It is my last shift at Vic Road Wine Bar & Cellar when I get to catch up with Richard Ellis of The Marlborist. He and I have a history of just missing each other. The first time I caught up with Greywacke, I had been due to see Rich there, but in the time between making the appointment and travelling down there, he’d left. I saw Kevin (and Rochelle, on her first day) of course. And it’s not the first time Rich has been to the Devonport store, but it is the first time that I’ve been there at the same time!
Rich tells me a few stories about his journey to making wine at The Marlborist, but promises we’ll catch up next time I’m down in the South island – so we’ll keep those tales for a full-blown exposé after that. Today, we’ll concentrate on the wines in the range, including what he promises to be “an evolution of Chardonnay”.
We start with The Marlborist Grande Sauvignon 2023. It’s a wine that seems to have arrived from somewhere other than Marlborough – which is odd given the label. I would look at Sancerre as a reference point, but it does have that signature New Zealand juiciness as a counterpoint. It shows a youthful brio in the bouquet of grapefruit, pea pod, lemongrass, dried pineapple, pepper and elderflower florals. A salty acidity gives a lovely tonic-like tang to the palate that balances well with the soft baking spice note from the barrel ferment and lees-influences. Things slow at the back of the palate – a wooly texture leans into a finish which has excellent length.
I’m keen to try the three vintages of The Marlborist Chardonnay that Rich has brought along. I was one of the first to taste their debut of this wine, and it was quite a puzzle. I reviewed it – the 2020 – a couple of years after that initial encounter, here > www.winefolio.co.nz/?p=10800. We work backwards from the current The Marlborist Chardonnay 2023 vintage. A fleshy perfume shows apple, grapefruit, pear and peach. The palate is rich but not power-packed or intense, with a classic, clean ‘fine wine’ sense to it. I don’t notice the oak here and the overall elegance and harmony is impressive.
Cutting to The Marlborist Chardonnay 2022, there is an immediate change of pace, with an immediate stony, reductive, smoky and flinty edge to the nose. This is what put me off that 2020 at first look – but here the dial has been turned down and the effect is less distracting – quite burgundian actually. A balance of sharp citrus is balanced by warmer flavours of lemon honey, baking spice and quince. Acidity gives a good drive of linear energy through the palate, staying tight and focussed into a finish where that spice really makes a mark.
I was promised an evolution, and, indeed, The Marlborist Chardonnay 2021 does paint a different picture again. Perhaps the richest of the trio, with a hazelnut, vanilla and cardamom lead on the aromas. White peach, golden apple, lemon and just a wisp of wood smoke. Perhaps the most ‘classic New Zealand style’ as well – ripe and juicy with a creamy texture. It has been a week of Chardonnay, and this does not disappoint or look out of place.
There is one red wine – The Marlborist Pinot Noir 2023. A mid-depth opaque ruby colour with a decently spicy nose (hints of whole bunch winemaking?). I get star anise, cedar, tar, pencil shavings and rose petals in the perfume – as well as lashings of red cherry fruit. There is some tannin but the palate is soft and quite ethereal. The red fruit is very pretty, deepened by a minerality like iron earth and that tar note returns – something like a nebbiolo comes to mind. The finish has a return to spice, and a definite sour cherry flavour comes through.
