Churton Wines of Marlborough

I had the fortune of attending a wine tasting event hosted by Churton Wines of Marlborough, New Zealand. Sam Weaver spoke articulately about the position of Churton, their ethics and winemaking practice. I had not realised that they practiced Biodynamics, as championed by Nicholas Joly of The Loire Valley and James Millton of Gisborne New Zealand.

The tasting was informal and we had the opportunity of tasting other wines from France alongside their own. These comparison tastings are a great way to identify what direction the winery is headed.

Sauvignon Blanc tasting:

Churton 2008
Very delicate in structure with a hint of mint chewing gum laced with lemon sorbet on the nose but lacked some depth of character on the palate but was still very youthful.

Churton 2007
Asparagus Processed tin marrowfat peas mixed with a lime on the nose. These characters translated to the palate and the acid was in balance and the wine well structured with a glowing roundness.

2006 Domaine de Ladoucette Pouilly Fume
Wool with lemon grass/hay with crushed quartz on the nose. The palate was all about minerals, interesting and subtle fruit, very smooth and long flinty finish.

Churton 2003
Sweet green cut grass inside a used tin of peas on the nose and soapy silk smooth texture on the palate with good citrus and green characters.

2007 Blanc de Pouilly Fume, Didier Dagueneau
Rock melon wrapped with proscuitto ham with lemon squeezed all over it. The palate showed gun flint that pierced like a bullet with some great minerality and citrus. The finish was dry, long and smooth.

Pinot Noir

2007 Churton Pinot Noir
Bright ruby red in the glass. Blackberry on the bramble encased in habba bubba bubble gum on the nose and bright red fruit and balanced wine on the palate.

2006 Churton Pinot Noir
Very bright red in the glass. An attractive caramellised truffle served in a plastic box on the nose. The palate was velvety sweet red fruit with some very fine coca tannins that filled the mouth.

2006 Michel Lafarge, Vendanges Selectionees, Volnay
Spearmint chewing gum, Raspberry, and cranberry on the nose. The palate was slightly disjointed but can be forgiven by being so youthful and expressive. The wine was balanced and knitted together with beautifully fine tannin and structure.

2003 Churton Pinot Noir
The funkiness that was on the nose was bigger than in the 80's. Truffle and red Summer fruit let you know where this wine was going. The palate was quite big and had firm but fine tannins.

2004 Mongeard Mugneret, Echezeaux Vieille Vigne
Brie, black cherries and the smell of a freshly laid organic chicken's egg with a hint of cigar tobacco leaf on the nose. The palate had golden delicious apple, Red Summer fruit with layered texture and minerality not seen in the other wines.

Overall a very good comparative tasting.

Posted via web from The Wine Vault