Villa Maria Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Villa Maria Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023"With its power and gorgeous fruit purity, the enticing bouquet shows kiwifruit, Granny Smith apple, nectarine and kaffir lime notes on the nose, followed by a concentrated palate displaying brilliant focus and persistency. Exuberant and lively with a prolonged, mouth watering finish. At its best: now to 2030" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2024 "Intense, flavoursome wine with an impressive weight and mouth feel. Flavours suggest green capsicum, tomato

"With its power and gorgeous fruit purity, the enticing bouquet shows kiwifruit, Granny Smith apple, nectarine and kaffir lime notes on the nose, followed by a concentrated palate displaying brilliant focus and persistency. Exuberant and lively with a prolonged, mouth-watering finish. At its best: now to 2030" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2024

"Intense, flavoursome wine with an impressive weight and mouth-feel. Flavours suggest green capsicum, tomato leaf, gooseberry and green apple together with riper passionfruit, guava and feijoa. The wine has a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Very impressive" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Feb 2024

This 2023 Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc encompasses everything fresh and vibrant about Marlborough's cooler and windier southern sub region, the Awatere Valley, Pungent aromatics of lemongrass, jalapeño and fresh herbs leap from the glass, with the classic flavour of limes and the crunsh of freshly picked garden peas.

The Marlborough growing season started off well with very little frost pressure during spring. The growing season provided us with healthy soil moisture levels, the canopies looked lush and vibrant. The start of 2023 summer was mild; February was below the long term average in temperature. This resulted in thick grape skins that provided us with ample flavour. The weather settled over the harvest season and delivered a beautiful, dry and warm Indian summer.

The majority of the fruit used for this blend is grown in vineyards if the coastal Awatere subregion near the Pacific Ocean at the most easterly point of Marlborough, hence the namesake "Clifford Bay". The vineyards are exposed to cool southerly winds that influence a long, slow growing season with grapes retaining high natural acidity and retaining pungent green characters. 32% of the fruit came from vineyards in the upper Awatere from our vineyard with the highest elevation in the Valley for Villa Maria. Volcanic subsoils and colder weather deliver grapes that are packed with zesty green flavours and a salivating minerality.