Spy Valley - Marlborough New Zealand
Accolades 2007
Here are our accolades, reviews and awards for 2007.
Sydney International Wine Competition success! SIWC, December 2007
For the second year in a row Spy Valley 2007 Riesling and 2007 Pinot Gris scooped Top 100 and Blue-Gold awards at the prestigious Sydney International Wine Competition 2008. To round off the success, Spy Valley 2007 Gewurztraminer also collected a Blue-Gold Award!
Spy Valley 2007 Unoaked Chardonnay F&B Magazine, November 2007
"All the tone and freshness we could wish for in a lovely dry style with the structure and food-friendliness which makes unoaked chardonnay new light on the dinner table. A wine of good balance and wide appeal, able to fit widely with food courses." Behind Bars
SILVER - World Wine Awards Decanter, October 2007
Spy Valley received two Silver awards from the Decanter World Wine Awards (2007) for their 2006 Gewurztraminer and 2005 Chardonnay.
SILVER - Spy Valley 2005 Chardonnay NZIWS, October 2007
Spy Valley received the Silver award from the New Zealand International Wine Show for their 2005 Chardonnay.
SILVER - Spy Valley 2007 Sauvignon Blanc NZIWS, October 2007
Spy Valley received the Silver award from the New Zealand International Wine Show for their 2007 Sauvignon Blanc.
GOLD - Spy Valley 2007 Pinot Gris NZIWS, October 2007
Spy Valley received a Gold Medal and was placed on the Champions List at the New Zealand International Wine Show 2007
GOLD - Spy Valley 2007 Gewurztraminer NZIWS, October 2007
Spy Valley received a Gold Medal and was placed on the Champions List at the New Zealand International Wine Show 2007
SILVER & Best in Class IWSC, October 2007
The International Wine & Spirit Competition awarded Spy Valley SILVER & Best in Class for their Spy Valley 2006 Pinot Gris and Spy Valley 2006 Riesling.
2007 Riesling on Air NZ in-flight list Viva Magazine, October 2007
"With its crisp limey acidty and pure apricot fruit run through with threads of mineral and floral, the new vintage of Spy Valley's consistently impressive riesling should be as attractive at altitude as it is down here on the ground."
Ten Top 'Aromatic' Producers Daily Telegrah, October 2007
"Spy Valley Wines, Marlborough - This is set in Waihopai Valley, which is known as Spy Valley because of its golf ball-like listening posts. Sixy per cent of its production is Sauvignon Blanc, but despite this, its Riesling and Gewurz sell out as fast as they can be made."
91 Points! 4 1/2 Stars - 2006 Pinot Noir! Wine Orbit, September 2007
This is another solid offering from one of the country's most consistent, quality Pinot Noir producers. The wine has a lovely perfumed nose showing floral, red cherries and a touch of dried herbs. It's elegant yet intense on the palate with a silky mid-range, good acid and ripe, fine tannins. A well-structured wine yet with a very seductive feel. Excellent value." Sam Kim
SILVER - Japan Wine Challenge Japan Wine Challenge, September 2007
Spy Valley was awarded two Silver awards at the Japan Wine Challenge for their 2006 Sauvignon Blanc and 2006 Noble Riesling.
2006 Merlot - 4 stars, 87 points Wine Orbit, September 2007
"The grapes have benefited from a favourable season achieving excellent ripeness and purity of fruit. A perfumed nose displaying ripe red/black plums and blue berries. The medium-bodied palate is beautifully balanced showing pristine fruit characters and fine grain but firm tannins coming from a three-week post-ferment maceration. Excellent structure. An elegant Merlot with a refreshing finish making it an excellent food partner."
4 Stars - Spy Valley 2006 Merlot Winestate Magazine, September 2007
"Dark, rich red, hand picked, fermented wiht indigenous yeasts, blended with 14% Malbec and barrel-aged for over a year. Mouthfilling and generous, with smooth plum and spice, slightly gamey flavours showing good ripeness, complexity and harmony." MIchael Cooper
BEST Pinot Noir Canada International Value Wine Awards, August 2007
"Marlborough is proving to be a great source for inexpensive, fine pinot, as in this example from Spy Valley, so named because of the American satellite communications listening base just down the road. The fruit is youthful on the nose and palate with cherry and ripe plum, ably supported by a touch of oak and some fine elegant tannins, giving good grip."
JUDGES CHOICE Canada International Value Wine Awards, August 2007
Spy Valley received the Judges Choice & 86 Points for their 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gewurztraminer.
