2021 'Abstract' Sauvignon Blanc

Full screwcapped bottle a heavy 1,430 g. Early, low-yielding harvest. Young alluvial silts over sand in Dillons Point subregion. Regenerative viticulture, no till, dry farming. The grapes were hand-harvested on 23 March. The fruit was whole-bunch pressed with only the free-run juice going into French oak puncheons (500 litre) without any settling. One new puncheon was used (15%) while the remainder were 5 years old or older. Fermented spontaneously with ambient yeast. No stirring during the time in oak. Spontaneous malolactic conversion. A further 15 months' maturation on lees prior to bottling without filtration on 27 July 2022. pH 3.26. Certified Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand and Appellation Marlborough Wine. Flinty and Sauvignon fruit aromas are interwoven. Definite but not excessive note of struck match. Intense notes of ripe green fruits and blackcurrant bud. The interplay of smoky reduction and bright fruit continues on the palate, mouth-filling and mouth-watering at the same time. Intense flavours balanced by the creamy texture (roundness) from the oak, and the merest hint of oak spice. The flinty character is marked but not too much on the long finish. Ageing slowly and beautifully, which is not always the case with Sauvignon Blanc, and has a way to go. Complex and harmonious with a long smoky finish. (JH)