Successes buried beyond belief

One has to ask the question ... why is it that when New Zealanders and New Zealand brands do well, they get such a small mention in our media? Sportspeople, especially major sporting teams, fare better, but for most of our good news and success stories there's little joy to be found on television, in the newspaper or on the radio.

Recently the wine industry has garnered prominent headlines for a number of wrong reasons, and yes, it appears there are some big issues to be resolved, but what about all the winners, all the success stories, all our international champions?

A few weeks back at the height of the spring frost season the headlines trumpeted "Sauvignon Plonk" and "Night frost fans anger" – but where were the press releases that come in on a weekly basis that tell the other side of the wine story – where's the full-page feature on all the sauvignon successes, the top achievers?

The big wins of the major shows are lucky if they get a quarter page.

Well, here's one of Marlborough's success stories: Saint Clair Family Estate, a company that continues to make its mark in international wine competitions, and the success is well deserved. Saint Clair has established itself as consistently reliable vintage after vintage.

In August the Saint Clair Pioneer Block 18 Snap Block 2009 Sauvignon Blanc won the Champion Sauvignon Blanc and New Zealand Wine Cellars Spence Brothers Trophy at the Romeo Bragato Wine Awards.

In September there was more good news from the Decanter World Wine Awards – one of the most prestigious and influential wine competitions in the international wine industry. Judges had awarded Saint Clair Family Estate one of the highest possible distinctions based on variety; the Saint Clair Pioneer Block 12 Lone Gum Gewurztraminer 2008 had been awarded the International Trophy for the best dry aromatic over 10.

More entries were received for the 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards than ever before and it is now the world's biggest wine competition, attracting 10,285 entries from 2,240 wine companies.

Saint Clair Family Estate now sits alongside Villa Maria as one of New Zealand's most awarded wineries.

That reminds us – Villa Maria proved it has the Midas touch at the 2009 Air New Zealand Wine Awards, scooping, among other awards, 15 gold medals. The combined Villa Maria group – including the Esk Valley, Vidal and Thornbury labels – took more than 18 per cent of the gold medals in the competition.

And in more good news, Hunter's Wines struck pure gold with the 2009 Hunter's Gewurztraminer at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards. Hunter's Gewurztraminer shows excellent consistency; the 2008 was awarded two trophies and two gold medals, the 2007 a silver medal and the 2006 a trophy and gold medal. The "pure" status denotes wines produced under a sustainable winegrowing programme.

Saint Clair Family Estate

Pioneer Block 07 Lone Gum Pinot Noir

Colour: Deep garnet.

Aroma: A rewarding blend of plums, prunes, toasty, spicy oak and a whiff of Marmite. Some gentle herbal notes round things out.

Taste: A ripe, rewarding mouthful – the taste of plums combines with the rich flavour of a dark caramel tart. The tannins are ripe, fine and smooth across the palate, becoming drying and moreish at the finish. Some herbal flavour in the finish becomes a pleasant memory as the sweet blackberry/boysenberry fruit aftertaste asserts itself. This is a gorgeous wine that can be drunk all too easily.

Price: $32.95.

Lindauer Sauvignon

Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc

Colour: Very pale straw with flashes of green and a busy bead.

Aroma: Crisp, clean and fresh, like alpine air. A brisk gooseberry aroma is complemented by sweeter passionfruit and pineapple notes and some gentle grassiness.

Taste: The bubbles suit this wine's vibrant, crisp flavours. Thanks to the inclusion of chardonnay and pinot noir in the blend there's good palate weight and a creamy texture. The fruity flavour is ripe yet refreshing, very citrusy with some richer tropical notes mid palate to flesh things out.

The finish is dry and moreish, clean and crisp. This exciting new wine (a clever way to use up some Marlborough sauvignon) will do incredibly well as a summer refresher.

Price: $14.99.

Harwood Hall 08

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Aroma: Tropical and ripe – passionfruit, pineapple and dry grass team up with crisper notes of Kaffir lime and some steely mineral notes.

Taste: Reasonably heavy-bodied, rich and creamy with some tingly acids and light spiciness. The palate is an interesting tropical/herbaceous blend, seamlessly integrated with some rich creamy passionfruit flavour, leading out to a warming tropical finish with a gentle lemon aftertaste.

Price: A lovely wine and good buying at 19.95.

- The Marlborough Express