"Bright, very pale straw colour with slight green hues, near colourless on the edge. The nose is very fresh and elegantly presented with pungent passionfruit aromas melded with fresh herbs, some cut grass and nettle notes, and chalky mineral elements. The aromatics build in intensity and penetration with aeration. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, the palate has bright, lively flavours of fresh passionfruit and gooseberries along with fresh herbs and nuances of cut grass and nettles. The fruit has good intensity. The palate has fine, dry phenolic texture along with crisp, refreshing, mouthwatering acidity. The wine flows positively to an elegant, lingering finish of gooseberries and herbs. This is a refreshing, lively and bright passionfruity and gooseberry flavoured Sauvignon Blanc with herb and cut grass notes on a fine-textured palate. Serve with seafood and Pacific Rim fare over the next 2 years. Fruit from 50% ‘O’Dwyers Farm’, 30% ‘Long Lane Vineyard’ and 20% ‘Starborough Terrace’, cool-fermented in stainless-steel to 13.0% alc" Raymond Chan, Oct 2017

"It is generously fruited and beautifully inviting on the nose showing Gala apple, nectarine, rockmelon and lemongrass characters, leading to a succulent palate that is richly flavoured and vibrant. The wine offers youthful charm and brisk acidity, finishing long and delightfully refreshing. At its best: now to 2020" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Oct 2017

A refreshing, lively and bright Sauvignon Blanc with passionfruit and gooseberry flavours along with fresh herbs and nuances of cut grass and nettles on a fine-textured palate. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, the palate is bright and lively with crisp, refreshing, mouthwatering acidity.

The fruit was sourced from three individual Starborough vineyards. 40% O’Dwyers Farm Vineyard in the Rapaura district (Wairau) where the soil is a fertile free draining alluvial silt loam providing potent fruit forward Sauvignon Blanc. 40% from Starborough Terrace Vineyard (Awatere Valley) and 20% from Long Lane Vineyard located on the northern
and southern banks respectively of the Awatere River. The soils at the Awatere vineyards comprise of alluvial silt over stony river gravel deposits. They are of moderate fertility and very free draining. All three sites provide the perfect conditions for growing premium cool climate Sauvignon Blanc. The yield on the two and three cane VSP (vertical shoot position) trained vines were closely monitored through the growing season. Targeted shoot thinning was performed to produce optimum canopy growth and yield control. Each vineyard block was carefully monitored during ripening and machine harvested in cool early morning conditions at peak maturity and flavour development.

The fruit was pressed off as quickly as possible to minimise skin contact and juice deterioration following harvesting. After settling, the juice was fermented using selected yeast in stainless steel at cool temperatures retaining fruit flavour and freshness. All individual vineyard parcels were left on light lees and kept separate until July, when the blend
was assembled from the most desirable parcels. The wine was bottled in late July with an alcohol of 13.0%, pH 3.2 and acidity of 7.1 g/l.