Corofin Meltwater Marlborough Chenin Blanc 2021 (6 Bottles), Marlborough NZ

by Wines By Cellars 0 orders

$240.00

NEW ZEALAND WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

Organic. The new kid off the block. Alongside the Pinot and Chardonnay, the Brancott Valley’s Wrekin Vineyard (see below) is home to a small parcel of Chenin Blanc. 2021 marks the first year Mike Paterson has managed to secure an allocation from owners Jan and Andrew Johns. Not being overly familiar with Marlborough Chenin Blanc (is anyone?), I asked Mike how the grapes would usually be treated: “like Sauvignon Blanc,” he deadpanned, “so it’s not my kind of wine”. Enough said. So, Paterson took the Vouvray route: “we bought in fruit in and let it go”. He harvested late and whole-bunch pressed, sending the juice with full solids to puncheon for a wild ferment. So, it’s made much like the Corofin Chardonnays, but taken out of oak a little earlier, in January for bottling in March.

Corofin only made a single puncheon from just over one tonne of fruit, a situation that is unlikely to change in the coming years. “I’d love to have more,” Paterson shrugs. So would we, Mike. Expect ample varietal purity in the white flower and lanolin spectrum alongside a succulent yet vibrant palate dotted with honey and brown spice notes. A terrific New World Chenin.

 

Corofin Wrekin Vineyard

Category:

Description

Established in 2011, Corofin is the new home for ex-Jackson Estate winesmith Mike Paterson and his partner Anna, until recently GM at TerraVin.

At this early juncture, while Mike is contracted to another project and Anna busy raising the couple’s two young daughters, Corofin craft two (soon to be three) single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, each in tiny 100-150-case lots. You can read about two of these “pretty special Marlborough sites” below (the third being the Weavers’ ‘Waihopi Slopes’ at Churton). Not too far down the line we’ll see a little Chardonnay as well.

For the time being the wines are made out of temporary digs at Fromm. Having spent the majority of their working years in and about Marlborough, Mike and Anna have no doubt regarding the potential of their adopted region, and were well placed to approach their first choice of vineyards.

Wines By Cellars