New Zealand has become all but synonymous with one grape: Sauvignon Blanc. The Northern tip of the Southern Island is called Marlborough and it is the home of most of New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc. The Sauvignon Blanc found here is usually recalled as having grapefruit and citrus flavors with hints of pepper and herbs. Sauvignon Blanc lovers should not also try the fantastic Northern Island Sauvignons across the Cook Strait in Martinborough. These Sauvignons tend to focus on a citrus with some clear white peach flavors and fresh cut hay. Wine lovers should not pigeon hole New Zealand as a Sauvignon Blanc only wine producer, as it also makes fine Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and other reds featuring the Bordeaux varietals. Chardonnay finds a welcome home throughout New Zealand, but the best wines come from Gisborne. Hawkes Bay is the home to claret-style reds made from the Bordeaux varietals. Hawkes Bay reds tend to have wonderful acidity, ripeness and subtle, but firm, tannins. These wines are certainly worth seeking out.
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Citrus, herb and grass notes are balanced around a core of vibrant acidity. Finishes with the slightest touch of coarseness. Drink now. 250,000 cases imported.
Softly textured Chardonnay with typical peachy regional flavours. Charming though simple wine in a seductively easy-to-drink style. A hint of oak adds extra interest without distracting from fruit flavours.
A combination of barrel and tank fermentation and the stirring of lees on oak, achieves maximum softness and integration. Clonal influences in the vineyard have been very important, providing smaller berries and enhanced flavour intensity. A delicious Oyster Bay Marlborough Chardonnay with concentrated aromas and flavours of ripe citrus and stonefruit, balanced with subtle oak, and a creamy texture to finish.
Bright in appearance, this wine has pungent notes of passionfruit, goosberries and fresh herbs. The intense and full flavoured palate is bursting with tropical flavours of melons and pineapple with a dash of herbaceous fresh cut grass and bell peppers. Length and persistence is given by a mineral backbone and balanced acidity.
Citrus, herb and grass notes are balanced around a core of vibrant acidity. Finishes with the slightest touch of coarseness. Drink now. 250,000 cases imported.
91pts. W.E. Top 100 Wines 2010. Intense and fragrant, with orange blossom, tangerine, Key lime, lemon curd and dried mango flavors. A beam of acidity runs through this wine, accenting the flavors, fleshy texture and long finish. Drink now. 7,000 cases imported.
Bright citrus fruit and spice together with waves of savoury lees driven aromatics flow to a generously fruited and finely textured palate. A lovely core of ripe calcerous acidity lends the wine great tension, balance and length, and frames the wonderful fruit purity of this single vineyard site.
90 points Robert Parker: The 2009 Sauvignon Blanc gives intense passion fruit and pineapple aromas with nuances of matchstick, meal and toasted almonds. Medium bodied, crisp, concentrated and zesty, this is a Sauvignon with great texture and a long and minerally finish. Drink it now through 2014.
Pale straw in colour streaked with green hues. Herbal elements of sage and mint are balanced by lime and passionfruit aromatics. A subliminal hint of vanilla and cream provide the added complexity.The palate's rich core of fruit is tempered by citrus-like acidity lending balance and freshness.Food Match would be with an aperitif or fresh salads.
90 pts - WS Bright and juicy, with fleshiness to the raspberry and cherry flavors, finishing with coffee and cream notes as this lingers. Drink now through 2015. 3,000 cases imported.
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