Vins de Nouvelle-Zélande : sauvignon vif et pinot noir
53 bouteilles, du sauvignon de Marlborough au pinot noir de Central OtagoA white that smells of citrus and passion fruit, a straight acidity, a clean fruit: that is what Sauvignon has brought the world in forty years, from one valley on the South Island. This section starts there, then goes further.
The pinot noirs take over next, from Martinborough to Central Otago, with tight, fresh reds that hold the table. Alongside come barrel-aged chardonnays, dry rieslings and a few peppery syrahs, carried by Dog Point, Felton Road, Escarpment and Ata Rangi.
Kusuda - Syrah 2021
A Martinborough Syrah of great precision, combining freshness, finesse and aromatic depth.
Kusuda - Pinot Noir 2022
A highly precise Pinot Noir from Martinborough, combining purity of fruit, freshness and fine texture.
Kusuda - Dry Riesling 2023
A dry and crystalline New Zealand Riesling, where sharp freshness meets aromatic precision of great purity.
Ways into the New Zealand section
Six bouteilles et deux pistes de cépage, du premier sauvignon au pinot noir de garde.
Goûter le style de Marlborough
An estate farmed biodynamically on the stones of the Wairau, by a family from Sancerre: citrus, white flowers and a straight acidity.
Clos Henri Vineyard Estate Sauvignon 2025 · 21 € la bouteille, à l'unitéUn sauvignon de gastronomie
Native-yeast fermentation and ageing in older barrels: a creamy, long palate, a world away from the exuberance you might expect.
Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc 2018 · 38 € la bouteille, à l'unitéGetting into the country's Pinot Noir
Cherry, sweet spice and supple tannin, from vines farmed biodynamically in Marlborough. The midweek red that sets out the New Zealand style.
Seresin Estate Momo Pinot Noir 2023 · 23,20 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6Le pinot noir de Central Otago en référence
Culture biodynamique à Bannockburn, fruit noir profond, salinité et tanin fin. La bouteille qui explique la réputation de la région.
Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2023 · 69 € la bouteille, à l'unitéUne syrah poivrée et fraîche
Loin de la puissance australienne : violette, poivre blanc et fruit tendu, sur un tanin fin. La syrah façon climat maritime.
Blank Canvas Una Volta 2020 · 52,40 € la bouteille, par lot de 2Un rouge de repas à la bordelaise
Merlot and cabernets on the gravels of Hawke's Bay, from the oldest estate in the country: blackcurrant, cedar and polished tannin.
Te Mata Estate Merlot Cabernets 2020 · 21,90 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6Comparer le pinot d'un continent à l'autre
The grape variety page brings together the burgundies, the pinots of Otago, of Oregon and of elsewhere: the same grape, read by opposite climates.
Page du rayon · Pinot noirSuivre la piste du sauvignon
From the Loire Valley to Marlborough, the grape variety page ranks the styles, from flinty whites to the exotic fruit of the antipodes.
Page du rayon · Sauvignon blanc
Où pousse la vigne néo-zélandaise
Le vignoble s'étire sur mille six cents kilomètres du nord au sud, ce qui revient à couvrir la distance de Bordeaux à Athènes. La latitude descend jusqu'au quarante-cinquième parallèle sud, plus loin vers le pôle que tout autre vignoble commercial.
| Région | L'île et le climat | Cépage roi | The style in the glass |
|---|---|---|---|
| MarlboroughLe berceau du sauvignon moderne | South Island, northern tip, very sunny and windy | Sauvignon blanc | Agrume, fruit de la passion, acidité tranchante |
| Martinborough et WairarapaTerrasses caillouteuses au sud de l'île du Nord | Île du Nord, vents du détroit de Cook, faibles pluies | Pinot noir | Pinot serré, épicé, tanin ferme, garde longue |
| Central OtagoLe vignoble le plus austral de la planète | South Island, inland, semi-continental climate | Pinot noir | Cerise noire, thym, matière dense et fruit éclatant |
| Hawke's Bay | North Island, east coast, Gimblett gravels | Chardonnay, syrah et cépages bordelais | Fruit mûr, poivre noir, textures rondes |
| Gisborne | Île du Nord, à l'est, doux et humide | Chardonnay | Blanc souple, fruits exotiques, bouche large |
| Waipara et North Canterbury | South Island, sheltered by the Teviotdale hills | Riesling et pinot noir | Blancs tendus et citronnés, rouges parfumés |
Barely twenty kilometres of sea separate the two islands, and yet the styles stand apart in the glass: aromatic whites dominate south of the strait, reds for the table to the north. On the other side of the Tasman Sea, two thousand kilometres away, the neighbouring vineyard plays a completely different card, that of heat and old ungrafted vines: see Australian wines.
