Marlborough
The region whose sauvignon blanc put New Zealand on the world wine map — explosive yet taut wines evoking a whole spectrum of fresh greens over an exotic tropical backdrop.
About the region
Marlborough is the heartland of the wine that made New Zealand famous. In the mid-1980s, almost against all odds, one wine rose to extraordinary fame — Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc — and its first few vintages put the whole of New Zealand on the international wine map. It was the first time a single wine had ever had such impact, made more surprising because sauvignon blanc was then considered something of a second-string variety. Sauvignon blanc is now the leading variety in the country and the wine that dominates exports, and New Zealand sauvignon blancs have no parallel anywhere in the world: explosive yet taut, they evoke a spectrum of fresh greens — limes, wild herbs, watercress, gooseberries, green olives, green figs, green tea, green melons — over an exotic tropical backdrop hinting at mango, papaya or passion fruit. The combination makes for untamed, unleashed wines true to their name, sauvignon deriving from the French sauvage, 'wild'. Greenness is a double-edged sword, and for the top estates the key has been to harness sauvignon's freshness and zing while leaving out strident, raw, unripe flavours. Most are fermented in stainless steel so the green and tropical flavours are not bogged down by oak, and top examples are dry — leaving residual sugar to mask unripe, vegetal wine is regarded as a cheap trick. Marlborough is also a significant source of the country's increasingly successful pinot noir.
