BEST SAUVIGNON BLANC
Rapaura Springs Rohe Dillons Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ($27) ★★★★★
This bottle should carry a “Wear a Helmet” warning because, by jingo, the second you unclick the cap and pour, a passionfruit-pumped roundhouse kick of Kill Bill proportions will collide with your face. Big call, but I think this could be my sauvignon blanc of 2021. From the earliest and shortest harvest on Marlborough’s record, it’s outrageously delicious. The Maori word “Rohe” translates to “territory” and Dillons Point is where the Wairau and Opawa Rivers converge, making the soils mack daddy mineral-rich (did
I just say mack daddy?) Despite my tacky slip, this hefty, herbaceous sauvignon blanc is total class, showing incredibly stylish lime, lemon and peachy perfection. Its bold, juicy, generous textures and incredible depth and vibrancy create great tension and tautness on the finish. It’s outstanding.
rapaurasprings.co.nz
Zephyr Organic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($25) ★★★★★ Back in 1988, Owen Glover converted his dairy farm to vineyards because the 4am starts were wearing thin. Thirtythree years later, son Ben is milking vines instead and creating classy sauvignon blanc groaning with grassiness and tropical intensity, capsicum, tomato stalk notes and truckloads of citrus. Certified organic and spliced through with snowpea and sweat, it’s supremely sippable.
zephyrwine.com
Ataahua Waipara Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($26) ★★★★★
So your workmate snapped you zooming in on the new Lorde album cover and now you’re trying to buy plane tickets to Yemen. Slow down. You don’t need to remedy your embarrassment with such extreme measures. Just pop this in the fridge for 45 minutes then pour a glass of its intense passionfruity beauty. Revel in its generously tropical, basil-and-tomato-tweaked terrificness, salivate over its citrus saturation and google Senegal instead. ataahuawine.co.nz
Two Rivers Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ($22) ★★★★★
Holy jalapenos, Batman! One thing’s for certain. The second someone pours a glass of this you’ll be able to smell its punchy pungency from across the room. Or possibly across the street. You may be overrun by sauvignon blanc zombies clawing at your windows with an unslakeable desire to have what you’re having. With basil, sweet pea, capsicum and nettle-infused niceness on the nose, plus buckets of white peach and passionfruit saturating the palate. It’s delicious. tworivers.co.nz