Flavours of a summer fruit salad of paw paw, honeydew melon and ripe, golden quinces – drizzled with citrus flower water and a squeeze of orange skin oil. A delicious floral fragrance and juicy tropical fruit, infused with a fennel-like herbal thread and a faint whiff of wood smoke. Fermented entirely with naturally occurring yeast, this is an alternative style of Sauvignon Blanc that is both intricate and textural, with a rich, succulent palate finishing crisp and long with a flinty dryness. I think this new 2023 might be the best yet !
The flagship wine from renowned winemaker Kevin Judd, who founded this winery with wife Kimberley in 2009 after 25 years at Cloudy Bay. Sourced from sites across the region, it is fermented using wild yeasts in old French oak barriques where it rests on lees for six months.
"The 2023 Wild Sauvignon leads with a layered nose of crushed nuts, pineapple husk, licorice and white chocolate. On the palate, the wine is creamy and spicy, with lashings of concentrated fruit flavor and length throughout the finish. This wine routinely cellars with exceptional grace, and this vintage appears to be no different. The 2023 growing season was cool and wet, although the presence of the mountain range, which effectively divides the region in half, had a positive impact on the Awatere Valley, to the east of the main Wairau. While the 2023 season will be forever etched onto the hearts of the producers in Hawkes Bay (and the North Island in general) as the year of Cyclone Gabrielle, the South Island fared much better, and the wines in general have been lovely, detailed things, as this is. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap." 95pts Erin Larkin The Wine Advocate
