Clos Henri

Region - Marlborough, New Zealand Appellation - Marlborough Winemaker - Damien Yvon Farming - Organic; Biodynamic Website - www.clos-henri.com

History Nestled in the southern foothills of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley in New Zealand, Clos Henri is an organic estate established and meticulously run by the internationally-renowned Sancerre family of Henri Bourgeois. Eager to discover unique and new winemaking perspectives, the Bourgeois family embarked on a 12-year worldwide search for land similar to their property in Sancerre, known for its premium Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. In 2000, the family discovered these new horizons and purchased 98 ha of pasture land in New Zealand’s most famous wine region.

“This is a family firm that seems to me to be doing precisely what far more of France’s tens of thousands of wine producers should be doing: forging important links in the outside world, broadening their horizons while exchanging ideas, all the time making better and better back home.” - Jancis Robinson The region’s exceptional acts in synergy with the fascinating geology, making Marlborough an ideal place for growing Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Specifically, its long, dry growing season, intense sunlight and the contrast between warm days and cool nights, results in wines with a unique intensity and finesse for long aging potential.

The Bourgeois family believes that working organically with grown on their own estate and using dry-farming practices enables them to achieve true terroir expression in its purest form. The Wairau fault line runs diagonally through the estate, dramatically shaping the complex soil composition into three unique soil types – Wither clay, Broadbridge clay and Greywacke river stone – each personality reflected in the wines.

“We believe that natural winegrowing techniques paired with no irrigation, leads to true terroir expression in our varieties of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and produces fruit of the highest quality possible.” - Damien Yvon, Operational Chief Executive/On-site Winemaker

Vinification The location of the winery next to the allows quick transport time from vine to cellar. During , hand- picked fruit is placed in small trucks and transferred to the winery using gravity lifts for optimum protection of the grapes. Sauvignon Blanc avoids skin contact as much as possible to hold finesse and minerality, while Pinot Noir has gentle pumpovers during the early stage of maceration to optimize careful extraction and ripe tannins. Clos Henri

Petit Clos Sauvignon Blanc Petit Clos, French for “small enclosed ”, captures the vibrancy of the estate. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks to retain fruit purity and flavor and then aged on fine yeast lees for 3 months. Lees stirring over this time allows the wine to stabilize naturally, enabling the winemaker to fine the juice only once before a light, non-sterile filtration. The extended lees contact helps the wine to gain roundness and texture.

Petit Clos Pinot Noir The Pinot Noir comes from young vines of the Clos Henri Vineyard on three different soil types that are handpicked in the cool, early mornings to retain fruit integrity. The fruit is fermented and macerated in stainless steel tanks and aged in new French oak barrels for approximately 11 months to retain an aromatic intensity.

Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc The high density planting, small yields and naturally windy days allow for a better fruit positioning, management and aeration. This results in the purest expression of stony terroir reflected in the wine’s intense minerality. Fermentation occurs in 90% stainless steel and 10% old French oak barrels. The wine is then aged on fine yeast lees for 8 months with lees stirring, both of which result in a well-rounded Sauvignon Blanc with both body and mouth feel.

Clos Henri Pinot Noir After a cold-soak, this wine is fermented in small half-ton open fermenters with gentle hand-plunging to enhance optimum color and tannin extraction. The wine matures in French barrels (30% new) and undergoes a light filtration prior to bottling. The estate follows a very hands-off approach to winemaking, allowing the inherent beauty in the and the soil to shine through in full.

Chambers & Chambers Direct Import Portfolio ~ California / Hawaii Ph: 800.999.1029 Revised Jan 2016 www.chamberswines.com