Haere Ra 2024: Wairau, Marlborough
On her return from Wine Spectator’s 43rd Annual New York Wine Experience, Greywacke Winemaker Richelle Tyney looks back at a busy year.
It was back in 1986 that Hunter’s Fumé Blanc made history by first being accepted to take part in the Sunday Times Vintage Wine Festival in London and then going on to win both the judges accolades and the favourite wine of the show as judged by 6000 members of the Sunday Times Wine Club.
The 1985 Fumé Blanc was one of three Hunter’s wines entered into the show. The other two were a Chardonnay and an unoaked Sauvignon Blanc. They were among 350 wines pre selected by the organiser, Tony Laithwaite.
Even getting into the competition was a massive feat – but to take out the gold medal for best non Chardonnay full dry white wine of the show and be judged favourite wine of the show was something not even super enthusiastic Ernie Hunter could have dreamed of.
It was the very first international acclamation of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, with many more to come in the decades following.
The synergy of the upcoming celebration of this variety, to be held in Marlborough in February 2016, 30 years after her husband Ernie’s great win, is not lost on Hunter’s owner, Jane Hunter.
“It is quite special that after all these years, we are finally celebrating our number one style of wine. And it is on the cards that we will also be planning something special for the 30th anniversary of our win in London, where it all began.”
While the unoaked Sauvignon Blanc gained a gold medal at that 1986 competition, Hunter says it was the Fumé that stood out, something she is not surprised about.
“Back then our Sauvignons were very green, grassy and quite acidic. Mainly because we didn’t do any leaf plucking or trimming or any of the management techniques we do now to get riper characters. I think the oak aged Sauvignon mellowed the wine out a bit and it was probably a much more acceptable style for the British judging panel and consumers. They were used to drinking that style from France. I think the unoaked Sauvignon was probably too aggressive for them at the time. While it did gain a gold medal, it certainly didn’t get the acclaim that the Fumé Blanc did.”
Many of the judges who were involved in that competition in 1986 have gone on to be major players in the world of wine since, including Oz Clarke, Serena Sutcliffe MW and Hugh Johnson. Each one has played a part in the recognition of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with all remembering their first taste of what has become New Zealand’s flagship variety.
As for the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration, Hunter says it is an extremely important event for New Zealand’s wine industry.
“I think people have become a bit blasé about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, so it’s important to bring a focus back on to it and reiterate why it is so different and so unique. We have a style that is well recognised and no one seems to be able to emulate. It is unique to our regions and our climate. That has developed in the past 30 years.”
