Winemaker Notes
The palate is textured and elegant, with the distinctive mineral finish that the Estate Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is renowned for. Concentrated flavors of snow pea, flowering herbs, green papaya and blackcurrant, with underlying ripe green citrus notes.
Enjoy as an aperitif, or with freshly shucked oysters, steamed green lip mussels or goat cheese salad.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Lovely savoury ripe fruit lift, sea air and tomato leaf notes on the nose. Ripe and inviting on the palate.
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Wine Enthusiast
The heady aromas we've come to expect from NZ Sauvignon Blanc are out in full force here: freshly sliced green bell pepper, passionfruit, guava, lime and grapefruit pith, with a little of that feline pungency. It's balanced, fresh, slippery and crisp with the ultimate drinkability factor.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2021 Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is youthful, fresh, and well-built. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers pleasing aromas and flavors of grapefruit peel and savory spices. Enjoy it with a dozen raw oysters. (Tasted; October 3, 2021, 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.