Martinborough wine company strikes gold

A Martinborough chardonnay has achieved major recognition from some of the most critical wine judges in the world.

Martinborough Vineyard's 2002 Chardonnay has just won New Zealand's only gold medal at the Chardonnay-du-Monde competition in France.

Now in its 12th year the awards, held annually in Burgundy, attracted more than 1000 entries from 37 countries. A total of 64 gold medals were awarded.

"It's pretty exciting to have something like this recognised on the world stage," winemaker Claire Mulholland said. "Especially competing against wines from France."

The gold medal result confirms the comments the wine received from one of France's most respected wine critics, Michele Bettane, who visited the vineyard in 2004 and said the 2002 Chardonnay was of "Grand Cru" standard.

Ms Mulholland said the award emphasised the fact the Wairarapa was a region with a rare potential to succeed with many varieties.

"Martinborough is well known for its pinot noir, but also other varieties are starting to do really well, with chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc doing particularly well in the UK and America, so we're pretty lucky that we've got the right interplay of variables here."

The bad news for wine lovers is that it's now too late to take home a bottle to see what all the fuss is about. The $33 wine has sold out so punters will instead have to be content with the 2003 vintage that has just gone on sale.

- nzpa