Mahi Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Reviews

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 93/100. Complex aromas of lemon peel, grapefruit pith, apple blossoms, pastry and lanolin. The palate is textural and creamy with a medium-bodied mouthfeel and bright acidity that carries lingering flavors of lime leaves, pomelo and sea salt. Drink or hold.

Tasting Note

This wine shows an array of fruit characters, ranging from citrus and gooseberry through to tropical notes. This is complemented by some secondary characters from the natural yeast ferments and also some barrel aging. The palate has an elegant structure with a creamy, textural mid-palate and a long finish.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: White wine

Grape varials: 97.5% Sauvignon Blanc, 2.5% Semillon

Food match: seafood, particularly oysters or lightly seared scallops.

Vineyards: Marlborough, New Zealand. From six different vineyards, all of them giving particular attributes to the final wine.

Vintage report by Brian Bicknell: "This year, our 24th, was again distinctive and was our earliest finish ever. It always seems that winemakers are raving about the latest vintage, but I know that I can quite comfortably say that this vintage looks like it will be in the top five that I have ever worked. The fruit was possibly the cleanest we have ever seen, the crops were small, the rainfall low and the flavours ripe. We had a cool snap early-mid December, which is when we were flowering, then an amazing period through the rest of December and January, before ‘normal’ temperatures in February and a cooler March. Because of the coolness over flowering, we ended up with low pollination, and low crops, which ripened well through that warm period but also retained the acidity and freshness as February and March were not super-hot. A stunner, and so easy to work!"

Winemaking: The focus with this wine is to provide a drink that has texture and depth, rather than focussing solely on primary fruit notes. Winemaker Brian Bicknell wants a wine that satisfies across the palate and employs a number of techniques to achieve this. The Sauvignon this year comes from six different vineyards, all of them giving particular attributes to the final wine. The hand-picked fruit was whole cluster pressed so that the time on skins was minimised. A portion of this juice, 7% this year, was barrel fermented in seasoned French barriques to give greater weight, though ensuring that wood is not evident on the nose. The balance of the wine was fermented cool to retain the fruit characters from the vineyards. The native ferment portion, 19%, also adds levels of flavour and texture, giving a savoury note that balances some sweeter fruit. The final blend, including 2.5% Semillon for length, was made solely from free-run juice, as Mahi feel it gives a more elegant and subtle wine.

Alcohol: 13.5% vol

Total acidity: 7.8 g/l

Residual sugar: 1.3 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Cellaring potential: until 2027+

Closure: Screwcap

Ingredients: Grapes, sugar, carbon dioxide, preservatives and antioxidants: sulphites. Bottled in a protective atmosphere..

Produced and bottled by: Mahi Wines Ltd., 9 Terrace Rd, PO Box 33, Renwick, Marlborough, New Zealand

Imported and distributed by: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany

More wines from Mahi