Loveblock Sauvignon Blanc 2018
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Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The Loveblock Farm is perched on top of the hills overlooking Marlborough's Awatere Valley, far removed from the agricultural bustle below. They are the custodians of this wild, rugged piece of land. Their responsibility is to respect its rhythm, making wines sustainably with love of the land.
The wine has lifted aromatics of white peach, pineapple, and elderflower on the nose. An elegant and contemplative palate follows on with the cantaloupe, Cape gooseberry and crushed, sweet meadow grass. The finish is long and distinctively Sauvignon Blanc, with linear acidity balanced by creamy mouthfeel and layers of texture.
Match with oysters, seafood, pasta and chicken...or sip all by itself.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A restrained, supple style, and very subtly oaked, with riper Sauvignon characters of honeydew melon, pineapple and passion fruit.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine offers a heady mélange of lychee, peach, pineapple and rose water, with just a touch of tomato leaf. Tangy fruit follows onto the palate, which has a lovely, viscous texture and tingly acidity. It’s a highly likable, mouthwatering drop.
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Wine Spectator
White pepper notes mingle with ripe peach, melon and tangerine flavors in this smooth and juicy white, offering details of green tea and lime zest that linger on the finish. Finds harmony and grace on the long, expressive finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A terrific wine, the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc offers plenty of classic New Zealand grapefruit and citrus yet also has a solid reductive, minerality component that gives it more depth of character. It's clean, beautifully balanced, medium-bodied, and has a great finish. It's a terrific effort.
Other Vintages
2022-
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Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.