There’s a primary purity to this enticing, earlier-drinking style, with a lick of sweetness played carefully to offset its soft acidity rather than adding any impression of sweetness to the palate. Delightfully pristine granny smith apple, lime blossom and kaffir lime are highlighted with appealingly juicy white peach and fleshy pear accents. $16.50 at Cracka.

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In the cold and difficult Marlborough vintage of 2012, avoiding hard acidity proved to be a challenge. It’s refreshing to find a finely poised acid line in any sauvignon, let alone one that can be yours for the princely sum of $11 at Dan Murphy’s this week. Crunchy lemon and lime zest are the themes […]

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One of the cheapest sauvignons out of Nelson this year also happens to be one of the best. The zest of grapefruit meets the exotic allure of guava and star fruit, the pretty fragrance of orange blossom and the crunch of golden delicous apple. A restrained and softly textured sauvignon – just the thing for […]

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Marlborough’s keenest minds are tweaking sauvignon and elevating it above the wide, vast gooseberry plain. A tiny one-fifteenth of this blend was cleverly fermented and aged in old French oak barriques, reinforcing the poise and internal harmony of its fruit and contributing texture, fullness and persistence without a hint of oak flavour. Genius! Granny smith […]

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Exclusively sourced from family vineyards dating from 1983, there’s a wonderful persistence, seamless line and textural appeal to this wine that proclaim the maturity and confidence of its vines. These are traits juvenile vines can only dream of. Pink lady apple, gooseberry and passionfruit are underlined by clean acid on a persistent, lemon zest-accented finish. […]

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Invivo has conjured a masterfully crafted sauvignon of honed refinement, building impressive texture through fermentation of one quarter of the blend in oak barrels. This has taken nothing from the lively purity and seamless persistence of its wonderful red apple, lemon and lime zest flavours. A delightfully appealing style that lingers with subtle, spicy complexity. […]

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In a line of more than 120 New Zealand sauvignons, it’s remarkable just how much a touch of barrel fermentation can lift the texture and appeal of a young wine. Line it up with some fusion action on your table, and this same refined texture and seamless persistence will work its magic again. In a […]

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If you buy no other 2012 New Zealand sauvignon currently on the shelves, don’t miss Dog Point. There’s a consummately crafted dimension to this wine that propels it above the vast sea of sauvignon, a wine of genuine character and interest. A one-fifth portion of wild ferment and lees ageing instils a mineral mouth feel […]

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There is a vast disparity between an early release Marlborough sauvignon that has sat on the shelves a year too long and a late release that has been carefully crafted with stamina in mind. Huia epitomises the latter, impressively primary and backward in its development at a full year-and-a-half of age. It upholds a youthful, […]

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To makers Anna and Jason Flowerday, every one of the finer details matter, and the refinement of their wines is proof. There’s a fruit purity and an enticing primary complexity at play here, reinforced by the subtle texture infused by lees ageing. Intense guava, mint, capsicum, lime zest and notes of pepper linger with impressive, […]

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