VINEYARDS: Cactus Merlot/Malbec, Lunatic Syrah, Owhiti Malbec, Ponui Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. 

BLEND: Malbec 35%, Merlot 32%, Syrah 28%, Cabernet Franc 5%

WINEMAKING

The vintage of 2023 was a challenging year climatically, very wet and humid with low sunshine hours and periods of intense rain culminating in flooding in late January and Cyclone Gabrielle in early February.  The weather improved for the harvest months, but low sunshine hours resulted in wines with a light elegant touch, fresh, lively and delicious in their delicacy. Our Pinque Rose is harvested from select coastal sites on Waiheke and Ponui Islands made up of individual vineyards planted in Merlot, Malbec and Syrah which are designed with Rose production in mind. Picking early in the season but still showcasing red berry characters, the f ruit is whole bunch pressed in the champagne style liberating only the cleanest and most pure of juice. Fermented cool in stainless steel tanks and blended in the winter. 

TASTING NOTE

Pinque is a pure expression of Rose. Beginning with a classic pale salmon colour the wine has aromas of crushed rose petal, musk candy (pink smokers) strawberry flesh and a maritime scent. The palate is fresh and delicate with shades of stone and citrus fruits with fresh herbs finishing clean, crisp and delicious. 2023 Pinque is an uplifting and refreshing response to a challenging vintage.

Swiftsure Sauvignon Blanc is blended from carefully selected sites to capture the essence of Marlborough. Like contrasting combinations of colour, the vivid hues and muted shades of the Marlborough landscape and the tinted waters of both river and sea evoke a sensation of the purity of nature captured within the wine; mineral, fresh, ripe, and delicious.

Their Southern Coast Vineyard is situated in Marlboroughs southernmost sub-region in the shadow of the Kaikoura Ranges.

Its relatively elevated position and the influence of the cooler coastal climate and sea breeze result in lower yields and concentrated flavours.

Bursting with aromas; an abundance of tropical fruits, crisp citrus, punchy jalapeno, and fresh herbs this wine showcases the intensity that has made Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc famous the world over. The palate is refined and classical with a vibrancy of fruit and a mineral purity that creates a sense of sophistication and elegance.

Flinty, dry and distinctively herbaceous with beautifully balanced tropical notes. This lovely lively wine puts Martinborough's best foot forward in this refreshingly succulent Sauvignon Blanc from Craggy Range, a family owned company based in Hawke's Bay which also now owns a significant proportion of vineyard land in Martinborough, all of it in the beautiful Te Muna Valley. 

This top notch Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc tastes of flinty freshness with notes of tropical fruit. It is named Te Muna on the label, in homage to its site, and is made from grapes grown on the lower terrace of the winery's substantial vineyard holdings at Te Muna Road. New vines are now in the ground further along the road on higher terraces and will come onstream for use in Sauvignon Blanc produced by this winery in future.

This 2018 Maude Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from selected vineyards in the Wairau Valley. Pure and powerful; this wine exhibits the classic gooseberry, passionfruit and lime peel aromas and flavours of great Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

One of the best value Sauvignon Blancs made in New Zealand and a zesty little charmer with its vibrant tropical and fresh herb aromas, coupled with tingling acidity and a long finish. 

Outstanding value for money. 

Winemaker Simon Waghorn brings grapes together from three sub regions of Marlborough to make this dry, full bodied style of Sauvignon Blanc. Vineyards in the Wairau Valley, Awatere Valley and Kekerengu Coast (the most southern of Marlborough's vineyards) all combine to make this succulent dry wine with its ripe flavours of tropical fruit balanced by green notes. 

All grapes are machine harvested at night or in the cool parts of the day to preserve the purity and intensity of flavours. WInemaker Simon Waghorn blends to suit what he thinks is Astrolabe?s style, which reflects what he has learnt as a winemaker and drinker over the years. This means he aims to create a Sauvignon that tastes dry, expressive and elegantly balanced with flavours of passionfruit, blackcurrant leaf and gooseberry. 

