Posted on by EvelynD

Looking Back – Misty Cove, Marlborough, Aug’ 24

What a brilliant evening! For those that couldn’t attend, you missed a good evening. We had 22 in attendance.

The evening’s presenter was Manu, Misty Cove’s South African born, and French trained Chief Winemaker. He spoke with us, answering questions and explaining why they use mainly Acacia wood barrels or rather ‘puncheons‘, which are smaller-sized barrels; as well as oak, and the effects of both woods on the various wines they make. These are imported from France and Italy. He explained how they do their harvest and where grapes come from, from the different plots they have and sometimes, where grapes they use come from outside of their district, i.e. Gisborne!

Emmanuel 'Manu' Bolliger
Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Bolliger

The wines are made to be on the slightly dry side, rather than the sweet side and were very interesting to taste, with sometimes surprising results.

Misty Cove has previously focused on the export market to date but have now begun focussing on the New Zealand market to introduce their wines to.

A reminder of the wines we tasted during the evening:

  • 2022 Misty Cove Waihopai – this is their Rosé, this year the blend is Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, made with a slight fizz, and yes, it’s the champagne mixture! Their Rosé is not necessarily made with the same grapes every season.
  • 2024 Misty Cove Estate Sauvignon Blanc – this was a surprise to non-white drinkers, whilst it smelt like a Sauv Blanc, it was smooth in the mouth!
  • 2023 Misty Cove Estate Pinot Gris – this has 2% Gertz within in, and Manu said that over time this could get more dominant within the mixture.
  • 2024 Misty Cove Landmark Albarino – a Spanish grape that it gaining in popularity, the grapes for this vintage come from the Gisborne area
  • 2024 Misty Cove Landmark Riesling – again, 10 ton of grapes were brought from contract growers for this vintage, and while this wine is young it will get the kerosene people are used to with age
  • 2022 Misty Cove Landmark Chardonnay – smooth and light in the mouth
  • 2023 Misty Cove Estate Pinot Noir – this is their entry-level label, but with lots of fruit flavour in the mouth, this tipple was popular with those at the table.

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