Summary

Appellations are wine regions with rules, normally associated with Europe.

So how come an enviably free-wheeling, super successful region like New Zealand’s Marlborough has felt the need to develop Appellation Marlborough Wine?

We put this question and more to Ben Glover, renowned winemaker and proud Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) member.

He talks about, ‘ripping the beige quilt off Marlborough’ and his distaste for ‘mediocrity’. 

We also have fun playing around with AMW’s jazzy new interactive wine map, tasting along to bring the geography to life through a set of delicious Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs. (You can do the same too!) 

Thanks to Appellation Marlborough Wine for sponsoring this episode and once again allowing us to taste and talk about one of our all-time favourite wine regions.

We also touch on things as diverse as pastoral shows, the Model T Ford in black, springtime fireworks, scripture, swamps, growing pains, snow peas, ‘corrupt acidity’ and dancing a merry jig…

Starring

• Ben Glover
• Susie & Peter

Interactive map

In this episode we discuss and play around with Appellation Marlborough Wine’s brand new interactive wine map. It’s very cool!

We were given access to the map in development. It’s currently undergoing final tweaks and the plan is to unleash it into the wild mid-March. As soon as it goes live, we will publish a link right here for you to use – so please do check back.

Meantime, here’s the current AMW map for you to enjoy:

Links

• If you’d like to learn more, here’s the website for Appellation Marlborough Wine
• You can find our podcast on all major audio players: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon and beyond. If you’re on a mobile, the button below will redirect you automatically to this episode on an audio platform on your device. (If you’re on a PC or desktop, it will just return you to this page – in which case, get your phone out! Or find one of the above platforms on your browser.)

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Wines

In this episode we recommend the following wines, which are Appellation Marlborough Wine certified:

• Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13.5%
• Starborough Sons of the Soil Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13.5%
• Rapaura Springs Rohe Blind River Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13.5%
• Isabel Estate Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13%
• Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13.5%
• Ahi Kā Blackmore Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13%
• Auntsfield Nature’s Path Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13.5%
• Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2024, 13.5%

Get in Touch!

We love to hear from you. 

You can send us an email. Or find us on social media (links below).

Or, better still, leave us a voice message via the magic of SpeakPipe:

Transcript

This transcript is AI generated. It’s not perfect.

Peter: Hello, you’re listening to Wine Blast with me, Peter Richards, and my wife and fellow Master of Wine, Susie Barrie. Welcome! Now, I am even more excited than normal about this particular episode because we’re talking about a wine appellation with an interactive map that you can taste along to. How cool is that?!

Susie: Maps and wine, two great loves of your life…

Peter: No, I think I can admit that. Am I safe admitting that?

Susie: I think we already know.

Peter: Okay!

Susie: Yeah. Now, appellation is a term, we’d normally tend to associate with European wine regions. But we’re not talking about Europe at all, are we? We are talking New Zealand. Now, here’s a taster, of what’s coming up:

Ben Glover: Appellation Marlborough Wine drives good innovation, but just ensures that what’s in the bottle is 100% Marlborough because it’s such a wonderful brand and it’s so brilliant in the glass. And you could argue that, Sauvignon Blanc, as well as it’s been a fantastic variety, is also possibly an Achilles Heel. So it’s all about keeping things fresh, invigorating new, moving with the times, but making sure that what you’re taking to market is exceptional.

Peter: Winemaker Ben Glover there, who’s also a proud member of Appellation Marlborough Wine, or AMW. We’re going to be quizzing him about AMW and why, for example, the freewheeling and highly successful Marlborough region has felt the need to introduce an appellation in the first place.

Susie: We’ll also be having a bit of fun with AMW’s brand new interactive wine map. it even has a 3D function, which you, of course, Peter Richards, are worryingly excited about. and we have a delicious selection of AMW wines to taste, which bring that map to life, as it were, capturing in a glass the. The nuances of a region that is more diverse and intriguing than we might think.

Peter: Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve talked Marlborough, on the pod. partly, I guess, because we’re just such big fans of the wines. No excuses there. We just keep finding excuses to talk more wine. Yeah. Now, we celebrated the region’s 50th anniversary last season, because the first vines of the modern era were planted in 1973. too much fanfare and Frank Yukich declaring wines from here will become world famous shortly after which, most of those vines died from drought. It’s a great story. Yeah.

