Now I start this thread as a passionate wine drinker.
Coming from Nelson I have very fond memories of wonderful afternoons being spent at Neudorf or Ruby Bay.
The frequent treks across to Marlborough were such a pleasure I still dream about them, the return trips a wee bit hazier than the trip over .
Having left NZ close to 25 years ago and moving to Japan where I lived for several years and, yep meeting a beautiful Japanese girl along the way I always hankered for NZ wine.
Now just as my missus taught me the delights and subtlety of a good bottle of sake so did I teach her about the "GRAPE"
We returned to NZ in the early '90s prior to a move to Aussie however those trips to Neudorf and Marlborough still linger.
In fact we still talk about a stunning Chardonnay from Waipara. Loved it and had a case sent over.
However of late we have noticed that the Marlborough Sav Blancs no longer have that 'zing ' about them. We have tried the usual reliable brands, Oyster Bay/Stoneleigh etcetc. A Brancott sampled the other night quite simply didn't get finished so poor was it- a rare event indeed in our household.
Recently the missus said to me, these wines no longer taste like traditional Marlborough Sav/blancs and I have to admit she is right.
So what’s happening with our beloved drop. Have the soils been exhausted? Or are they making substandard wines elsewhere, blending them with Marlborough wines and trying to pass them off as straight Marlborough wines? Are they straight out labelling wines made in other regions as being Marlborough because they know that it will get a higher price?
Who knows, what I do know is that they are still charging premium prices for 'sub-premium' wines.
Coming from Nelson I have very fond memories of wonderful afternoons being spent at Neudorf or Ruby Bay.
The frequent treks across to Marlborough were such a pleasure I still dream about them, the return trips a wee bit hazier than the trip over .
Having left NZ close to 25 years ago and moving to Japan where I lived for several years and, yep meeting a beautiful Japanese girl along the way I always hankered for NZ wine.
Now just as my missus taught me the delights and subtlety of a good bottle of sake so did I teach her about the "GRAPE"
We returned to NZ in the early '90s prior to a move to Aussie however those trips to Neudorf and Marlborough still linger.
In fact we still talk about a stunning Chardonnay from Waipara. Loved it and had a case sent over.
However of late we have noticed that the Marlborough Sav Blancs no longer have that 'zing ' about them. We have tried the usual reliable brands, Oyster Bay/Stoneleigh etcetc. A Brancott sampled the other night quite simply didn't get finished so poor was it- a rare event indeed in our household.
Recently the missus said to me, these wines no longer taste like traditional Marlborough Sav/blancs and I have to admit she is right.
So what’s happening with our beloved drop. Have the soils been exhausted? Or are they making substandard wines elsewhere, blending them with Marlborough wines and trying to pass them off as straight Marlborough wines? Are they straight out labelling wines made in other regions as being Marlborough because they know that it will get a higher price?
Who knows, what I do know is that they are still charging premium prices for 'sub-premium' wines.