Marlborough

Marlborough is New Zealand's largest wine region, at the north-east tip of the South Island, and the origin of the world's most recognisable style of Sauvignon Blanc: intensely aromatic, bone dry, and razor-sharp with acidity.

Where Marlborough is

Marlborough sits in the rain shadow of mountain ranges that shelter it from the west, giving it one of the sunniest, driest climates in New Zealand. The critical feature is not the heat, though, but the diurnal range — hot, very bright days followed by cold nights driven by proximity to the Pacific.

That swing is what makes the wine. Sunlight drives aromatic development in the grape skins, while cold nights lock in acidity that would burn off in a warmer region. The result is a wine with tropical-fruit intensity and searing freshness at the same time, a combination that barely existed before Marlborough demonstrated it.

The Wairau Valley is the larger, warmer, stonier sub-region, producing the classic exuberant style. The Awatere Valley to the south is cooler, drier and windier, giving a leaner, more herbaceous, mineral-edged wine with higher acidity.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is roughly the great majority of what Marlborough plants, and it defines the region internationally.

The aromatics are unmistakable: passionfruit, grapefruit, gooseberry, lime, and a distinctly green streak of cut grass, capsicum, blackcurrant leaf and tomato leaf. Some of this comes from compounds called methoxypyrazines, which give the herbaceous notes, and some from thiols, which give the tropical and passionfruit character.

On the palate it is dry, light to medium-bodied, unoaked in the standard style, with high acidity and a long, pithy, citrus finish.

There is a growing minority of more serious examples that use wild-yeast fermentation, some oak or lees ageing, giving a textural, savoury wine that ages a few years. These are worth seeking out if the mainstream style feels too loud.

The other grapes

• Pinot Noir — Marlborough's most important red, lighter and more red-fruited than Central Otago's, with cherry, cranberry and herbal notes.
• Chardonnay — increasingly good, in a citrus-driven, restrained style.
• Pinot Gris — off-dry, pear and quince.
• Riesling — made both dry and off-dry, with lime and a fine mineral cut.
• Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling — the cool climate suits it well, and quality is high relative to price.

What it tastes like

A typical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is bone dry, light-bodied, with very high acidity and pronounced aromatic intensity. The pairing of tropical fruit with green herbaceousness is the signature, and it is why the style divides people: it is emphatic rather than subtle.

Most of it is designed to be drunk young — within two or three years of vintage — while the aromatics are at their most vivid. Screwcaps, which New Zealand adopted early and almost universally, help preserve exactly that freshness.

Food pairings

The high acidity makes it one of the easiest whites to put on a table.

• Goat's cheese — the textbook match; the wine's acidity and the cheese's tang meet perfectly.
• Asparagus — one of the few wines that handles a notoriously difficult vegetable, because the wine has its own green notes.
• Oysters and raw shellfish.
• Thai and Vietnamese food — lime, coriander and chilli find direct echoes.
• Grilled white fish with herbs.

Avoid rich, creamy or heavily oaked dishes, which the acidity will cut straight through.

What to buy

Marlborough is one of the most reliable purchases in wine. The regional style is consistent and the quality floor is high, so an inexpensive bottle from a decent producer will deliver recognisably what you expect.

Buy the most recent vintage available — freshness is the whole point, and there is no benefit to cellaring the standard style. If you find the classic style too pungent, look for Awatere Valley bottlings, which are tighter and more mineral, or the barrel-fermented examples.

Serve well chilled, 7 to 10°C.