This wine is a lesson in the worth of Felicity Carter’s recent press club address-
How to sell a good wine, not just on the basis that it’s excellent (and this is, in my books) but by relating what’s in the glass to the culture that produced it. FC said “wine does not exist separately to the country or the culture that produces it. If a wine industry’s message is congruous with the image of its country, then its message is amplified”. Carter used the NZ wine industry’s strategy to explain her point;
“New Zealanders see an advantage in sustainability as a proposition, rather than regionality, because they believe that sustainable wine practices are a guarantee of wine quality. Once again, this position is congruous with the overall positioning of New Zealand as a green clean country”
Well, the bottle in front of me has grasped that wine is not just about what’s in the glass (although that matters too, and this is a seriously good wine). Its strategy is multi-pronged, and it is a multi-pronged strategy I would currently argue that the Australian wine industry needs to pursue.
We have a bottle covered in bling. Medals from shows glitter. Behind them we have a textural label that is flowing and GREEN. Not just any green, an olive sort of green, a NATURAL GREEN. Underneath that we have a name, “Durvillea“. What does that mean? Durvillea refers to bull-kelp, a sort of seaweed- http://tiny.cc/wHTFs Very natural, wouldn’t you say? Kelp is considered to be one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on earth. And Bull Kelp is New Zealand’s kelp. From the back of the bottle:
“All along Marlborough’s wild coast, clinging to rocks at low tide is the seaweed Durvillea. We know it as bull kelp…and its strong lines, shapes, textures and colours mirror the depth and complexity of flavours found in our wine.”
Wine outside the glass and associations anyone? It’s smart and I think it’s what FC was getting at. Back to the front label, regionality still matters too. Under Durvillea is the region, “Marlborough”. Marlborough may be copping a bit of a backlash due to the success of its Sauvignon Blanc and the mis-management of that success. Many now deride Marlborough Savy and bad interpretations of it litter our retail wine shelves. But the Marlborough name still sells. So region sits just under culture on the front label, with the print of “Sauvignon Blanc 2008″ sitting even smaller and less apparent than the region. So,
1ST CULTURE- green, sustainable, in tune with nature, productive and particular to New Zealand in its represented form, Bull Kelp.
2ND REGION- Marlborough, many customers will still buy based on the cultural capital of that name.
3RD VARIETAL- Sauvignon Blanc. It’s there, it still sells, but we’re pulling back a bit in the face of a potential backlash from writers and consumers.
Ok, to the wine, because it’s very good. Extremely good. It deserves to have a strong audience. For me the “ratio” of Marlborough fruit to herbs is spot on in terms of flavour. It’s more restrained on the palate than the more vulgar examples we often see currently. I didn’t think I liked Marlborough Savys, with a few exceptions. I like this. The restrained nose is of Gooseberry, herbs and nettle with a hint of capsicum. The line (which we have amplified through the label)- An entrance of almost tart and zingy Gooseberry flows into a broader passionfruit profile, which blooms quickly and then exits stage left with impeccable timing, making way for the herbs, grass and nettles. The acid is bang on and the length is outstanding.
There’s not much more to say about the wine, other than it’s tasty and worked wonders with freshly cooked prawns, lemon and sea salt. That’s more than enough. I’ll email and get an Australian RRP as soon as I can. I cannot recommend you try this wine enough. If you like Marlborough Sauvignon, you’ll love this. If you think you loathe that area’s Savys, this might change your view.
Finally, the wine is made by Simon Waghorn of Astrolabe fame. I like Astrolabe wines very much. Simon studied Natural Resources in 1980 and was planning to farm seaweed before he chose to embark on a career as winemaker. So it’s not all about marketing (although I think the marketing is brilliant), it’s about culture at a personal and national level. Wine is not just what’s in the glass, Felicty Carter was right.
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