Le Petit Clos Sauvignon Blanc Clos Henri 2020

Le Petit Clos Sauvignon Blanc, organic, grapefruit, tangy, minerally New Zealand white wine. Le Petit Clos organic Sauvignon Blanc from old-new-world-straddling producer Henri Bourgeois is a superb mini-me of the estate’s Clos Henri Sauvignon. Grapefruit and tangerine are at the lees, with a steely minerality that gives it a finesse more akin to French Sauvignon. Made from young vines and best drunk young – an excellent NZ SB that doesn’t hit you in the face but has some subtlety without breaking the bank.

This is a 96 hectare property bought by the Bourgeois wine family (of Sancerre Fame) in 2001.

They are committed to maintaining the bio-diversity of the farm and have plented various legumes and other crops over the last 15 years whilst converting the estate steadily to vineyard. The site is unique in that it consists of several soil types – gravels and clays as well as sloping land and hillsides. The gravel is found in Renwick: it’s this that contributes to the fame of the region’s Sauvignon. The result of ancient rivers this type of soil provides wines with elegance and crispness. The second kind of soil is found in Broadbridge, a greyish-brown clay with ochre tints (indicating a high iron content), appropriate to the cultivation of Pinot Noir. Wines produced here are round with complex aromas and good length. The final soil in Clos Henri, a kind of yellow-grey clay, is to be found on the very steep slopes of Wither where the vines enjoy excellent exposure to the sun. All these soils have only been used for pasture and never exposed to insecticides, herbicides or any other form of chemical treatments. The Bourgeois family are committed to maintain the local biodiversity.