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Loire Craft Meets Marlborough Terroir: Clos Henri’s Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Noir
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
Henri Bourgeois, a Loire family winery with over 300 years in Sancerre and Pouilly‑Fumé, established Clos Henri in Marlborough, New Zealand in 2002 to combine Loire winemaking techniques with Marlborough terroir. Loire-style Sauvignon Blancs typically show grapefruit, green apple, herbs, white flowers, flint (sparkly stone) and minerality, often benefiting from sur lies (aging on lees) for texture. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc emphasizes intense herbaceous notes (grassy, bell pepper, asparagus), bright lemon/lime and gooseberry fruit, and very high acidity, usually fermented in stainless steel with minimal oak or malolactic activity. Clos Henri planted Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir on gravelly, alluvial, clay and flint-like soils similar to Loire’s Terres Blanches/Kimmeridgian marls and silex (flint), farming organically and using high-density planting and dry farming to concentrate flavors. The estate’s Estate Sauvignon Blanc offers lime, lemon peel, ripe orange, peach and white-flower aromas with lively acidity and chalky minerality, while the Estate Pinot Noir shows ripe cherry and plum, herbal spice and smoky notes, aged in large French oak for balance. Single-vineyard Pinot (Waimaunga) adds violet, mushroom and leather notes and has aging potential beyond a decade. Clos Henri’s approach marries Loire complexity with Marlborough’s pure, vivid fruit and acidity, creating distinctive Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir expressions that pair well with fresh seafood and flavor-rich dishes.
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