ASTROLABE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2020

Selected for the 2020 Fine Wines of New Zealand List

Consistently our top selling Sauvignon Blanc, Astrolabe has set the benchmark for many years and is proof that not all Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs are created equal. It is the attention to detail, viticulture, and winemaking that sets Astrolabe apart. This new release 2019 is as good as it's ever been.

Simon Waghorn, Winemaker notes (2020 Vintage)
"Sauvignon blanc is widely considered by the wine drinkers of the world to reach its pinnacle of potential in Marlborough. The Astrolabe Province Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is made from grapes grown across three Marlborough sub-regions: the Wairau Valley, the Awatere Valley and the Kēkerengū Coast. The blend of sites, soils and aspects within this wine gives it great complexity, reflecting both the capability of the region as a whole and my own palate.

I blend to suit what I think is Astrolabe’s style, which reflects what I’ve learnt as a winemaker and drinker over the years. My style is dry, expressive and elegantly balanced. For me it is about getting a lovely sense of fully developed green spectrum flavours from all these different sites and putting them in a glass in a way that is well-styled and elegant. My Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc always presents with ripe green flavours like passionfruit, blackcurrant leaf and gooseberry. In the palate, it is full and round and finishes dry and lingering.
 
This is a drier style of sauvignon blanc, acidity kept nicely in balance wirh the alcohol and the very little residual sugar that is there, so it’s all about how all these things come together to make a pleasurable whole. I craft my wines so that nothing stands out as one singular spike, instead revealing a lovely layering of flavours and aromas that people can keep finding as they spend time savouring the glass."

94/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, December 2020 (2020 Vintage)
"Lively, crunchy, creamy-textured sauvignon blanc with green capsicum, lemongrass, passionfruit and a suggestion of tree fruit flavours with a touch of matchstick. A perfectly-balanced wine with a lengthy finish."

94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, December 2020 (2020 Vintage)
"Classic bouquet and palate with flavours of tropical fruits and apple, lemon pith and peach tea, fresh herbs of sage and basil. The core of fruit and minerality are accentuated by sweet acidity and its palate refreshing qualities. Well made, lengthy, harmonious and ready. Best drinking from today and through 2025+."

4 ½ Stars Michael Cooper (2020 Vintage)
"The 2020 vintage is a regional blend, grown mostly in the Awatere valley, with smaller parcels from Kekerengu, the Wairau Valley and the Southern Valleys. Bright, light lemon/green, it is fresh and full-bodied, with tropical-fruit and herbaceous flavours, showing very good intensity, and a fully dry finish."