Winemaker Notes
The bouquet is complex, alluring and has scents of autolysis with baked goods and oats. The fruit aromas include white and yellow peach, baked apple and citrus.
A fine mousse and bold acidity, fine leesy after taste, lengthy dry finish. Complex, slight savory appeal, mealy textures and flavors that reflect the nose.
Varietal Composition: 60% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, 5% Pinot Meunier
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Creamy and complex, with ripe nectarines, brioche, pastry and subtle almonds on the nose. The medium-bodied palate is sharp and vertical, with zippy acidity slicing through. The bubbles are fine and vibrant. Very fresh, focused and nicely done.
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Vinous
The three Champagne varieties combine in the non-vintage No. 1 Assemblé, creating a light-bodied yet supple sparkling wine with a fine bead. It offers sweet apple-like flavors, citrus and a delicate lees-derived pastry-like note on the lively finish.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
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.