Susie: But it’s crazy to think it only got going about 50 hearts. It’s a go, isn’t it, But, yeah, we also touched on Marlborough in our episodes on New Zealand Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from seasons four and two, respectively. But in this programme, we wanted to get to grips with this new drive to guarantee authenticity in the glass via a voluntary appellation structure, something few regions outside Europe have dared to instigate. So we are grateful to Appellation Marlborough Wine for sponsoring this episode and allowing us to focus on this topic, including. Including asking the difficult questions.

Peter: Yeah, when something’s about transparency and, authenticity, it must bear scrutiny. So that’s what we’re going to do in this episode. But first up, we should set the scene. And, when we talk about Marlborough, we’re talking about the engine room of New Zealand wine. This one region makes 88.0percent of all kiwi wine, so it’s hugely important to the country. And incidentally, since we’re talking stats, the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety accounts for 75% of New Zealand’s production, nearly 90% of its exports and, 90% of New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc is in Marlborough.

Susie: Marlborough was where New Zealand’s modern wine renaissance kicked off. Since then, it’s been a wine region on fast forward, captivating the world with its uniquely expressive, vividly etched, characterful Sauvignon Blanc, springtime fireworks in a glass, if you like, and then, more recently, adding the likes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and other strings to its bow.

Peter: But that rapid development and success is where Appellation Marlborough Wine comes in. Because Marlborough was so successful so quickly that concerns started to emerge about overproduction, about people making wines to trade on the Marlborough name without really delivering the quality in the bottle.

Susie: So Appellation Marlborough Wine was founded in 2018, a challenging vintage, and the aim right from the start was to ensure origin and authenticity, to protect the reputation of the region by creating a voluntary code for members to adhere to, all under the trademark of Appellation Marlborough Wine, yeah.

Peter: To summarise the rules very briefly, for a wine to be AMW certified, the winery must be a member of AMW and abide by its code of conduct. vineyards must be certified by a recognised sustainable viticulture scheme. All wines must be made from grapes that are 100% sourced from a clearly defined area within Marlborough. Wines must be bottled in New Zealand and all wines must meet

00:05:00

Peter: minimum quality standards. Every wine has to pass an independent blind tasting process as being true expression of its region and grape variety.

Susie: Now, in 2024, AMW also added a minimum sugar ripeness level, requirement for grapes at harvest. So unless the fruit was destined to make low alcohol wine, Sauvignon Blanc grapes, for example, have to exceed 18 brix at harvest, which roughly equates to just over 10% alcohol. This represents a further attempt to guarantee quality. In the early days, AMW specified maximum yields by tonne, but then realised some vineyards could naturally carry higher yields and still deliver quality. So they switched the onus back onto the growers by saying, you know your vineyards, you determine the yields, but make sure your grapes are properly ripe.

Peter: Now, I mentioned bottling in New Zealand. There, AMW is also aiming to develop a compulsory code of conduct for bulk wine shipments. apparently around a third of all New Zealand wine exports by volume are bulk to be bottled in market. that’ actually higher than I’d realised. But of course, you know, it can be cost effective and it’s also more sustainable in terms of generating fewer carbon emissions than shipping in bottle.

Susie: But at the moment the code is voluntary, which AMW says is unlikely to influence the behaviour of the worst offenders or those who are in the industry for the wrong reasons. AMW say this drive for a compulsory code is, and I quote, primarily about transparency and for producers to take responsibility for who they sell their wine to and where it ends up. Incidentally, AMW say the door is open to any wine producer in Marlborough to join them, but they’d have to sign up to AMW’s code of conduct, which might not suit everyone.

Peter: Yeah, so all of this is geared towards promoting integrity and authenticity. If a producer and their wine ticks all these boxes, they can carry the AMW logo on their bottle. the association has more than 50 members and counting, including many of the well known names in the region. And although Appellation Marlborough wine originally focused on sauvignon blanc, now 12 different grape varieties are included in the certification scheme.

Susie: Okay, so at this point I think we should bring in Ben Glover. Ben is a man of many talents, a, ah, winemaker of impeccable pedigree whose main focus is Glover family vineyards and the Zephyr brand based out of the coterie winemaking hub in the Dillons Point area of Marlborough. He has his finger in many pies. but we won’t over complicate things here. Suffice it to say, Ben knows his onions and is a passionate advocate for and brilliant exponent of Marlborough’s wine bounties. He’s also, as we said earlier, a proud member of Appellation Marlborough Wine. Now I caught up with him at a busy tasting. So apologies for the background hubbub. And I started by asking him to explain what AMW is.

