Winemaker Notes
Classic Dillon’s Point sub-regional characters; ethereal and lifted but with a taut structural savouriness. A year that accentuates the vibrant spectrum of our single vineyard with fruit energy and exquisite purity.
Pair with scallops, soft goat cheese, rock cod, or prosciutto.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This small, family-run producer makes a solid, salt-tinged Sauvignon Blanc from the estate vineyards close to the sea in the cooler Awatere Valley subregion of Marlborough. This wine is a relatively quiet mix of lemon zest, apple peel, sea spray and jalapeño, accompanied by prickly, mouthwatering acidity, a chalky texture and a citrusy finish.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Taking New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to another level has been the underlying mantra of the Zephyr wines. The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc shows excellent intensity and flavor range of this grape variety. TASTING NOTES: This wine is crisp and frisky. Its aromas and flavors of dried herbs and savory earth suggest a pairing with piquant greens and young goat cheese. (Tasted: June 14, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
-
James Suckling
A very smooth lime and lemon citrus focus. Impressive tautness. Delivers smooth nectarine and yellow grapefruit flavors into the finish.
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.