02-Nov-2017
Warwick Foley and Edel Everling of Johanneshof Cellars are one of the serious producers of sparkling wine in Marlborough. They are one of nine members of the ‘Methode Marlborough’ group which espouse the quality of traditionally produced sparkling wine wholly from Marlborough fruit employing only the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier varieties, with aging on lees for a minimum of 18 months. Warwick and Edel take the process somewhat further. For the base wine, they eschew malolactic conversion in the first fermentation and mature the wine in French oak. The Johanneshof sparkling wines are aged on lees for a minimum of 5 years. They disgorge in small batches just before releasing the wine to ensure freshness. Here I review the new release of the Blanc de Blancs NV. www.methodemarlborough.org www.johanneshof.co.nz
