Clos Henri : "Waimaunga" Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Characteristics and tasting notes for the Sauvignon Blanc "Waimaunga" 2024 by Clos Henri

Tasting

Colour
Beautifully clear, this wine reveals a pale yellow hue enhanced by delicate green highlights.

Nose
The bouquet displays remarkable aromatic purity, combining notes of ripe citrus, passion fruit and gooseberry. Subtle floral and mineral touches, reminiscent of gunflint with a hint of salinity, add further complexity to the whole.

Palate
Lively and elegant, the palate offers a rich texture and impressive breadth. It unfolds refreshing flavours of grapefruit and lime, underpinned by a pronounced mineral backbone, extending into a highly persistent saline finish.

Food and wine pairing

This white wine pairs wonderfully with seafood such as scallops with lime and ginger or crayfish. It also goes perfectly with pan-seared snapper, creamy or blue-veined goat's cheeses, as well as a fruity dessert such as a rhubarb and pear crumble.

Service and storage

To fully appreciate this wine, it is recommended to serve it between 7 and 10°C in a classic white wine glass, without decanting beforehand. It can be enjoyed young but will continue to evolve favourably until around 2030.

Other characteristics

This dry wine has an alcohol content of 14% and a residual sugar level of less than 1 g/L. Its total acidity stands at 6.1 g/L with a pH of 3.06, giving it excellent structure and great ageing potential.

The pure, mineral expression of a great Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The estate

Founded in 2000 by the renowned Bourgeois family, descendants of ten generations of winegrowers from Sancerre, the Clos Henri estate represents a unique alliance between French winemaking expertise and New Zealand terroir. Located in the Marlborough region, this 110-hectare single-block estate is now run by Damien Yvon, general manager and head winemaker. The estate stands out for its strong environmental commitment, having achieved organic certification in 2013 and applied biodynamic practices since 2012, all aimed at expressing the purest authenticity of its soils.

The vineyard

Located in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough, the vineyard sits on a unique geological fault line offering three distinct soil types. The vines dedicated to this cuvée, aged between 10 and 18 years, are rooted in windblown clay soils dating from the Waimaunga glaciation. Grown without irrigation and at a high planting density of 4,400 vines per hectare, the vineyard encourages the vines to draw their nutrients from deep within the soil, promoting low yields and optimal grape concentration.

The vintage

The year was marked by a particularly dry and prolonged summer, an unprecedented occurrence in nearly a century. These arid conditions were ideally offset by the arrival of cool nights as autumn approached. This shift in climate helped slow down ripening, giving the berries a perfect balance between aromatic concentration and acidity during a harvest that stretched from early March to mid-April.

Winemaking and aging

Following a meticulous harvest, the grapes undergo gentle pressing. Fermentation takes place 85% in stainless steel tanks and 15% in old French oak barrels. The wine is then aged for eight months on fine lees, with regular lees stirring, a method that enhances its texture and aromatic complexity.

Grape variety

100% Sauvignon Blanc