Ben Glover: It is a, initially a concept or a construct to make sure that the wines coming out of Marlborough are true to the region and probably true to type. And to make sure that we can sing Marlborough’s praises. And so it sort of has a qualitative level but also a I suppose where it’s from and you can have a justification that you are drinking 100% Marlborough wine.

Susie: So what is a true to type Marlborough wine or Sauvignon Blanc?

Ben Glover: You know we before greats we used to have agricultural and pastoral shows and they used to, you know, used to enter your cattle into competitions and it was always, always about best of breed. So you’re always striving for the best. So true to type in that aspect is like you’re really trying to get the pinnacle of that, of that type. So your type might be slightly different to mine, but at least you’re still striving to express the best. You don’t want mediocrity. And if we can do that across a group like amw. None of us like mediocrity.

Susie: Why is there a need for amw? M. You know, the New World’s surely about exploring possibilities and innovating rather than deliberately constraining yourselves with old world style regulations and red tape, isn’t it?

Ben Glover: Yes. I think personally for me you’ve got a. I’m fairly liberal so you do need that scope and that’s what I love about the New World. But I think we. Marlborough is 50 years old. so we’re sort of into that second generation sort of type piece. And I think it’s not like, it’s not a constraint, sort of a noose around your head. It’s just making sure that when we go to market we are preaching what is actually true. So Appellation marble one also drives good innovation and is not constricted by what you can and can’t do. I think what it does do,

00:10:00

Ben Glover: it just ensures that what’s in the bottle is 100% Marlborough and what you’re doing with it is actually championing Marlborough and keeping Marlborough above and beyond and not sort of, you know, sometimes, you know, when you get a bit, you get on a bit, you can sort of just go into a bit of mediocrity. And you can probably see that with some as an example, some Burgundian producers, as they change and the family succession goes on you do sometimes see a drop off of quality. Then the young, young Turks come back in and pick it up and they sort of change it again. So we’re not trying to change that at all. It’s more just trying to have some really good constraints on making sure that Marlborough is Marlborough because it’s such a wonderful brand and it’s so brilliant in a glass.

Susie: How much of Appellation Marlborough is about Sauvignon Blanc and its capacity for greatness.

Ben Glover: Look, I certainly think it was, set up to make, to protect, you know, that variety, because that essentially is in a lot of people’s eyes globally, that one variety is Marlborough. But I think now that, you know, we’re also aware that we’ve. We do have to stretch, it as well and look after all varieties that can be grown in Marlborough. And if you take mulberry as a region, it’s got great acid. It presents acidity extremely well. So aromatics. And I’ll put Pinot noir in that category as well. Love that region.

Susie: And it’s a big region. Would you say that Marlborough, currently the delimited area of Marlborough, is too big, in your opinion?

Ben Glover: Everyone’s going to be, pushing boundaries and pioneering places and. But I think you’ve also got to have some quite good finite areas. And that’s always a, place of conjecture because is it. Is it soil type, is it rainfall? So you’ve really got to be quite, I think you’ve got to be quite, versatile and not be too rigid in your, scripture. But I think you do need some scripture. And I think that’s what one Appellation mogul, one is trying to do in regards to sort of define the region. Because you’ve got to remember the region was. It’s just. It’s set up as political zones, you know, or community zones. So they were never defined by geography. They were just drawn.

Susie: And so are you trying as a group to make the wine growing area smaller?

Ben Glover: Yeah, we’re certainly exploring that to see how best to. How best to do that.

Susie: How many hectares would you ideally think would be right? And what land is good enough?

Ben Glover: See, I don’t subscribe to a, quantitative number. It’s probably more qualitative. So you can have as many hectares if you like as you like. But. But I think if you’re in, you know, you’re growing grapes in a swamp, they’ve never naturally grown in a swamp before. So, you know, you could argue that way, but, you know, there’s always natural supply and Demand pressures. And that’s why, you know, take Champagne, for example, their defined areas, they, they’re like a lung, aren’t they? They grow and contract over, not just every year, but over, you know, generational years. So at least if we can get something in place that sort of defines us, it also shuts down any naysayers that go, oh, it’s just Sauvignon Blanc and it can be from anywhere. you’ve also got to remember, legally, you can put 15, up to 15% of something different into your wine.

