Villa Maria Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Description

Dry

• Dry style
• Lemongrass
• Fresh herbs
• Vibrant

"From the Awatere Valley, this is pristine and fragrant with green apple, nettle, kaffir lime and white floral aromas, leading to a brilliantly focused palate delivering excellent fruit purity and persistency. The wine offers saline texture and refined mouthfeel, finishing impressively long and linear. At its best: now to 2030" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2022

"Fragrant and aromatic with a diverse spectrum of complex aromas including cut grass, snow pea, lemongrass, Camomile, Jasmine and wet stones. Zesty, fresh, salivating and juicy in the mouth with an energetic, lively palate, good concentration and a crunchy, invigorating finish" NZ Wine Rater, Sauvignon Blanc Tasting 2022

This 2022 Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc encompasses everything fresh and vibrant about Marlborough from the cooler and windier southern sub region, the Awatere Valley. Pungent aromatics of lemongrass, jalapeño and fresh herbs leap from the glass, with the classic flavour of limes and the crunch of freshly picked garden peas.

Grapes are from 40% Taylors Pass; 24% Roberts; 20% Blackbirch; 15% Seaspray. The fruit used for this blend is grown in vineyards with coastal Awatere subregion near the Pacific Ocean at the most easterly point of Marlborough, hence the namesake "Clifford Bay" or from vineyards exposed to cool southerly winds that influence a long, slow growing season with grapes retaining high natural acidities and retaining pungent green characters.

The Marlborough growing season started off well with very little frost pressure during spring. Flowering went without a glitch and due to healthy soil moisture levels the canopies looked lush and vibrant. The start of 2022 summer was slightly colder; February was below the long-term average in temperature, but the weather settled with a mild although slightly damp autumn.

Wine was fermented with selected aromatic & textural year strains in 100% stainless steel. Wine spent a carefully monitored time on yeast lees to help build palate weight and texture, before minimal fining. This wine is suitable for plant-based diets.