Spy Valley Wines

The Spy Valley is not a valley full of mysterious looking guys in shades trading in microfilm, but a place where they make damn fine Pinot. The Wairau Valley is the site of choice to make this single site wine and it exudes all the Pinosity the Cracka office tend to get excited about. We think you’ll be excited too when you sniff the red fruits and spice before enjoying the supple sweet fruit as it flows freely down the palate.

The envoy has arrived. Normally an envoy is a diplomat with a message, well the message is well and truly clear with this single site Riesling. That is a wine that states clearly where it’s from and that place is the Wairau Valley in Marlborough. It’s lifted in aromas of lime and apple and has some nice minerality, but the palate is where the magic happens with the acid and sweetness balancing on a tightrope with elements of honey and lanolin on the focused finish.

The Envoy range are single vineyard wines that speak of place and that place is the Wairau Valley. These are wines that tell a story and the story is authentic as you can get. This is not any ordinary Sauvingnon Blanc from Marlborough this has some serious detail and shows more complexity than your average Steven Segal movie. There’s ripe citrus and tropical notes before a textural palate of citrus and ends with more balanced acid than you’d expect to find at a Pink Floyd concert.

Contrary to popular belief, the Spy Valley is not a CIA outpost or a place where men roam in long trench coats depositing briefcases by park benches. It’s actually one of Marlborough’s leading winery’s that makes smoking hot Pinot Noir. If you love light bodied reds that are silky, sexy and seductive then we suggest you jump on this. We could tell you that it tastes of wild cherries in the forest but all you need to know is that it’s the kind of wine you can serve someone on a first date and they’ll be smitten with both you and the wine.

When we spy a Riesling we really like, we send out a reconnaissance team to convince the wine to become a double agent and work for us. This Riesling from Spy Valley wines in Marlborough works for us in so many ways and it’s nice to see a different white variety from NZ taking the limelight. It shows a core of citrus with some mineral notes before delivering a punchy palate of lemon and lime before a dry finish.

I spy with my little eye a Chardonnay that you will just love. It’s not just Australia who have fallen in love with this white variety again, it’s the kiwis too, and why not when it tastes this good. This has got a bit of everything on the nose with peach, fig, and oak all teeming for attention before an elegant palate of citrus and tropical fruits are carried by nutty, textured barrel characters. This superbly crafted Chardonnay is a spy that would defect for a diner of roast chicken.

Can you keep a secret? If so you’ll make a good spy, and good spy’s are one thing that come out of Spy Valley wines. This spot in Marlborough’s Wairau Valley is so named because of a nearby satelite communication center that is a spy base. This cheeky Gewurtztraminer has been sought by us to defect from it’s owners and work for team Cracka. It’s lifted with lychee, mango and other tropical aromas before a full and persistent palate that ends cleanly.

The wines of Spy Valley are a secret worth holding onto because once everybody knows how good these wines are, we’ll have blown their cover and no spy wants that. This Gris has nothing to hide and is made in a generous and giving style with plenty of upfront pear, spice and floral aromas. The palate is glossy and long with a dominance of peach, pear and honey and a long, decadent finish.

The team at Spy Valley know more about making fine Sauvignon Blanc than you can poke a stick at. In fact, they are pretty close to the top of the tree with a complex style that also has that vibrant, startling freshness of acidity. Far from your average Marlborough Sav, it is the kind of wine that you will come back to again and again.

We were lucky enough to spy this single site Chardonnay before any of our competitors and as ‘envoys’ of taste, we highly recommend you jump on this wine. This shows Marlborough’s ability to turn out more than just Sauvignon Blanc and as a region to watch for other whites in general. It’s mineral like with citrus aromas and nutty characteristics. The palate is precise and wonderfully structured with a slight creaminess and taut natural acids.

We spied this Pinot from Marlborough and sent in our special agents to nab as much as we could get our hands on. The wines of Spy Valley are true to the region and show off the varieties that perform well there. Once you try this varietal Pinot you’ll find it hard to stop chugging down a glass, as it’s seriously smooth and slurpable as all good Pinot should be. The nose shows bright, raspberry fruit with an earthy complexity, a soft palate with a chalky texture and clean acid finish. Team it up with a mushroom ragout on polenta for a match made in heaven.

While Marlborough might have made its name for Sauvignon Blanc, ignore the Riesling to your own cost because they can be damn fine. This lime scented example is as fresh as a daisy, pure and vibrant with some moreish texture to. I like it, and so will you.

