Sauvignon blanc has been on our shelves for 50 years. Photo / Getty Images
It would be hard to overstate the extent to which sauvignon blanc dominates our wine industry. Government viticulturist Romeo Bragato imported the first sauvignon blanc vines from Italy in 1906, but it was not until 1974 that Matua Valley marketed New Zealand’s first varietal sauvignon blanc, grown in West Auckland.
Montana planted the first sauvignon blanc vines in Marlborough in 1975, and its first bottling of Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc flowed in 1979. Today, this traditional grape of Bordeaux and the Loire Valley accounts for more than two-thirds of our productive vineyard area. Naturally highly vigorous and often very heavy cropping, sauvignon blanc this year accounted for almost 90% of our total wine exports in volume terms.
Astrolabe Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity, this delicious wine mingles tropical fruit and herbal flavours and shows impressive vigour and intensity. Crisp and dry, with excellent delicacy and depth, it’s now in full stride. $28
Fruity & delicious: Astrolabe Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Image / Supplied
Auntsfield Nature’s Path Southern Valleys Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
This characterful, organically certified wine was estate-grown, tank-fermented and aged on its yeast lees. Full-bodied and sweet-fruited, it has ripe passionfruit and lime flavours, excellent delicacy and freshness and a dry, appetisingly crisp finish. $29
Blackenbrook Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★
Estate-grown at Tasman, this strongly varietal wine was hand-picked and mostly handled in tanks, with a touch of barrel ageing. Fresh, full-bodied and vibrantly fruity, it has strong, ripe passionfruit, peach and lime flavours. Its fractional sweetness is balanced by lively acidity. $20
Blank Canvas Abstract Three Rows Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★★
Designed as an ageworthy “savoury blanc”, this refined wine was hand-picked at Dillons Point, fermented and aged on its yeast lees for 15 months in French oak puncheons and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Ripely scented, it is mouthfilling and sweet-fruited. Its deep, vibrant, tropical fruit flavours are enriched by a gentle seasoning of biscuity oak, fresh acidity, excellent complexity and a dry, sustained finish. $55
Church Road McDonald Series Hawke’s Bay Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★★½
This distinctive wine is estate-grown and hand-picked in the Redstone Vineyard in the Bridge Pā Triangle, using indigenous yeasts, barrel fermentation and oak ageing. This mouthfilling wine is full of personality. It has strong, vibrant, peach and passionfruit flavours, balanced acidity and a dry, lengthy finish. Its tasty and savoury notes add good richness and complexity. $25
Churton Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Estate-grown on an elevated site in the Waihopai Valley, this weighty and very harmonious certified organic wine was hand-harvested and partly barrel-fermented. It is fleshy, vibrant and sweet-fruited with deep, ripe tropical fruit flavours and a well-rounded, dry, long finish. Already delicious. $30
Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Certified organic, this classic wine is estate-grown at several sites in the Wairau Valley, hand-harvested, and fermented and lees-aged in stainless steel tanks. Bright, light lemon/green, it is full-bodied, sweet-fruited and tightly structured. It has deep, vigorous, passionfruit/lime flavours, a good acid spine and a dry, sustained finish. $30
Dunnolly North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★
This attractive, medium-bodied wine is fresh, lively and highly varietal. Pale and crisp, it has very good depth of tropical fruit and herbal flavours. Gentle yeasty notes add a touch of complexity. Good drinking for the summer. $20
Elephant Hill Sea Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
This distinctive, still youthful wine was estate-grown and hand-harvested at Te Awanga, fermented and lees-aged for 10 months in oak barrels. Aromatic and vigorous, it has a long, dry, crisp finish, is full-bodied and has good intensity of vibrant, ripe, tropical fruit flavours. Subtle biscuity notes add complexity. $34
Esk Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★
This regional blend is enjoyable from the start. Highly varietal, it is punchy and crisp, with fresh, generous melon, passionfruit and green capsicum flavours and a finely balanced, lengthy finish. Good value. $17
Greenhough River Garden Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
This organically certified wine was grown on the Waimea Plains. Mouthfilling, it has strong, vigorous, tropical fruit and herbaceous flavours, fresh acidity and a dry, crisp, lingering finish. It is drinking well now. $24
Greystone Omihi Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
This North Canterbury wine was fermented in tanks (80%) and old oak barrels (20%). Mouthfilling, fleshy and sweet-fruited, it has concentrated ripe fruit flavours that show a distinct touch of complexity and a firm, acid spine. $25
