Winemaker Notes
Color: Pale straw / green hints Bouquet: Ripe tropical fruit especially passion fruit and melon. An extra hint of riverstone shows through Palate: Ripe flavours continue through. A subtle creamy note contributes richness and interest. The taught acid structure provides keen focus to the palate and balances the ripe tropical fruit flavours. The finish is powerful and reminiscent of passion fruit and melon.
At Spy Valley, emphasis on viticultural excellence creates wines that capture the essence of the environment and are classically Marlborough. Owning all our vineyards ensures total control of the winemaking process, true single vineyard estate production. Youthful, exuberant wines bursting with fruit flavour and aroma are crafted using modern winemaking techniques by our winemaker Ant Mackenzie, one of New Zealand's most experienced and a true expert at capturing the essence of the season.
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.