Susie: something different?

Ben Glover: Yeah, like other Sauvignon from other regions or other varieties or different years. And so what this does, you know, hand on heart, you’re drinking 100% Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough.

Peter: We don’t want mediocrity. That’s a telling statement, isn’t it? And I think kind of that’s what this is all about, isn’t it, really?

Susie: Yeah. I mean, in wine, it’s impossible to guarantee absolute quality. Even wines from the most famous appellations on the planet can be distinctly ordinary if, if the producer isn’t great. And also partly because, frankly, quality can be in the eye of the beholder as well. And so there’s only so much you can guarantee when it comes to official designations. But you can see what they’re trying to do here.

Peter: Yeah, totally. You know, and any region will have growing pains and, it makes sense to get ahead of the issues before they start to, I don’t know, undermine confidence among your target market, I guess. And, you know, so in that regard, it does make sense to try to restrict where vines can be planted so you don’t end up getting wine labelled as Marlborough, but, you know, which has been grown in places that frankly just aren’t fit for purpose, like a swamp.

Susie: That’s quite a memorable comment, wasn’t it? So, yes, AMW is working to review the existing Marlborough wine region. They believe the region is too broad and needs to reflect quality winemaking and the area most likely to be conducive for that. They say the current regional boundaries incorporate significant areas of land we believe are inappropriate for winemaking.

Peter: Yeah. So you can get a sense of why certain Marlborough producers felt the need to create A and W, you know, which might otherwise seem counterintuitive,

00:15:00

Peter: I guess, but, But let’s take a breath before we come back for more of Ben’s strident views as well as map and wine related fun. By way of recap, so far, Marlborough in New Zealand is a wine Region on a roll. such has been a success over the last 50 years or so that a group of quality minded producers has banded together under the Appellation Marlborough Wine banner, as they say it, to promote origin integrity, authenticity and environmental stewardship in their wines.

Susie: And on their very smart website they are now launching a brand new interactive map. something we’ll be coming back to shortly. I can feel chomping at the bit, but before we survey the terrain, let’s hear from Ben Glover on the geography of Marlborough and its wines.

Ben Glover: Marlborough is at the top of the south island and it’s on the east coast. And essentially Marlborough has got two valleys that run east, west. the more northern one is the Wairau, the more traditional one and then the other one is the Awatere So that’s sort of your main valleys. and then you’ve got what we sort of call the southern valleys. And crudely they’ve been our ah, sub regions but they’ve just evolved naturally. And then we’re getting more and more newer sort of sub regions coming in which is the Appellation team have sort of recognised and they’re just trying to pinpoint more of these sort of smaller, unique parcels. So it’s still an ever changing evolution of, of what you’re trying to talk about.

Susie: Now you have a brand new interactive map that’s about to be launched as I understand. Tell us about that and why it’s important.

Ben Glover: to be able to have a map that’s interactive, particularly in today’s age where you’re extremely digital in its touch. I think it’s a fantastic innovation. there are some of us that still like the tactile printed map on the wall.

Susie: There’s somebody in our house who likes things.

Ben Glover: Yes, well, I probably agree, but certainly for you know, as we talked about before, you know, we, we’re wanting to interactively show off what we, what we’re trying to do and this is the best way to do it. And you can drill down to wherever you want to go into the sub regions we were talking about earlier. You know, you know, the coastal Kekerengu area for example, which is quite fascinatingly new, but there’s been grapes here probably a good 15, 20 years planted. So it just, just allows you to, to discover more and more. And I think in particular in Marlborough. And this probably circles around what we’re saying earlier, you know, we, we were introduced to Marlborough with blended vineyard whites or Sauvignon Blanc. You know now we’re going into more single vineyard sites or, or sub regional sites or Awatere only or Wairau only. And so this map allows you to sort of discover actually what’s what you’re drinking in the glass and where it’s from and then discovering other bits and go, well, gee, that’s a bit. I can see why it’s a bit different and why that descriptor is like that.

Susie: And what are the main challenges facing Marlborough, and New Zealand wine in general at the moment?

