Fairbourne Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Download Printable Tasting Notes with Reviews

WINE STYLE:

A premium, elegant and hand-picked 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 single hillside vineyard. Enjoy now or allow the complex layers to mature gracefully.

DESCRIPTION:

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Marlborough
Vintage: 2012
Volume: 750ml

TECHNICAL:

Alcohol: 13.5% Vol.
Acidity: 7.5 g/L
Sugars: Less than 1.0 g/L
Closure: Stelvin Lux Screwcap

SENSORY:

Aroma: Fresh crushed lemon and lime with alluvial river stone and melon.
Taste: Smooth citrus entry, an ascending concentration of ripe white stone fruits.
Finish: Dry with a persistent fruit and mineral flavours. You will want more.
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. A recent favourite is prawn steamed with rose water and lemon grass with a green side salad seasoned with nori.

VITICULTURE:

The grapes for Fairbourne are grown on a single north facing hillside vineyard 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 hand-picked grapes produce ripe citrus and stone fruit nuances with a “wet stone” mineral character from the soils.

WINEMAKING:

Restraint is the key influence of the Fairbourne winemaking philosophy. Grapes are fermented as site batches with neutral yeast to capture their individual fruit and site expressions. Fermentation is managed in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks over a four week period. The batches are carefully blended, including a small portion matured in aged French oak, to create a silky entry, generously ascending across the palate with a supple texture and dry finish.

[tipsy content='Wine Orbit 94 / 5★
From their north-facing hillside vineyard with clay/gravel soils, this is a stylish expression of Marlborough sauvignon blanc made from hand-harvested grapes; the juice was fermented at cool temperatures then an extended lees contact with a small portion of the wine matured in seasoned French oak barrels.
The resulting wine is not as pungent on the nose as a typical Marlborough example, it is delicately fragrant showing white peach, lime zest, feijoa and a hint of oatmeal characters. However, the palate shows amazing intensity and richness together with a rounded texture and well-balanced acidity. It is superbly concentrated and very long on the finish. At its best now to 2017.' group="0" ]Wine Orbit 94 / 5★[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Raymond Chan 19 / 5★
Bright, very pale straw colour with green hues, near colourless on rim. The bouquet is very refined with subtly entwined aromas of white florals, gooseberries and minerals, expressed with great purity and building intensity. Dry to taste, this has a very finely concentrated and tight core, with lifted floral, gooseberry and minerally flavours, which are expressed with restraint and style. The fruit is underlined by soft, mouthwatering, acidity that provides poise and excellent tension. The mouthfeel is firm and taut, with real linearity and drive and the palate has elegance and proportion that leads to a very long and nuanced dry finish. This is a tight and very refined Sauvignon Blanc, with white floral and mineral overtones akin to classical Sancerre. Serve with seafood and antipasto over the next 3-4 years. Fruit from a north-facing Southern Valleys hillside vineyard with clay gravel soils, fermented to 13.5% alc. and dryness, a small portion of the wine aged in French oak. ' group="0" ]Raymond Chan 19 / 5★ [/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Tiz Wine 5★
Not cheap but an outstanding wine. A portion of the blend is aged in French oak and this helps to create a layered and complex wine. It has excellent tropical fruit aromas which expand in the palate where they are joined by tinned asparagus and just a note of oak. This is a young and refreshing wine. Delicious. Grown on a single, clay gravel, hillside. The fruit is hand- picked to retain the natural mineral and floral characters of the site. A portion of the wine is matured in seasoned French oak and is aged on fine lees for several months. Known for its silky texture and described as elegant & supple with a lengthy palate. An age worthy style.
' group="0" ]Tiz Wine 5★ Top Tip [/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Wine State 4.5★
Mouth-filling wine, showing real finesse. Hand-picked, with some maturation in aged French oak, it is weighty and sweet-fruited, with deep, ripe herbal flavours, good complexity and a lengthy finish. ' group="0" ]Wine State 4.5★ [/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Michael Cooper 4.5★
From elevated, north-facing slopes in the Wairau Valley, the 2012 vintage (4.5*) was hand-picked and fermented in tanks to full dryness (a tiny portion of the blend was oak-aged for 10 months). A mouthfilling wine, it shows real finesse. It is weighty and sweet-fruited, with deep, ripely herbaceous flavours, good complexity and a lengthy finish. In a complete vertical tasting of the 2008 to 2013 vintages, staged in February 2014, the older wines were still lively and offering a lot of pleasure, but the stars were the fleshy, sweet-fruited, finely textured 2011 (5*), delicious now, and the highly aromatic, slightly more herbacecous, tight and minerally 2012 (4 1/2*).' group="0" ]Michael Cooper 4.5★ [/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Bob Campbell 93 / 4.5★
Very pure, linear Sauvignon Blanc with citrus, wet stone/mineral and subtle nutty yeast lees flavours. The texture is ethereal with good palate weight. Bone dry wine in a restrained and sophisticated style.' group="0" ]Bob Campbell 93 / 4.5★ [/tipsy]
[tipsy content='John Hawkesby - New Zealand Herald
This elegant, sophisticated, superb wine from a Marlborough sauvignon blanc specialist uses hand-harvested grapes that deliver a clean, powerful and long-living wine. Designed to work in harmony with food, this is a sauvignon for those who may be tiring of this varietal. Herbal mineral qualities with a dry finish this is a head-turning wine and beautifully packaged. ' group="0"]John Hawkesby[/tipsy]
[tipsy content='Alan Hunter - The Courier-Mail, QLD.
Plenty of funk here, with paw paw, green melon, tobacco and green pea. The texture soaks up a sour watermelon acidity, while vanilla and a guava bite fuel further interest. While this sounds like flavour overload, it leaves an undeniable lasting impression. ' group="0"]Alan Hunter[/tipsy]