Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Tasting Notes

Whitehaven, started in 1995 by owners Greg and Sue White and winemaker Simon Waghorn, is a relatively small company operating in a land known for huge industrial wine operations. The natural temptation would be to go with the flow and keep to the prevalent Marlborough paradigm, but Waghorn is no blatant imitator. “We think our Sauvignon Blanc has all the merits of the classic crisp Marlborough style,” he writes, but also brings a little extra to the table—a more complex set of aromas, and a little more substance to the palate.”

I agree with Waghorn as much as I applaud his succinctness. The 2007 Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is marketed in the United States by Gallo; 75,000 cases are imported at a suggested retail of $22. The wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc entirely sourced from Marlborough's Wairau and Awatere Valleys. 2007 was a cooler than normal growing season. Cold-fermented in stainless steel, the juice is lees-aged three weeks after fermentation to promote a rounder, less aggressive mouthfeel than the type one usually associates with Marlborough.

The wine is light straw in color with excellent clarity; when light dances across the glass it adds tones of yellow and light green. The nose first brings gooseberry and some very fresh lemon, then layers on peach, pear and honeydew melon, white flowers and a tingle of spiciness. Yes there is an herbaceous element—fresh-cut grass—but it is rounded and well integrated. On the palate the wine brings further aromatics and a palpable tropical touch: pineapple, grapefruit and papaya, with a range of citrus: lime, lemon, and orange zest. A shade sweeter than bone dry, the wine is medium-bodied, with a good mouth-feel that is complemented by the array of fruit and the excellent manner in which all the elements hold together. The acidity works diligently through all the phases of this wine, punctuating a long, clean, fruit-filled finish with a dash of equally clean minerality. The breadth of elements I have just mentioned may lead to the idea that the wine travels in multiple and perhaps inconsistent directions, but this is not the case; the Whitehaven has a clear dramatic structure, is especially well-balanced, and is an easy wine to drink without all the fuss I've just put it through.

Is it a coincidence, or does the aggressive “punch” I and others often associate with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc have anything to do with the region's namesake, John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough (victor in the battle of Blenheim in 1704) or to his better-known descendent Winston, who was born on the family's Blenheim estate in 1874? Though wine-loving Winston lived until 1965, it is ironic that even then, not a single vine existed in Marlborough, New Zealand. Would Winston have approved of these wines? I am sure he would have, if not for their style at least for their irrepressible personality.