Winemaker Notes
This style of fermentation makes for a lower toned, less acidic Sauvignon Blanc that strays from the traditional, “loud” styles of other New Zealand wines. Gentle floral notes on the nose but on the palate there is an intense texture, with some of the typical New Zealand notes, slight grapefruit and grassy hints combined with citrus and more floral tones. True to its origins but with nuance, drinkability and flow.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This new label was co-founded by Clive Dougall, former longtime winemaker at acclaimed biodynamic estate, Seresin. This single vineyard project takes a more natural, minimal approach from the winemaking front. Pale gold in color, it smells of honey, fresh butter, damp hay, stones, waxy lemon, pineapple and wild flowers and herbs. The palate is long and textural, playing quite beautifully with the prickly acidity. Vintage ’59 Imports
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in a mix of older French puncheons (35%) and stainless steel (65%), the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc boasts hints of crushed graphite, stone fruit and mixed citrus on the nose. Fuller and richer in the mouth than many Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, it hints at honeyed grapefruit, features a fine, silky mouthfeel, and it wraps up with a lithe, lingering grapefruit finish. It's a top-notch effort from Clive Dougall, former winemaker at Seresin Estate.
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.