2023 Dog Point, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

Full screwcapped bottle 1,310 g. 26-year-old vines in the Wairau Valley, though some vines were planted in 1984. Silty clay loams with some gravel. Hand-picked and whole-bunch pressing of fruit before cold settling and then fermentation. 60% of this wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged four months in stainless steel tanks and bottled without fining. TA 7.4 g/l, pH 3.14.

Intensely aromatic and characteristically smoky, with marked reduction, a style that Dog Point have mastered so brilliantly. That smokiness is notable yet not excessive, even if it is highly stylised. Behind the struck match is vibrant grapefruit and pear, immense depth and remarkable complexity for a young, unoaked white. Chewy texture and low pH make this a mouth-watering and persistent dry wine that is obviously Sauvignon Blanc but not just Sauvignon Blanc, with better likely ageing capacity than most NZ SBs. Excellent purity and precision. I find this unsplittable, and it will be even better after another year in the bottle.

Drink 2024 - 2027

Screw cap

Clean and crisp with grapefruit, green melon and lemon character. Hints of stones. Medium body. Lovely acidity and a delicious finish. Some phenolic tension here. From organically grown grapes.

Drink now

Initially the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc needs a few moments to get itself together – much like we all do after waking up from our slumber. It wears a rather reductive overcoat, but under that flintiness you find concentrated, pure fruit flavors. It’s light in body but dense in concentration thanks to low yields, displaying both focus and punch. It's almost silvery in color and restrained thanks to hand-picking, leading to pure grapefruit and passion fruit flavours alongside a hint of nectarine. The finish is long, precise and sinewy.

Drink 2024 - 2028

13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is flinty and grayscale on the nose, with graphite, asphalt, white paper, preserved lemon rind and dried sage. In the mouth, the tropical fruit continues to be kept at bay while the aroma notes continue through the length of the palate. This is a classy wine, all elegance and restraint. It's very different from the 2024—what I would classify as "more classical"—tasted alongside.

Drink 2024 - 2033