Ben Glover: Well, I think it’s more the global, it’s geopolitical I think, because we’re export led. We know we export 90% of what we, producing. we’ve got to be agile and fluid and we’ve got to make sure that these wines remain relevant. And you could argue that, you know, Sauvignon Blanc, as well as it’s been a fantastic variety that’s brought New Zealand into the modern drinking. Wine drinking world, is also possibly an Achilles heel. You know, it’s, it’s the Model T Ford. You know, you can have a Model T as long as it’s black, you know, so there’s just Sauvignon Blanc. So the challenges we’ve got is to grow the width of what we can show off. You know, like the Riesling and Gewurz. It will never be as big as Sauvignon or like the Pinot Noir. Ah.

Susie: And what does the future hold for New Zealand wine and AMW You know, are we going to see more similar appellation style, initiatives in New Zealand and around the world?

Ben Glover: I think it’s just, it’s also quite a good way of getting people together and having discussions and having a forum, because we’re all too busy doing our day jobs. And so this is actually a really good way of, getting together and discussing, you know, to your question, what, what are our challenges going forward? What are our strengths and weaknesses? And I think our strength is making sure we’re still community minded within the industry and we’re still, striving to make the best wine we can and always innovate at.

Peter: So this map, and I am playing around with it now, zooming in and out, going all 3D on this thing. Yes, I can. The master of this universe. It’s great because it really helps, you know, as Ben says, sort of discover what you’re tasting in the glass, you know, explore why these wines taste like they do, which is far more than just one monochromatic flavour. Profile.

Susie: Yeah, exactly. yeah. So we are going beyond Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

00:20:00

Susie: as the Model T Ford you can have in any colour as long as it’s black. And we’re starting to understand how and why it can be really quite diverse within Marlborough. And not just Sauvignon, of course, but also things like Chardonnay and Pinot and beyond.

Peter: Yes. Now, so I’ve got my finger on the trigger when it comes to the map and we’ve got a table bristling with so many bottles here. I’m very, very excited. Where are, we going to start?

Susie: Well, what we wanted to do was didn’t we use these wines to bring the map even more to life, as it were? So we should kick off by saying how brilliant it is. Has developed this map because understanding the geography and climate of a place is so important to really appreciating its wines, especially if those wines express sub regional characters. So the two things kind of reinforce each other, which makes this a very welcome development.

Peter: Yeah. Particularly for a map. M. Freak. Like, like me, I’m all over this now. Of course, I am just like, like a piggin. But the proverbial, we’ll put a link in our show, not notes to this map, so you can see it in all its glory. But you know, essentially, to summarise it in words, what I’m seeing here, you see New Zealand. Then you zoom into Marlborough on the northeast tip of the South Island. Initially there’s not much detail, but then you click to view the sub regions and then you see the broad Wairau ah, valley in the north. The beating heart of Marlborough with the southern valleys as the land rises up from river plain into the Blairich Range hills. to the south over the hills is Awatri or Awatere and Blind River. And then even further south is the southern coast leading down to the southernmost outpost of Kekerengu.

Susie: Yeah. And if you toggle a few buttons, you can overlay information on soils and rainfall onto the map. You can see where all the vineyards are and the location of all the of the AMW member wineries. And where you get really excited is pressing the 3D button, if you’re called Peter Richards, because that also gives you a very visual sense of the relief and terrain.

Peter: 3D wine maps definitely feature my life, don’t you?

Susie: I like the 2D. I prefer 2D.

Peter: Yeah, I can understand that.

Susie: I can’t do 3D.

Peter: The Eagles Eye, view, isn’t it? You get to see that. But 3D are you zoom. You get a sense of the relief and the mountains and the hills and the exposures. And that for me brings it.

Susie: But that’s like you liking mind maps and me liking lists. You know, we just like different. Yeah. Different ways of looking at things.

Peter: Is that why you like Sauvignon M Blanc? No, let’s not, let’s not go there. Sauvignon Blanche. Anyway, yeah, we should add that we’ve had access to this map while it’s being developed, but, it’s constantly evolving so things may change. and we will update our website, show notes if there’s anything important to flag up. So do check those out. But essentially now, you know, we’ve talked about the dry theory here. Let’s bring in the wines, make some proper sense of this, this digital wizardry.

