Blind River Sauvignon Blanc 2023

This wine really speaks of its place. The beautiful site gives the grapes a complex array of aromas and flavours. The nose shows passionfruit, tropical fruits and the distinctly Awatere Valley notes of red bell pepper and jalapeno. The palate is crisp, dry and lively with a touch of salinity and a distinctive chalky texture. Delicious, succulent, and full of flavours that go on and on.

The small Blind River vineyard occupies a sheltered spot at the foot of gentle, rolling hills overlooking the picturesque valley floor. Mount Tapuaenuku lies to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The Awatere is more exposed to weather from the south resulting in drier, cooler and windier conditions and therefore a longer growing season. It also experiences more extreme diurnal temperatures with hotter days and cooler nights than the rest of Marlborough. The soils are shallow, stony clay with seams of free-draining, clay-mixed gravels on river terraces. Add to this a lack of underground water and the vines are naturally limited in both vigour and yield. The vineyard is split into blocks with each treated separately and the corresponding wines individually handmade, ready for blending to achieve the desired style and quality.

This vineyard has a unique character, so we keep the winemaking simple and transparent with the aim of letting the natural characters of the land shine. The grapes were picked with lots of passionfruit flavours and when the acidity was still bright and crisp. After gentle pressing, the juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks with selected yeast, except for a very small amount which was fermented in old French barriques with wild yeast. Each block was fermented separately and then the blend components selected and blended with the barrique portion.

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