Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2024 (750ml)

 

Rated 93 Points Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

 

“Pungent and fruity with a core of tropical fruits from mango to passionfruit, lemon and fresh herbs.  Dry with a decent palate squeeze from ripe acidity, flavours reflect the bouquet plus white peach and fruit spice.  Well made, taut and new with best drinking from late 2024 through 2027.”  October 2024

 

Rated 93 Points by James Suckling

 

"Attractive sauvignon blanc with flint, green-apple and lime aromas and flavors.  Medium body with sliced melon and slate.  Focused and pretty.  Drink now.  Screw cap.  (11/5/24)"

 

Rated 91 Points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

 

"The 2024 Sauvignon Blanc leads with the typically leafy, green-gauge nose of coriander, crushed sea shells, green apple and brine.  In the mouth, the wine is intensely tropical but tempered by a maritime freshness and levity through the finish.  It's a breath of fresh air, this wine.  13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.  (12/19/24)"

 

Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2024

 

Appellation:  Marlborough

 

Country of Origin:  New Zealand

 

Variety:  Sauvignon Blanc

 

Grape Growers:  Grown in the vineyards of the Lissaman, Hammond, Halliday, Rose, Jones, Wilson and van Asch families.

 

Locality:  Awatere Valley (53%), Southern Valleys (24%), Kēkerengū Coast (12%), Wairau Valley (11%), Marlborough, New Zealand.

 

Alcohol: 13.5%

 

Founded in 1996 and named after the ship that charted the Marlborough Coast in 1827, Astrolabe Wines was established by seasoned winemaker Simon Waghorn and his wife, Jane.  Simon crafts a range of exceptional wines that reflect the purity and intensity of fruit flavors provided by the climate and soils of Marlborough, New Zealand. 

 

Committed to sustainability, Astrolabe Wines produces all its wines with environmental responsibility. 

 

Tasting Notes

 

Astrolabe Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc features aromas of lemongrass, lime peel, and passionfruit, complemented by hints of white currant and red pepper.  Medium-bodied, it offers flavors of white peach, tropical fruits, and citrus, finishing with a crisp, dry mineral note.

 

Colour/Appearance:  Pale straw with green highlights.

 

Aroma/Bouquet:  Powerful gooseberry, white currant, red capsicum, passionfruit and lime peel aromas.

 

Palate:  Medium-bodied, with strong flavours of makrut lime, passionfruit, lemongrass and a refreshingly smooth, dry and persistent finish. 

 

Aging Potential:  How long you can keep sauvignon blanc aging depends on the quality of wine, winemaking methods and the taster’s palate preferences.  This wine is made in classic style and can be enjoyed fresh, but it will bottle age gracefully with careful cellaring.

 

Food Pairings

 

Fresh, leafy green salads; goat’s cheese; seafood of all types; and dishes with lifted, aromatic herbs.

 

Sauvignon Blanc Serving Temperature:  It is best to serve sauvignon blanc chilled.

 

Winemaker Notes

 

Sauvignon blanc is widely considered by the wine drinkers of the world to reach its pinnacle of potential in Marlborough.  The Astrolabe Province Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is made from grapes grown across three Marlborough sub-regions: the Wairau Valley, the Awatere Valley and the Kēkerengū Coast.  The blend of sites, soils and aspects within this wine gives it great complexity, reflecting both the capability of the region as a whole and my own palate.  I have sought out sites across the whole Marlborough wine region, looking for different soils and climates and carefully managing cropping levels so that I have the best fruit to work from.

 

We machine harvest the grapes at night or in the cool parts of the day to preserve the purity and intensity of flavours.  In the winery, I take great care to handle the fruit in a way which allows the flavours and aromas of the region to come through.  At the end of the growing season, I look at all the wines I have made from the various sub-regions and try to put together the most complete and balanced, integrated version of a Marlborough sauvignon blanc.

 

I blend to suit what I think is Astrolabe’s style, which reflects what I’ve learnt as a winemaker and drinker over the years.  My style is dry, expressive and elegantly balanced.  For me it is about getting a lovely sense of fully developed green spectrum flavours from all these different sites and putting them in a glass in a way that is well-styled and elegant.  My Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc always presents with ripe green flavours like passionfruit, blackcurrant leaf and gooseberry.  In the palate, it is full and round and finishes dry and lingering.

 

This is a drier style of sauvignon blanc, acidity kept nicely in balance with the alcohol and the very little residual sugar that is there, so it’s all about how all these things come together to make a pleasurable whole.  I craft my wines so that nothing stands out as one singular spike, instead revealing a lovely layering of flavours and aromas that people can keep finding as they spend time savouring the glass.  Simon Waghorn - Winemaker

 

Viticulture

 

Climate:  Despite budburst and flowering being average-to-late and a slightly slow early ripening season, the later stages of ripening were very rapid, resulting in one of our earliest harvests.  Mean temperatures were average to well above average from September through to February 2024, with accumulated growing degree days over 10% higher than normal.  Over the same period, rainfall was only 46% of normal, and soil water deficit was 46% higher.  These dry conditions, and fewer berries on the bunches, meant fruit was entirely free of fungal disease at harvest.  Lower bunch numbers and bunch weights lead to the harvest being amongst the smallest over the last ten years.  The light crops helped the canopies survive the dry, and fruit flavour was excellent.

 

Soils:  Free-draining stony, silty loam, with some vineyards having clay or limestone content.

 

Vine Management:  Standard trellis, with pruning to two to four canes, and vertical shoot positioning.  Vines are trimmed closely, well tucked and lightly leaf plucked.

 

Harvest Date:  Between the 17th of March and the 8th of April, 2024.

 

Winemaking:  The fruit was machine harvested in cool evening conditions, de-stemmed and lightly pressed with minimal skin contact.  Clear, cold-settled juice was fermented in stainless steel vats at low temperatures, using neutral wine yeast strains to allow the powerful fruit flavours to dominate.

 

Bottled 4th June, 2024.

 

 

Astrolabe

 

Founded in 1996, Astrolabe is owned and operated by the Waghorn family in Marlborough, New Zealand.

 

Astrolabe is named after the ship that charted and explored the Marlborough Coast in 1827.

 

Simon's personal style defines an Astrolabe wine — focused, balanced and elegant.  He crafts a range of beautiful wines that express the purity and intensity of fruit flavors afforded by the climate and soils of the Marlborough region.  Careful site selection, expert picking decisions, delicate fruit handling and astute blending are the hallmarks of the Astrolabe Marlborough wines.

 

Simon Waghorn

 

Astrolabe Winemaker

 

First generation winemaker Simon Waghorn has been honing his craft over thirty-six years and has established a benchmark style of Sauvignon Blanc that reflects an unparalleled diversity of vineyard sources.  Simon is fascinated by the distinctive qualities of the Marlborough sub-regions.  He led the way in the movement towards Marlborough geographical indicators and recognition of the diversity of the sub-regions.  Whether bottled alone or blended as part of the Marlborough classic, all Simon's skill and experience combine to capture the essence of Marlborough.