Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc displays intense lifted aromas of white peach, preserved lemons and hints of elderflower. The palate introduces delightful citrus based mouth-watering intensity and finishes with a strong textural component.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
If you're looking for a classic, tropical yet green Sauvignon Blanc, walk away, because the 2020 The Paper Heritage Block Renwick Estate is a diametrically opposed expression. It’s a firm, floral and flinty style with line and tension. The wine isn't made every year, but when it's deemed good enough, it’s fermented and aged in large-format oak for nine months. Compact and honed, the wine conjures the image of a crowd surging forward. Additional flavors of ripe apples and lees-derived almond pastry notes join the flinty, floral characters on the precise, long finish. Smart stuff.
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Vinous
If you're looking for a classic, tropical yet green Sauvignon Blanc, walk away, because the 2020 The Paper Heritage Block Renwick Estate is a diametrically opposed expression. It’s a firm, floral and flinty style with line and tension. The wine isn't made every year, but when it's deemed good enough, it’s fermented and aged in large-format oak for nine months. Compact and honed, the wine conjures the image of a crowd surging forward. Additional flavors of ripe apples and lees-derived almond pastry notes join the flinty, floral characters on the precise, long finish. Smart stuff.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fermented and aged in large for- mat French oak, this age worthy Sauvignon is still young and quiet. With some time in glass, it whispers notes of flint, lemon pith, grapefruit, peach and grass. Acidity is a touch shrill but there’s lovely texture and a mouthwatering, citrus finish. Needs a bit more time in bottle.
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Wine Spectator
Complex and distinctive, with dried honeysuckle and lanolin overtones to a core of apple, white grapefruit and lime notes. Finishes bright, with mouthwatering acidity.
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.