Appellation Marlborough Wine: the 2025 selection of Sauvignon Blanc
Website: https://www.appellationmarlboroughwine.co.nz/
Marlborough became famous because of Sauvignon Blanc, and it is the dominant grape variety planted in the region. But there’s been some concern that the brand equity of Marlborough Sauvignon has been bled to an extent by some of the less interesting cheaper wines coming from operators who hoover up the cheaper fruit and then sell bulk wine. This fruit might be cheaper because it has failed the disease threshold (typically 5%) or is above yield cap (a company might contract a certain yield, then the grower harvests more and sells it at low price on the spot market). And then there is farming: sometimes corners are cut.
So along comes Appellation Marlborough Wine, designed to restore brand equity by having higher standards and aspirations. Established in 2018, it now has 56 members. It’s a brilliant initiative, and this is something they want to promote by doing an annual selection of their members’ wines.
Here, 93 Sauvignons were tasted by a small panel of expert tasters, and 12 were chosen for the selection. This is the fourth time this exercise, which began in 2022, has been undertaken. These are my notes on the wines.
Greywacke Wild Sauvignon 2023 Marlborough, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. Southern Valleys and central Wairau Plains. Some hand harvest. Some oak, including a bit of new. This is layered, complex and quite crystalline, with some appealing citrus notes but also dried herbs, some rich pear and a touch of peachy richness. I like the texture: it’s multilayered with some subtle apple and spice, finishing with a fig and even honey, although right in the background. Lovely depth to this wine. 93/100
Clos Henri Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. From central Wairau, high-density plantings, organic and dry farmed. This is rich and textural, with melon, pear and grapefruit notes, as well as some fine spicy notes. It’s crystalline and layered, with good acidity under the rich fruit. Such an interesting expression of Marlborough Sauvignon, showing beautiful complexity and tension. 93/100
Nautilus The Paper Sauvignon Blanc Heritage Block Renwick Estate 2024 Marlborough, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. Fermented and aged in large-format oak. Lovely aromatics here: very fine, crystalline and showing some smoky minerality. Expressive palate is light and delicate, but with plenty of flavour. Fine white peach and citrus with some delicacy around the edges. Slightly chalky. This is such a beautiful, discrete expression of Marlborough Sauvignon. 93/100
Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. Wairau Valley floor. Fermented in oak (7% new), including some large format. Then finished off in concrete, stainless steel and large oak. This is a serious expression of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, capturing some of the variety’s intensity, but also an extra dimension. Lemongrass, dried herbs and fennel on the nose as well as vivid citrus fruit. The palate is taut and complex with some spicy citrus and a touch of pear, and very subtle green herbal hints, finishing with nice acidity and a tapering lemon and grapefruit note. It’s like white Bordeaux but with the volume knob turned up to 10. Not quite 11. Really good. 93/100
Altschwager Keneally Tapi Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. Central Wairau and Rapaura. This is lively, powerful and quite exotic. The nose is alert with notes of grapefruit, green pepper and tomato leaf, as well as some ripe pear. In the mouth, this has keen acidity supporting exotic passionfruit and elderflower, with a chalky, mineral dimension and a tapering finish. This is really stylish, combining richer, more exotic notes with a lean minerality. 93/100
Holdaway Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
12.5% alcohol. This is from the Dillons Point subregion. Bright but somewhat restrained aromatics of crisp lemon and grapefruit, with a subtle smokiness. The palate is focused and linear, with a nice acid line and some chalky, mineral notes as well as taut citrus fruit. Granular and crystalline with nice weight and a juicy finish. 91/100
Blank Canvas Holdaway Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. From the Holdaway vineyard in Dillons Point, which is farmed regeneratively. Amazing aromatics of elderflower, tomato leaf and green pepper. Crystalline palate with lemon and grapefruit, as well as some green pepper, and keen acidity. Such lovely fruit here: it’s an amazing expression of Marlborough Sauvignon. 93/100
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. Mainly Wairau Valley floor. 2% fermented in large oak. Highly aromatic, as you might expect at this early stage in its life, with green-tinged elderflower, citrus and passionfruit notes: quite intoxicating. The palate has some riper pear and crystalline citrus, together with nicely elegant green notes, a hint of tomato, and a fine white pepper finish, as well as a touch of grapefruit. Crisp, textural and delicious, this is benchmark Marlborough Sauvignon. 93/100
Te Pā Oké Sauvignon Blanc 2024 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. This is from the Wairau Bar, and it’s fermented in 320 litre cigar-shaped barrels. It’s a really beautiful alternative expression of Marlborough Sauvignon, with taut aromatics of lemon, grapefruit and some smokiness. The palate is complex, taut and layered with ripe citrus and pear, and a touch of ansiseed. This is very white Bordeaux in style, but zippier, with a wide dynamic range. 94/100
Rohe Blind River Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. Taut and focused on the nose with bright, vivid lime and lemon notes, some chalkiness, and nice green. Good concentration on the palate. Taut and linear with nice intensity: not showy but really good. 92/100
Rohe Rapaura Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. Lovely aromatics here with tomato leaf, grapefruit and some subtle tropical notes. The palate has volume and texture, with rich pear and citrus, as well as some subtle chalky-edged greens. There’s a really nice fruit sweetness here. An exotic style of Marlborough Sauvignon that works really well, finishing crystalline and fresh. 92/100
Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough, New Zealand
13% alcohol. Lovely bright aromatics here with passionfruit, pear and some grapefruit. The palate is juicy and vivid with nice texture, some pear character, green apple, and a touch of green, finishing bright and citrussy. 91/100
