Selected for the Fine Wines of New Zealand List
Gold Medal – The National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand 2023
On the site of Marlborough’s first vineyard and winery established in 1873, Auntsfield run by brothers Luc and Ben Cowley quietly produce some of Marlborough's best. With Sauvignon Blanc they strive to produce a distinctive style of Sauvignon Blanc. The style is aimed towards texture, complexity and length, balancing the typical Marlborough fruit spectrum and aromatics with richness and mouth feel. That is, a delicious Sauvignon Blanc!
Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Auntsfield continues the proud heritage of Marlborough’s first vineyard and winery established in 1873. Our Single Vineyard wines are made from grapes grown at Auntsfield Estate. Each wine shows the distinctive characteristics of ripeness, texture and minerality – qualities unique to the ancient Greywacke rock and Loess clay soils of the vineyard.
Sauvignon Blanc – Auntsfield Estate aims to produce a distinctive style of Sauvignon Blanc. The style is aimed towards texture, complexity and length, balancing the typical Marlborough fruit spectrum and aromatics with richness and mouth feel.
Lifted and pure aromas of fresh passionfruit, ripe citrus and lime. Notes of dried herbs, lemongrass, jalapeno and blackcurrant add pungency and intensity to the aromatics. Powerful, tight and elegant. This wine displays intense ripe fruit flavours of passionfruit juice and white peach, with citrus notes of lime and mandarin pith. The palate has intense concentration and generous weight, balanced by an underlying minerality and tight structure to shape a wine with lively tension and textural balance."
5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, August 2023 (2023 Vintage)
"Offering stunning fruit purity and intensity, the wine shows green rockmelon, kaffir lime, lemon sorbet and acacia aromas, leading to a brightly expressed palate that's concentrated and persistent. Splendidly structured by beautifully pitched acidity, finishing impressively long and satisfying. At its best: now to 2033."
5 Stars Michael Cooper (2023 Vintage)
"Estate-grown on the south side of the Wairau Valley, on the site where the region's first wines were made in the 1870s, the 2023 vintage was fermented and lees-aged in stainless steel tanks. Light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling, with concentrated, ripe, tropical fruit flavours to the fore, a herbal undercurrent, and a long, dry, crisp finish. A refined, vibrant, finely balanced wine, already drinking well, it should be at its best mid-2024+."
Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, October 2023 (2023 Vintage)
"Pungent, powerful, ripe, varietal and very inviting bouquet of fresh white fleshed fruits and citrus, fresh sage and basil with a stony mineralised earthy foundation. Flavours on the palate are even better than the bouquet suggests with fresh pink grapefruit and apple, white peach and lemon, fresh herbs and stones. Youthful, taut and dry with a lengthy finish. Well made and ready to drink from early to mid 2024 through 2030+."
4 ½ Stars & Top 10, Cuisine Sauvignon Blanc Tasting, December 2023 (2023 Vintage)
"A quiet style of sauvignon with a bright nose of ripe citrus, freshly cut herbs, nashi pear and elderflower. The palate is crunchy and flavourful with juicy acidity and immediate appeal. Light and mineral with good length, this is a very well-made wine."