Susie: Yeah. And we should say that the, the wines we’re going to taste are, ah, all part of the AMW annual collection. A selection of Sauvignon Blancs that’s put together every year by an expert panel to showcase the region’s quality and diversity. This was the 2024 selection featuring 12 wines chosen from an initial lineup of 75 from, a sunny but balanced vintage. And I think we should start in the south and look at a wine that includes some fruit from the southernmost Kekarengu area, which you, you mentioned.

Peter: Yeah. So we’re talking here about the astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Actually, you know, it’s a good place to start because it does use fruit from all over the region. Actually it’s 53% from our Awatere, 24 from the Southern Valleys, 12 from Kekerengu coast, and ah, 11 from Wairau. Now Astrolabe, many of you may, may know Astrolabe, brilliant producer. I visited a while ago and was so impressed by their kind of really precise individual wines, many of which do actually focus on single sites within Marlborough. this is obviously the blend. and Kekarengu is very coastal and cool. So too is Awatiri. So you get those really tangy, salty, herbal, tense characters in this wine. But then on top of that you’ve got the passion fruit of the Wairau and the structure of the Southern valleys. And it all makes for a really delicious blend that’s not in, in any way overdone. It’s actually really precise and sort of cultured and poised.

Susie: I think this is just a great all rounder. you know, as you suggested, sometimes in the past, Marlborough Sauvignon has been Almost too in your face. But this is what I define as quite a new wave Marlborough Sauvignon. You know, it’s complex and intriguing and so drinkable, but it’s also not too shouty.

Peter: I think you make a really good point there. You know, no wine region stays still. and it’s important to say that Marlborough has definitely matured over the years. Almost the point where there is no such thing anymore as Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. It’s. It’s evolved, it’s much more diverse and multifaceted in style these days. Yes, it’s still crisp and fresh and aromatic, but equally, you can’t put it all in

00:25:00

Peter: just one homogenous stylistic basket anymore. And I think that’s. That’s a good thing.

Susie: Yeah. And of course, as you say that that astrolabe is majority our tree, which tends towards the green, crunchy citrus fruit and tomato leaf side of Sauvignon. I think Ben, Ben Glover mentioned jalapeno and. And snow as markers of our tree, which, which are great shouts. So let’s have another otry wine to illustrate this style. And it’s the Starborough Sons of the soil 2024. And this is classic outry in a glass. You’ve got tomato leaf, white currant, fennel aromas. And then the palette is really, really mouthwatering and zesty, crunchy, vegetal. And then with a typical salty lick on the finish, it’s fabulously fresh and zingy.

Peter: Ye. While we’re in the area, I’d flag up The Rupaura Springs. Roha R O H E Blind River. 2024. Blind Rivers just to the south of our tree and often show similar characteristics. And this is all of that, but on, steroids. It’s really vivid, extrovert stuff, but, you know, in a very sort of green pepper pea, shooty fennel, citrus kind of way. It’s got tremendous citric punch on the palate, but really cleverly rounded out by a touch of residual sugar and a lovely salty finish. It’s utterly revitalising and I absolutely love this one.

Susie: Yeah, it’s. It’s really. I found this really compelling, bold and spicy. Right. Having wet our appetite in the southern territories, now we head over the hills and into the W. I’m following you.

Peter: On the map, by the way. Can I just say, I’ve now zoomed.

Susie: Have you zoomed into wild? Into W. So this is where the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc magic started all those years ago. And these days there’s quite a Lot going on in the W. So let’s kick off with a fairly classic, supremely, drinkable style. The Isabel Estate single vineyard wire out Sauvignon 2024. Now, this has notes of guava, gooseberry and pea pod. It’s fresh but really easy drinking and with just a lovely little hint of white pepper. So not the ridiculously lush tropical fruit bomb you might have got from Central Wairau in the past, but probably the better for it.

Peter: And I throw in the Nautilus 2024 Sauvignon here. This is a more generous sort of succulent style, which, you know, you think might be veering into overly tropical, flabby territory, but then it kind of kicks in with a really zesty underlying acidity and minerality and salinity. So, you know, a wine with lots going on, from the sort of richer gooseberry and melon fruit to the smoky savoury tones and fresh acid. I know you weren’t so keen on this one. I was. I really. I just really like that.

