Dog Point Vineyard Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc 2013
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James
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Robert
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Subtle oak allows stone-fruit, mineral, citrus, struck match and nutty lees flavours to take centre stage here. It contributes to the wine’s rich and creamy texture. Complex, with a funky character.
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James Suckling
stunning experssion of sauvignon that marries complexity and purity to exalted effect. The nose is all tight-wound sulphides and grapefruit citrus, really breathtaking, lemon rind and lime leaf here too. The palate has a core of scintillatingly pure grapefruit citrus flavor, a wealth of fleshy textural presence and a core of fine, driving acidity. Terrific nutty nuanced resolve.
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Wine Spectator
Complex, supple and seductive, presenting an aromatic mix of honeysuckle, smoke, beeswax, lime blossom and chamomile notes that give way to ripe white peach, melon, green tea and lemon zest elements. Delivers fresh herbal details of lemon verbena and marjoram, finishing with crisp, clean acidity and lingering flavors. Drink now through 2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a couple of pioneers of the style, this barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc shows aggressive fumé-style aromas of smoky struck flint. Grilled melon and fig flavors take hold of the silky midpalate, followed by lingering grapefruit on the finish. True to its usual impressive standard.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There is so much to love and commend about the 2013 Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc but, as in a few of the previous vintages, I have concerns about the levels of sulfides (complex savory notes stemming from reduced sulfur compounds as opposed to “free” or obvious sulfur). The nose is led by struck flint / matchstick notes and characteristic “funk” with appealing underlying passionfruit, lemon curd and pink grapefruit hints. Medium-bodied with a silken texture, the sulfides are just a tad confronting here too, though the concentration of fruit is great. The nose / palate improves with air and it may cellar gloriously…if those sulfides ever marry-in with the fruit. Rating: 90+?
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Robert
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Almost since its inception, Dog Point has been recognized as among the very top (arguably the very top) wine producers in New Zealand. Their two very different Sauvignon Blancs, their Pinot Noir and their Chardonnay are all wines of astounding quality and complexity not just in the context of New Zealand wines, but globally. Their wines are hand-crafted from estate fruit grown on some of the oldest vines and best sites in Marlborough, some plantings dating back to the 1970s. These older well-established vines situated on free draining silty clay loams are supplemented with fruit from closely planted hillside vines. Yields are low, and the grapes are hand-harvested. That’s our attempt at an understated New Zealand statement: few hand-pick fruit in New Zealand (95% is machine-harvested), and Dog Point’s Sauvignon Blanc yields, for example, are 50% below the average for the region.
Dog Point’s focus on pruning, soil health through organic farming, use of native yeasts and for one wine selected neutral commercial yeasts, all point to a quality and detail-obsessed producer intimately familiar with its region. Dog Point is in fact the result of a collaboration between two Cloudy Bay alumni, enologist James Healy and founding viticulturalist Ivan Sutherland. Both left Cloudy Bay at the end of 2003, and the first vintage of Dog Point released was the 2002 vintage.
The winemaking is non-interventionist, and all the wines (with the exception of the stainless steel Sauvignon Blanc) are given extended barrel aging with minimal racking and handling. Bottling is done without fining and with minimal filtration. The resulting wines are intense, complex, with racy natural acidity and ripe, full fruit flavors.
The name Dog Point dates from the earliest European settlement of Marlborough and the introduction of sheep to the district. These were the days of few fences, of boundary riders and boundary-keeping dogs. Shepherds’ dogs sometimes became lost or wandered off and eventually bred into a wild pack. Their home was a tussock and scrub covered hill, overlooking the Wairau Plains, designated by the early settlers as Dog Point.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.