Summer Sauvignons with the X factor

Posted by Joelle Thomson on

If barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc is not top of your drinks list this summer, it's easy to remedy that situation by popping into Regional Wines & Spirits where our well informed staff can give you top tips on great summer whites. 

One of the best white wines I have ever tasted comes from one of this country's smallest wine producers; Churton Estate in Marlborough.

Churton Estate is rare in more ways than one.  It is 100% family owned. The family grow 100% certified organic grapes. And they use 100% of their own home grown grapes. Nothing is bought in to supplement production. This gives it more than merely an 'edge'. It gives it integrity and mana, two things that shine brightly in Best End Sauvignon Blanc. If you have yet to be convinced by this style of wines, try any of this outstanding trio highlighted below, which come from three great wineries which are all shining a new light on this country's most planted grape variety. Sauvignon Blanc. It has many great strings to its well known bow.

2018 Greystone Sauvignon Blanc  (RRP $24.99)  Special $21.99

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The Greystone wine story began in 2000 when the Thomas Family bought an old sheep farm on the Omihi hills in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury on rolling limestone hills from which winemaker Dom Maxwell and general manager Nick Gill have created some great wines - and amassed an outstandingly talented team to help them do so. 

This tasty Sauvignon Blanc was 100% barrel fermented in old oak with wild yeasts and is made from fully certified organic grapes with BioGro NZ certification. Like all Greystone wines, it is made entirely from estate grown fruit with nothing bought in to supplement production. It's one of many incremental steps at Greystone that consistently ensures high quality. Partial malolactic fermentation provides creamy flavour notes to this wine, which are kept in check with the balance of bright acidity and a light spicy taste which further adds complexity.

2018 Churton Estate Best End Sauvignon Blanc $41.99

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Best End Sauvignon Blanc literally is made from the best end of Churton Estate's small biodynamic Sauvignon Blanc vineyard. And what a wine. Ripeness, freshness and fruit combined with interesting creamy notes, savoury flavours and a lingering zesty finish all make this one of Marlborough's best white wines. No surprise it's made by the Weaver family, who have carved a niche as great winemaking family, across the gamut of classic French grape varieties that they turn into outstanding wines. All Churton wines are certified organic with Bio-Gro New Zealand and are also made from biodynamically farmed grapes. 

 

2015 Cloudy Bay Te Koko $58.99

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If you’re looking for complexity and recognisably familiar flavours, try Cloudy Bay’s top tier  Sauvignon Blanc, known simply Te Koko, which is made from grapes grown on some of this iconic winery’s oldest vineyards, which produce grapes with high concentration and intense aromatics. Gentle pressing and settling for 24 hours are followed by fermentation in French oak barrels, a small portion (typically less than 10%) of which are new. Indigenous yeast fermentation is followed by time on lees for about seven months. Partial malolactic fermentation completes the picture, providing weight and texture to this wine's exotic floral flavours and long finish.


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