Winemaker Notes
Bright lemon hue to the wine. An expressively interesting aroma of white flowers, citrus and ripe tropical summer fruits. The palate is focused and concentrated showing ripe fruits and citrus characters with an attractive texture and balanced acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2023 Sauvignon+ is 100% Sauvignon Blanc this year. However, the fruit is not all Marlborough, with a small portion (7%) of North Canterbury fruit included. The result is a retrained, elegant, herbal expression with sage and chamomile characters joining delicate red apple flavors. It is textured and has an appealing phenolic character that leaves you licking your lips and contributes a reassuring structural note on the quiet finish. A little more length would elevate this further. It is quite the antithesis of what you might consider classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which means it's not just the acidity that makes this wine rather refreshing.
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James Suckling
Aromas of citrus, rice water, subtle celery and shiso follow through to a medium body with fresh acidity and a steely and minerally finish. A little light at the finish, but shows a brightness and verve.
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.