Gold Medal – Marlborough Wine Show 2024
Gold Medal – New Zealand International Wine Show 2024
The Rapaura Springs Rohe series Sauvignon Blancs have become benchmark sub-regional wines and none more so than this Dillons Point. The vines are along the confluence of the Wairau and Opawa Rivers, near Marlborough’s coast. The combination of deep, young, mineral-rich alluvial silts, layered over sand and the sea-salt laden air give the wine a distinctive character which is very appealing. Like the previous vintages this will be one of the standout Sauvignon Blancs from 2024.
Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"This wine oozes ripeness, with intense passionfruit and blackcurrant flavours, that combine with a salty minerality unique to Dillon's Point. This wine is immediately expressive but will continue to drink well for the next three years.
Dillon’s Point is defined by the confluence of the Wairau and Opawa Rivers, near Marlborough’s coast. The sub-region has deep, young, mineral-rich alluvial silts, layered over sand, which our Sauvignon Blanc vines thrive on."
Reviews for the 2023 vintage below…
5 Stars Michael Cooper (2023 Vintage)
"From the Dillons Point district of the lower Wairau Valley, the vigorous, light lemon/green 2023 vintage was fermented in stainless steel tanks. Mouthfilling, fresh and lively, it has concentrated, vibrant passionfruit and lime flavours, showing very good delicacy, a slightly salty streak, and a crisp, dry (4.1 grams/litre of residual sugar), lingering finish."
5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, August 2023 (2023 Vintage)
"Intensely aromatic and powerfully expressed, the bouquet shows passionfruit, kiwifruit, pineapple and lemon/lime zest aromas. The concentrated palate displays upfront fruit richness with finely textured mouthfeel, finishing delicious and persistent. At its best: now to 2028."
18.5/20 Joelle Thomson (2023 Vintage)
"The evocatively named Dillon's Point is one of Marlborough's most revered sub regional wine growing areas for high quality Sauvignon Blanc and is situated at the confluence of the Wairau and Opaoa rivers, close to the coast. This is a warmer part of Marlborough with the tempering influence of coastal breezes, making for blackcurrant leaf and green herbal aromas in a fleshy, medium bodied Sauvignon. Ripe passionfruit and rock melon flavours are balanced by medium acidity giving the wine a lingering finish. Very good quality and will improve over the next four to five years."
94/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, September 2023 (2023 Vintage)
"A very pale lemon-green in the glass, with aromatics that are unmistakable once the wine is opened. Blackcurrant, passionfruit, sorrel, tomato leaf, lemon zest and green melon on the nose. Intensely bright and vibrant on the palate, with a saline acidity lifting those pithy fruit flavours even higher. Elegant and mouth-watering, yet complex and intriguing. A crushed shell minerality sits alongside a spicy pepper and even a little funky phenolic as the finish line approaches. Last year I referred to “the chiselled, energetic finish – long and sweetening” and I see no reason to change that this year either. It’s a cracker."