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Not to be confused with a sweet fizzy citrus beverage, Mountain View is a Marlborough rosé.
Yes, the place synonymous with zesty Sauvignon has vinified a red grape (Pinot Noir) and then turned it into a rosé with a touch of the Italian white grape Arneis in the blend.
It's a lovely wine, but I am genuinely curious as to why they have made it instead of, say, making a red Pinot Noir and an Arneis separately.
For starters, the two grapes are not natural bedfellows; drinks consultant Douglas Blyde describes blending them as a thrillingly masochistic challenge of unification of two little rascals.
Then, the price for red Burgundy provides a higher benchmark than the price for a pink, so they must be losing out there.
It could be that the grapes struggle to ripen, suggests Kevin Powell, and so a pink works better than a red. But why not just plant grapes that can ripen?
Or maybe it's just a punt on something different to see if it will fly (NZ is around 75% SB, so it has to start trying out new grapes and styles before fashions change).
The most convincing suggestion came from Languedoc winemaker Jonathan Hesford and pink wine expert Elizabeth Gabay MW - the juice for this wine is bled off early in the process to make a rosé and the remainder turned into a deeper, more concentrated Pinot (think skimmed milk and cream).
Jonathan adds "the winery may have a particular financial reason for putting out an earlier release wine that frees up tank space and brings in money much quickly than a more expensive, barrel-aged red Pinot noir. Not all wineries have limitless pockets or space to make their best Burgundy-lookalikes."
Mountain View Marlborough Rosé 2018 (£11.99, Virgin Wines) aromatic, floral and spicy nose, soft red fruits, aromatic herbs and a saline minerality. Textured and structured; clean, pure and crystalline-fresh with more spice and florality on the finish.
Good.
Drink as an aperitif or match with picnic foods such as cold cuts, quiche or goat's cheese tart.
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