Organic. This is the second release of Mike Paterson’s small batch, single-vineyard Chenin Blanc. Alongside Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the Brancott Valley’s Wrekin Vineyard is also home to a small parcel of Chenin Blanc. Although demand for the grape is increasing throughout the region, Mike has managed to maintain his allocation from close friends and owners, Jan and Andrew Johns. To ensure the grape’s thick skins and high acidity are mellowed in Marlborough’s moderate climate, Patterson seeks ripeness, with 13° Baumé the norm. This drives the style, which is a wine of generous texture that works beautifully at the table.
The handpicked fruit is whole-bunch pressed and sent with full solids to a seasoned puncheon for a wild ferment. The Meltwater Chenin is made much like the Corofin Chardonnays but taken out of oak a little earlier (in this case after seven months). This year, the wine went through full malo and finished with four grams per litre residual sugar, which contributes to the delightful mouthfeel.
Expect fleshy and ripe fruits, floral brightness, spice and waxy Chenin texture before a potent finish that lingers with a twist of bitter grapefruit and salinity.