Winemaker Notes
#80 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Best Buys of 2018
Pale straw color with lifted notes of fresh grapefruit, guava and nettles. The palate is fresh with concentrated fruit flavors. Lively acid provides a fresh crisp finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is light, bright and well priced wine that offers high-toned notes of lemon, pear, pineapple and a hint of green bell pepper. The slightly oily texture is balanced by zippy acidity and a long, juicy finish.
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.
Part of the Wairarapa region in the southern end of the country’s North Island, Martinborough is a bucolic appellation full of artisan, lifestyle wine producers. Above all else, their goals are to tend vineyards for low yields and create wines of supreme quality. Pinot noir is the main grape variety here, occupying over half of the land under vine.
Comparing topography, climate and soils, the region is nearly identical to Marlborough except that it produces top quality reds on the regular.