Half a century ago, a wine bearing the name of a totally unfamiliar grape variety eased into the market. Sauvignon blanc vines had been in New Zealand since 1906, but languished until 1974, when Matua Valley marketed this country’s first sauvignon blanc, grown in West Auckland.
Today, sauvignon blanc accounts for 66% of the national producing vineyard area and nearly 90% by volume of our wine exports. In Marlborough, where about 90% of the vines are clustered, the 2023 and 2024 vintages have yielded invitingly aromatic, crisp, garden-fresh sauvignon blancs, full of summer-drinking appeal.
Ahi Kā Blackmore Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Offering terrific quality and value, this pale lemon/green, intensely varietal wine was grown at Dillons Point, tank-fermented and lees-aged. Mouthfilling, with fresh, vibrant, passionfruit/lime flavours, it has notable intensity, delicacy and purity with a dry, harmonious, persistent finish. $24
Astrolabe Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
This impressive wine is fresh and full-bodied. It has penetrating citrusy-herbal flavours showing excellent ripeness, purity, delicacy and depth, balanced acidity and a dry, persistent, finely textured finish. $30
Auntsfield Single Vineyard Southern Valleys Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
Estate-grown on the site where the region’s first wines were made in the 1870s, this refined wine was fermented and matured on its yeast lees in stainless steel tanks. Light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling, with concentrated, ripe tropical fruit flavours to the fore. It has a herbal undercurrent and a long, dry, crisp finish. $25
Babich Family Estates Organic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
Certified organic, this attractive wine was estate-grown in the Wairau Valley and handled in stainless steel tanks. Full-bodied, it has ripe tropical fruit flavours showing excellent intensity and vigour, a touch of complexity and a crisp, dry finish. $25
Blank Canvas Holdaway Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
Grown at Dillons Point in the lower Wairau Valley, this single-vineyard wine was fermented and aged on its yeast lees in stainless steel tanks. Bright, light lemon/green, it has good weight, strong, ripe tropical fruit and herbal flavours and balanced acidity. Very harmonious. $30
Catalina Sounds Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
This attractive, vigorous wine was grown in the Southern Valleys (71%) and Wairau Valley (29%), and mostly tank-fermented, with “a touch of neutral oak”. Mouthfilling, fresh and lively, it has good intensity of passionfruit, grapefruit and lime flavours, a touch of complexity and a dry, appetisingly crisp finish. $25
Church Road McDonald Series Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc 2021
★★★★½
This distinctive wine is typically estate-grown and hand-picked in the Bridge Pā Triangle and made with use of indigenous (“native”) yeasts, barrel fermentation and oak ageing. This mouthfilling wine is still youthful. It has strong, ripe passionfruit and lime flavours and an appetisingly crisp, dry finish. Savoury notes add complexity. $25
Clos Henri Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
Certified organic, this estate-grown wine was machine-harvested from clay and stony soils and fermented and aged on its yeast lees for three months in tanks. Mouthfilling, vigorous, crisp and dry, it has strong, ripe tropical fruit flavours, hints of herbs and green capsicums, savoury notes and a lingering finish. $28
Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc 2021
★★★★★
Te Koko o Kupe (“The Oyster Dredge of Kupe”) is the original name for Cloudy Bay; it is also the name of the Marlborough winery’s intriguing oak-aged sauvignon blanc. Grown on the Wairau Valley floor, it is fermented and lees-aged in French oak barrels and large-format wooden cuves. This very ageworthy wine is mouthfilling, with concentrated, ripe tropical fruit flavours, finely integrated oak, excellent complexity, and has a savoury, dry, lasting finish. $60
Clouston & Co Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
Offering top value, this refined, vigorous wine was fermented and lees-aged in stainless steel tanks, concrete eggs and seasoned oak barrels. It is full-bodied, with pure, incisive, ripely herbaceous flavours. Crisp, dry and long, it has excellent freshness, delicacy and depth. $25
Cuvar Iris Collection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
This debut vintage was estate-grown in the upper Awatere Valley. Intensely varietal, it is mouthfilling, with very lively, penetrating melon and green capsicum flavours. Dry, crisp and lingering. $29
Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Certified organic, this classic wine is estate-grown at several sites in the Wairau Valley, hand-harvested, and fermented and lees-aged in stainless steel tanks. A top vintage, it is mouthfilling, sweet-fruited and tightly structured, with deep, vigorous, passionfruit/lime flavours, good acid spine and a dry, sustained finish. $30
Forrest Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
This quietly satisfying wine was grown at sites around Renwick, in Wairau Valley, and mostly handled in tanks, with a “small oak component”. Weighty, with vibrant, ripe, tropical fruit flavours, it is fresh and generous and has a dry, long finish. $23
Greystone Waipara Valley North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
Certified organic, this delicious wine was fermented mostly in French oak cuves and barriques. Ripely scented and weighty, it has rich tropical fruit flavours and is complex and savoury, with fresh acidity and a dry, very harmonious finish. $32
Greywacke Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
Grown in the Southern Valleys and central Wairau Valley, this wine is handled principally in stainless steel tanks, with some use of old oak casks. It is weighty, with intense, vibrant, tropical fruit flavours to the fore. It has a distinct touch of complexity, balanced acidity and a dry, lengthy finish. Already delicious. $28
Jules Taylor OTQ Limited Release Single Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022
★★★★★
