it remained on yeast lees for a further five months before bottling in December.
A virtual fruit salad of mandarin segments, white fleshed peaches and crisp apples, sprinkled with lemon blossom and a dollop of honey. A lively, aromatic off-dry style that delivers a sherbet-like balance of bright, natural acidity and a subliminal touch of sweetness.
Greywacke Pinot Gris 2015 (1x 75cl)
Greywacke was created in 2009 by Kevin Judd, chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay from its inception for 25 years and instrumental in the international recognition which Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc enjoys now. The name 'Greywacke' was adopted by Kevin for his first Marlborough vineyard located in Rapaura in recognition of the high prevalence of rounded greywacke river stones in the soils of the vineyard, a sedimentary rock which is widely found in Marlborough. Kevin Judd is also New Zealand's finest wine photographer and has recently published a book 'The Landscape of New Zealand Wine'.
Much of the fruit is from the Selection Ovaille and Mission clones grown at Wrekin Terrace Vineyard in the Brancott Valley, a valley floor site on gravelly clay-loam soils typical of the Southern Valleys. A smaller parcel of the newly released Entav 52 clone (known for its small bunch and berry size) was grown at Riverbrook Vineyard in Rapaura, in young alluvial soils containing high proportions of greywacke river stones. The vines were trained on a two-cane VSP (vertical shoot positioning) trellis and crop thinning is carried out to target a modest yield of 7.5 T/Ha.
Warm spring weather created early flowering and early ripening. The vines were very low yielding, with smaller berries than usual, which led to increased concentration and quality in the 2015 wines.
The three clones were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and whole bunch pressed using very low maceration press cycles. The resulting juice was cold settled then racked to fermentation vessels. Most of the juice was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation in old French oak barriques and the balance was fermented in stainless steel tanks using cultured yeast. The fermentations were stopped to achieve an average of 8g/l residual sugar. The barrel fermented components remained in oak for seven months during which time a portion underwent malolactic fermentation. All the batches were kept on lees in stainless steel tanks for a further six months and the wine was then blended and bottled mid-2016.
An autumnal bake-up of soft sweet figs, poached pears and quince, scented with a hint of mulling spices and almond crumble. An opulently ripe expression of the Pinot Gris grape with great texture and a luscious off-dry richness that finishes crisply with considerable power and length.
Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (1x75cl)
Awarded 92 points and Highly Recommended status by Decanter (www.decanter.com) in their May 2018 column, "Weekday Wines" (see blue link below).
Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2017 - May 2018 Decanter review
A refreshing sorbet-like medley of fresh lychee, grapefruit and honeydew melon laced with flinty minerality and finished with an infusion of mandarin and lime zest. A lively, invigorating wine with persistent grapefruit flavours and a steely blackcurrant tang. Crisp with a long, enduring finish.
Greywacke Wild Sauvignon 2015 (1x 75cl)
This is an alternative style of Sauvignon Blanc that is both intricate and textural. An intriguing fusion of homemade apricot jam and lime marmalade is layered with dried tarragon and a doughy, flinty complexity. The palate is loaded with succulent fruit, pithy citrus rind and laced with minerality - a `wild child` Sauvignon with weight and persistence that finishes with a crisp grapefruit twist.
Hunters Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (1x75cl)
Classically styled and characteristic of Hunters trademark Sauvignon Blanc, this wine immediately shows a mixture of passionfruit, crisp apple and citrus fruit aromas. The refreshing multilayered palate exhibits a blend of ripe tropical fruit, sweet herbs
Kim Crawford Pinot Gris 2016 (1x75cl)
Straw yellow in colour. Intense aromas of ripe pear, melon and apples with appealing floral notes. The palate shows delicious ripe quince and pears combined with a hint of peaches and cream from the malolactic influence. This wine exhibits all the classic Pinot Gris characteristics.
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2016 (1x75cl)
Bright, pale lemon-green. Citrus and tropical fruit aromas are backed by the characteristic herbaceous notes that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is renowned for. An exuberant wine on the palate brimming with flavours of pineapple, passionfruit, stonefruit and a hint of herbaceousness. The finish is fresh, zesty and lingering.
Mamaku Sauvignon Blanc 2016 (1x75cl)
This is a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with flavours of passion fruit, ripe tropical fruits and a racy citrus finish.
Mansion House Bay Riesling 2015 (1x75cl)
Highly aromatic, displaying lively grapefruit and citrus characters. Medium bodied and intensely varietal in character, dripping with green apple, lime and grapefruit flavours with subtle hints of honey and finishing with a steely, mineral streak.
