Clos Henri Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Clos Henri Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2010, this Sauvignon Blanc is made with grape vines ( S.Blanc) from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire, France. The makers are 10^th generation wine makers – the Henry Bourgeois family in the Loire, who decided in 2000 to plant grapes in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough and harvested them for the first time in 2000, and since then have gained a reputation. They have used both French and new world viticultural and winemaking techniques to capture the essence of Marlborough varietal character and reveal the identity of the Clos Henri Terroir. There are 3 distinct soil types which offer diversity in flavour for the grapes grown.

The wine itself was pale lemon in colour – sparkly and clear. Herbal, grass notes exceed the tropical notes one normally expects from Marlborough Sauvignons. There was also a twinge of sweat and florality, but not  as unpleasant as it sounds.

On the mouth green flavours, grass, greengage and herbs come through, again low tropical fruit notes and a hint of minerality, the high acidity keeping all fresh and the well integrated ( I cannot believe it is 14%) alcohol supports the structure of the wine, creaminess indicates lees contact – and this adds to the complexity in the mouth.

The Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc 2010 won the Special Trophy Award – Best Sauvignon Blanc in the World - at the Mondial du Sauvignon Competition which took place in Bordeaux earlier this year. The winemaker is Damien Yvon. And the 2011 won a silver medal in the Decanter Wine Awards

Spring Creek Estate 2006 Marlborough Pinot Noir

Spring Creek Estate 2006, from the Wairau Valley in Marlborough, Pinot Noir is a wine we picked up at a wine tasting in Warwick, Underwoods, and we thoroughly enjoyed it on the night, and it was a good price for a New Zealand Pinot Noir.
Since then we have ploughed through 7-8 bottles with less enthusiasm, the wine lacks fruit, is a little one dimensional and has a high acidity without the sweet red fruits to balance it, it is pale as expected and does have the tempting Pinot flavour that we all love, but after that it fails to deliver. Better to forget that it is a Pinot Noir and enjoy it for what it is, and we have had it slightly chilled at a barbacue before - and that seemed to suit it. The presence of wood is overpowering - and although I like the use of wood in red wine, this for me was too much.