Chardonnay, Jules Taylor, 2019

A British Lions’ tour to New Zealand is a compelling event for rugby fans…at the same time, it also offered an excellent opportunity to engage with the country’s wines. So, three days were spent in the Marlborough region, determined, as we were, to find a pristine example of Sauvignon Blanc, a wine for which UK demand was growing massively. The return flight saw 36 bottles packed into the hold, and once these had been allowed to rest, subsequent tasting revealed a clear winner: Jules Taylor. We had met her purely by chance. What stood out was that the wines were quality-driven, produced in relatively small quantities, and, importantly, she did not wish to see her name stacked on the shelves of the supermarkets, thereby subject to discount after discount after discount. We immediately shipped her 2004 Sauvignon Blanc…we have the 2019 currently available.