Marlborough, single-plot sauvignons and Pinot Noir
26 bouteilles, du sauvignon de la Wairau au pinot noir des Southern ValleysOne grape variety, four valleys, and wines that have nothing in common: that is what is at play at the northern tip of the South Island. The Wairau plain gives the broad, demonstrative Sauvignon that the whole world has copied. The Awatere terraces, higher and windier, make it saline and tight. The Southern Valleys, clay-rich and cool, tighten it further and give Pinot Noir its densest material.
Then there is the question of the winery: stainless-steel tank for purity of fruit, old barrels and native yeasts for texture. Both schools live side by side here, sometimes at the same grower's.
Blank Canvas - Settlement Vineyard 2020
A precise and elegant Marlborough Pinot Noir, where maritime freshness meets fruit depth.
Blank Canvas - Element Vineyard 2019
A precise and fresh New Zealand red, where the fruit's finesse meets the elegance of a maritime terroir.
The terroirs of Marlborough and their styles
The region comes down to two large valleys and a handful of side valleys. Each has its soil, its harvest date and its way of reading Sauvignon. Here are the districts the selection runs through, from north to south.
| La vallée | Sol et climat | Le sauvignon qui en sort | Un vin du rayon né là |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallée de la Wairau, la plaine centrale | Deep alluvial gravels on old riverbeds, fast drainage, the warmest afternoons in the region | Large et démonstratif : fruit de la passion, pamplemousse, bouche généreuse et fruit mûr | Blank CanvasHoldaway, 25,60 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6 |
| Rapaura et Renwick, le haut de la vallée | Rolled stones on the surface, thin and very free-draining soils, heat stored by day and given back at night | Mûr et rond, agrumes confits et fleur de sureau, une matière plus enveloppante | GreywackeWild Sauvignon Blanc, 36 € la bouteille, à l'unité |
| Basse Wairau, près de Blenheim et de la baie | Limons posés sur graviers, brises de la mer de Tasman, nuits nettement rafraîchies par l'océan | Contenu et texturé, agrumes frais, finale saline qui tient plus qu'elle ne claque | Seresin EstateSauvignon Blanc, 28,60 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6 |
| Southern Valleys, la vallée d'Omaka en tête | Argiles et limons sur terrasses anciennes, sols froids qui retiennent l'eau, maturité plus tardive | Serré, buis et ortie, acidité ferme, et c'est là que le pinot noir prend le relais | Blank CanvasEscaroth Vineyard, 43,60 € la bouteille, par lot de 3 |
| Awatere Valley, to the south-east, facing the open sea | Terraces of stones and loess, permanent sea wind, the coldest nights, harvest two weeks later | Le plus tendu : herbe coupée, citron vert, tomate verte, longue finale saline | Le contrepoint qui donne son nerf à un assemblage régional |
The Waihopai, a drier side valley, completes this relief and feeds many Marlborough blends. To follow the grape variety from one vineyard to the next, from the Loire Valley to Chile, head to the Sauvignon Blanc page; the Pinot Noir page does the same for the red that is rising here.
Ce que le chai fait au sauvignon blanc
Deux bouteilles nées à quelques rangs de distance peuvent tout changer selon ce qui se passe au chai. L'échelle ci-dessous va de la cuve inox la plus directe à la barrique la plus longue, et le prix suit le temps passé.
