This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Montana unveil proposed blend from “Icon Projectâ€
On Monday this week Montana unveiled the proposed blend for its Sauvignon Blanc Icon Project.
Employing a range of winemaking techniques on grapes from Marlborough’s top vineyard sites, Montana hopes to take New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to the next level.
The experimental blend contains the 2009 vintage from Montana’s Brancott Estate vineyards as well as one parcel from the Awatere Valley, both within the Marlborough region.
It includes a percentage of wine fermented in a 10,000 litre oak cuve, as well as some from a Conquard Champagne press and a wild barrel ferment.
Patrick Materman, chief winemaker for the Pernod Ricard-owned brand said: “The Icon Project is about showing leadership with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc by producing the best wine we can.”
The French-owned group has enlisted Professor Denis Dubourdieu to help with the project. He is an expert in the vinification of white wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, and already an advisor to the company.
The Icon Project was launched two years ago and involves trials from 14 different vineyard sites. Experimental viticultural techniques include crop reduction, leaf plucking and shoot thinning, as well as in-depth analysis of soil types and their influence on aromatics.
Every grape for wines destined for the Icon Project has been hand-picked.
Materman added: “Our philosophy for the Icon Project is to produce a wine with longevity. We want a wine with texture and mouthfeel; this is about ageworthiness.”
The final blend will most likely launch in mid-2011 using wines from the 2010 vintage. It will have an RRP of approximately £20.
Patrick Schmitt, 21.01.10