Te Kairanga Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2008

NOTES

"tee-kigh-runga" - where the soil is rich and the food is plentiful, Te Kairanga is one of Martinborough's founding vineyards established over 20 years ago. In keeping with the pioneering spirit surrounding the vineyard, a number of Te Kairanga wines have hailed from Martinborough's history and that of its inhabitants dating back to 1879.

The wine region of Martinborough is located at the foot of New Zealand's North Island at latitude of 40 degrees south. Here, a happy coincidence of geology and geography has created the perfect climate and terrain for Pinot Noir and aromatic wines. The stone-filled river terraces are free-draining while the topsoils vary from slope to slope. The mountains protect us from harsh elements and we enjoy long dry days and cool nights. The vines grow less vigorously in the cool, breezy conditions, so yields are lower and the flavours more intense. Our long dry autumns provide the right balance of warm days (creating ripeness) and cool nights (providing elegance) for producing top quality Pinot Noir and other early-ripening varieties. The results speak for themselves – the Martinborough region is known internationally for consistently producing world-class fine wines.

TASTING NOTES

The slow start to summer in 2008 was well rewarded in Martinborough, with balmy summer conditions lingering well through harvest.  This made for perfect sauvignon blanc conditions.  Here we have fruit from two key vineyard sites, fermenting them separately which allowed the retention of the distinctive characters from each block.

An exuberance of citrus and tropical fruit dominates the nose and the palate is showing excellent weight balanced perfectly with fresh acidity.  This is an intensely flavoured, full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc, perfect for drinking now or cellar until 2012 (if you can hold off that long). Enjoy it with every kind of fish or as a perfect companion to flavourful appetizers and wicked zesty rocket salads.