Wine
Sail from spring into summer with a snifter of our most famous grape.
Sail from spring into summer with a snifter of our famous sauvignon blanc.
The sauvignon blancs from the 2018 vintage, mostly from Marlborough, are hitting the shelves right now – and looking good. After its hottest January on record and wettest February by far, Marlborough’s 2018 sauvignon blancs are less herbaceous than usual, with a stronger expression of ripe, tropical-fruit aromas and flavours, but they still show good vigour and intensity.
Amisfield Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This classy wine was estategrown at Pisa, in the Cromwell Basin, and fermented in tanks predominantly, and barrels. Ripely scented, it is full-bodied (14% alc/vol) and vibrantly fruity with fresh, concentrated tropical-fruit flavours, showing good complexity, tangy acidity and a finely balanced, long, dry finish. Well worth discovering. $25
Astrolabe Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This skilfully crafted regional blend is a fully dry style. A very harmonious wine, it is fresh and weighty (13.5% alc/vol), with lees-ageing notes adding complexity and strong, vibrant, tropical-fruit and herbaceous flavours. $23
Auntsfield
Single Vineyard Southern Valleys Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Estate-grown on the south side of the Wairau Valley, on a site where the region’s first wines were made in the 1870s, this youthful wine was mostly handled in tanks; 5% was fermented in old French oak casks. Mouthfilling (13% alc/vol) and dry, with excellent weight and depth of ripely herbaceous, grapefruit/lime flavours, it’s a powerful, finely poised wine with a long finish. $25
Black Cottage Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
From Two Rivers, this is a good-value wine with lots of drink-young appeal. Fresh, fullbodied (13% alc/vol) and racy, it is dry and crisp with good intensity of passionfruit, lime and green-capsicum flavours. $18
Blind River Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This single-vineyard, partly oak-fermented wine is already delicious. Highly aromatic, with mouthfilling body (13% alc/vol), it has punchy, ripe, passionfruit/lime flavours, vaguely toasty notes adding complexity and a long, dry, rounded finish. $25
Brightwater Vineyards Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Grown at Hope, on the Waimea Plains, and briefly aged on its yeast lees, this fresh, punchy, full-bodied wine (13% alc/vol) has passionfruit and green-capsicum flavours, showing good intensity and an appetisingly crisp, dry finish. Good value. $20
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2018
The latest vintage of Marlborough’s most famous wine was predominantly cool-fermented in tanks, but 7% of the blend was fermented at warmer temperatures in old French oak barriques and large-format vats. Weighty (13.1% alc/vol), fleshy and finely textured, it has generous, ripe tropical-fruit flavours to the fore, a herbaceous undercurrent, good complexity and a long, crisp, dry finish. $37
Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Hand-harvested at several sites in the Wairau Valley, this wine is lees-aged in tanks and handled without oak. Tightly structured, it is mouthfilling (13% alc/vol), sweet-fruited and very youthful, with strong, vibrant, ripely herbaceous flavours, showing a distinct touch of complexity that builds to a long, dry finish. Certified organic. $26
Graham Norton’s Own Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
From “chief winemaker Graham Norton”, Invivo’s latest release has lots of youthful impact. A very easydrinking style, it is aromatic, full-bodied (13% alc/vol) and smooth, with fresh, ripe, passionfruit/lime flavours and a dry, moderately crisp finish. $19
Grove Mill Wairau Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Offering good value, this fresh, medium-bodied wine (12.5% alc/vol) has vibrant passionfruit/lime flavours, showing good ripeness and intensity and a touch of complexity from 5% barrel fermentation. $20
Jules Taylor Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Delicious young, this mouthfilling wine was grown in the lower Wairau, Southern and Awatere valleys and produced in a bone-dry style. Highly aromatic, it has excellent weight (13% alc/vol), balance and depth of vigorous, ripely herbaceous favours and a very persistent finish. $25
Kumeu River Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This very age-worthy wine is from the long-established Auckland company’s newly purchased vineyard on an elevated, north-facing site in Hawke’s Bay. Hand-picked and fermented with indigenous yeasts, it is a distinctive, medium-bodied (12% alc/vol), youthful wine with citrus, lime and apple flavours, showing good intensity, a minerally streak, a touch of complexity and a long finish. $25
Lawson’s Dry Hills Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This classy wine was grown in the Waihopai and Awatere valleys and 15% was barrelfermented with indigenous yeasts. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling (13% alc/vol), with vibrant tropical-fruit and herbaceous flavours, showing very good vigour and complexity and a dry, lasting finish. $25
Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Estate-grown in the upper Wairau Valley, the new season’s wine is fresh and medium-bodied (12.5% alc/ vol), with very good depth of crisp tropical-fruit and herbaceous flavours. Bargain priced. $15
Opawa Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Delicious young, this Wairau Valley wine is mediumbodied (12.5% alc/ vol), very punchy and vibrant, with fresh, ripe tropicalfruit flavours, showing a touch of barrel-ferment complexity and a finely balanced, crisp, fully dry finish. $22
Rapaura Springs Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Offering fine value, this Wairau Valley wine is fullbodied (13% alc/vol), with ripe passionfruit/lime aromas and flavours. A fleshy, dry style with balanced acidity, it’s already drinking well. $19
Spy Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Grown in the Wairau and Waihopai valleys, this tangy, vibrantly fruity wine was partly barrel-fermented and made in a fully dry style. Medium to full-bodied (12.8% alc/vol), it has passionfruit, lime and green-capsicum flavours, showing some complexity, good intensity and a crisp, racy finish. $20
Starborough Family Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Estate-grown in the Awatere Valley and Wairau Valley, this is a freshly scented, fleshy wine, with very good weight (13.1% alc/vol) and depth of tropical-fruit and herbaceous flavours. It is finely balanced, dry and generous. $20
Summerhouse Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This instantly appealing wine was grown in all of Marlborough’s sub-regions – the Wairau, Awatere and Southern valleys. Offering very good value, it is full-bodied and fleshy (13.5% alc/ vol), with ripe tropical-fruit flavours, showing excellent delicacy and depth and a dry, smooth finish. $19
te Pā Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Priced right, this powerful, full-bodied (13% alc/vol) wine was mostly estategrown in the lower Wairau Valley, at Rarangi, and made with some barrel fermentation. It has strong, ripe tropical-fruit flavours, a good acid spine and a tight, dry finish. $20
Thornbury Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Offering terrific value, this is a “full on” style from similar amounts of Wairau Valley and Awatere Valley grapes. Highly aromatic, it is mouthfilling (13% alc/vol), with good intensity of vigorous, passionfruit and lime flavours and a dry, appetisingly crisp finish. $15
Tohu Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This punchy, sweetfruited, intensely varietal wine is full-bodied (13% alc/vol), with fresh melon and greencapsicum flavours, showing excellent delicacy, purity and generosity. Priced sharply. $18
Two Rivers Marlborough Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This impressive wine is from sites in the Awatere, Southern and Wairau valleys. Matured on its yeast lees in stainless-steel, clay and concrete vessels, it is weighty (13% alc/vol) and vibrant, with deep tropical-fruit and herbaceous flavours that build to a harmonious, long, dry finish. $24
Vidal Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This good-value wine was grown principally in the Waihopai Valley, tank-fermented and aged on its yeast lees. Mouthfilling (13% alc/ vol), with generous, ripe tropical flavours and a dry finish. $20
Whitehaven “Greg” Single Vineyard Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
This wine is very aromatic and punchy. Mouthfilling (13.5% alc/vol), it has lively melon, lime and greencapsicum flavours, appetisingly crisp, dry and long. Top drinking through 2019. $28