| La vinification | Ce que le verre y gagne | À quelle table | La bouteille repère |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vignes en biodynamie, pressurage doux, cuve inox | Le fruit à l'état pur : pamplemousse, fruit de la passion, bouche croquante et droite | Apéritif, huîtres, chèvre frais | Clos Henri Estate Sauvignon21 € la bouteille, à l'unité |
| Cuve inox, fermentation à basse température, élevage court | L'éclat variétal conservé tel quel, une bouche vive et nette, à boire jeune | Poissons de rivière, asperges, salades d'herbes | Blank Canvas Holdaway25,60 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6 |
| Grappes entières pressées, une part de levures indigènes, quatre mois d'inox | Breadth and a round texture, with melon and pear over the exotic fruit | Poissons grillés, cuisine thaïe, crudités | Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc26 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6 |
| Majorité d'inox, petite part de fûts neutres, élevage sur lies fines | La netteté variétale plus une profondeur discrète, la finale gagne en longueur | Coquillages, volaille froide, sushis | Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc22,90 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6 |
| Selection of the estate's best plots, sorted harvest | Ripe citrus and chiselled minerality, a palate built for the table | Saint-jacques, poisson en sauce blanche, comté jeune | Clos Henri Otira Sauvignon Blanc36 € la bouteille, par lot de 3 |
| Fermentation en vieilles barriques, puis huit mois de lies fines en cuve | Pêche, anis, fleur de sureau et thym citronné, une matière ample et une finale minérale | Volaille rôtie, risotto de printemps, poisson au four | Greywacke Wild Sauvignon36 € la bouteille, à l'unité |
| Vieilles vignes de parcelle unique, dix-huit mois en vieux fûts français | A smoky, spicy register, ripe citrus, a complexity that calls for ageing | Homard, poulet à la crème, fromages affinés | Dog Point Section 9438 € la bouteille, à l'unité |
| Grappes entières entonnées par gravité, levures indigènes en barrique, lies fines | La forme la plus texturée : le cépage passe derrière le vin, la bouche se fait dense | Poisson gras, viandes blanches, cuisine au beurre | Blank Canvas Abstract Three Rows39,80 € la bouteille, par lot de 3 |
The same reasoning applies to the local Chardonnay, generous in yellow fruit and held by a lively acidity: Seresin Estate offers it at €23.50 a bottle by the case of 6, Dog Point at €38 a bottle sold singly after eighteen months in barrel. The Chardonnay page allows the comparison, and New Zealand wines places the region back in its country.
A bottle for every mood
Ways into the region, from straight-talking Sauvignon to single-plot Pinot Noir.
Goûter le style régional
Le sauvignon de Marlborough en biodynamie, signé par une famille de vignerons de la Loire : pamplemousse, fruit de la passion, bouche droite.
Clos Henri Estate Sauvignon 2025 · 21 € la bouteille, à l'unitéDécouvrir un sauvignon de fût
Single plot of old vines, native yeasts and eighteen months in old French barrels. A smoky, spicy Sauvignon, cut out for the table.
Dog Point Section 94 2018 · 38 € la bouteille, à l'unitéMonter vers le parcellaire
The selection of the best plots from the same estate, a step above: ripe citrus, chiselled minerality, a palate built for the table.
Clos Henri Otira Sauvignon Blanc 2024 · 36 € la bouteille, par lot de 3Le pinot noir de la région
Argiles du sud de Marlborough, onze mois de fût français dont un tiers de neuf. Cerise noire, épices douces, tanins fins.
Greywacke Pinot Noir 2022 · 43 € la bouteille, à l'unitéA red for the week
Precise fruit, supple texture and maritime freshness, in a Pinot Noir from an organic estate that stays affordable for everyday drinking.
Seresin Momo Pinot Noir 2023 · 23,20 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6Sortir du sauvignon
Eighteen months in barrel, unctuous texture and vibrant acidity: Chardonnay shows the other face of the region's whites.
Dog Point Chardonnay 2022 · 38 € la bouteille, à l'unitéTenter la syrah de climat frais
Black cherry, violet and pepper, silky texture: at this latitude, Syrah plays finesse rather than power.
Blank Canvas Una Volta 2020 · 52,40 € la bouteille, par lot de 2Comparing the world's sauvignons
The grape variety followed from one vineyard to the next, from the Loire Valley to Chile, to place Marlborough's style among the others.
Page du rayon · Sauvignon blanc
Long days, cold nights
The aromatic intensity of these wines comes down to a simple sum. The region sits at the latitude of Burgundy, but the air is washed by the ocean and the light carries a long way: its summers are among the sunniest in the country, often more than two thousand four hundred hours over the year. The grapes then build up their aromatic precursors, the thiols that give passion fruit, box hedge and grapefruit.
