The Best New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Wine
It’s the wine on a restaurant list or shop shelf that is a sure bet at an affordable price.
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is one of wine’s greatest success stories. Having shot to popularity in the last decades of the 20th century, it has since been enjoying the kind of success that makes other wine-producing nations watch with envy.
Much of its crowd-appeal is due to the style’s consistency and instant recognizability. The pungent pop of lime, passionfruit, fresh bell pepper and grass aromas that precede a palate of zingy acidity, bright fruit and whisper of sweetness is, for many, a fridge staple.
These aromatic wines are downright explosive to the senses.
This especially true when compared to the more tempered, bone-dry French Sauvignon Blancs, like those from Sancerre, where the variety grows on the inland Loire Valley’s chalk, limestone-gravel and “silex” (flint) soils or from the gravel and quartz-laced soils of Pessac-Léognan, in Bordeaux, where it’s often blended with Semillon and other local varieties and aged in oak for a richer, creamier style.
Unlike the aforementioned regions, Aotearoa-New Zealand “Savvy B” vines are never far from the ocean. Those cool sea breezes and big diurnal temperatures, combined with a wide variety of free-draining soils, contribute to bold aromatics that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.
A whopping 77% of all of the island nation’s wines are made from this variety—which is grown all across the country.
In the northern Hawke’s Bay region, where the climate is warmer, Sauvignon Blanc tends towards the tropical end of the spectrum. Down on the southern end of the North Island, in Wairarapa, the aromatics veer more vegetal.
Around Nelson, at the top of the South Island, the varietal strikes a balance between the two.
But it’s Marlborough, located in the South Island’s northeast corner, that grows the lion’s share of Sauvignon Blanc with nearly 59,000 acres planted out of the nation’s 65,628 acres.
The coastal region is protected by mountains in the north, south and west, making it low on rainfall and humidity and high on sunshine. Soils vary from alluvial with “greywacke” (large river stones), to clay and wind-blown loess.
“The cool ocean surrounding our small islands provides a moderating influence on temperature,” says Jules Taylor, founder of the winery of the same name, who has decades of winemaking experience in Marlborough. “Combine this with our small land mass that never builds heat over the summer like the bigger continental locations, and you get a perfect situation that allows us to grow fruit that retains a vibrant acidity and highly aromatic flavor profile.”
Recent years have ushered in an age of experimentation in Marlborough. The region’s quality-driven producers are using winemaking techniques like wild ferments, lees and skin contact as well as barrel aging, which add entirely new flavor and textural dimensions to Sauvignon Blanc.
As these forward-thinking winemakers gain better understanding of their sites, they’ve sharpened Marlborough’s regional and subregional differences. This helps them champion and defend their unique patch of land from the increasing number of wines made by multinational companies who buy juice in bulk and bottle overseas to capitalize on the fame of the Marlborough name.
By buying from small-batch grower-winemakers and those with the Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) certification of authenticity logo on the back label, consumers can help support these smaller producers while ensuring they’re getting top quality bottles.
Or you can follow this guide. Below we’re rounded up 11 of the most highly rated New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs from producers we know and love.
Best Splurge
Clos Henri 2020 Clay Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)
A special cuvée launched in honor of this top biodynamic winery’s 20-year anniversary, Clay is, as the name suggests, from vines with feet in the estate’s Broadbridge clay soils. Native yeast, lees and old Austrian oak barrels all contribute to this pristine wine, which is round, elegant and poised. With aeration, it opens to a multifaceted nose of tangerine, white peach, orchard blossom and grass, shaded in salted cream. The palate is full-figured, with depth and weight but also freshness, length, a saline spine and a gorgeous chalky texture. There’s a level of complexity here rarely seen in Marlborough that, frankly, raises the bar for the whole region. Editor’s Choice. 98 Points — Christina Pickard
$ Varies
Wine-searcher
Best Buy
Seifried 2022 Old Coach Road Sauvignon Blanc (Nelson)
From the small but mighty Nelson region at the top of the South Island, this is richly aromatic with ripe, borderline confected, notes of passion fruit, lime peel and honey. The palate is where it really shines. Green-tinged lemony flavors are wrapped in a lovely slippery mouthfeel and vibrant acidity. There’s length and food-friendliness. Best Buy. 89 Points — C.P.
$ Varies
Arrowine & Cheese
Best No Sulfites Added (NSA)
Loveblock 2022 Tee Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)
The second vintage of this experimental wine from Kim and Erica Crawford, which supplements green-tea tannin extract for sulfur, is as delicious and outside the box as the first. A pale-gold hue, it’s rich and honeyed with up-front notes of butterscotch, grilled pineapple, fresh wild herbs and, yes, green tea, although it’s less prominent this vintage. The palate is dry—more than the nose might suggest. It’s textural and weightier than your typical Marlborough SB. There’s a lovely crunch of tangy acidity and a skinsy grip to the finish. 93 Points — C.P.
$34
Total Wine & More
Best Awatare Valley
Best Central Otago
Rippon 2020 Lake Wanaka Sauvignon Blanc (Central Otago)
Rippon’s Sauvignon, from its breathtaking biodynamic vineyards on Lake Wanaka, isn’t a crowd-pleaser. Instead it demands your focus—and perhaps well-paired spring or summer cuisine. Wild fermented partially in oak barrels, it has a pungency that’s reminiscent of dandelions, wet hay, scrubby local herbs and grasses, along with green tea, lemongrass and green apples. It’s the palate that really hooks you. Highly textural, it’s slinky, with vibrant acidity. Focused and confident, this could morph into another being altogether in five to seven years. 92 Points — C.P.
$ Varies
Wine.com
Best Martinborough
Best Marlborough
Greywacke 2021 Wild Sauvignon (Marlborough)
$ Varies
Total Wine & More
Best Marlborough Organic
Hans Family Estate 2020 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)
$40
Wine-searcher
Dog Point 2021 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough)
Like two flint rocks striking one another, there’s a smoky, sulfuric aroma that mingles with toasted nut and oyster shell. More delicate fruit (pithy lime) and floral aromas arrive after some time in glass. There’s a textural richness to the palate. It’s sliced by razor-edged acidity. Crunchy and citrusy with length and poise, this manages to be delicate and bold all at once. It’s a divisive style but one that enormously rewards time and food. 91 Points — C.P.
$ Varies
Woodland Hills Wine Company
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Published: July 18, 2024
