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Buy OnlineWinery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Not one bound by convention, The Marlborist Grande Sauvignon is a bold departure from the classic Marlborough style. Fermented entirely with naturally occurring yeast in a mixture of old French oak barrels and puncheons, it is an alternative style of sauvignon blanc with an alluring array of grilled peach, candied pineapple and brioche with hints of elderflower and almond. This is a moreish wine with a rich, creamy palate underpinned by a long, citrus finish.
A combination of machine and hand-picked fruit was harvested over a week-long period beginning late March. The grapes were transported directly to the winery where they were gently pressed and cold settled for three days. The juice was racked to a mixture of old French oak barrels and puncheons and left to spontaneously ferment by indigenous, ‘wild’ yeast, a process that took several months to complete. Occasional lees stirring and partial malolactic fermentation occurred over a 15 month period of maturation in French oak before the blend was assembled and settled prior to bottling in July."
94/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, Wine Advocate, December 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"The 2023 Grande Sauvignon is a richer, riper style of Sauvignon Blanc than the Alpine Rift wine tasted alongside. Here, the fruit is lower-yielding and handpicked and offers yellow peach, layers of saffron, orange oil and caper brine. The wine is matured in old puncheons and hogsheads for 15 months, and this has really opened the texture of the wine. It is full and round yet speared through the heart by the mouthwatering Marlborough acid line. It's silky, sleek and polished, with brilliant concentration of flavor. The tension through the middle palate and finish holds this wine in very good stead."
Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, September 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"There’s no mistaking the variety with the urgent, ripe and fruity scents of citrus and tropical fruits, bell-pepper and a dried herbaceous quality. Equally impactful on the palate with plush, ripe and urgent flavours of citrus and tropical fruits, herbs and spices, mineral and stony qualities. Lengthy and well made with best drinking from 2025 through 2030."
David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, December 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"We start with The Marlborist Grande Sauvignon 2023. It’s a wine that seems to have arrived from somewhere other than Marlborough – which is odd given the label. I would look at Sancerre as a reference point, but it does have that signature New Zealand juiciness as a counterpoint. It shows a youthful brio in the bouquet of grapefruit, pea pod, lemongrass, dried pineapple, pepper and elderflower florals. A salty acidity gives a lovely tonic-like tang to the palate that balances well with the soft baking spice note from the barrel ferment and lees-influences. Things slow at the back of the palate – a wooly texture leans into a finish which has excellent length."
