Huia Marlborough Pinot Gris 2004

Fresh fruit, minerals, stones, and a waft of the rarified air that surrounds this breathtakingly beautiful winery, form the key elements of the 2004 Huia Marlborough Pinot Gris. In scent as well as flavor, all these elements come together to express the exhilaration and seductive charm that seems to pervade all of Huia’s wines. Full flavored for Pinot Gris, this Huia offering contains a good dollop of fresh tangy fruit as well as superb acid balance, which culminates in a long enjoyable finish. Elegant but quietly seductive, the 2004 Huia Pinot Gris packs a healthy dose of alcohol that manifests itself only after you have consumed a glass or two. Therefore, consider yourself forewarned, and enjoy! For optimum drinking pleasure, we suggest serving the Huia Pinot Gris fairly well chilled (about 40° F).

Seafood seems to hold sway with the 2004 Huia Marlborough Pinot Gris, a sentiment the tasting panel echoes with delight. Shrimp Scampi, served with authentic Pecorino Romano or Toscano, is a clear favorite with the panel. Clams, mussels, and oysters, served in a myriad of ways, provide other tried and true accompaniments. However, there is more to this Huia Pinot Gris than seafood monogamy. Hence, we suggest that you serve this delightful Marlborough Pinot Gris with Almond Chicken Salad, Chinese Vegetables, or a plate full of gourmet cheeses, made from cow or sheep’s milk. Some perennial cheese favorites include Baby Swiss, Tillamook Cheddar, and even Gorgonzola. Salut!

An affable husband and wife team, Claire and Mike Allen run this beautiful, family owned winery with both tenderness and precision. As one sits at their kitchen table and gazes out upon the stunning beauty of the surrounding Wairau Valley, replete with vines and majestic mountains, it is hard not to see and taste in this estate’s wines the purity and rarified air of this special spot. And as one peers beyond to the silhouettes of lofty mountains bathed in shimmering light, it is easy to understand how wine is made at Huia and why it tastes so pure and natural. Undoubtedly, the supreme terroir at this property lends its hand to the ultimate quality that flows from Huia’s tanks and barrels, but sustainable viticultural practices that are away of life at the Allen’s budding domain also contribute to this property’s enormous success. In addition, Claire and Mike bring some of the finest winemaking credentials to their small wine estate, situated along Marlborough’s Rapaura Road in Blenheim at the very tip of New Zealand’s picturesque South Island. The Allen’s have the distinguished honor of being one of the few husband and wife teams to have studied at Roseworthy in South Australia, one of the world’s most prestigious schools of oenology. Moreover, they both helped establish the renowned and now legendary Cloudy Bay Estate, before embarking upon Huia in 1996. Each has also completed an extended stage in Champagne where they worked at Veuve Clicquot and Taittinger, respectively, in order to master the art of producing top-notch bubbly. So when it comes to making expressive, individually styled white, red, and sparkling wines that exhibit flavor as well as panache, no one in New Zealand knows how to do it better than Claire and Mike Allen. Like most Marlborough producers, white wines constitute bread and butter for Huia and dominate this estate’s portfolio, but increasingly sparkling wines and Pinot Noir have joined on at Huia to rave reviews.