Pick of the Bunch   18 Jun 2009

Bob Campbell

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the varietal that put New Zealand on the world wine map. However, poor weather and high yields combined to make 2008 a challenging year for the country’s most lauded tipple. Master of Wine Bob Campbell says consumers will need to choose carefully from the latest vintage to ensure they continue to enjoy the best New Zealand has to offer.

Wine critics have been described by distinguished British wine author, Jancis Robinson, as “parasites.” While it is true we are entirely dependent on winemakers for our material, I prefer to think we have a more symbiotic relationship with our hosts.

I’m a Kiwi and am proud of the quality and character of the best New Zealand wines. I’m proud of the spectacular progress achieved by our winemakers since I joined Montana Wines as a young accountant in 1973.

1973 was, coincidentally, the year in which Sauvignon Blanc vines were first planted in Marlborough, a region that is now regarded by many non-French speaking people as the world’s Sauvignon Blanc capital. In the past twelve months Sauvignon Blanc made up 75 percent of New Zealand’s total wine exports. Marlborough has the lion’s share with 84 percent of the nation’s Sauvignon Blanc vines. To all intents and purposes Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is New Zealand wine.

It pains me to report that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc experienced a sub-standard vintage in 2008. Some good wines have been made in 2008 but there’s an awful lot of dross about. Choose carefully and you’ll be drinking the sort of wonderfully pungent wine that put New Zealand on the world wine map. Choose badly and your favourite tipple might taste like oxalis that’s been crushed and steeped in battery acid.

2008 was what Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc makers euphemistically refer to as a “challenging vintage.”

For a start the harvest was huge – around two-thirds larger than the previous year. A big crop of grapes usually produces wines with lower-than-average flavour concentration. A large crop also means that the grapes take longer to reach optimum ripeness. In 2008 extended ripening was not an option.

On March 21, before the harvest had started, Marlborough experienced moderate rainfall. It didn’t arouse much concern. One week later it rained again. Winemakers and grape growers, already suffering from pre-vintage tension, started to get anxious. The two downpours and a spell of humid weather were beginning to spark an outbreak of botrytis. The vineyard mould, botrytis cinerea, can produce wonderfully concentrated dessert wines if it develops slowly. Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc growers were not trying to make dessert wines. The mould wasn’t developing slowly.

The grape harvest started in earnest. Vineyards with lower crop levels generally yielded ripe and concentrated grapes that made excellent wines. On higher yielding vineyards the grapes may not have been fully ripe but some creditable wines resulted.

As the harvest progressed it became clear that the crop was higher than expected. Wineries couldn’t crush and press the huge grape harvest fast enough. Some growers watched helplessly as their grapes rotted simply because they were on the wrong side of a bottleneck.

A large dump of rain in early April really put the cat among the birdies. An estimated one-third of Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc crop was yet to be picked. Around 50ml of rain on a grape crop that was already experiencing a botrytis outbreak spelt disaster. Some of the tail-end crop was left to rot on the vines while the rest is mostly substandard. Growers caught by the rain cancelled their planned holiday in Fiji, pulled the plug on the new BMW and arranged to have counselling.

The Good News
Marlborough’s best wine producers made good Sauvignon Blanc in 2008. Serious quality producers don’t over-crop their vines. My list of top ten wines includes those makers who occupy the top slot every year – Cloudy Bay, Saint Clair, Dog Point and Astrolabe consistently make Marlborough’s best examples of Sauvignon Blanc.

Not all Marlborough’s winegrowing districts were similarly affected. The Awatere Valley experienced less rain while the vines in that district tend to crop lower giving more concentrated wines. In my tasting wines from the Awatere Valley tended to outperform those from the Wairau Valley.

Other regions fared better. 2008 might be a good opportunity to explore the often very good Sauvignon Blanc made outside Marlborough. Martinborough, for example, enjoyed excellent vintage conditions with Palliser Estate producing a real winner. Nelson is a quiet achiever in the Sauvignon Blanc stakes. The region made many good wines in 2008, including my favourite, Brightwater 2008 Lord Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc. While Hawke’s Bay didn’t produce any of my top ten wines the region batted above its form in 2008. Check my website www.bobswinereviews.com for top examples from the Bay.

Screwcaps extend the life and freshness of Sauvignon Blanc. When corks ruled Sauvignon Blanc was often beginning to lose its vibrant freshness by the time the new vintage wines arrived. 2007 was an excellent Marlborough vintage and many good wines are still available – some at discounted prices to make room for the 2008 vintage. I’m drinking and enjoying wines from 2007 and 2006, another excellent vintage, at the moment.

