MUD HOUSE WINES Launched in Australia
One of New Zealand’s leading wineries, Mud House Wines, has recently launched a trio of wines in Australia. The Mud House wines comprise of; 2008 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 South Island Pinot Gris and 2007 Central Otago Pinot Noir.
Mud House wines was established in New Zealand’s famous Marlborough region in 1996. Today, the winery has established vineyards in many of New Zealand’s leading winegrowing regions including Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago.
“Our objective is to develop premium vineyards in the key regions where each particular variety is best suited,” explained CEO Baden Ngan Kee.
“We have also established a state of the art winery in Marlborough that forms part of a unique pod winery system. It allows up to four separate varieties or parcels to be processed at once. Through this system, we can harvest at the optimum ripeness and not have to rely on space at the crusher. We can maintain the integrity of small parcels of fruit, giving our winemakers a greater range of blending options.”
2008 Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
The Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is made from fruit sourced from a number of sub-regions throughout Marlborough including Upper, Lower and Mid Wairau and Awatere. This range of vineyards and microclimates provides the winemaking team with a range of flavour profiles as well as ensuring consistency in the final blend.
“We are able to capture a great range of flavours and characteristics from the various vineyards throughout Marlborough and so make a modern style which appeals to our customers,” commented Mud House Winemaker, Nadine Worley.
Since moving to New Zealand from Australia in 2006, Nadine has been working closely with the Mud House viticultural team. “Our vineyards cover the Wairau Valley and the smaller, slightly cooler Awatere Valley. We also have newer plantings on the southern side valleys of the Wairau at Fairhall, Hawkesbury and Waihopai. These give us a lovely range of distinctive flavours which come together beautifully in the finished wine.”
Awards: ‘Blue-Gold Award’, Sydney International Wine Competition 2009
‘Top 100 Wines of the Competition’, Sydney International Wine Competition 2009
Paired with ‘Twice cooked goat cheese soufflé with pistachio crust’.
2008 Mud House South Island Pinot Gris
The 2008 Pinot Gris is a blend of Marlborough and Waipara regions. “The Waipara component of the blend comes from a couple of our vineyards surrounding the Waipara winery. These vineyards experience slightly cooler temperatures during ripening, with slightly longer sunshine hours compared to Marlborough,” explained Nadine, “and this gives the fruit lovely flavour characteristics.”
“The hot north-westerly winds also tend to dry out the soils, taking the vigour out of the vines, and encouraging better ripeness and flavour intensity in the fruit.”
“The fruit was harvested and fermented at warmer temperatures. Following this the wine was aged on lees for three months in order to build texture and complexity within the finished wine.”
Awards: 4 Stars Recommended - Cuisine Magazine March 2008 issue
2007 Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir
The Mud House vineyard in Central Otago is planted in the Bendigo region. The vines struggle within the continental hot summer and cold winter climate, producing wonderfully intense and aromatic characters in the wines.
The fruit was brought into the winery and gently de-stemmed, allowing whole berries to remain intact. After cold soaking the ferment (including ten per cent whole bunch) commenced, with a combination of wild and cultured yeast, in order to build an array of flavours and character.
Each batch was hand plunged to extract the colour, flavour and tannin structure. Maturation followed, with 12 months in new and older French barriques. A small parcel remained in stainless steel to retain the vibrant fruit characters.
“We are aiming to make a Pinot with bright fruit and spice flavours, with subtle, integrated oak, balanced tannins and finesse through to the finish,” explained Nadine. “Central Otago is certainly starting to shine as a reputable Pinot region – up there with the best in the world.”
Awards: 5 Star & Best Buy Recommended by Cuisine Magazine November 2008
Pricing & Distribution:
Mud House wines are distributed throughout Australia by The Wine Company Pty Ltd. For stockist information Ph: NSW 1800 677 443, QLD 1800 855 577 or VIC (03)9562 3900.
Further information is available at www.mudhouse.co.nz.
2008 Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc $22.00
2008 Mud House South Island Pinot Gris $22.00
2007 Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir $28.00
For further information, samples or images please contact:
David Cumming at Define Wine: 0414 736 342 or david@definewine.com.au
Sasha d’Entremont at The MH Wine Group: +64 21 933 215 or sasha.dentremont@mudhouse.co.nz
Mud House Wines: Established in 1993 with the planting of the original estate vineyard, the first Mud House Wines were released in 1996. The winery was named after a rammed earth home that was built within the estate vineyard. Today, Mud House owns two wineries in Marlborough & Waipara and five vineyards located throughout the South Island; in Marlborough, Waipara Valley and a sub region of Central Otago – Bendigo. Mud House also selects fruit from several growers in the Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Nelson and Marlborough regions.
Mud House wines form part of The MH Wine Group.