A big first day in Marlborough beckoned as we took on three wineries.
As ever, our first stop of the day was to see Kevin Judd at his Greywacke operation.
Kevin, formerly the chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay, is softly spoken, succinct with his answers and creator of superb wines.
We tasted through six wines – Sauvignon Blanc, Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir and the Botrytis Riesling.
All stunning, superbly balanced with richness, finesse and depth. These wines are, without doubt, some of the very best in Marlborough.
We were then invited over to the Greywacke office where Kimberley Judd welcomed us with coffee and cakes. This allowed us the opportunity to look at the extraordinary photography that Kevin has produced and purchase a t-shirt or two.
This is a superb operation and I would highly recommend trying his wines.
Clos Henri was our next visit. Owned by the Henri Bourgeois family in Sancerre this has a European feel to it. Fabio, their vineyard manager, showed us round the winery and gave us a great insight into the organic principles behind their production. Clos Henri make three Sauvignon Blancs and three Pinot Noirs – all increasing in quality and all reflecting subtle differences in the terroir. Their style reflects their French ownership and clearly demonstrated the diversity of style that can be produced in Marlborough.
We washed a few more bottles down with some French and Kiwi cheese platters, salad and bread.
Brigid Forrest hosted our final visit and we met Tim, one of their viticulturalists, who set the scene for the Forrest style.
The Forrest estate are a pioneering winery and have been very innovative and influential in the developing Marlborough wine scene.
Brigid took us through a terrific line up of 11 wines which covered the full range of varieties, added in some Tatybogler from Central Otago and we finished off with an incredible botrytis Chenin Blanc – a real rarity and utterly delicious.
John and Beth Forrest were in Napier for the Air New Zealand Wine Awards dinner and we looked forward nervously to the announcement of the results……given we are doing a degustation dinner the following evening – would they be on a high or a low…….