Matt Thomson14 September 2009
Had an interesting tasting and lunch with Matt Thomson yesterday in the private room of Vinoteca (St John Street, London, EC1M. Tel: 020 7253 8786). Matt is the winemaker for Saint Clair based in Marlborough, New Zealand. They make some of the best New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and their Pinot Noirs are not bad either, as they showed yesterday.
Matt said some interesting things about Sauvignon Blanc. He confirmed that it used a lot of nitrogen. He also said that it was the one variety that shouldn't be water stressed. "If it gets stressed, it loses all its character," said Matt. It will be interesting to see if this applies this year to any Loire Sauvignon Blanc grown where it has been very dry in 2009.
We tasted three of the Saint Clair Block Sauvignon Blancs – Block 1, 3 and 20. All different, showing that even within quite small distances there are marked differences in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Matt and some of his guests thought that Block 1 with its pungent, grassy, gooseberry and long mineral character was very like a Sancerre. On reflection I felt it was probably more akin to a Touraine Sauvignon from the Cher Valley. The final Sauvignon Blanc was the intense 2009 Wairau Reserve, coming from vines close to Block 1 – gooseberry, grassy, flinty minerality – Matt found passion fruit – well balanced and long. A blend of two blocks this was the most complete Sauvignon we tasted. Recommended retail price of £18.99 and available from Noel Young Wines, Hailsham Cellars and Taylor's Fine Wines.
Mat confirmed once again that success with Pinot Noir is very site dependent. "If planted on alluvial soils Pinot Noir is a disaster – a spectacular failure, although Sauvignon Blanc works well on them. The Pinot is impossible to manage producing large grapes without flavour. We have now pulled all the Pinot Noir out from alluvial soils and plant further south on clay."
We tried three 2007 Pinot Noirs from Block 5, 14 and 15. By general consent Block 14 (Doctor's Creek), one of the blocks owned by Neal and Judy Ibbotson, was the preferred wine judged to be the most complex and harmonious. Block 14 has a recommended retail price of £17.99 and is available in the UK through Fintry Wines, Essex; Wimbledon Wine Cellar; and New Zealand House of Wines.
Click here to view a very relaxed picture of Matt's boss, Neal Ibbotson, at the Saint Clair winery, at the end of this posting.
We tasted three of the Saint Clair Block Sauvignon Blancs – Block 1, 3 and 20. All different, showing that even within quite small distances there are marked differences in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Matt and some of his guests thought that Block 1 with its pungent, grassy, gooseberry and long mineral character was very like a Sancerre. On reflection I felt it was probably more akin to a Touraine Sauvignon from the Cher Valley. The final Sauvignon Blanc was the intense 2009 Wairau Reserve, coming from vines close to Block 1 – gooseberry, grassy, flinty minerality – Matt found passion fruit – well balanced and long. A blend of two blocks this was the most complete Sauvignon we tasted. Recommended retail price of £18.99 and available from Noel Young Wines, Hailsham Cellars and Taylor's Fine Wines.
Mat confirmed once again that success with Pinot Noir is very site dependent. "If planted on alluvial soils Pinot Noir is a disaster – a spectacular failure, although Sauvignon Blanc works well on them. The Pinot is impossible to manage producing large grapes without flavour. We have now pulled all the Pinot Noir out from alluvial soils and plant further south on clay."
We tried three 2007 Pinot Noirs from Block 5, 14 and 15. By general consent Block 14 (Doctor's Creek), one of the blocks owned by Neal and Judy Ibbotson, was the preferred wine judged to be the most complex and harmonious. Block 14 has a recommended retail price of £17.99 and is available in the UK through Fintry Wines, Essex; Wimbledon Wine Cellar; and New Zealand House of Wines.
Click here to view a very relaxed picture of Matt's boss, Neal Ibbotson, at the Saint Clair winery, at the end of this posting.
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