Winemaker Notes
#32 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2018
Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc displays intense aromas of ripe passionfruit, elderflower, limes and fresh herbs. The palate introduces a delightful lime/citrus based mouth-watering intensity and finishes with a strong textural component. Delicious upon release, this wine will improve for 3-5 years post vintage.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Rich and complex, with honeysuckle and freshly grated ginger notes up front, giving way to juicy and crisp Meyer lemon, yellow apple and Asian pear flavors. Hints of lime zest and dried mango linger. Editors' Choice
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Combining hints of passion fruit and gooseberry, the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc is a textbook example of what Marlborough can deliver but rarely does. A bit of cut grass adds green to the tropical-fruit mix without going overboard in this medium-bodied, silky-textured wine. It should drink well for a year or two.
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Wine Enthusiast
The relatively cooler temps of the 2017 vintage are obvious on this Sauvignon Blanc, where aromas of green beans and jalapeño peppers mix with guava and grapefruit rind, followed closely by a solid whiff of salty sea air. The palate is equally saline, with a lovely satiny texture and lemony acidity. A wine for oysters if there ever was one.
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.