POTAGER SAUVIGNON BLANC 2026

Gold Medal – The National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand 2026

Potager is a brand-new North Canterbury label from Dom Maxwell, one of the region’s most respected winemakers and someone whose wines we’ve followed for a very long time.

Dom is a two-time New Zealand Winemaker of the Year, a multiple Decanter and IWC trophy winner, and the man behind Forager, following many years at Greystone. Where Forager focuses on tiny quantities of individual-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Potager takes a broader regional view, drawing from carefully selected, low-cropping parcels of mature North Canterbury vines.

The idea is pretty simple: serious vineyard material and thoughtful winemaking, but wines built first and foremost around freshness, perfume, texture, and drinkability. And, importantly, at prices that make them very easy to get excited about.

This first release sees Dom introduce four wines, and after tasting through the range, we had no hesitation putting every single one on the shop floor.

This isn’t trying to shout Sauvignon Blanc at you from across the room. Fruit from 25-year-old vines spends four months on full yeast lees, adding a bit more texture and seriousness to the usual fresh-fruited style. Blackcurrant leaf, gooseberry, and fresh herbs sit alongside restrained tropical fruit and crisp apple, finishing bright, precise and slightly saline. Still very refreshing. Just a little more interesting than your average Sauvignon.

Winery notes (2026 Vintage)
"The 25-year-old vines comprise Clone 1 and Clone MS, grafted onto a mix of 3309 and 101-14 rootstocks. Soils are predominantly sandy loam over sandstone and clay, with a smaller component of loess over gravels. Fermentation is entirely inoculated in stainless steel at 15–17°C, followed by four months on full yeast lees before blending.

The warm, dry start to the 2026 growing season supported even flowering, followed by an early harvest of clean, pristine fruit. The nose is layered and finely detailed, with blackcurrant leaf, gooseberry and fresh herbs framing restrained notes of mango and crisp apple. Four months on full yeast lees brings texture and definition to the palate, while bright acidity carries the wine through to a precise, saline finish with great persistence."

Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, September 2026 (2026 Vintage)
"A delicious wine with the signature of Canterbury from nose to finish with scents and flavours of flowers and mineral then lime and apple, green pear and cape gooseberry. A dry wine with flavours of sand and stone, wild flowers and lees then ripe core fruit flavours of pomaceous and citrus fruits, peel and pith. Harmonious and fresh, varietal and urgent. best drinking from day of purchase through 2029."

5 Stars & 93/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, September 2026 (2026 Vintage)
"Pristine and splendidly expressed on the nose, showing green apple, nectarine, fig, and lime peel aromas, followed by a lively palate filled with juicy fruit intensity. It's vibrant and flavoursome with a long, tasty finish. At its best: now to 2029."

5 Stars & 93/100 Sammy Wilkinson, TheWineWriter.com, October 2026 (2026 Vintage)
"Lightly flinty with floral blossoms, yellow grapefruit and lime peel, and a sprinkle of fresh basil. Invigorating, juicy, lemony acidity drives the palate with citrus and slate-mineral flavours, backed by a tart gooseberry twist. It’s bright and energetic, keeping that citrus rolling right through to the finish."