White wines rule the vinous roost in Marlborough with 81% of its vineyard area planted in Sauvignon Blanc, 9% in Pinot Noir, 4% each in Chardonnay and Pinot Gris and 1% in Riesling. This leaves lesser known grape varieties, such as Albarino and Gewurztraminer, to make up a mere smidgeon of vineyard plantings in Marlborough today. It’s an important smidgeon, however, given that having all of one’s eggs in one basket is often been seen as a tad risqué. Marlborough’s success with Sauvignon Blanc is an impressive reflection of this vast region’s warm days and cool nights, which enable zesty white grape varieties to retain acidity and therefore reflect vibrancy and freshness in flavour. Those qualities define all three of these fresh new young white wines from the 2024 vintage; a year of good to excellent quality and lower than usual overall volume of wine.
Here are my reviews of Yealands Wines’ first 2024 whites to be bottled.
17.5/20
2024 Yealands Albarino Awatere Valley RRP $29.95
Albarino is an adventurous new addition to the Awatere Valley where cool nights allow freshness to shine in this wine with its aromas of fresh herbs leading into a wine with a light body and layers of bright citrus and green olive flavours. Winemaker Natalie Christensen is an Albarino devotee and it shows in this youthful wine, which drinks well now and has medium term ageing potential of up to, say, four to five years.
18/20
2024 Yealands PGR Awatere RRP $29.95
This is a creative and delicious blend of Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Riesling with layers of aromas adding complexity to an accessibly priced wine. Aromas of ripe lemon, white pear and lime zest all combine in a wine with freshness at its core, which is balanced by a medium body and lively acidity delivering a long, fresh finish. This wine tastes dry and has succulence to make it an excellent match with all citrus flavours.
17/20
2024 Yealands Sauvignon Blanc Awatere RRP $29.95
This wine highlights a good vintage in New Zealand’s largest wine region with it lively, youthful and fresh style. It has a light body, fresh aromas of green herbs such as thyme and lemongrass, captured in a tasty wine to drink now and over the next 18 months.
