Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Description

Dry, Herbal, Passionfruit

"A powerhouse of tropical intensity, this garnered an instant “YUM” from our judges" Dish Magazine

"Offering terrific fruit purity and intensity, the wine shows passionfruit, feijoa, kaffir lime, and jasmine aromas, followed by a delectably expressed palate filled with juicy fruit flavours, backed by saline texture and beautifully pitched acidity, finishing impressively long and satisfying" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2025

"A bouquet of pungency and freshness, varietal and distinctive with aromas and flavours of apples and lemons, mango and passionfruit, grapefruit and basil. On the palate these flavours remain the same, persistent and in focus. Saline and fruity, herbaceous and tropical with a backbone of acidity. A lengthy finish with best drinking from 2025 through 2029" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Oct 2025

"Perfumed passionfruit and lifted blackcurrant leaf announce this very classical style of Marlborough sauvignon, juxtaposing ripe, almost tropical fruit with grassy herbaceousness. Fruit driven and juicy, the fairly concentrated palate delivers flavour right to its mid-weight finish" Stephen Wong, Master of Wine, Oct 2025

Pungent grapefruit and blackcurrant bud aromas with a rich, salty mineral palate. Pale green. Powerful and expressive with concentrated aromas of grapefruit and blackcurrant bud with tropical notes and a green herbaceous thread. Pure and refreshing with intense flavours of ripe passionfruit and fresh grapefruit layered with crushed herbs. A salty mineral note enhances the complexity and leads to a lingering, weighty finish. Drinking beautifully now and will be at its best over the next three years.

Proximity to the ocean sees stronger maritime influences on the two vineyard blocks in the lower Wairau Valley where fruit for the Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc was grown. The daytime temperatures are warm, facilitating ripening, while the night temperatures are typically cooler than the central and upper parts of the Wairau Valley. This promotes increased hang time and flavour development. Nutrient rich soils deposited over time due to non-erosive flooding (prior to stop bank flood protection being introduced) have formed even and fertile sites. The nutrient hungry Sauvignon Blanc vines utilise this fertility to produce extremely concentrated flavours and aromas. 

The juice was pressed off immediately to minimize skin contact following harvesting. After settling, the juice was fermented in stainless steel using a selected yeast strain. The fermentation was carried out at cool temperatures to retain varietal characters and freshness. These two parcels were identified by our winemaking team during comprehensive blind tastings as the very best batches of wine produced for the 2025 vintage and therefore bottled as the Saint Clair Wairau Reserve.

Food Pairing: An exceptional food friendly wine which will match beautifully with freshly shucked oysters or steamed mussels.