Sauvignon Blanc
Walk through a block of Sauvignon Blanc vines in the days before harvest and taste the berries from either side of the row, within the shaded areas of the canopy and from the most exposed, golden clusters. The spectrum of fruit flavours and aromas which define the bright, outgoing character of this variety are all there, loud and clear. Absolutely my favourite grape to eat from the vine!
Greenhough River Garden Sauvignon Blanc is a classic ‘top of the south’ style with focus on ‘crunchy’ fresh fruit and fragrance. The Hope Vineyard Sauvignon develops a more complex, textural style that comes from wild fermentation in barrel and extended lees contact. Hand harvest and whole bunch pressing provides a refined structure and restraint to the overt personality of this variety.
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2023 ‘River Garden’ Sauvignon Blanc
“There’s no mistaking the core varietal scents of grapefruit and tropical fruits, crisp red apple and suggestions of sage and Thai basil. Crisp and dry, refreshing with high acidity and freshly picked herbs lift, some passionfruit and apple flavours along with a gentle flinty saline quality. Well made, new and ready. Best drinking from 2024 through 2029.” 93 Points Cameron Douglas MS, April 2024
“Beautifully styled and elegantly expressed, the inviting bouquet shows green apple, feijoa, lemon peel and white floral notes, leading to a finely textured palate offering bright fruit flavours with juicy acidity, finishing persistent and exuberant. At its best: now to 2027.” 93 Points Wine Orbit, July 2024
“Refreshing wine with an ethereal texture and mouth-tingling, fruity acidity. Impressive purity with underlying power and a bone-dry and lengthy finish” 93 Points Bob Campbell The Real review, August 2024
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 and Morison Vineyards, 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. Tasted alone the savoury, spicy, very textural character of this portion contrasts noticeably with the fruity freshness and varietal purity of the tank fermented portion. Though largely concealed within the overall blend it contributes a layer of texture and dimension to the finished wine.
2022 Hope Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
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)