McBride Sisters Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
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This wine is 100% Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and 75% of the fruit is from Home Block, Wairau Bar where the rich top soils of the lower Wairau Valley Home Vineyard have long been considered the finest agricultural soils in Marlborough. They give us complex flavors and pungent aromatics. Combine this with the influence from Rarangi alluvials deposited by the mighty Wairau River 300 years ago, and the result is wines displaying complexity, personality and expression. 25% of the fruit is from Redwood Hills, Awatere Valley where the naturally low cropping Redwood Hills Awatere Vineyard provides fruit with elegance and length. The soils consist of free draining sandy/silt loams. The cool night’s help retain acidity. The restrained yet powerful fruit from our Awatere Vineyard perfectly complements the more exuberant and fruit forward expressions we get from the Wairau Home block.
This 2018 Sauvignon Blanc has a perfumed bouquet displaying aromatics of grapefruit, lime blossom, and nectarine. The palate displays nectarine, peach and citrus flavors, supported by some more tropical nuances of papaya, and guava. The Awatere fruit dominates the back of the palate with suggestions of lime, nettles and sage. The wine is generously textured with a refreshing vein of acidity.
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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.