Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2020 6x75cl

• 75cl bottle

This is an intensely aromatic wine in a classic Marlborough style. True to its origins its flavours are a medley of ripe tropical fruits and notes of citrus and fresh herbs. It is dry and medium bodied with a crisp refreshing finish.

Vineyards

Stony vineyard sites in the Wairau Valley (28%) and further south in the cooler Awatere Valley (72%) were selected for this wine. The Wairau Valley fruit provides the blended wine with structure and tropical fruit notes while the Awatere Vineyard offers acidity and pungent notes of nettle, pea pods and gooseberry. The vineyards are all carefully managed and crop thinned in the pursuit of quality fruit.

Vintage

This was a winemaker’s dream harvest. Good sized crops were ripened under blue skies, allowing us to pick at our leisure. Not only that but it was a very early harvest which proved helpful as the pandemic cast its shadow over Hawkes Bay. Unusually for a drought plagued harvest all varieties seemed to prosper. When I think back to the legendary dry 1998 harvest, arguably the greatest red wine harvest of my thirty plus year career, it is easy to forget that the white varieties struggled in the heat, most lacking acidity and vibrancy. Not so this year, for while the days were warm and dry, the nights were cool enough for the vines to rest, retaining acidity in the fruit and bringing a rare freshness to the wines.

Winemaking

The individual vineyard parcels were harvested and transported to the winery for immediate pressing to capture the freshness of the fruit. Fermentation was conducted at cool temperatures utilising selected yeast strains. At the completion of fermentation, the finished wines were left on lees and stirred to gain richness and complexity before blending and bottling in November 2020.

Enjoy with:

• Grilled and Roasted White Meats
• Fish/Shellfish
• Salads and Picnics
• Oriental
• Spicy

This dry wine is a perfect match for seafood and many Asian inspired dishes