A single vineyard bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Rimapere vineyard in Marlborough’s highly regarded Rapaura district. This joint venture between Bordeaux’s Baron Benjamin de Rothschild (owner of Château Clarke and Château des Laurets) and New Zealand’s Craggy Range Winery.
This is the fifth vintage of this collaboration, and the wine’s dual citizenship is evident. While it retains a New Zealand grassy crispness, it also sports a saline minerality of crushed oyster shells. There is also a textural gravity that is reminiscent of the top Bordeaux white wines. It’s a style that is also reminiscent of the early days of winemaking in Marlborough; in particular, the 1998 vintage of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.
Wine Review
This is a charming wine bright in acidity and light in body. Fruit flavors steal the show: mostly melon, passion fruit, and lime. A bundle of tarragon and hay lay down the finish.