Winemaker Notes
Frenzy's Mount Richmond 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is a delightfully expressive wine. On the nose, it exudes vibrant aromas of tropical fruits, such as passionfruit and ripe pineapple, intertwined with zesty citrus notes. On the palate, it delivers a burst of flavors, including juicy grapefruit, tangy lime, and hints of fresh herbs. The wine exhibits a well-balanced acidity, providing a refreshing and lively sensation. With its impeccable structure and long, crisp finish, this Sauvignon Blanc exemplifies the elegance and quality for which the Upper Wairau region is renowned. It is a delightful representation of Marlborough’s exceptional 2023 vintage.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
With more richness and deeper flavors than most Marlborough Sauvignons priced under $20, this still shows lots of linear energy to complement its breadth and depth. An impressively complete wine and a terrific value at this price.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive and mouthwatering, with firm yuzu, mango and lime flavors that mingle well with herbal accents of lemon verbena, lemon thyme and fresh ginger root. Notes of green tea linger on the finish.
Made in Blenheim, the wine capital of New Zealand, Frenzy Sauvignon Blanc is produced by Paua Bay wines and is a carefully made blend of the best wines from selected vineyards. Capturing the spirit of New Zealand, Frenzy is crisp, refreshing, vibrant, aromatic and energetic with hints of peach, grapefruit, lime, melon and fresh cut grass. New Zealand produces what many wine critics consider the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc, so drink up the Frenzy.
Winemaker Rebecca "Bec” Wiffen has strong family ties to the region of Marlborough. Ingrained is her tradition of crafting wines of multi-layered complexity, depth and elegance. Bec’s recipe for success is careful timing and hand selection of vineyard blocks at the time of harvest, followed by small batch fermentation.
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.