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Organic. The new kid off the block. Alongside the Pinot and Chardonnay, the Brancott Valley’s Wrekin Vineyard (see below) is home to a small parcel of Chenin Blanc. 2021 marks the first year Mike Paterson has managed to secure an allocation from owners Jan and Andrew Johns. Not being overly familiar with Marlborough Chenin Blanc (is anyone?), I asked Mike how the grapes would usually be treated: “like Sauvignon Blanc,” he deadpanned, “so it’s not my kind of wine”. Enough said. So, Paterson took the Vouvray route: “we bought in fruit in and let it go”. He harvested late and whole-bunch pressed, sending the juice with full solids to puncheon for a wild ferment. So, it’s made much like the Corofin Chardonnays, but taken out of oak a little earlier, in January for bottling in March.

Corofin only made a single puncheon from just over one tonne of fruit, a situation that is unlikely to change in the coming years. “I’d love to have more,” Paterson shrugs. So would we, Mike. Expect ample varietal purity in the white flower and lanolin spectrum alongside a succulent yet vibrant palate dotted with honey and brown spice notes. A terrific New World Chenin.

Corofin Wrekin Vineyard