Fairbourne Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Download Printable Tasting Notes with Reviews

WINE STYLE:

A premium and elegant Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Supple across the palate with a generous mouth-feel, the vibrant and expressive fruit flavours lead to a smooth dry finish. Fairbourne is terroir inspired from a hillside vineyard. Enjoy now or allow the complex layers to mature gracefully.

DESCRIPTION:

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Marlborough
Vintage: 2009
Volume: 750ml

TECHNICAL:

Alcohol: 13% Vol.
Acidity: 7.7 g/L
pH: 3.28
Closure: Stelvin Lux Screwcap

SENSORY:

Aroma: Fresh crushed lemon and lime on riverstone then passion fruit and melon.
Taste: Fresh citrus entry, a smooth tropical mid palate.
Finish: Dry with persistent fresh, pure and definable Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
Serve: Chill to between 14 and 16°C (52 and 61°F) then serve and enjoy.
Store: Store between 10 and 16°C (50 and 61°F).

CUISINE:

Fresh shucked Oysters are a natural accompaniment for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and this wine is no exception. Salmon pairs well with this wine, as does a fresh salad of asparagus and chilled melon with a citrus drizzle. My favourite is cold smoked salmon with a mild wasabi mayo.

VITICULTURE:

The grapes for Fairbourne are grown on north facing hillside vineyards of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. The soils are with ancient alluvial and clay gravels of lower fertility giving lighter yields with very distinctive flavours. The sites produce grapes with ripe citrus and stone fruit nuances with a “wet stone” mineral character from the soils.

WINEMAKING:

The grapes were fermented as site batches with selected yeast strains to capture their individual fruit expressions. The wine was fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks over a four week period. A blend of the finished wines were chosen to create a pure and expressive style of Sauvignon Blanc that we consider uniquely superior. Fairbourne shares the characteristics of the vineyard with varietal expression.

[tipsy content='Michael Cooper 5★
Grown on elevated, north-facing slopes in the Wairau Valley, this is a classy wine, tightly structured, with a very fresh, refined bouquet. Weighty, crisp and dry, it has searching, ripe flavours of citrus fruits and limes, showing excellent delicacy and intensity, a minerally streak, and a long, tight finish.
(Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2011)
(Michael Cooper – Listener, October 23 – 29 2010)' group="0" ]Michael Cooper 5★[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Raymond Chan 18.0 / 4★
Brilliant straw-yellow colour with pale green hues and a pale edge. This has an elegantly fine and subtly expressed nose of white stonefruits and florals with some ethereal herb notes, and flinty reduction nuances. Dry, with good weight and vinous presence on the palate, this has delicate flavours of stonefruits and minerals, enlivened by fresh, balanced acidity. The wine has a very fine, soft texture which allows a gentle sweetness emerge on the finish. Fruit from the north-facing, clay-Gravel soiled ‘Skyedale’ vineyard in the Wairau Valley. Cool-fermented in stainless-steel to 13.0% alc. This restrained and delicate Loire-like Sauvignon will be a match with Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai cuisine over the next 3-5 years.' group="0" ]Raymond Chan 18.0 / 4★[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Vic Williams - WineNZ Magazine, Spring 2010
Sarah Inkersell and Russell Hooper have made many standout examples of Marlborough ‘Savvie’ under various labels over the years. Now, they are devoted to producing the ultimate example of this ubiquitous style. Held back from release to allow it to settle down and develop complexity, this classy white has a bouquet that brings lemon and lime juice to mind, along with a suggestion of melon skin. It’s crisp and dry on the palate, but impressions of ripe mango and passionfruit fill it out through the middle and on the lingering finish. It would be perfect with oysters, ideally freshly shucked and drizzled with just a drop or two of white Balsamic vinegar. ' group="0" ]Vic Williams[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Peter Saunders – Hospitality NZ, Vol. 46, November 2010 and Best of the Best Wine Guide 2010, Hospitality NZ
Very finely textured wine, setting out to be an outstanding sauvignon statement from a specialist winemaker in this variety. It does this perfectly, different to mainstream; the finesse of a top quality dinner wine, dry, well spined and remarkably elegant for this grape without losing its varietal character. 2009 is youthful but approachable, a long life ahead.' group="0" ]Peter Saunders[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Jo Burzynska - Viva 1 December 2010
An elegant and textural sauvignon powered by a line of silky citrus and mineral from the newest recruit to the Specialist Wine Growers of New Zealand, whose members all focus on a single grape variety or style.' group="0" ]Jo Burzynska[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Peter Rumble - The Collective Nod December, 2010
Simply the best Sauvignon we tasted in 2010 (and God have we tasted a few. It’s a wonder we have any teeth...). The Cloudy Bay Te Koko, Dog Point Section 94 and the Terravin Te Ahu were excellent in 2009, but for sheer elegant Graves Blanc minerality and texture, the Fairbourne left us quivering like broken washing machines on fast spin with trainers in the drum. When NZ Sauvignon is good, it’s pretty bloody good. If we can say that after dismissing about three million farmer-made bottles of wannabe bleach tasted throughout the year, you know we mean it. A taste of what the future brings (we hope). ' group="0" ]Peter Rumble[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Kitty Kaye – New Straits Times, Malaysia, 03 December 2010
Its specialty is sauvignon blanc. The estate’s winemaker is Sarah Inkersell. Her Fairbourne Marlborough 2009 sauvignon blanc was never aged in oak but still holds hints of smokiness that is absorbed from the mineral structure of the clay gravel soils on the estate’s north facing hillside. Its pale hay hue has hints of green and is pleasantly dry, vibrant, pineapple-fruity with just a touch of strength that will hold its own when paired with fresh seafood such as wasabi-dipped sashimi. ' group="0" ]Kitty Kaye[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Emma Pook – Majestic Wine Online Store Manager
Wine of the moment, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from the esteemed producer Fairbourne; elegant and sophisticated, it rivals some of the best known prestige labels. Positively buzzing with citrus, tropical and melon notes, with a dryness and acidity that makes it a superb partner for oysters or smoked salmon. ' group="0" ]Emma Pook[/tipsy]