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Marlborough Wines

Known throughout the wine world for its production of Sauvignon Blanc, the Marlborough Wine Region is the most prolific of all wine producing areas in New Zealand. It is located in the northeast corner of the South Island and accounts for over 60% of the country’s grape production. Here, the soils are generally composed of sandy, alluvial loam and gravel, which provide excellent drainage and helps to limit Sauvignon Blanc’s vine vigor. The particular mix of soils combined with the daytime sun and significantly cooler nights create Sauvignon Blanc with intense acidity, vivid citrus and tropical fruit as well as a distinct herbaceous quality. Pinot Noir is also a popular variety in Marlborough, producing lighter-styled wines with bright cherry, raspberry and mineral notes. For a detailed list of all the top rated and best buy selections be sure to take a look at our Marlborough Wine Guide.

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Villa Maria 2001 Clifford Bay Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)

Price $29

Opens with a powerful explosion of lime, grass, gooseberry and apple aromas. In the mouth, it shows the fantastic concentration and extraction of an atom bomb, yet it’s balanced, complex and harmonious. It’s quite dry, with extraordinarily high acidity. — S.H. (11/15/2002)

Wairau River 1999 Reserve Botrytised Riesling (Marlborough)

Editors' Choice

Price $24

Simply gorgeous. This honeyed, apricot-laden, rich, plush dessert wine is balanced by zippy acidity and leaves the palate fresh, clean and satiated. Peach, orange and nectarine flavors add interest. Complex. — J.M. (12/1/2002)

Villa Maria 2007 Clifford Bay Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)

Editors' Choice
Online Exclusive

Price $31

Nearly always one of New Zealand’s top Sauvignons, this wine makes a big, bold statement. Aromas are herbal and leafy, with undertones of tomato and nettles, but buffered by gooseberries and minerality. It’s rich and weighty on the palate, with a creamy texture that brings ripe stone fruit flavors to the fore. Long and mouthcoating on the finish. — J.C. (7/1/2008)

Villa Maria 2006 Clifford Bay Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)

Editors' Choice

Price $27

This is supremely perfumed, almost pungent in its intensity, with plenty of presence on the palate and bold flavors of peach, pineapple and complex layers of herbaceousness. Despite its power and weight, it remains surprisingly elegant on the long finish. — W.E. (7/1/2007)

Kim Crawford 1999 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)

Best Buy

Price $15

This New Zealand wine was 25% barrel fermented, which gives added complexity to already intense herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc fruit tending toward gooseberries and lime. The finish is long and layered with echoes of opening fruit. — L.W. (4/1/2000)

Villa Maria 2009 Taylors Pass Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)

Editors' Choice

Price $25

This terrific Sauvignon Blanc is marked by slightly pungent notes of green tomato or crushed tomato leaf, seamlessly married to smooth, ripe, tropical fruit. It’s a bit creamy in texture, almost lush, with a long, mouthcoating finish. — J.C. (12/15/2010)

Seresin 2005 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)

Editors' Choice

Price $21

Seresin, under the capable guidance of winemaker Brian Bicknell, continues to turn out exemplary Sauvignon Blanc. The 2005 is a great success, boasting sexy aromas of ripe peaches, gooseberries and pink grapefruit, all touched with a hint of honey. Nectarine and pink grapefruit flavors seem made for each other on the plump but not soft palate, while the finish… — J.C. (11/1/2006)

Seresin 2005 Chardonnay (Marlborough)

Editors' Choice

Price $22

Lush on the palate, with a silky-creamy texture that’s to die for, this is New World Chardonnay all the way, but it’s so seductive you might forgive its lack of minerality. Honeyed peach flavors easily carry touches of smoky oak into a long, luscious finish. No point in waiting for this to open up; drink now–2007. — J.C. (11/1/2006)

Most Reviewed Varietals [All]

Bordeaux-style Red Blend Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay Gewürztraminer Italian Red Merlot Pinot Grigio/Gris Pinot Noir Riesling Rosé Sauvignon Blanc Shiraz/Syrah Sparkling

Most Reviewed Producers [All]

3 Stones Alana Estate Allan Scott Ara Auntsfield Awatere River Babich Barker's Marque Belmonte Bird Bladen Blind River Blocks Bouldervines Brancott Cairnbrae Cameron Hughes Cape Campbell Caroline Bay Catalina Sounds Charles Wiffen Chasing Venus Churton Clayridge Clifford Bay Estate Clos Marguerite Cloudy Bay Coopers Creek Corbans Courtney's Post Craggy Range Croney Estates Crossroads Crowded House Cupcake Dashwood Davis Family Delta Vineyard Discovery Dog Point Domaine Georges Michel Drylands Dyed-In-The-Wool eco.love Elstree Eradus Fairhall Downs Fauna Firstland Forefathers Forrest Forrest Estate Foxes Island Framingham Freefall Frenzy Fromm Winery Giesen Glazebrook Goldwater Goose Bay Gravitas Greywacke Grove Mill Gunn Estate Harbor Town Herzog Highfield Estate House of Nobilo Huia Hunter's Isabel Estate Jackson Estate Jawbone Jules Taylor Kaikoura Kathy Lynskey Kato Kennedy Point Ketu Bay Kim Crawford Kirkland Signature Kono Konrad Konrad & Conrad Koura Bay Kumeu River Lake Chalice Lawson's Dry Hills LeGrys Lobster Reef Long Boat Lynskeys Wairau Peaks Main Divide Mana Marisco Vineyards Marlborough Wines Martin's Rake Matua Valley Maven Mohua Momo Monkey Bay Morworth Estate Mount Cass Mount Fishtail Mount Nelson Mount Riley Mount Vernon Mud House Mud House Wine Company Mussel Bay Nautilus Neudorf New Z Land Newhaven Ngatarawa Nick Goldschmidt No 1 Family Estate Nobilo Obviously Omaka Springs Opawa Oriel Origin Otto's Constant Dream Otuwhero Overstone Oyster Bay Palliser Estate Paua Rock Pheasant Grove Piko Ponga Punga Cove Ra Nui Rabbit Ranch Rain Rebecca Salmond Red Hill (NZ) Redcliffe Riparian River Ford Sacred Hill Saint Clair Sanctuary Satellite Sauvignon Republic Saveé Sea Selaks Sentinel Seresin Seven Terraces Shepherds Ridge Sherwood Estate Shingle Peak Sileni Silver Beach Silver Birch Sineann Smythe & Renfield Southbank Estate Spring Creek Estate Spy Valley St. Lukes Staete Landt Starborough Steely Dan Stoneleigh Sunshine Bay Terrace Heights Estate Terrace Road Terroir Thatched Hut The Crossings The Jibe The Red Square Thornbury Ti Point Tiki Sound Tohu Tom Eddy Torlesse Trinity Hill Trout Valley Tupari Twin Islands Two Tails Vavasour Vidal Villa Maria Wairau River Whitehaven Wild Rock Wither Hills Yealands Zeal Zenith

2009 Coghlan Diopside

While the texture of this Pinot is silky and light, it’s dramatic in…

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