Sauvignon Blanc
Walk through a block of Sauvignon Blanc vines in the days before harvest and the full spectrum of fruit flavours and aromas which define this bright, outgoing variety are all there, loud and clear. It’;s absolutely my favourite grape to eat from the vine!
River Garden Sauvignon Blanc is a ‘top of the south’ style with focus on fragrance and ‘crunchy’ fresh fruit while the Hope Vineyard Sauvignon derives greater complexity and texture from wild fermentation in seasoned oak, extended lees contact and natural spring malolactic to soften and round out the palate.. This ia a beautifully refined and elegant style.
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2024 ‘River Garden’ Sauvignon Blanc
Cameron Douglas MS, 14 August 2025 – Varietal and intense, a distinctive mineral core and scents of citrus and stone, cape gooseberry and lime, white flowers and a touch of fruit spice. Equally intense and dry on the palate with fruit and soil impressions a mirror of the bouquet. Taut and youthful with a generous palate squeeze. Delicious, with best drinking from day of purchase through 2030+ 93 Points
Stephen Wong, The Real Review, 3 April 2025 – Layers of perfumed blossom, citrus leaf and oyster-shell adorn a base of ripe apple on this delicately complex sauvignon. The palate is dry, elegant and racy, dancing on the edge of herbaceousness with notes of nettle tea, vetiver and white pepper to accompany the refreshingly stony phenolics. A touch astringent on the finish currently, but this will certainly meld together in the coming months 92 Points
Previous Vintage
Rebecca Gibb, Vinous, NZ Whites: Never Gonna Give You Up, Mar 2025 – “The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc River Garden has a restrained expression, focusing on texture rather than wham-bam aromatics. It is supple and round, offering ripe apple flavours and a touch of almond pastry, suggestive of lees contact. It might not be showy but it is quietly assured, balanced and moreish.” Drink 2025-2028 90 Points
This wine is vibrant and ‘crunchy’ in spirit and sets out to embody the characters of fruit picked a day early rather than a day too late – ripe yet fresh in equal measure. A small portion of high solids, wild fermentation in seasoned French oak barriques has contributed subtle texture and depth to the palate.
Organically grown on the Home Vineyard our vines are planted at higher density than is typical for this variety and pruned to a single fruiting wire. Yields are generally below ten tonnes per hectare. This fruit was machine harvested in several parcels to achieve a range of flavour profiles. Predominantly tank fermented using a selection of yeasts, a percentage of high-solids juice has been wild fermented in barrel. Though largely concealed within the overall blend, this portion contributes a layer of texture and dimension to the finished wine.
2022 Hope Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Sold Out)
This ‘alternative’ Sauvignon Blanc leans towards a more complex and textural wine style. Wild barrel-ferment, extended lees contact and full malolactic have contributed complexity and richness in the form of subtle aromatic corruption, savoury spice and phenolic interest.
Fruit was hand harvested and whole-bunch pressed to maximise tension and fineness of juice, briefly settled and inoculated with a vineyard derived pied-de-cuve. The wine rested on gross yeast lees for a further nine months and completed malolactic fermentation during this time.
Aromas are varietal but deliberately toned-down – Floral, fragrant with notes of zesty citrus oil and herbal, caraway and fennel seed characters. Also present is an added depth of savoury oak, yeast lees and a sniff of struck match complexity.
The palate is incisive and attractively structured. It’s light, natural fruit sweetness (in the way of milk fresh from the coconut), hints of malolactic and integrated yeast and oak spice soften and enrich the whole. The wine fulfills the brief – to create complexity and balance out of a range of individual elements.
“This has layers of complexity. Dry to taste and medium-full bodied, the palate has a tight, deep and intense core of concentrated flavours of green stonefruits entwined with fresh herbs, stalks and cut-grass unfolding greengage and nettle notes. This is a complex, oak-influenced Sauvignon Blanc with green stonefruits and cool-spectrum flavours on a palate with fine textures and very good linearity.” 18/20 Raymond Chan (2017 Vintage)