A glass that I had at the Gibbston Valley Winery Restaurant with a very fine lunch on my annual holiday in South island. A single vineyard Sauvignon with a barrel-ferment component – an ideal food wine. Pale green and gold in the glass. Verdant aromatics, with lots of identifying passionfruit, blackcurrant and pineapple from the grape variety, but also a fine seam of minerality that identifies the vineyard, and some toasty oak from the winemaking – a complex, buoyant unison of flavours. Dry, zesty and broad on the palate. Acidity carries the fruit notes well, with the oak impact only framing that central spine, adding a little warmth and spice. Green herbal, preserved lemon and cucumber mingle at the long, dry finish. 92pts
Gibbston Valley Pisa Sauvignon Blanc 2017
