Winemaker Notes
There is something truly remarkable about young vine Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and therefore Clos Henri wanted to create a wine to showcase this vibrant expression. The Petit Clos Sauvignon Blanc is intensely refreshing and juicy with concentrated bright fruit flavors. Hints of minerality come through, giving a taste of the wine’s Clos Henri origins and the Bourgeois family winegrowing style.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is superb. Perfectly played, subtle complexity, flinty notes, lime and lemon citrus and a neatly cut, seamless palate with impressive flavor, freshness and length.
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Decanter
Intriguing bouquet of wild flowers, tropical and herb moments. Engaging textures, zippy and intense with smoky notes. Complex and attractive.
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Wine Enthusiast
The latest Petit Clos release from this French-owned and operated organic winery is bursting with tropical and citrus fruits enveloped in a wreath of flint, salt and nuts. Solidly medium in body, the Clos Henri stamp of taut acidity, textural weight and stoney minerality are all there, concluding with a long, salty finish.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
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.