Sauvignon Blanc 2024
From the 2024 vintage Riverby have put together a very classy, elegant wine. It hints at all those Sauvignon Blanc buzzwords - the elderflower, gooseberry and more tropical mango - but a talcum perfume and delightful peach down finesse comes through most strongly. Through the mid-palate more of that juicy, ripe and mouthwatering stone fruit and a fine and creamy texture. Just 3.8 grams of residual sugar help broaden the finish, but not at the expense of freshness as the acid zips through. The best Sauvignon Blanc yet from Riverby? Just delicious. 92/100
Tom Cannavan. Wine-pages.com May 2025
Buy a case (12 bottles) to get 12% discount - If you would like to organise a mixed case please email kevin@riverbyestate.com and we can put together a special order.
From the 2024 vintage Riverby have put together a very classy, elegant wine. It hints at all those Sauvignon Blanc buzzwords - the elderflower, gooseberry and more tropical mango - but a talcum perfume and delightful peach down finesse comes through most strongly. Through the mid-palate more of that juicy, ripe and mouthwatering stone fruit and a fine and creamy texture. Just 3.8 grams of residual sugar help broaden the finish, but not at the expense of freshness as the acid zips through. The best Sauvignon Blanc yet from Riverby? Just delicious. 92/100
Tom Cannavan. Wine-pages.com May 2025
Buy a case (12 bottles) to get 12% discount - If you would like to organise a mixed case please email kevin@riverbyestate.com and we can put together a special order.
From the 2024 vintage Riverby have put together a very classy, elegant wine. It hints at all those Sauvignon Blanc buzzwords - the elderflower, gooseberry and more tropical mango - but a talcum perfume and delightful peach down finesse comes through most strongly. Through the mid-palate more of that juicy, ripe and mouthwatering stone fruit and a fine and creamy texture. Just 3.8 grams of residual sugar help broaden the finish, but not at the expense of freshness as the acid zips through. The best Sauvignon Blanc yet from Riverby? Just delicious. 92/100
Tom Cannavan. Wine-pages.com May 2025
Buy a case (12 bottles) to get 12% discount - If you would like to organise a mixed case please email kevin@riverbyestate.com and we can put together a special order.
2024 was a brilliant vintage in Marlborough in terms of quality, not so good in terms of quantity. Mixed weather in the spring of 2023 resulted in a poor flowering and consequently low yields, down almost 40% on average across most of our varieties. Thereafter however the weather was perfect with several very hot days and crucially, later in the season, cool nights. This meant the low cropping fruit ripened perfectly and there was absolutely no disease pressure. It also meant we had one of our earliest ever harvests with these Sauvignon Blanc grapes being picked on 15 March 2024.
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, especially in 2024. We utilise careful viticultural practices to ensure low yielding, impeccably clean, ripe fruit. The grapes were harvested in the cool of the night and 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 19 February 2025.
Delicate pale straw in colour, this wine has a classically varietal nose of grass and capsicum, with passionfruit, herbal and citrus characters. 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. The palate is rich and concentrated with ripe peach, nectarine and citrus hints. This is an elegantly refined 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. It will continue to develop and gain even greater complexity and should offer pleasure for several years.
Technical Notes
Alcohol: 13.5%, Acidity: 7.2, PH: 3.33, Residual Sugar: 3.8 g/l.
Reviews
It's bursting with passionfruit, kiwifruit, crunchy apple, and kaffir lime notes on the nose. The palate is equally enticing with excellent fruit concentration and intensity, splendidly supported by bright acidity, making it flavoursome and highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2029. ***** 94/100
Sam Kim. Wine Orbit March 2025
Priced right, the 2024 vintage (****) is a single-vineyard wine, grown at Rapaura, in the Wairau Valley. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with vibrant, passionfruit-like flavours, a hint of green capsicum, and a crisp, dry finish. Full of youthful vigour, it should be at its best 2026+. ****
Michael Cooper April 2025
Clearly youthful, initially perfumed with hints of fruit pastille, before the core of cut grass and herbal qualities comes through. Ripe fruit hinting exotic. There’s a lightness of being, certainly lovely flavour depth without any hint of heaviness. Cooling, refreshing with a touch of grip adding to the texture. Flovours more intense now, long carry, quite lovely. Excellent. Mark Henderson ODT. April 2025
Sam Kim. Wine Orbit. Nov 2023