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The wines of Jackson Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand

Jackson Estate, 22 Liverpool Street, Riverlands Estate RD4, Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand
Tel: 64 3 579 5523 Fax: 64 3 579 4423
E-mail: info@jacksonestate.co.nz Website: www.jacksonestate.co.nz

Part of the secret of the success of New Zealand wines in the UK marketplace is consistency. It has typically been quite difficult to find a bad bottle of New Zealand wine, and relatively easy to find one that delivers. Jackson Estate follow this pattern: this is a consistently very strong range: you can’t go too far wrong here. Availability in the UK is good with these wines making regular appearances on the shelves of supermarkets and high street wine shops.

The details? Founded in 1988, Jackson Estate has 42 hectares of vines; they supplement this by buying in some fruit. They are part of the SWNZ (Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand) programme; they were one of the first to join this back in 1995. All the wines are sealed with screwcaps.  

Jackson Estate Riesling 2002
New Zealand Riesling is sometimes a bit unconvincing, but this is a good one. The nose is fine delicate and limey with a little sweetness, too. The palate shows nice balance – there’s some richness of fruit, a limey, spicy edge and some acidity. Good balance here with a little minerality, too. 3 g/litre residual sugar, which isn’t a lot. Very good/excellent 90/100

Jackson Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2003
They describe this as their flagship wine. Very intense blackcurranty nose is fresh and herby, with some gooseberry fruit. Quite rich and intensely grassy on the palate. Good depth of fruit with nice purity and good acidity. Attractive in the classic Marlborough style. Very good/excellent 90/100 (The 2004 tasted recently is also impressive)

Jackson Estate Unoaked Chardonnay 2002
You have to work unoaked Chardonnay a bit to give it complexity, and Jackson Estate do this by stirring lees and allowing partial malolactic fermentation. This appealing wine has a nice spicy, nutty nose with good fruit density. The palate shows nice tropical fruit character with some subtle nuttiness. Very good/excellent 91/100

Jackson Estate Chardonnay 2002
I like this a lot. Complex, rich, nutty toasty nose. The bready, nutty, toasty palate is brilliantly expressive with good depth and vivid acidity. Very good/excellent 92/100

Jackson Estate Pinot Noir 2002
Vivid spicy berry and dark cherry fruit nose. The palate has a good density of spicy, cherryish fruit: quite structured and with good ripeness. An appealing, nicely made Pinot that I find quite delicious. Very good/excellent 91/100 

see also: tasting notes of New Zealand wines

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