• Toasty oak
• Citrus blossom
• Gooseberry & lychee
• Full-bodied & complex

"A splendid rendition of the variety; the intensely aromatic bouquet shows kaffir lime, feijoa, sweet basil and dried herb characters with a touch of almond note. The palate is powerful and dynamic, displaying wonderful mid palate weight and vibrancy, leading to a persistent refined finish. It is pristine yet complex with layers of fine texture and mouth-watering flavours. At its best: now to 2028" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Feb 2019

"Smoky, nutty bouquet, nougat, lots of almond meal and toasted nuttiness. Barrel ferment to the max. Almost a Te Koko style. Rich, full-bodied and concentrated. A very good but perhaps a one-glass wine" Huon Hooke, Real Review, Oct 2019

Pale lemon with flecks of lime-green, Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc ’18 overflows with tropical fruit and rich, succulent acidity. Aromatic notes of fresh lime, gooseberry, lychee and pineapple, give way on the palate to juicy pear, ripe grapefruit, citrus blossom and subtle char and fennel notes. A unique New Zealand sauvignon blanc style, Cape Crest ’18 is exotic, complex, long and simply saturated with ripe, fresh, lush fruit flavours. Cape Crest ’18 is closed with a 'Diam' cork, which eliminates any possibility of cork taint, allowing continued evolution in bottle for five years from harvest.

Cape Crest and its gannet symbol refer to Cape Kidnappers, the southern point of Hawke Bay, home to the world’s largest mainland colony of these remarkable marine birds. Since 1984, Cape Crest has developed an international following for its unique expression of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Barrel fermented, with a touch of semillon and Sauvignon Gris, it is concentrated and complex with toast, citrus blossom, pear and stonefruit characters.

The fully ripe grapes for Cape Crest ’18 were hand harvested from individual plots within Te Mata Estate’s vineyards between 11 and 22 March 2018.

The separate parcels were each destemmed and lightly crushed, then cooled before a brief period of skin contact. Following pressing and cold-settling, they were run to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barrels for fermentation. The resulting wines were aged on lees, with regular stirring, for a further eight months before blending in December 2018. The blend was returned to tank for further maturation on fine lees, before fining and bottling. Cape Crest ’18 is a blend of 90% sauvignon blanc, 6% semillon and 4% sauvignon gris.