Made “On The Quiet”, this wine was grown in Awatere Valley and barrel-fermented. Mouthfilling, it has concentrated, ripe, tropical fruit flavours and a dry, lingering finish. Yeasty, savoury notes add complexity. $33
Lawson’s Dry Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
One of the region’s best widely available sauvignon blancs, this stylish wine is grown at several sites and a small part of the blend is fermented with indigenous yeasts in old French oak barrels. Mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity, it is skilfully balanced, with very good vigour and intensity of passionfruit, peach and lime flavours, a distinct touch of complexity and a dry, appetisingly crisp finish. Top value. $20
Momo Organic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★
From Seresin, this organically certified wine is mouthfilling, with well-ripened flavours of peaches and pineapples, crisp and generous. Vigorous, finely poised and dry, it’s drinking well now. $23
Opawa Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
This characterful wine is mostly estate-grown in Wairau Valley and a small part of the blend is fermented in large oak cuves. Is this the best vintage yet? It is ripely scented and mouthfilling, with strong tropical fruit flavours. It shows a distinct touch of complexity, has a crisp, dry finish and offers fine value. $22
OTU Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
This estate-grown Awatere Valley wine is bargain-priced. Mouthfilling and ripely herbaceous, it has strong passionfruit and lime flavours and is crisp, finely poised, dry and lasting. $20
Pegasus Bay Minuetto Waipara Valley North Canterbury Sauvignon/Sémillon 2021
★★★★★
Full of youthful energy, this debut vintage is a blend of sauvignon blanc (60%) fermented mostly in stainless steel tanks and sémillon (40%) fermented in oak puncheons. Ripely scented, it is mouthfilling, sweet-fruited and vigorous. It has fresh, concentrated peach, passionfruit and lime flavours, oak complexity, appetising acidity and is highly distinctive. (14% alc/vol) $40
Rimapere Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
Estate-grown at Rapaura in Wairau Valley, this single-vineyard wine was fermented and lees-aged in tanks. Highly fragrant, it is full-bodied, with very good vigour and intensity of ripe tropical fruit flavours. Crisp, dry and lingering. $30
Riverby Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★
This single-vineyard wine was grown at Rapaura. Fresh, mouthfilling and lively, it has very good depth of well-ripened tropical fruit flavours, balanced acidity and lots of early-drinking appeal. $22
Rock Ferry 3rd Rock Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
This organically certified wine was grown in the Omaka Valley and Wairau Valley, tank-fermented and matured on its yeast lees. It is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited, with tropical fruit flavours shows excellent vigour and depth, and has a crisp, fully dry finish. $25
Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
From Marlborough’s largest family-owned producer, this pungent wine is grown in the cooler, coastal end of Wairau Valley. Intensely varietal, it is medium- to full-bodied, penetrating and finely poised. It has vigorous passionfruit and green capsicum flavours, a hint of saltiness and a crisp, dry, lingering finish. (12.5% alc/vol) $35
Smith & Sheth Cru Wairau Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
This generous, harmonious wine was harvested from mature vines at Renwick, the Waihopai Valley and Dillons Point. It is mouthfilling, fleshy and sweet-fruited, with deep, ripe tropical fruit flavours, balanced acidity and a rounded, dry, finely textured finish. Slight biscuity notes add a distinct touch of complexity. $30
te Pā The Reserve Collection Seaside Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
Estate-grown and hand-picked on the Wairau Bar, this classy, vigorous, vibrant wine offers fine value. Tank-fermented, it is freshly aromatic and full-bodied, with searching, ripely herbaceous flavours, a slightly salty streak and a dry, persistent finish. $26
Te Mata Cape Crest Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022
★★★★★
This barrel-aged Hawke’s Bay label is impressive for its ripely herbal, complex, sustained flavours. Mouthfilling, it is vigorous and savoury. It has strong, vibrant, passionfruit/lime flavours gently seasoned with oak, lively acidity, and a dry, very harmonious, lingering finish. Already delicious. $35
Three Brooms Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
Offering top value, this vigorous, single-vineyard wine was estate-grown in the Awatere Valley. Mouthfilling, it has pure, delicate tropical fruit flavours that build well across the palate to a dry, finely textured, very persistent finish. $23
Tohu Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★
Priced right, this wine was principally estate-grown in the upper Awatere Valley, with other grapes bought from growers in the upper and lower valley. Tank-fermented, it is a strongly varietal, full-bodied wine with tropical fruit flavours to the fore, a herbal undercurrent and very good delicacy and depth. It is crisp and dryish. $19
Triplebank Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
If you like punchy, zingy sauvignon blancs full of youthful “attack”, try this. A classic Awatere Valley style, it has intense tropical fruit, green capsicum and herb flavours and a pure, crisp, lingering finish. Yeasty notes add complexity. $19
Two Rivers Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
Subtle rather than pungent, this finely textured wine was grown in the Wairau and Awatere valleys. It was mostly handled in tanks, but a small part of the blend was fermented in a concrete egg tank and clay amphora. Full-bodied, it has ripe passionfruit/lime flavours and a dry, lengthy finish. Savoury notes add complexity. (12.7% alc/vol) $22
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★
This good-value wine is blended from Wairau Valley and Awatere Valley grapes and fermented and lees-aged in tanks. Ripely scented, it is medium to full-bodied, with fresh passionfruit and lime flavours, appetising acidity, and a finely balanced, dry, lingering finish. (12.5% alc/vol) $18 l
Note: all wines are 13-13.5% alc/vol, unless stated otherwise.