Then night falls, cold air comes down from the mountains, and the thermometer drops by ten to fifteen degrees. That swing preserves the acidity instead of burning it up. The stones do the rest: they drain fast, limit vigour and send the heat back to the base of the vine.
Comment on choisit
Sur ce rayon, nous goûtons avant d'inscrire, et nous cherchons deux choses : un fruit net plutôt qu'un fruit criard, et une finale qui tienne encore à la deuxième gorgée. Un sauvignon de cuve peut réussir cet examen, une cuvée de barrique peut y échouer. Le prix suit la rareté de la parcelle et le temps passé au chai.
L'équipe du Baroudeur du Vin
Ce qu'on nous demande sur Marlborough
Pourquoi ces bouteilles partent-elles souvent par lot ou par caisse ?
The New Zealand estates we work with ship their cuvées in full cases, and we keep that format to hold the price per bottle down. The price shown on each listing is the price of one bottle, with the sales format right next to it. Several wines are still offered singly, notably from Dog Point, Greywacke and Clos Henri.
Are Shiraz and Syrah the same grape variety?
It is the same grape under two names: Australia says shiraz, France and New Zealand say syrah. The style changes more with the climate than with the word. Here, the freshness gives a peppery, floral wine, like Blank Canvas's Una Volta, €52.40 a bottle in packs of 2. The Syrah page brings both spellings together.
Qu'est-ce qui sépare la vallée de la Wairau de celle de l'Awatere ?
The Wairau is a broad gravel plain, sheltered and warm in the afternoon: it gives the exuberant Sauvignon that everyone knows. The Awatere opens further south, higher up and facing the open sea, with a permanent wind and genuinely cold nights. The harvest comes two weeks later there, and the wine turns out tauter, more herbal, more saline.
D'où vient l'intensité aromatique du sauvignon d'ici ?
From the gap between day and night. The summers are very bright, which loads the berry with thiols, the molecules behind passion fruit and box hedge. The cool nights, fed by mountain air and by the ocean, preserve the acidity. The stony soils drain fast and limit vigour, which concentrates the berry further.
Quelle différence entre un sauvignon de cuve et un sauvignon élevé en fût ?
Stainless-steel tank keeps the fruit as it is: varietal brightness, a crunchy palate, a bottle made to be drunk young. The barrel, especially an older one, brings texture, smoky notes and a broader palate, at the cost of less demonstrative fruit. The winemaking table ranges the wines in this section between those two poles.
Le pinot noir d'ici ressemble-t-il à celui de Central Otago ?
It plays in a lighter register. The maritime influence and the clays in the south of the region give reds with precise red fruit and silky tannins, ready earlier. The wines of Central Otago, born under a continental climate, gain in density and in spice. Both keep the acidity that is the country's signature.
Combien de temps se gardent ces bouteilles ?
A tank Sauvignon is drunk within its first three years, while the exotic fruit dominates. A barrel-fermented cuvée holds five to ten years and gains smoky notes. The single-plot pinot noirs and the barrel-aged chardonnays follow the same rhythm, with a quieter phase around the third year.
At what temperature should they be served?
Allow 10 °C for a tank Sauvignon, 12 °C for a barrel-aged cuvée or a Chardonnay, which needs a little warmth to deliver its texture. The pinot noirs like 15–16 °C, which means a good half-hour in the cold before serving. A large glass helps in every case.
Which dishes go with these wines?
A tank Sauvignon calls for oysters, fresh goat's cheese, raw vegetables and Thai cooking. A barrel cuvée prefers roast poultry, baked fish or a risotto. Chardonnay stands up to creamy sauces. The pinot noirs go with duck, grilled salmon and seasonal mushrooms.
Par quelle bouteille commencer ?
Start with Clos Henri's Estate Sauvignon, at €21 a bottle and available singly: it sets out the regional style in a single glass. Then open Greywacke's Wild Sauvignon, €36 a bottle sold singly, to gauge what the barrel brings to the same grape variety.