Susie: It’s just. Well, it’s. It’s relatively. I actually liked all of these wines, but, you know, it’s just you like some more than others, don’t you, now? But now wine grows sort of for a fair distance along the Wairau River Valley. Inland is the Upper Wairau. Then you come down into the broad Central Huayrau, which is where most of the wineries are located. And then in the more coastal or river delta country, you have the Lower Wairau. And in that area is Dillon’s Point, which we mentioned in relation to Ben’s wines. And we’ve got a wine from there, the Ahika Blackmore Sauvignon 2024. Now, this area tends to give more herbal styles. Ben described it as greener, riper, herbal. and that’s exactly what this one shows, isn’t it? You’ve got grassy asparagus and gooseberry aromas, with a tangy citric, but also juicy peach palate. And again, again, that hint of salt and spice on the finish.

Peter: It’s a really nice that one, actually. Now, one of the most intriguing areas within Wairau are, what’s called a Southern valleys, where you move from the alluvial river plain soils into the clay based soils of the hills on the southern side of the plain into a series of north south valleys. this is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay territory, but Sauvignon can also be good here in a more structured style. Usually sort of less tropical or citrus, but intriguingly savoury. Ben described the style here as sort of robust, fleshier, with more width compared to the fresher styles off stony alluvial sites. and I’ve got one here, the Auntsfield Nature Path 2024, which is all about kind of roasted herbs and flinty, smoky, sort of struck match savoriness. It’s a really impressive wine. Not obvious, but.

Susie: No, no. It’s also, I just want to mention here that Ansfield has possibly the longest winemaking history in the region. And Scotsman David Hurd planted a small Muscat vineyard here in 1873. it was for personal consumption and it petered out over time, so it doesn’t really count. But it’s a special property, quite emblematic in Marlborough. And a nice story, as is our final winery and wine of this segment, which is also from the Southern Valleys. Dog point Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Now, regular listeners will know this is one of our

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Susie: all time favourite wineries for many reasons, but mainly because their wines are so reliably fantastic. And this one is, is no exception. It is stunning. It’s packed full of I smoky, flinty, curry leaf aromas, perfectly judged, succulent fruit. You’ve got gooseberry, pink grapefruit, passion fruit and a salty, savoury, juicy finish. It lingers, it beguiles. it’s just sensational.

Peter: Yeah. You know, in my tasting note I wrote, it dances a merry jig on the palette, which is, of course utter nonsense.

Susie: It is fairly fun.

Peter: You know how enthusiastic I was.

Susie: You were quite. You were jigging, you were jigging around.

Peter: Anyway, you talked earlier, you know, about new wave Marlborough Sauvignon. You know, well, this for me is new wave Marlborough Sauvignon, or rather, you know, one expression of it. And it’s glorious. I defy anyone not to think that’s glorious. You know, anyone who loves Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé or frankly just white wine should try this.

Susie: Yeah. So we’ve touched on really quite a big range of stylistic diversity within Marlborough Sauvignon there, all illustrated by our interactive man. but brought to life in the glass by some serious producers doing, doing an excellent job. And of course, we’ve only just scratched the surface with a handful of wines, when in reality there are hundreds of different expressions, especially when you include things like Oak Sauvignon, Orange Sauvignon, Sweet Sauvignon, not to mention all the other varieties growing in more breath.

Peter: Yeah, there’ll be so much M to discover, isn’t there? On which note, you asked Ben a final few questions about his own wines, didn’t you? Specifically in relation to his Coterie, the winemaking hub or custom crush, which he set up to encourage innovation within Marlborough wines and also his, Zephyr wines.

Susie: Yeah, I couldn’t help it because I’d read something Ben had written saying he wanted to, and I quote, positively disrupt for the betterment and future relevance of our region. So I asked him, what was he aiming to disrupt?

Ben Glover: well, that sort of came around, around when a mate of mine, Ryan Waldman and I bought a winery, the Old Seresin Winery, and we renamed it the Coterie. And the Coterie is sort of a term that means a group of like minded people and that’s normally a disruptive group. And we’ve put that together to try and rip the beige quilt off Marlborough and show everyone that there’s actually some really smart wines coming out of Marlborough. Because it’s always a challenge in the marketplace when you’ve done so well for 20, 20 odd years. There’s a variety, you’re going to get some knockers and, you know, there’s going to be a bit of tall poppy. So it’s all about keeping things, fresh, invigorating, new, moving with the times, but making sure that what you’re taking to market is exceptional.

