Winemaker Notes
The Little Sheep, Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough shows aromas of ripe peach and citrus notes with flavors of lemon, lime and a hint of green apple. Well-balanced acidity and a lingering hint of nectarine frames the finish.
This flexible wine will pair with a wide variety of salads, avocados, crab cakes, goat cheese, mango, green vegetables and basil, to name just a few.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Looking for a Sauvignon Blanc deal? The 2023 The Little Sheep of New Zealand is ready to oblige. Fresh and alive, this wine offers aromas and flavors of savory spices, dried herbs, and green olives. Enjoy it with a clambake. (Tasted: January 12, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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.