Everything You Should Know About Brancott Estate
Brancott Estate was the first New Zealand wine brand to catapult the country to its ongoing fame for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The launch of the first 1979 vintage was to change the face of white wine drinking trends less than 30 years later, and launch the phenomenon that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is today around the world.
From having a tiny section of the wine market, New Zealand now holds claim as the 7th largest wine exporting country and 10th largest in volume, despite only producing 1% of the world's wine. Of these exports, 86% are Sauvignon Blanc. They have also developed a reputation for quality, with wine drinkers on average being prepared to spend more money on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc than on any other wine.
This momentous shift was pioneered by the owners of Brancott Estate, then known as Montana Wines, and the New Zealand wine industry has a to thank them for.
It wasn't all plain sailing however. There was initially very little support for the idea of planting Sauvignon Blanc in the Marlborough wine region, since this was viewed as being too cold for quality grape growing. How wrong the sceptics were! By contrast, the owners of Brancott had never doubted it. In 1973, in front of the local media, the founder of the company, Croatian immigrant, Frank Yukich, proclaimed:
"Wines from here will become world-famous."
The Brancott estate wines, known in those days under the Montana brand name, were first exported in 1980, and by the 1990s were taking the world by storm, with this vibrant new style, of intensely fresh, clean and zesty white wine. The company now has vineyards throughout the Marlborough region, throughout the South Island, and also in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay from the north island, and is one of the largest producers in the country.
As larger branded wines go, Brancott has managed to maintain relevance and popularity in a crowded market. The consistent quality, affordable price and enduring style of Kiwi Sauvignon has kept it as a benchmark for New Zealand Sauvignons.
What are the styles of Brancott Estate Wines?
Brancott's core range consists of the Estate wines and lower alcohol, lower calorie Flight Sauvignon. We've left a brief review of each below, but you can also visit the product page and see what other WinesDirect members have to say too.
The Brancott Estate Range
There are two key wines in their headline range that will be instantly recognisable for most.
- Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc – the flagship of the brand, and multi award winner, with recent accolades including Decanter and IWC trophies, the style stays consistent, with its persistent, intensely fresh tropical fruit and fresh citrus character, with a bright freshness and zip. An absolute classic, which has held fast to its roots, and its principles.
- Brancott Estate Pinot Grigio – Pinot Grigio is probably second only to Sauvignon as your everyday white wines go. For this one, the team decided to choose grapes from Australia instead to create a fruity, flavoursome style that will make you rethink going to Italy for your Pinot Grigios. Excpect yellow pear, lemon and citrus characters making it smooth, refreshing and very quaffable.
The Brancott Estate Flight Range
A relative newcomer category that matches the modern trend for lower-alcohol wines, Flight takes Brancott's famous Sauvignon and lowers the alcohol and calories.
- Brancott Estate Flight Sauvignon Blanc - To achieve this lighter aim, they harvested the grapes earlier than with the flagship range making the wine naturally lighter rathen than artifically. It has got rave reviews already, delivering those tropical passionfruit, gooseberry notes that you love about Brancott. It has the same crisp, refreshing feel and citrus burst too. It is a Brancott that doesn't compromise in the pursuit of healthier drinking, which is too often the case with these lighter styles of wine.