Sauvignon Blanc 2023

The 2023 vintage in Marlborough turned out to be exceptional, producing grapes and then wine of incredible quality, although it certainly didn’t always look that way. Spring 2022 started with good weather leading to a successful flowering and reasonable bunch numbers. From January onwards the weather was quite mixed, with showers and inconsistent temperatures, however the grapes came through in good order and the last two weeks prior to harvest had perfect conditions for slow, perfect ripening with cool nights and warm days.

The grapes for this wine came from specially selected rows on our Jacksons Road vineyard, with a mix of some 30yo vines still on their own roots, some recently replanted younger vines and a third block with classical ripe Rapaura characteristics; all relatively low cropping.  We utilise careful viticultural practices to ensure low yielding, impeccably clean, ripe fruit. The grapes were harvested in the cool of the night on 30 March 2023, one of our latest harvests in recent times. This wine was mostly fermented and handled in stainless steel with a small portion in aged oak to add complexity. It was retained on lees for several months to gain even more complexity before being bottled on 1 August 2023

Delicate pale straw in colour, this wine has a rich, luscious, ripe, tropical fruited nose displaying passionfruit, citrus, basil and capsicum. As the nose broadens it reveals sweet fresh cut grass and ripe tropical flavours of mango, stone-fruits and honey dew melon, with a hint of boxwood, to accompany the limey citrus and herbal notes.  The palate is smooth, concentrated and rich with ripe peach and citrus hints. This is a complex, mouth-filling and moreish wine, attractively dry to the taste with perfectly poised, tingly, crisp acidity and a lovely textural element. It has a long, lingering, elegant and satisfying finish.

This refined, elegant wine has considerable depth will continue to develop and gain even greater complexity. It should offer pleasure for several years.

Technical Notes

Alcohol: 13.4%, Acidity: 7.8, PH: 3.25, Residual Sugar: 5.9 g/l.  

Reviews

Fascinating nose, moving from passionfuit to tamarillo, to smoke, to licorice with hints of sweat. The palate captures your attention with greengage plum, cut grass, herbs and a hint of wine gums, a combination of richness yet juiciness, developing a little musky element. Great flavour intensity, lovely balance and a refreshingly long, zesty close.

Excellent to Outstanding.                                         

  Mark Henderson. ODT. January 2024

From an excellent vintage, this immediately impresses with its intensity: the nose is a pungent explosion of guava and mango, with elderflower streaking through the aromatic exoticism. In the mouth that tropical fruit juiciness opens the show, but almost instantly a phalanx of lime acidity drives a wedge through the centre, propelling the wine to a lip-smacking, dry finish. There's more than enough fruity extract to coat the palate and withstand the onslaught of the wine's freshness so there is no fruit/acid imbalance. A concentrated, decisive example of Marlborough Sauvignon at its best.

92/100           

Tom Cannavan. Wine-Pages.com March 2024

It's brilliantly aromatic on the nose, showing green rockmelon, kiwifruit, lime peel and white floral aromas, followed by a wonderfully flavoursome palate offering terrific fruit power and drive. Upfront and gorgeously drinking. At its best: now to 2027.

94/100                                                 

 Sam Kim. Wine Orbit. Nov 2023