DOG POINT

As a young country we are accustomed to talking about our institutions, and, in the wine-biz, our vineyards, in similarly youthful terms. In Marlborough wine country though there are certain vineyards acquiring their fair share of gnarls and much more mature standing. That is certainly the case at Dog Point, where some of their Pinot Noir vines are pushing nearly 40 years old, making them some of the most venerable in the nation. Their Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc vineyards are not far behind, at averages of 30 and 25 years of vine age respectively. Those three varieties form the entire focus of the Dog Point team. There are no second labels, no super premium bottlings and no experimental varieties of indeterminate pronunciation, just a honed-in determination to produce the finest four wines they possibly can. Yes, four, as this is Marlborough after all and that means some of the best Sauvignon Blanc-producing land in the world. At Dog Point that means two expressions; a classic, unoaked and intensely fruit-forward bottle, and an oaked, complex, chalky version that can handsomely reward cellar time in the Section 94 bottling. Old meets modern in vineyard practices. Dog Point began the conversion to organics in 2009, and they now own and operate the largest certified organic vineyard in New Zealand. The additional use of cover crops, composting and natural based fertilisers will help sustainably maintain Dog Point’s place as one of the country’s oldest family owned wineries.