Rimapere, Plot 101 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2021 (14%)

£24.99 Waddesdon Wine

We all now know just what a fine natural fit Sauvignon Blanc and the various sub-regions of Marlborough are: varietal style and the exuberance that comes with the South Island’s bright light and clean air are never in doubt. Looking for the grain and complexity that will take each wine a little further is the challenge, but it was one our judges felt this wine met. Bright green-gold in colour, with aromas that are haunting, layered and subtle, without overt grassiness or passion fruit extravagance – look instead for the soft leafiness of a sunlit copse in spring. It’s fresh, bright and urgent on the palate, but once again the primary notes are muted to benefit texture and perspective, sinew and line. The memorable acids are rounded, ripe and resonant in this wholly successful Sauvignon.

This is just the second vintage of Plot 101 Sauvignon Blanc, and it comes from a singular plot of vines on the 600ha estate of Rimapere, which was established in 2012 by Compagnie Vinicole Baron Edmond de Rothschild, one strand of the Lafite-owning Rothschild family. Its estate director Anne Escalle was born in the Rhône region and worked as a viticultural consultant in Languedoc-Roussillon for 10 years before emigrating to New Zealand with her family in 2007.

‘Rimapere enjoys an incredible terroir,’ she says. ‘A century ago, a river still ran across it, and today its alluvial soil, made up of large river pebbles lying flush with the clayey ground, makes it fertile, naturally draining land.

‘We wanted this cuvée to be an alternative expression of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and to represent the quintessence of the property,’ says Escalle. ‘It’s handpicked, aged on lees, with 50% fermentation in barrels and also aged in oak, which brings a subtle complexity.’

With just 1,200 cases produced, Plot 101 represents less than one tenth of Rimapere’s entire Sauvignon Blanc production.