Winemaker Notes
An excitingly expressive nose showing ripe tropical fruits with mineral/saline aromas and underlying complexity. The palate is taught and powerful showing ripe fruits with lemongrass and citrus flavors, that flow into a fine phenolic and saline texture adding weight and complexity to the wine.
To be enjoyed with fresh seafood or a summer salad.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced from the biodynamically farmed Churton Vineyard, Pyramid Valley's 2018 Sauvignon Blanc is a bit flinty and smoky, then eases into notes of nectarine and pink grapefruit. Fermented in old puncheons, it's somewhat Graves-like in style, with medium to full body, an easygoing succulence on the mid-palate and a crisp lime-and-grapefruit finish. It should drink well for at least a few years.
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Wine Enthusiast
The fruit for this wine comes from the well-regarded, biodynamic Churton Vineyard in Marlborough. The nose offers a well of flavor in ripe pears, lemons, honeyed figs, flint, tarragon and other fresh green herbs. The palate is texturally taut and talc-like, sliced by crunchy acidity and backed by citrus and honey flavors. It has an endlessly long, lemony finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Pyramid Valley Appellation Series Sauvignon Blanc is satisfying and lively on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright with aromas and flavors of ripe fruit, savor spices, and zesty citrus. Enjoy it with steamed mussels in a garlic/wine broth. (Tasted: March 8, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
This has a gently waxy and grassy feel with a wealth of fresh limes and dialed-back fruit, delivered in pastry-like, savory mode.
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Wine Spectator
Distinctive, with a note of beeswax and honeysuckle adding an aromatic dimension to the pear, citrus and yellow apple flavors. Fresh 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.