New Zealand Sauvignon – An International Celebration
In a carefully timed play on the international stage, New Zealand’s winemakers have called together an international audience of trade and media, around 350 of them, for a three day spotlight on sauvignon blanc.
In December I toured through New Zealand’s major sauvignon producing regions to shoot a series of films to be screened at this event and along the way I took the opportunity to taste some of the best sauvignon wines on offer. You can watch my film below.
For a category of wine that is often dismissed as a simple one trick pony, largely on the basis of immense international popularity, there is actually a wealth of interest and diversity below the surface.
Winemakers here talk frankly about the clichéd perception of the style, especially in the powerhouse Marlborough region, and expansively about their journey to arrive at a point where sophisticated, distinctive wines are being made.
Along the way I found a coherent thread of regional style everywhere I went, an evolved appreciation of site-specific character and a predisposition to crafting wines of texture and focus.
This is not to say that the broadly appealing, tangy tropical styles are a thing of the past, but there’s an evolution in place, one that every wildly popular wine style must transition and this event marks an appreciation of this moment here in New Zealand.
Convincing the world that sauvignon outside of France is a wine to take more seriously is one of the cornerstones of the event, alongside which comes an ability to reach and sustain higher price points in world markets. This latter point is perhaps the key to the future here in Marlborough and (as you’ll see in my selection of tasting notes) there’s plenty evidence to suggest the wines can be made.
Here are wines tasted by me, arranged by scores. Click on wine names for tasting notes and scores.
Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013
Seresin Marama Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013
John Forrest Collection Wairau Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2012
Giesen Fuder SVS Dillons Point Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2012
Clearview Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Hawke’s Bay 2014
Clearview Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Hawke’s Bay 2015
Seresin Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2014
Seresin Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2011
Greenhough Hope Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Nelson 2014
Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2015
Clos Henri Bel Echo Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013
Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc Martinborough 2015
Neudorf Sauvignon Blanc Nelson 2014
Giesen Fuder SVS Matthews Lane Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013
Photo: Dog Point vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand
Contributing Editor Nick Stock is a renowned Australian wine writer, author, presenter and filmmaker who reports on his worldwide wine tasting experiences for JamesSuckling.com.