Margrain Martinborough Chenin Blanc 2019

Description

• Off-dry style
• Kaffir lime & nutmeg
• Salted butter
• Kick-ass acidity

The wine shouts pure power as it slews sideways out of the glass and punches you right on the nose. Fresh squeezed grapefruit and kaffir lime leaf dominate while honeydew and barley sugar sweep warm, wet and scurrilous from beneath to give a curly and almost overbearing edge. Hints of manuka honey, passion flower and hoya bella swirl around the periphery mixed with Cape gooseberry, salted butter and a touch of grated nutmeg. The palate is a dynastic power play between the rich silky sweetness and a trebuchet of kick-ass acidity. Searching and statemental, the wine carries its 15g/l of residual sweetness with the crystal clarity of a bell bird belting out a haunting dawn chorus as day breaks deep in the bush. Lemon sorbet, firm fleshed nectarine and wild gooseberry add a smorgasbord of excitement while chopped nuts, treacle tart and pear and amaretto flambé add palpable mouthfeel. There is a lively playfulness that sends shivers scampering up and down the tongue as it discovers hidden thickets of flavour while an oily texture and flinty structure give the overriding impression of fullness and power.

At one time the mainstay of New Zealand’s bag-in-box wine “culture”, Chenin Blanc lost popularity and by the Millennium only a few pockets of the variety remained around the country. At about this time, Margrain inherited one of these small blocks and set about working with the immense fruit weight and inherent torrent of acidity to create something of a cult wine.

A cool wet flowering period in early December failed to upset the ever-hardy Chenin vines and the late season heat combined with a beautiful harvest period meant these late-ripening grapes were picked in superb condition.

Food Pairing: Try a glass with a simple roast chicken atop a bed of creamy cauliflower puree.