Winemaker Notes
The 2024 Alpine Rift Sauvignon Blanc is an elegant interpretation of the classic Marlborough style. Enticing aromas of white-fleshed nectarine, papaya and honeydew melon with a hint of mandarin and jalapeno on the nose are underpinned by a ripe, richly textured palate and crisp, citrus finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Seven percent of the 2024 Alpine Rift Sauvignon Blanc was fermented in oak, and the wine is textural and very fine. It represents a refined and restrained expression of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, yet it doesn’t lose the juicy, satisfying intensity of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, ditto the chalky texture. It's pure. This is really good. I like the crystalline polish of it.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Cherry and strawberry juice is woven with minty herbs, cloves and cracked pepper to form a hotel soap character. It's mid-weight with quite a powerful line of sappy, herb-flecked tannins, but with enough fruit density (and purity) to hold them up. Sip very slightly chilled with a fatty charcuterie.
Best Buy -
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2024 Alpine Rift SAUVIGNON BLANC Marlborough shows a faint straw hue and opens with fresh garden herb aromas; medium-bodied and delightfully persistent on the palate, it carries gentle herbal flavors with a lively, perky finish that keeps things bright and engaging, and with herb-crusted lamb and fresh goat cheese finds a lively harmony, where the wine’s garden herb aromatics mirror the green seasoning on the lamb, its bright persistence cutting through the meat’s richness while the tangy goat cheese picks up the wine’s crisp, perky finish—fresh, savory, and beautifully balanced. (Tasted: April 3, 2026, San Francisco, CA)
-
James Suckling
Very typical sauvignon blanc with sliced pears and spiced apples. Medium-bodied with a fruity, fresh finish and a softness at the same time.
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.