Grove Mill Chardonnay 2008
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1998-
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Established in 1988 by a group of local winegrowers, Grove Mill crafts wines that reflect the best of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley with minimal environmental impact. Their winemaking practices – from establishing a wetland which protects southern bell frogs to its landmark 2006 carbon-neutral certification – protect the nearby Wairau River, which is at the heart of Marlborough’s largest sub-region.
Since their first plantings in 1988 Grove Mill has continued to pioneer vineyard management techniques. They utilize natural and sensitive vineyard practices to enhance the regional character of our wines, which foster and further develop the unique Grove Mill style.
In 2017 winemaker Greg Lane joined Grove Mill, and was subsequently named New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year in 2018. Greg continues to drive and define the style of Grove Mill’s wines – balanced, modern styles of Marlborough wine that give a clear representation of our fantastic vineyard sites.
To produce a Sauvignon Blanc that reflects the Wairau’s diversity of terroirs, they source fruit from multiple home vineyard and premier sites throughout the valley floor and foothills. The resulting spectrum of flavors creates a truly multi-dimensional expression of the Wairau: pure, tropical and passion fruit flavors and aromas with a weighty, layered palate and long, generous finish. These are wines to enjoy today, from a place Grove Mill is safeguarding for future generations.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.