The faces of Sauvignon according to the cellar
The version that travelled the world is still the best known: stainless-steel tank, selected yeasts, exuberant aromas. For twenty years now, the same growers have been drawing far broader terroir wines from it, mainly by changing what happens after the harvest.
| La vinification | What it changes in the glass | À table | Quand l'ouvrir |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuve inox, levures sélectionnées, récolte précoce | Agrume, fruit de la passion, buis, attaque tranchante | Huîtres, chèvre frais, asperge verte | Within two years, at 8 °C |
| Plusieurs parcelles assemblées, récolte échelonnée | Fruit plus large, milieu de bouche étoffé, finale douce | Poisson grillé, salade thaïe, sushis | Deux à trois ans, à 9 degrés |
| Fermentation en levures indigènes | Aromatique plus sourde, bouche saline, amertume noble | Volaille pochée, légumes rôtis, poireau vinaigrette | Trois à cinq ans, à 10 degrés |
| Élevage en fût ancien, bâtonnage sur lies fines | Texture crémeuse, fumée discrète, longueur en bouche | Saint-jacques, risotto de printemps, volaille à la crème | Cinq ans et plus, à 11 degrés |
| Parcelle unique, vieilles vignes, rendement limité | Fruit resserré, tension minérale, allonge saline | Sole meunière, turbot rôti, comté jeune | Cinq à huit ans, à 10 degrés |
| Long séjour en bouteille avant la mise en vente | Le fruit de la passion vire au coing, à la cire et au miel | Poulet rôti, fromages à pâte pressée | À partir de la cinquième année, à 11 degrés |
The two extremes of this table are worth tasting side by side: a tank Sauvignon and a cuvée fermented with native yeasts then aged in barrel, such as Dog Point's Section 94 or Blank Canvas's Reed Vineyard. The Sauvignon Blanc page brings the variety together from one end of the world to the other, from the Loire Valley to Marlborough.
Ce que l'océan fait au raisin
The sea is never far, a hundred and thirty kilometres at most, and that alone explains the style of the country. The sea air keeps the nights cool while the long, very bright days push the ripening on. The grapes ripen slowly, keep their acidity and develop clean aromas.
Hence a signature you can recognise anywhere: a bright fruit set on a lively acidity. It holds for Sauvignon as much as for Pinot Noir, and it explains how easy these bottles are to drink. Central Otago is the exception, sheltered by the Southern Alps: its climate leans continental, with sharper swings between day and night.
Comment on choisit
Nous goûtons chaque cuvée avant de l'inscrire, et deux points décident : la netteté du fruit et la tenue de la finale. Sur le sauvignon, un vin qui crie l'arôme puis retombe aussitôt reste au vestiaire. Sur le pinot noir, nous cherchons un tanin fin et une fraîcheur qui relance la bouche, plutôt que la puissance.
L'équipe du Baroudeur du Vin
What people ask us about New Zealand wines
Pourquoi ces vins se vendent-ils souvent par lot ou par caisse ?
New Zealand estates ship from the other side of the world, and the full case keeps the price tight despite the distance. The price shown on each listing is always the price of one bottle, with the sales format right next to it. Part of the selection remains available singly, from Clos Henri, Dog Point, Ata Rangi or Felton Road.
Are Shiraz and Syrah the same grape variety?
Yes, they are two names for a single grape. Australia says shiraz and pushes the variety towards power, candied black fruit and liquorice. New Zealand says syrah and looks for freshness, pepper and violet, as in the northern Rhône. It all comes together on the Syrah page.
Qu'est-ce qui fait le goût du sauvignon de Marlborough ?
Very strong sunshine, cold nights and stony soils laid down by the Wairau river. That combination pushes the grapes to produce sulphur compounds and thiols, responsible for the notes of passion fruit, box hedge and gooseberry. The Marlborough page sets out the valley and its sub-zones.
Pinot de Martinborough ou pinot de Central Otago, lequel choisir ?
The first, on its wind-swept gravel terraces, gives a tight, spicy wine with a firm tannin that calls for red meat. The second, sheltered from the rain by the Southern Alps, leans towards black cherry and thyme, with more flesh. See Martinborough and Central Otago.
Pourquoi tant de capsules à vis sur ces bouteilles ?
The producers of the country switched to this closure en masse in the early 2000s, after years of cork taint on wines exported a very long way. The result proved them right: the fruit stays fresh for longer, the ageing unfolds consistently, and the bottle opens by hand.
Combien de temps se garde un pinot noir néo-zélandais ?
The entry-level cuvées are best drunk within their first five years, on the fruit. The single-plot selections from Martinborough and Bannockburn easily hold ten years, sometimes longer: their acidity and their fine tannin carry them. The wine often closes up around the third year, then opens again on notes of forest floor.
À quelle température servir ces vins ?
Allow 8–9 °C for a tank Sauvignon, 10–11 °C for a barrel-aged version or a Chardonnay, which would lose their texture if served too cold. The pinot noirs are served at 14–16 °C, the syrahs at 16 °C. A quarter of an hour in a decanter benefits the reds built for ageing.
What is the difference with Australian wines?
Two thousand kilometres of ocean and a considerable difference in climate. Australia works warm terroirs, vines that are sometimes a century old and ungrafted, and signs generous reds. The New Zealand antipodes bank on maritime freshness, aromatic precision and acidity. The two sections compare well: see Australian wines.
Where to start in this section?
Take a tank Sauvignon at around twenty euros a bottle, then a version fermented with native yeasts and aged in barrel: those two glasses sum up how the country has moved on. Then go to Pinot Noir, with an entry-level cuvée from Martinborough. The Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir pages carry the comparison further.