We spy with our little eyes a wine that is going to be a big hit with all you Savvy lovers. It’s from the mecca of Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough and comes from a highly-awarded producer who know how to coax the best out of the variety. The satellite is a range designed for everyday drinking so take it to your local Asian eatery and pair this with salt and pepper squid for full effect. Everything that you expect from a Kiwi Sauvignon showing intense citrus and grapefruit before a refreshing palate of fresh fruit and dried herb before a crisp finish.

Colour: Pale straw Bouquet: Roast nuts mingle with citrus and fig fruit aromas, and faint notes of wet stones. Palate: A precise and focused palate with a cleansing, mineral finish. Delicate hazel nut and complex secondary flavours will emerge with bottle age. Spy Valley Awards & Accolades "Top of the line Chardonnay from Spy Valley. Spicy oak influence from 18 months in the barrel. Rich flavours of lime, lemon, apple and hazelnut." - Phil Parker, Hi Society Magazine, May 10 "French toast and citrus nose. Hints of herbs and minerals. Fresh, steely acidity leads to a strong finish." 3 stars - Decanter Magazine, August 2010

Colour: Pale green. Bouquet: Lime, honeysuckle and riverstones Palate: Crisp acid is delicately balanced with sweetness and ripe fruit tannins to give a lingering, mouthwatering finish. Tight and youthful on release, expect good cellaring potential. Spy Valley Awards & Accolades "Suggestions of zesty sweet lime and mineral, sweetish, but so taut and racy it's like dancing on a tightrope. A late harvest style with a steely, crisp finish." 4 Stars - Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times, March 2009 "Wow! My first sip of Riesling in 2009 and this is an absolute beauty! Scented with yellow plum, apple skin, beeswax and ripe lime and white peach characters this wine simply sings on the pala...

Colour: Pale straw Bouquet Lemon meringue, fig and white peach, seasoned with restrained oak. Palate An elegant texture retaining juicy acidity. Zesty fruit balanced with nutty and creamy barrel influences. Spy Valley Awards & Accolades Silver Medal - Royal Easter Wine Show (NZ), May 2011 Silver Medal - International Wine Challenge (UK), May 2011

Colour: Pale straw. Bouquet: A complex melting pot of dried herb, ripe citrus and rich tropical fruits. Palate: The structure is fine and persistent with firm acid and a vibrant fruit base. Secondary barrel influences round out the palate. The underlying citrus character is a strong feature of this site. Spy Valley Awards & Accolades "A bottle of Spy Valley's Envoy Sauvignon Blanc was equally delicious; not nearly as pungent as a typical Marlborough sauvignon but with bags of personality and flavour." 4 Stars - Jane Skilton, Sunday Star Times, August 2010 "A rich, powerful Sauvignon Blanc with strong mineral, gooseberry and lemon grass flavours. Impressive ethereal texture and leng...

Colour: Ruby. Bouquet: Sweet cherry and red fruits are underlined by fragrant notes of incense, mocha and lavender. Palate: Fresh fruit supports a crisp and crunch texture, with a long firm finish. Just a touch of the usual licorice note from our vineyard. Spy Valley Awards & Accolades "Weighty, rich and supple, this is a very elegant and youthful red. Full ruby, with a floral, scented bouquet, it is muscular (14.5% alc/vol) but not heavy, with sweet-fruit delights and concentrated, vibrant cherry/plum flavours. Finely textured, with obvious potential, it’s best opened mid-2011+." 4 1/2 stars - Michael Cooper, Wine Estate magazine, July 2010  "Big, blackberry aromas. Powerful ...

Our gewürztraminer is produced using innovative, modern winemaking practices. After gentle pressing, the wine is fermented slowly to retain the intense rose-petal aromas of the grapes, then aged on lees for several months in stainless steel tanks before bottling. This wine is fruit-driven in style, typically with intense aromas of rose-petal, Turkish delight and lychee with a full-bodied, oily palate. Spy Valley Awards & Accolades Top Gewurztraminer - Cuisine Magazine, Issue 145, March 2011 Best White Wine - Cuisine magazine, April 11

Pinot Gris produces low yields of concentrated grapes on a stony riverbed terrace in our Marlborough vineyard. Grapes are gently pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks to give intense floral and fresh pear flavours. This wine is produced from very ripe grapes, with intense aromas and a rich, minerally, persistent palate. Colour: Straw Bouquet: Ripe citrus skin, pear and nutmeg aromas with a gentle waft of bran and rolled oats Palate: A finely balanced combination of fruit sweetness and a long rich finish. Peachy fruit and a dash of manuka honey. Delicious. Spy Valley Awards & Accolades "Quite a deep colour for such a young wine suggesting plenty of skin contact. The palate ...