2015 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

This was the white Oz Clarke chose to represent the New World in an Old v New debate we took part in. Screwcap. Very serious nose in the context of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Really satisfying with dry density and some mineral box ticking. A Sauvignon I would buy! Lip smacking. Long. Just very slightly sweet on the end. (JR)

Pale, bright yellow. Sexy musky aromas of white peach, ginger and quinine. Ripe, broad stone fruit and spice flavors display more body than most Marlborough Sauvignons while maintaining a captivating piquancy. Really dusts the palate and carries on the aftertaste. Delivers an impressive combination of sweet fruit and salty finishing grip. There's nothing tart or austere about this compelling Sauvignon Blanc. (Incidentally, the 2008 vintage of this wine is à point today: pliant and plush, with concentrated flavors of candied citrus fruits, peach and gingery spices nicely framed by a firm spine of alcohol and acidity. The 2005 version is more peppery and herbaceous, less about fruit but still full of life.)

Lemon, lime, lightly herbal, but not pungent. Intense but delicate. Ripe rather than green in character but not tropical. Attractive roundness of fruit while being dry, it has fruit weight but not heaviness. Intensely fresh and zingy, with grapefruit and grapefruit-pith aftertaste, the empty glass smells a little of orange. Long and elegant but still distinctively Malborough Sauvignon Blanc without its caricature. (JH)