Mahi Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Reviews

David Walker Bell, WineFolio: 92/100. From New Zealand’s spiritual home of Sauvignon – Marlborough. A silvery lemon-green in the glass. Powerfully perfumed with grapefruit, whitecurrant, passionfruit, lemon peel, acacia, celery, fern and daisy. A burst of pithy acidity leads to a bright, linear length to the palate. A hint of tannin, like apple skin and then a rounded texture that balances the piquancy of the fruit, adding complexity and depth. An elegant expression, with the structure in place to age well, and go very well with food. A chalky, energy-filled finish.

VINOUS - Rebecca Gibb MW: 91/100. ...pure, fresh and elegant - clean, crisp and concentrated despite its compact, light-bodies core. It is fragrant but not flamboyant, with flavors of pineapple, green pea, elderflower and citrus. The 2023 is a harmonious and well-judged effort.

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 varial: Sauvignon Blanc

Alcohol: 13% vol

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

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

Winemaking: The hand-picked fruit was whole-cluster pressed so that the time on skins was minimised. To achieve a more elegant and subtle wine, only free-run juice was used. A portion of this juice, 19% for this vintage, was barrel-fermented in older French oak 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, 35%, also adds levels of flavour and texture, giving a savoury note that balances some sweeter fruit. The wine was left on lees for up to 9 months to add another layer of complexity.

Residual sugar: 0.8 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Cellaring potential: until 2026+

Closure: Screwcap

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