If you don’t like Sauvignon Blanc – read this!
I regularly encounter people who don’t like Sauvignon Blanc and in a number of cases have been able to recommend wines or food combinations that have turned them into card-carrying members of the Sauvignon lovers club. The three main objections are:

•    I’ve never tasted a good one
It’s easy for me to recommend good Sauvignon Blanc – simply pick a wine or two from my “Gold Medal list” or even my “Best Buys.” However it’s worth remembering that Sauvignon Blanc comes in all shapes and sizes. I recommend that you try three different styles of Sauvignon Blanc.

For starters choose a good wine from Marlborough’s Awatere Valley – Astrolabe or Vavasour are both safe choices. They are intensely flavoured wines with lots of green capsicum, cut grass, gooseberry and even tomato leaf flavours. I love them with crunchy summer salads that include plenty of fresh herbs.

If that doesn’t make the earth move pick a big and complex wine from the Southern Valleys, an area of the Wairau valley with rich soils to give the wines ripe and intense flavours. Dog Point or Saint Clair Reserve Sauvignon Blanc are prime examples. You’ll still find plenty of grassy flavours but with riper tropical fruit influences, particularly passion fruit. I love this style of wine with feta cheese or possibly a salad that includes mango or pawpaw.

Still not sure? Check out a lighter, more delicate style of Sauvignon Blanc. You could try a wine from Hawke’s Bay – Alluviale 2008 Mangatahi Sauvignon Blanc or Kim Crawford 2007 Te Awanga Vineyard are two top examples.

•    I find Sauvignon Blanc too acidic
There are two solutions: pick a softer wine or match it with food that will knock down the acidity. Softer wines include Kim Crawford 2007 Spitfire (2007 is generally a softer Sauvignon Blanc vintage than 2008) or Coopers Creek 2008 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc loses acidity as it ages. After three or four years most are noticeably softer.

To reduce the impression of acidity in wine savour it with food that has high acidity. This may sound a bit odd but trust me, it really works. A normally acidic Sauvignon Blanc will taste significantly softer when matched with seafood garnished with lemon or lime (or served with citrus based sauces). Vinegar, which contains plenty of acetic acid, will also soften acidity in wine.

•    Sauvignon Blanc is too sweet for my taste
Because Sauvignon Blanc is high in natural acidity winemakers often leave a little unfermented residual sugar in the wine to balance and soften the acidity. However many have a reputation for making austere, dry wines that will put a smile, or perhaps pucker, on anyone who dislikes any hint of sweetness. Cloudy Bay, Craggy Range, Brightwater and Clos Henri are just four producers who make truly dry Sauvignon Blanc.

The Tasting
I tasted 219 wines, mostly from the 2008 vintage and mostly from Marlborough, to select my winning picks below. You can read complete tasting notes on the 171 wines which earned a medal award on my website www.bobswinereviews.com 


Ten top gold medal wines (points out of 100)

94 Cloudy Bay 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
Looking great after all these years. Great food wine. Bone dry and very classy.

94 Saint Clair 2008 Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
So big and gorgeous it’s like Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in drag. Luscious and complex.

93 Palliser 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Martinborough
Intensely fruity wine with lots to love. A great label in perfect form.

93 Astrolabe 2008 Awatere Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Classic Awatere – green capsicum, mineral and hints of tomato leaf.

93 Brightwater 2008 Lord Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc Nelson
Nelson struts its stuff with a bone-dry and weighty wine with capsicum and nectarine flavours.

93 Clos Marguerite 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
High energy Sauvignon Blanc with great flavour purity.


93 Astrolabe 2008 Kekerengu Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Small production wine from an exciting region between Blenheim and Kaikoura.

93 Dog Point 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Big, flavoursome Sauvignon Blanc in a classically Marlborough style.

93 Saint Clair 2008 Pioneer Block 18 "Snap Block" Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Wonderfully delicate and tantalisingly complex.

93 Kim Crawford 2007 Spitfire Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Don’t overlook the 2007 vintage! This wine is an absolute cracker.


Best Buys – serious, sipping Sauvignon for under NZD$20

90 Mount Riley 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough NZD$17.95


Marlborough Sauvignon Vintages Rated
Vintage    Rating
Out of 10    Comments
2008    5    A vintage of two halves, choose carefully
2007    9    Generally excellent vintage, drinking well now
2006    9    Generally excellent vintage, some showing bottle development
2005    7    Good but variable. Use discretion when choosing. Avoid wines with corks as they tend to be too developed.
2004    8    Very good but now with plenty of development. Avoid wines with corks as they are too developed.
2003    8    Good vintage with plenty of toasty development. Some almost Chardonnay-like

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