Winemaker Notes
#29 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2023
The Invivo X SJP Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of five estates in Marlborough, spanning both Wairau and Awatere Valleys with vines ageing from three to eleven years. Sarah Jessica loved the intensity of style from the Waihopai Valley and has blended that with pure fruit aromatics from the Western Wairau and the power and purity found in the Westhaven Vineyard in the Dashwood. The Westhaven vineyard is one of the last blocks of Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough to be harvested and so has an extremely long season to develop flavor and power.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Leaps out of the glass with vivid aromatics, including passion fruit, pineapple and guava, with accents of crunchy sea salt, lime zest, fresh-grated ginger and white pepper minerality. Shows extra verve on the finish, where details of green tea and lemongrass emerge.
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James Suckling
Aromas of passion fruit, peaches, sliced yellow grapefruit and tarragon. Medium-bodied with nice concentration and a silky texture. Candied lemon 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.
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.