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

You could say that Durvillea Sauvignon Blanc has a lot to live up - it's Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc's baby brother after all. And like its older sibling, this wine offers consistently outstanding quality, especially when the price is taken into consideration.

Fresh, refreshing, succulent and crisp. Everything you want in a Sauvignon Blanc, and more.

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

Convergence is made from grapes sourced from five different vineyards in the Marlborough region. Each region offers its own flavour profile and unique character. 

This Sauvignon Blanc offers fennel, fresh herb and tomato leaf aromas with subtle notes of passionfruit and nettle. Dry and salty to taste, persistent flavours of zesty citrus and Greengage plum are revealed alongside bright, crunchy acidity. The flinty yet lively palate has a lovely creamy texture and a long smooth finish.

This Sauvignon Blanc is a great example of the Martinborough terroir. The nose is lush with tree fruit and mineral notes. A creamy texture and lower acidity add real weight and fullness to the wine, along with some mild fruity flavours on the palate.

Sauvignon Blanc with a powerful new twist - full bodied, textural dry white blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Gris (a varietal in its own right rather than a blend, despite the name). This wine is bone dry and refreshing with high but beautifully balanced acidity. Flavours of ripe gooseberry, lime and sea salt, dill, coriander, beeswax  and subtle woodsmoke notes all combine in this beautiful barrel fermented white. 

This is one of New Zealand's iconic dry, full bodied, top quality Sauvignon Blancs with its lush fruity style and bold flavours. 

Te Mata Estate is one of Hawke's Bay's oldest working wineries and was among the first to pioneer the purity of Bordeaux styled Sauvignon Blanc.

A textural style Sauvignon that is layered and complex, with a racy mineral backbone, thanks to the alluvial gravels of the Martinborough terrace and the unique growing conditions of Martinborough.

W I N E M A K E R S   N O T E 

From the exceptional 2024 vintage this is our first release of Sauvignon Blanc under the Escarpment label. Fermentation was conducted in a range of stainless-steel tanks, along with 20% in French Oak puncheons, 2% of the blend in new oak and a small portion fermented on skins. A mix of indigenous and inoculated yeast were used. Aged for 6 months before bottling.  This is a Sauvignon that showcases sophistication and texture, along with a limey/mineral backbone that gives great length and purity, and a moreish finish that will have you reaching for another glass.

T A S T I N G 

Gooseberry, nettle and guava are accompanied by lifted white floral notes, with the fruit sitting in the tropical spectrum. The palate is hinged together by textural elements that are balanced by restrained, but intense, fruit weight. There is a lovely seam of limey acidity that brings drive and offers a long lingering finish to the wine. It showcases the minerality and purity we get in white wines grown on the alluvial gravels.

The fruit for this wine comes from a small parcel in the Byrne vineyard, located in the Conder’s Bend area of Marlborough.

The vines are managed organically and are planted on gravels that would have once been a river bed. The stoney soils provide both drainage and heat retention which are essential for this cooler site.

The grapes were hand-picked, whole-cluster pressed and taken straight to French barriques without any chemical additions. It was fermented with indigenous yeast in the barrels, helping to add complexity and texture, without dominating the nose.

The wine was left on yeast lees for fifteen months, which were stirred regularly. This meant that the yeast added both savoury notes and also served to work as a natural fining agent. After time in barrique it was gently racked then bottled without fining.

One of the Wairarapa's most deliciously succulent and bone dry whites with fabulous flinty flavours. This Sauvignon Blanc benefits from complexity gained from a little time in old oak on lees. It's made with grapes grown on Martinborough's majestic Te Muna Valley where Big Sky Wines is situated on the windswept plains on alluvial soils. 

Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded Big Sky Wines in the Te Muna Valley, Martinborough, in 2005. They have since expanded their small vineyard, which is predominantly planted in Pinot Noir and also has a little Sauvignon Blanc, which they give extra textural complexity to with a little time in old oak on lees.