From: Marlborough, New Zealand
Varietal: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Taste & Critical Acclaim: The nose is vibrant with zesty fruit aromas of peach, nectarine and passion fruit along with notes of lemon zest, kiwi, and granny apple. This quintessentially zesty Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is incredibly lively on the palate with citrus and also generously layered with mouth-watering fruit flavors and herbaceous hints.
93 points, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
Fabulously aromatic and immediately appealing with kiwifruit, crunchy apple, lemon zest and white floral aromas, it’s juicy and lively in the mouth delivering excellent fruit power and length. Delectably appealing and highly enjoyable.
Pairing: Everything lean, green, and fresh works wonderfully with NZ Sauvignon Blanc. If you have a hankering for something a little more oriented toward comfort food, go for cheesy enchiladas and vegetarian empanadas. Some other pairing ideas we love include dishes like crab or fish cakes (see recipe below), fried fish and chips, chickpea salad sandwiches, green goddess pasta salad or chicken salad sandwiches, or corn and shrimp beignets.
Fish Cakes With Herbs and Chiles
By Melissa Clark
About. When George Elworthy decided to dust off his winemaking hat to create a new range of wines from Marlborough, a friendly rivalry arose. His wife, Jules Taylor, is also a winemaker with her own well established brand and so The Better Half seemed like the perfect tongue in cheek moniker to attach to his new project. George is an accomplished winemaker with more than 18 years of experience in Marlborough. He’s worked with distinguished local and international wine companies, and gained recognition as the founding winemaker at The Crossings in Marlborough’s Awatere Valley. Having been on the scene throughout Marlborough’s rapid transformation as a wine growing region, he has an intimate knowledge of the area and its future potential, something that he’s keen to showcase with The Better Half.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
