2023 Marlborough Best End Sauvignon Blanc Churton Marlborough New Z...

New Zealand's answer to Napa Valley, Marlborough accounted for 47 percent of the country's vines in 2006, despite being home to just 20 percent of the nation’s 530 wineries. Around 76 percent of the vineyards are planted with Sauvignon Blanc. The region is also home to New Zealand’s small sparkling-wine industry, using the traditional method to vinify Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Born and raised in the UK, Sam Weaver became involved in the wine business in London for about ten years before moving to New Zealand. After working as a consultant for many wineries, he and his wife Mandy founded **Churton** in 1997. The name "Churton" comes from the affectionate nickname of the village in Shropshire, England, where Sam grew up. With a background handling fine wines in London (his first job was at Berry Bros. & Rudd!), Sam sought European-style subtlety and expression in wine. To achieve this, he prioritized location above all else. Rather than purchasing flat land in the valley, where over 90% of Marlborough wineries are situated at altitudes of 0-30 meters, he bought land at an elevation of 200 meters with rolling hills. First, he planted Pinot Noir on the highest east-facing slopes, and Sauvignon Blanc on the northeast-facing (southeast in the Southern Hemisphere) hillsides. He believes that it is only on such varied terrain, like that of Burgundy or Champagne, that you can cultivate grapes with rich nuance.

An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves.

It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.

In New Zealand, Cloudy Bay in the 1980s began producing stunning Sauvignon Blanc wines with extraordinarily intense nettly, gooseberry, and asparagus fruit, that set Marlborough firmly on the world wine map. Today many producers are rivalling Cloudy Bay in terms of quality and Sauvignon Blanc is now New Zealand`s trademark grape.

It is now grown very successfully in Chile producing wines that are almost halfway between the Loire and New Zealand in terms of fruit character. After several false starts, many South African producers are now producing very good quality, rounded fruit-driven Sauvignon Blancs.