"This is complex and enticing on the nose, showing ripe peach, lemon peel, roasted hazelnut, and savoury pastry characters with a subtle vanilla overtone. The palate displays terrific poise and tension, wonderfully complemented by creamy texture and bright acidity, making it splendidly structured and balanced with a sustained, graceful finish. At its best: 2026 to 2038" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jan 2025

"Leads with pressed linen and Golden Delicious apples, white pepper, shaved fennel and a profusion of preserved citrus rind, which elevates the wine into the echelon of the great. This is a 360-degree drinking experience here. Excellent. This is one of the best Cape Crest releases" Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Bright and juicy, bursts with grapefruit, blackcurrant and fresh pineapple... tangy and freshening, some flinty texture and discreet creaminess in the mix. This is a very good release, and likely to age especially well" Gary Walsh, Dec 2024

With a brilliant pale straw colour, Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc 2023 entices with a captivating bouquet of lime zest, grapefruit, and a hint of cream soda. On the palate
the wine surges with vibrancy and concentration showing gooseberry, yellow currants, and tropical fruit, all seamlessly interwoven with lingering notes of smoke, flint, and cedar. Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is a layered, precise, and focused wine, without any compromise in its characteristic complexity, refreshing appeal and mouthwatering finish. Cape Crest ’23 will continue to evolve in the bottle for 10 years from harvest.

Cape Crest and its gannet symbol refer to Cape Kidnappers, the southern point of Hawke Bay, home to the world’s largest mainland colony of these remarkable marine birds.

The fully ripe grapes for Cape Crest ’23 were hand harvested from individual plots within Te Mata Estate’s vineyards between 21 and 28 March 2023.

The separate parcels were each destemmed and lightly crushed, then cooled before a brief period of skin contact. Following pressing and cold-settling, they were run to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barrels for fermentation. The resulting wines were aged on lees, with regular stirring, for a further 11 months before bottling in February 2024. Cape Crest ’23 is a blend of 97% sauvignon blanc, 2% semillon and 1% sauvignon gris.