2005 Riesling - 86 Points The Daily Pour, August 2007
"A very bright floral nose with citrus, peach, chamomile and apple notes. On the palate there are nice, slightly ripe flavors of apples and peaches. Nice."
2006 Pinot Gris - 87 Points The Daily Pour, August 2007
"Nice rich nose with a noticeable yeasty note that is reminiscent of some Alsace Pinot Gris, however with much riper fruit aromas. Round and creamy on the palate with apple and nectarine notes."
2006 Sauvignon Blanc - 90 Points The Daily Pour, August 2007
"A very vibrant, grassy and spicy nose. However, on the palate the wine shows much riper passion fruit, tropical fruit, and grapefruit notes. Racy and delicious."
2005 Pinot Noir - 92 Points The Daily Pour, August 2007
"Very good aromas of blackberry, spice, medicinal herbs, smoke and earthy autumn notes. Very soft on the palate with great acidity and good concentration. It displays notes of black cherry, berry fruit, and spice with nice tannins. This is still a little tight, but it is an undeniably great Pinot Noir."
Wine NZ recommendation - Envoy 2006 Pinot Gris Wine NZ, Winter 2007, July 2007
"The Envoy range is aimed mainly for sale in restaurants and a few wine stores, but the wines are well worth a search. With 22 grammes per litre of residual sugar this is considerably sweet than most examples, but it's still beautifully balanced. Think baked figs and pineapple on the nose, and prepare for a rush of rich, oily, dried apricot flavours. All that sweeteness makes food a bit of a challenge but at the wine's launch, Auckland's La Zeppa restaurant succeeded pretty well with figs wrapped in prosciutto."
Envoy 2006 Pinot Gris VT Sue Courtney, May 2007
"Envoy Marlborough Pinot Gris VT 2006 is made from late harvested grapes without any botrytis. At first the lime sherbet-like aromatics give an impression of Riesling, then the hallmark pear aromas of Pinot Gris emerge. There's honey in the palate but with lovely piercing acidity coming through the sweetness to balance the rich, rounded, nectar with a sweet tangy acidity and lingering fruit salad flavours. There's a hint of herb, like pineapple sage, and a mealy richness from the oak ferment and seven months aging in barrel on yeast lees." Sue Courtney
Envoy 2005 Pinot Noir Sue Courtney, May 2007
"Envoy Marlborough Pinot Noir 2005 is a rich dense ruby colour with purple hints - in the light of the tasting room it seems dense and opaque. There's a funky, savoury, pinot character to the nose with a pretty waft of rose petal and the taste is bright and spicy with a gorgeously balanced acidic core and deep purple black fruits, like plum and blackberry. It's inky and extracted, concentrated, earthy and spicy with a yeast lees-influenced thick creamy undercurrent and a long dry finish. A gorgeous evocative pinot noir but right now it just needs a little more time to let the tannins integrate into the core so the wine can develop a sexy voluptuousness, which it is showing glimpses of already. Despite it's youth it's delicious on its own, but matched with olive tapenade spread on a thin slice of toasted bruschetta, it's even more sensational." Sue Courtney
Envoy 2005 Chardonnay Sue Courtney, May 2007
"Envoy Marlborough Chardonnay 2005 is light gold, bright and gemmy and smells complexly seductive with its rich fleshy aromatics of smoky creamy oak, mealy yeast lees, stonefruit and toasted lemon. An opulent, mealy, barrel fermented style with oak spice from the classy French oak, it's quite grainy textured, the nectarine and citrus-like fruit is focussed and despite the overall opulence, it is long, lean and powerful, with great potential for aging." Sue Courtney
Envoy 2006 PInot Gris Jane Skilton, May 2007
"Baked pear, sweet spice, quince and honey-suckle define the nose whilst the palate offers up rich, spicy fruit flavours of ripe pear and poached stone fruit, strongly textural with an oilyness that is beautifully balanced by bright acidity. There is residual sweetness but it forms an integral part of the wine rather than sticking out obtrusively. Good length. Still very youthful, it will be interesting to taste this wine in another 12 months." Jane Skilton
Envoy 2006 Gewurztraminer Jane Skilton, May 2007
"Exceptionally well defined gewurztraminer on the nose; fresh lychee, rose petal and turkish delight, very aromatic with delicacy. The palate is spicy and rich with impressive texture; a touch of residual sweetness yet the wine is in perfect balance. Exceptionally good length. Really impressive." Jane Skilton