Mahi Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Tasting Note

This wine shows an array of fruit characters, ranging from citrus through to tropical notes. This is complemented by some secondary characters from the natural yeast ferments and 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 varieties: 98% Sauvignon Blanc, 2% Semillon

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

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

Vintage report by Brian Bicknell: "This year, our 25th, was again distinctive and was our earliest finish ever. Nearly perfect weather at flowering meant that all the flowers set perfectly so the bunches were super even, making picking decisions somewhat easier. This is when the temperatures started rising and December was warmer than normal before a cool January and stable February. We received some rain right at veraison which worried us for a while as the berries plumped up a bit and we thought the bunches may be too tight, but the rain moved on and the weather through the important picking period of March was great, which saved the vintage. Good clean fruit with riper fruit characters is a signature of 2025 vintage."

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 four 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, 15% 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 our vineyards. The native ferment portion, 30%, also adds levels of flavour and texture, giving a savoury note that balances some sweeter fruit. The final blend, including 1.6% Semillon for length, was made solely from free-run juice, as Mahi feel it gives a more elegant and subtle wine. The wine was left on lees in tank and barrel for 10 months allowing the palate to fill out and gain texture. Bottled without any protein finings added, and as dry as you can get it.

Alcohol: 13% vol

Total acidity: 7.2 g/l

Residual sugar: 0.3 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Cellaring potential: until 2028+

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

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