January 2011

'New Zealand: In Search of Greatness'

Excerpt from Edward Ragg & Fongyee Walkers visit to NZ. & their time spent at T.H.E

Now, Marlborough... It is not possible to do justice to the diversity of Marlborough in one day or even a few days. Whilst 'Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc' is synonymous the wine world-over with lifted tropical fruit, some of the grape's zesty flavours but not too high acidity (and even a touch of residual sugar), the Sauvignon Blancs actually produced in the region are diverse. I'm neither 'for' nor 'against' any style per se and try to recognize quality winemaking wherever it is found. At an overview tasting hosted by the Marlborough Wine Research Centre, we found a healthy mix of expressions, along with some lovely Riesling (I forgot to mention that Martinborough's Rieslings were also fascinating).

Our only concern, to get back to Marlborough, was that some producers might be scaling back the inherent aromatic complexity of Sauvignon Blanc – its varietally herbaceous character and naturally high acidity – by introducing more time on lees and some degree of malolactic fermentation, at least in unoaked examples. In other words, it appeared as though there was a danger of masking the character of the grape. The same would apply to New Zealand Pinot Gris, a troubled 'category' for marketers, with a plethora of styles emerging. Again, the range of styles is actually exciting, but we did taste some examples in which you wondered why they'd bothered to use Pinot Gris, if, in effect, you could get the same sort of result with Chardonnay (considerable lees-influence, full malolactic, oak ageing etc.).

But I digress. Nor should Marlborough be thought of as merely a 'Savvy production zone'. On top of the attractive Rieslings, there are gorgeous Pinot Noirs, mainly from the Southern Valleys or close by, not least those from Terrace Heights Estate and its neighbour Seresin, especially Seresin's Rachel and Leah Pinots, a fully fledged biodynamic operation. Marlborough Pinot Noir, at its best, has a kind of generosity of fruit that is sometimes lacking in Martinborough Pinot; but, again, this is actually a plus on both sides, helping both regions define themselves stylistically, at the very least for all the important international audience.