Susie: Talking of fresh and staying, on the subject of disruption, your Website describes your MK3 Zephyr Sauvignon Blanc as having not disruptive but corrupt acidity. Now I’m fascinated. What is corrupt acidity?

Ben Glover: that’s just a bit of poetic licence from me, to be honest. On the back label, if you take Marlborough as a region, it’s got fantastic acidity, even in its pinots. You know, great Pinot of Marlborough has lovely acid drive, then it has tannins and cherries. So the Mark 3 Sauvignon Blanc is just a different take on the more traditional style. Style and corrupt acidity is sort of bringing in savoury saline umami notes wound around the, the acid profile and the tension that, what, what drives that wine. So we’re really trying to get layers into it and also almost like it’s just a really good white wine. So almost not saying you’re removing it from being a varietal sauvignon, but it’s got a whole lot of other nuances going on. So it’s really trying to take that mindset that, oh, this is, I can I can put Sauvignon Blanc into a pigeonhole, and this is what it is. I’m trying to stretch it and really show off what else that variety can do.

Susie: Ben, thank you so much.

Ben Glover: No, thank you.

Peter: Ripping the beige quilt off Marlborough and, what a wonderful image. as for. As for corrupt acidity, you know, I.

Susie: Am all for that. Mulberry does have the naturally vibrant acidity, which can be a wonderful thing in wine. And I love what he’s trying to do in terms of weaving layers of complexity around that freshness, perhaps corrupting it in the process, but also making it much more fun and, and intriguing, which is, again, another hallmark of New wave Marlborough.

Peter: Yeah. Now, we did try a couple of his wines when we saw him, didn’t we? and were very impressed. Including that Zephyr mark III Sauvignon 2023, which has that wonderful flinty struck match. Ah. Nutty character and a really complex savoury palette. Just sort of stunning stuff.

Susie: Yeah, I mean, I absolutely loved that both when we tasted it then and also when I tasted the. The New Zealand New Releases tasting a few months back. It is so delicious.

Peter: I also, I also really quite liked his orange wine, which is called Agent with a bright

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Peter: orange label. Helpfully, you know, I’m m. Pretty cloudy liquid. You know, there’s no mistaking what that is. and then this sort of very biscuity orange wine character with really fine tannins. It’s quite a cool blend of Sauvignon Gewurts to me and Riesling.

Susie: So, yeah, I mean, yeah, he’s quite big into his Gewurz, isn’t he? And I think it’s something of a family. Family connection.

Peter: I also loved his Zephyr Chardonnay 2020. Really kind of nutty and appley and lazy. Wonderful stuff.

Susie: Now, we should just add before we finish on the subject of price. Good New Zealand wines are never cheap. This is a small wine industry in global terms without huge economies of scale. But we’d argue the best Marlborough present really good value for money, which is why we buy so much of them. Now, I did quiz Ben on this, asking him whether the. The net effect of AMW would be to raise the cost of the wines. But he said they weren’t in the business of driving prices up. Each brand survives on the basis of its quality, value, balance, and AMW doesn’t change that.

Peter: Yeah. He also said he was really looking forward to the day when the region started to have more demand and supply, which is, you know, I guess, of course, every wine region’s dream. But, yeah, know, I guess to do that you have to kind of set limits m. You know, in some regard, on the amount you. You make while also convincing the world it wants what you make.

Susie: Indeed. Yeah. Yeah.

Peter: Which I suppose is what they’re trying to do.

Susie: Yeah. Yeah. So, by way of closing summary, Appellation Marlborough Wine is an initiative aimed at safeguarding the enviable reputation the Marlborough region has built up for bright, expressive, immensely satisfying wines by following strict rules and promoting the very best of the region. AMW members a to showcase authenticity and integrity in their wines. They’ve also made a fun interactive map we can play around with that helps make sense of the increasingly diverse and nuanced styles coming out of Marlborough today.

Peter: So look out for that logo and have a play around with that map too. it’s all great fun. we’ll put a link to it on our show notes where you can also find all the details of the wines we’ve recommended. Thanks to Ben Glover and of course, thanks to you for listening. Until next time, cheers.

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