Marlborough

A beautiful Blanc de Noir made entirely from lightly pressed Pinot Noir grapes and made by Clos Henri in Marlborough. The light pressing provides no colour to the wine but retains all the savoury, earthy, toasty flavours you'd hope for and expect from this great red grape variety. 

All grapes are hand picked grapes and the wine is aged on fine lees for 10 months, partially in stainless steel and partially in old oak. The wine was stored in the winery's cellar to allow a slow bottle fermentation and secondary aging on yeast lees for a minimum of 18 months. A few hundred bottles are disgorged at a time to release onto the market, leaving the remainder aging on its lees (sur lattes). 

Clos Henri began 22 years ago in Marlborough when the French Bourgeois family expanded their winemaking from the heart of Sancerre in the tiny village of Chavignol to Blenheim, in 2001. Now that their vines are 22 years of age , the family feels that they are only now starting to reflect and express the taste of the land. This family retains their land and winemaking in Chavignol where they have made wine for 11 generations.

Chardonnay that straddles both styles of creamy flavours with crisp fresh appeal. It's dry, medium bodied and refreshing; a great match for roast chicken or any chicken dish and a delicious example of Chardonnay from Marlborough.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery.

Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

The first year Kevin Judd made his Wild Sauvignon was in 2009 and the winemaking has remained consistent ever since with complexity, creaminess and a full body coming from the 100% barrel fermentation with wild yeasts followed by malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity for two thirds of the wine. It then spends approximately 11 months maturing in barrel and remains in tank for another six months for battonage (the French name for stirring the lees - the decomposing yeast cells left over in the wine).

Dog Point Vineyards Chardonnay is one of Marlborough's great dry, full bodied, creamy whites made by Ivan Sutherland and James Healy, who are two of the most talented winemakers in the country. 

Their vineyards are 100% certified organic and their winemaking is second to none. Barrel fermentation, creamy, nutty flavours are complimented with a freshness that sees these wines last for the long haul.

This drinks well now and can age for up to a decade. A delicious taste sensation and a keeper. Win win.

If you're looking for next level Sauvignon Blanc, here it is.

Framingham is one of Marlborough's oldest, most established wineries and this Sauvignon Blanc is a classic from the region's (and this country's) most popular and widely planted grape variety. Five per cent of this wine was fermented on skins to add texture and weight. This provides delicious balance and texture to Sauvignon Blanc's innate refreshing and zesty acidity. 

Lifted notes of floral and ripe white peach with succulent flavours of red apple, pear and spice with a refreshingly crisp finish.

In Essential Awatere fashion the finish is lively, crisp and lingering. A delicious wine that brings together ?new world? fruit and ?old world? elegance and minerality.

Off-dry in style. The nose shows notes of lychee, lemon zest, crushed lime leaf and rosewater. The palate is luscious and mouth-filling with a rich concentration, delicately balanced and exuding flavours of Turkish delight, lemon and spice. 

Deliciously spicy, aromatic red fruit are captured in this silky Pinot Noir from Astrolabe Wines, which is a blend of grapes from four Marlborough sub regions, the Brancott and Waihopai, the Awatere and Kekerengu on the southern coast of the broader region. 

The grapes in this wine were fermented with wild yeasts in open top vats, including a portion of whole bunches to provide structure and add complexity to the pristine red fruit flavours in this wine. Wild yeasts and hot ferments are followed by aging in old French oak barrels where the wine gains its smooth mouthfeel and savoury flavours.

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

Classic by name and by nature. This is a full bodied, mouth filling, medium dry Riesling that is brimming with flavour, such as ripe orange, peach and mandarin. Its juicy acidity adds tension to the wine, providing a structured and beautiful aromatic white with flavours of ripe stonefruit supported by notes of freshness that lend it a long, succulent finish that tastes dry following the rich mid palate. The palate is vibrant, intense and focused with orange, nectarine and cream flavours and a good line of juicy acidity.

MiruMiru translates to sparkling in Maori and has been trademarked as the name of Jane Hunter's bubblies. Hunter is a fan of pink bubbly and her winemaking team produce this one mostly from Pinot Noir as 55% of the blend with the balance being 42% Chardonnay with a 3% touch of Pinot Meunier. This trio is the classic combination used in the Champagne region where wines must be aged for at least 18 months prior to release on the market. That?s the exact timeframe that Hunter?s winemaking team decided to age this lively, dry pink bubbles for too. It contains 6.4 grams of residual sugar per litre and is a deliciously full bodied expression of sparkling Pinot with Chardonnay adding crispness and balance. 

Member of Methode Marlborough 

Ethereal aromas of exotic spice and sandalwood set the mood for this luscious aromatic wine. The flavours of rosewater, ginger and marzipan are opulent and rich. This unctuous, full bodied Gew?rztraminer finishes with a powerful but elegant finish.

We're big fans of dry Chenin Blanc and this is one of the best made in New Zealand with its ripe flavours of green apples, clover honey and notes of dried grass and hay  aromas. This is a great wine to drink with fish 'n chips by the river, on the beach or in the backyard. It's also a delicately refreshing drink on its own as an aperitif or late nightcap. John and Beth Forrest are Chenin Blanc devotees and it shows. 

Machine harvested grapes were fermented in large oak barrels (1000 litres) and extended lees ageing brings depth and layers of flavour to this wine.

Chenin Blanc is one of the great white wines of the world, traditionally from the Loire Valley in central France, and also a grape that has found its home happily in many cool climates of the wine world, such as parts of New Zealand.

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is an iconic New Zealand wine with depth, complexity and a dry style.  Fermentation is carried out mostly in stainless steel tanks which delivers freshness and directly fruit flavours, which are balanced by a small portion of the wine, typically 4% of the blend, being fermented at warmer temperatures in old French oak barriques. A little goes a long way and this oak fermentation provides a smoothness, softness and flavoursome interest to this deliciously complex Sauvignon Blanc. Its flavour notes span the spectrum of appealing tropical fruit and herbs to dry spicy aromas and a lingering freshness on the long finish. 

These complex winemaking factors combine to create a wine that is a noticeable step up from many other Sauvignon Blancs on the market.

Showing a gentle blush of colour, this Rose is both charming and pretty, yet still offers great structure and drive. With initial hints of watermelon and pink rosebud florals the nose then opens to reveal wild strawberries and cream. The palate is crisp and vibrant with delicate red fruits, an elegant dry palate and juicy fruit acidity that leaves the month revived and thirsty for more. Certified organic. - Fromm