Wine of the week: a first-class newcomer

published 28 January 2011

2010 Stanley Estates, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand (£10.95-£11.95, Amps Fine Wines of Oundle, 01832-273502; Rodney Fletcher of Horsmonden, 01892-724314; Hercules Wines of Sandwich & Faversham, 01304-617100; Dickens House Wine Emporium of Rochester, 01634-880887; Noel Young of Trumpington, 01223-566744; Secret Cellar of Tunbridge Wells, 01892-537981).

I recently tasted more than 600 Kiwi wines and I will be releasing my 'Essential and Exquisite' list of NZ wines for 2011 in due course. One thing is certain this beauty will make the grade.

I'm sure your palate has, from time to time, been shocked and disappointed at the variation in quality of Marlborough sauvignon blanc. This once rare and ethereal beast is now made by the container-load, and sold in vast quantities by hypermarkets. So keep your wits about you if you are after benchmark quality wines and only stick to the very finest estates.

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Occasionally, a new name comes along and Stanley is a first-class example. How has Stanley made such strides in just two vintages? Easy accredited, sustainable viticulture and a high profile winemaker in the perfect form of Jules Taylor. Don't miss out on Stanley this year.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year ( www.matthewjukes.com ).

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.