It is a nervous time for our wine exporters as the US is our biggest market for wine and was in fact our only export market to see growth last year. Some wineries will aim to shave back that cost increase to mitigate the final price on US shelves. Others will have little choice but to see that price increase passed on, hopeful the insatiable demand for our sauvignon blanc outweighs the price increase. Time will tell.
2024 Astrolabe Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Excellent to outstanding
Bright, fresh, floral, a
touch of passionfruit,
ripe gooseberry, leafy
herbs, wisps of pea
pod, very classic.
Wonderfully zesty
palate, great
concentration and
depth, really tangy,
fresh, structure here,
almost a little stony
aspect that adds a
tingly quality. Firm in a
good way with great
length. With air the wine
continues to be
powerful and full of
interest.
2021 Pegasus Bay Minuetto Sauvignon Semillon
Rating Outstanding
Powerful nose,
fascinating
expression, gunflint,
citrus, smoke, oak
influences, sweet pea,
herbs, almost
honeyed, wonderful
complexity. Simply
brimming over with
flavour, matched with
a creamy texture,
lovely mouthfeel and
great length. Beautiful
balance, integration,
with a line of acidity
keeping this fresh. Far
from your typical
sauvignon blanc.
2024 Main Divide Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Very good to excellent
Attractive nose that is
just what you’d expect
for the variety. The
palate steps it up with
another layer of
flavour; the
gooseberry you might
expect to see meets
red capsicum and then
orange zest. Fresh,
crisp, nice generosity
of flavour, and with
good carry.
Superfluous to say too
much here as it’s just
so easy to sit back
with a glass of this.
2024 Astrolabe Kēkerengū Coast Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Very good to excellent
Pea pod and
asparagus nuances, an
impression of sweet
fruits, spice, a sense of
development perhaps?
The palate is rounder
and more mellow in
texture, light to
medium-bodied in
flavour intensity, some
spice and herbal notes
rejoining the fray on the
close. A game of two
halves for me — I love
the nose, but the palate
was having one of
those grumpy days, a
bit less giving.
2024 Rapaura Springs Bull Paddock Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Excellent
Begins with a stony/
earthy quality, parting
as gooseberry, then
herbs come through.
Perfume, dry honey,
tomato leaf, even more
fragrant with air. The
palate melds classic
sauvignon notes with
fruit pastille and sweet
licorice, richly textured,
full of flavour,
deceptive power,
refreshing yet not
strident acidity. A wine
to make you think,
holds your attention.
2022 Jules Taylor OTQ Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Excellent
If you’re on the hunt
for a "typical"
sauvignon blanc, look
elsewhere. Bready
aspects, creamy
butterscotch, a lightly
herbal backdrop.
Clotted cream and
butterscotch lead,
backed by chopped
herbs, gooseberry and
spice, quite supple,
rounded, palate
richness on a
medium-intense
frame. That creamy
lactic note re-emerges
on the close. Hits the
food friendly button.
2024 Thirteen Forty Five Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Very good to excellent
Treads the typical
path of gooseberry,
herb, wisps of
feijoaperhaps.
Nicely engaging.
Thepalate is almost
tingly, very bright
andcrisp, the
gooseberry and cut
grass notes joined by
flecks of citrus zest.
Youthful, fresh, you
can’t go wrong with
this. Very easy
drinking.
2024 Riverby Estate Single Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
Rating Excellent
Clearly youthful,
initially perfumed with
hints of fruit pastille,
before the core of cut
grass and herbal
qualities comes
through. Ripe fruits,
hinting exotic. There’s
a lightness of being,
certainly lovely flavour
depth without any
sense of heaviness.
Cooling, refreshing
with a touch of grip
adding to the texture.
Flavours more intense
now, long carry, quite
lovely.
