13-Sep-2017
The legacy of David Herd who established Marlborough’ first vineyard and winery in 1873 has been kept alive by the Cowley family who re-established the Auntsfield Estate on the original site in the Southern Valleys. The 65 ha of vineyard are divided into 50 individual blocks, approx. half to Pinot Noir, and the rest to Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The Auntsfield site appears to be a particularly favourable one, judging from the wines emanating from it. The viticulture is under the care of Ben Cowley, and the winemaker is brother Luc Cowley. Between them they have produced wines of richness and body, but also wines that reflect the sub-regionality of the Southern Valleys. The ‘Single Vineyard’ wines are blends of fruit from the different blocks, and the ‘Single Block’ wines bottlings of the fruit from a single block, and these include all three varieties. There is a super-premium ‘Heritge’ Pinot Noir wine, but also secondary labels ‘Sliding Hill’ and ‘Block 88’. Here I review the new 2017 ‘Sliding Hill’ and ‘Single Vineyard’ Sauvignon Blancs. www.auntsfield.co.nz
