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2019 Mahi Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough

2019 Mahi Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough

92 JS

Featured Review
This has aromas of fresh pear, melon and passion fruit with gently grassy elements. The palate is supple and even with gently tangy acidity holding fresh lime and passion-fruit flavors. Drink now. Screw cap. James Suckling

James Suckling | 92 JS

Critic Reviews

This has aromas of fresh pear, melon and passion fruit with gently grassy elements. The palate is supple and even with gently tangy acidity holding fresh lime and passion-fruit flavors. Drink now. Screw cap.

James Suckling | 92 JS
This was released six months later than usual due to Covid-19. Sourced from a combination of six vineyards. Fermented 40% wild - an increase in this vintage - and 20% in barrel, with no press wine, so the pH stays low, followed by nine months on lees. Offering floral notes and citrus, this conveys a nice sense of tenderness and flesh yet also a lightness of touch. Feels very unworked and has a sense of purity.

Vinous Media | 92 VM

Wine Details for 2019 Mahi Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough

Type of Wine New Zealand White : Great wines don't only come from Europe. New Zealand has some splendid white wines to offer to the world, based on different grape varietals. Sauvignon Blanc is undoubtedly one of the most commonly planted variety, but you can also stumble upon some sweet Pinot Gris, acidic Chardonnay, and even German Riesling, with its wide range of fruity flavors.
Varietal Sauvignon Blanc : The varietal of Sauvignon Blanc, which hails from Western France and now successfully grown in emerging and established wine regions all over the world, is an ancient grape. Sauvignon Blanc and its red counterpart, Cabernet Franc, gifted to the world of wine its offspring, Cabernet Sauvignon. Its progeny has become the most popular and widely planted varietal in the world but Sauvignon Blanc is no slouch, ranking among the top ten, itself.

Its exact emergence upon the earth is still undetermined, but appears to be indigenous to central France (the Loire Valley) or to the southwest France (Bordeaux). There is still discussion as to Sauvignon Blanc’s actual origins, with both Bordeaux and the Loire claiming to be the grape’s homeland. Both fashion incredible wine from the varietal and have been a leading force for the wine’s world-wide popularity. Sauvignon Blanc is so popular today, that 123,000 hectares are planted to the varietal across the world, ranking third among all white wine producing varietals, behind only Airen (218,000ha) and Chardonnay (211,000ha). The origin dispute aside, the grape’s versatility means its regions and styles are remarkably diverse, both within France and internationally.

Sauvignon Blanc’s geographical spread and versatility means it is found in a range of styles from classic dry white wines to individual, highly aromatic international interpretations to highly unctuous, sweet wines. The Loire appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume produce, arguably, the greatest example of the quintessential Sauvignon Blanc offering, often as a single-varietal and unoaked bringing forth wines that are mineral, citrusy, steely, bright and reasonably long-lived. Pouilly and Sancerre are home to some of the top selling Sauvignon Blanc domains in the world, from Dageuneau (Pouilly-Fume) to Vacheron (Sancerre).

Bordeaux also produces a classic dry white from Sauvignon Blanc, but is most often in the form of a blend of Sauvignon and Semillon. Haut-Brion Blanc, Pavillon Blanc de Chateau Margaux (100% Sauvignon Blanc) and Cos d’Estournel Blanc are some of the top selling, quality white Bordeaux offerings. Whereas the typical winemaking techniques of Loire do not involve oak-aging, it most often does occur in Bordeaux, giving the wine a signature texture and a mix of herbal and tropical aromas. In Sauternes (including Barsac) a very unique winegrowing method is implemented. The grapes of Sauvignon Blanc (Semillon and Muscadelle) endure a long hang time in which the late Autumn fog and humid climate attracts Botrytis Cinerea, a fungus that attacks the grape, also known as noble rot. The result is an unctuous, utterly delicious golden liquid that has placed the wines of Sauternes as some of the most characteristic and expensive in the world. Chateau d’Yquem and Chateau Climens are undoubtedly among the top producers in the region.

Outside of France, Sauvignon Blanc, with its diverse and easily manipulated qualities has grown in popularity and now inhabits over 38 countries in some of the greatest terroir hotspots including New Zealand, California, Chile, Spain and Australia. Sauvignon Blanc arrived in California in the 1860’s but the varietal’s mainstream influence on American consumers wouldn’t come until 1966 when Robert Mondavi fashioned a dry white in the style of a Loire wine, naming it Fume Blanc. The varietal has only grown in quality and popularity in America since.

Sauvignon Blanc thrives in terroirs and climates that mimic that of the Loire Valley, where it perhaps, reaches its full zenith. The soil consists heavily of flint (silica), which gives it a smoky aroma found in both Pouilly-Fume and Sancerre. However, Sauvignon Blanc is quite adaptable to a myriad of terroirs around the world, revealing each terroir through the wine itself. The varietal of Sauvignon Blanc is simply tremendous in its quality, non-discrimination of its elements (to a degree) and has fashioned some of the world’s most intriguing array of wines.

Country New Zealan

Overview

Producer Mahi

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