10-Aug-2017
Vicarage Lane is the Marlborough wine venture of John Kennard and Satu Lappalainen, originally established with a 4 ha block of land including 2 ha of Sauvignon Blanc in 2002. The intention was to make and promote quality Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. In 2003, John and Satu sold half of their company to Brent and Shirley Rawstron, best known for their Rossendale wines. The partners each make their own wines, with John and Satu involved in tending to the viticulture of the 60 ha of Rawstron vineyards. The Vicarage Lane home vineyard is 7.6 ha in size and is located on the corner of Middle Renwick and St Leonards Roads. While Sauvignon Blanc is the focus, John and Satu have Pinot Gris, Riesling and Pinot Noir, the latter two purchased as finished wine from Canterbury. There are plans to introduce a Chardonnay. The highly experienced Alan McCorkindale is the Vicarage Lane winemaker, who uses the Spring Creek Vintners facilities. Export to Finland takes up a good proportion of the production. Here, I review the new 2017 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc Bubbly, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Canterbury Riesling, plus the 2014 Canterbury Pinot Noir. www.vicaragelane.co.nz