Greywacke Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
Grown in the Southern Valleys and central Wairau Valley, this wine is handled principally in stainless steel tanks. Full-bodied and sweet-fruited, it is a non-herbaceous style. It has good weight, strong, ripe tropical fruit flavours and a finely textured, dry, lengthy finish. $28
Hunter’s Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
Hunter’s best-known wine is sourced from stony sites in the Wairau Valley, all company-owned, and made with some use of barrel fermentation and lees-ageing. Mouthfilling, fresh and vigorous, it has very good intensity of ripe passionfruit/lime flavours and a dry, appetisingly crisp finish. It is showing a distinct touch of barrel-ferment complexity. $21
Intense passionfruit & lime flavours: Hunter’s Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Image / Supplied
Jules Taylor Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★½
Designed as an “in-your-face drop”, this regional blend avoids “the main Wairau Valley floor sites”. Fermented in tanks and matured on its yeast lees, it is a full-bodied, vibrantly fruity wine full of youthful energy. It has penetrating tropical fruit and herbaceous flavours, a good acid spine and a fully dry, sustained finish. Best drinking 2026. $26
Youthful energy: Jules Taylor Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025. Image / Supplied
Lake Chalice The Falcon Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
If you like a punchy, high-impact style of sauvignon blanc, the sort that “leaps out of the glass”, try this. Grown at Dillons Point in the lower Wairau Valley, it is aromatic, vibrant and full-bodied, with penetrating tropical fruit and herbal flavours, a distinctly salty streak, appetising acidity and a dry, long finish. Priced sharply. $19
Punchy & impactful: Lake Chalice The Falcon Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Image / Supplied
Main Divide North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★
Grown at Waipara and tank-fermented, this is a highly aromatic wine. Medium- to full-bodied, it is strongly varietal, has punchy, tropical fruit and green capsicum flavours and is dry and tangy. (From Pegasus Bay.) $22
Highly aromatic: Main Divide North Canterbury Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Image / Supplied
Misty Cove Estate Series Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
Grown in the Wairau and Waihopai valleys, this mouthfilling wine reveals good intensity of vibrant, ripe passionfruit/lime flavours. It has a vaguely salty streak, crisp acidity and a dry, persistent finish. Fine value. $20
Fine value for $20: Misty Cove Estate Series Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Image / Supplied
Momo Organic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★
From Seresin, this organically certified wine has ripe tropical fruit aromas and flavours. A lively, medium-bodied wine with excellent depth and vigour, it is crisp and dry and offers good drinking this summer. $23
Nga Waka Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
This youthful, single-vineyard wine was cool-fermented in tanks. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling with vibrant, ripe peach, passionfruit and lime flavours. It is showing excellent delicacy and intensity and has a dry, crisp, lengthy finish. $25
Mouthfilling & vibrant: Nga Waka Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Image / Supplied
Paddy Borthwick Wairarapa Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★★
Enjoyable from the start, this characterful wine was estate-grown at Gladstone in northern Wairarapa. Vibrant and energetic, it has excellent weight and searching flavours of tropical fruits and herbs. Crisp, fresh and vigorous with a dry, lasting finish, it should be at its best mid-2026+. $24
Pencarrow Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★
Mouthfilling, fresh and lively, this youthful wine has strong, ripe tropical fruit flavours and greener herbal notes. Crisp and highly varietal, it looks good for the summer. (From Palliser Estate.) $20
Pyramid Valley North Canterbury Sauvignon+ 2024
★★★★★
This highly distinctive wine is fermented in concrete tanks (principally) and old oak barrels. Full-bodied, it has concentrated ripe tropical fruit flavours, finely balanced acidity and a dry, lengthy finish. It is showing excellent complexity and poise. Best drinking mid-2026. $35
Rimapere Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
The Rimapere brand is owned by Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Heritage. Estate-grown at Rapaura in the Wairau Valley, this single-vineyard wine was fermented and aged on its yeast lees in stainless steel tanks. A highly fragrant, full-bodied wine, it has very good vigour and intensity of ripe tropical fruit flavours. Crisp, dry and lingering. $30
Riverby Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★
Priced right, this single-vineyard wine was grown in the Rapaura district. Full-bodied and lively, it has very good depth of fresh, ripe passionfruit, melon and green capsicum flavours and is finely balanced, dry and lingering. $20
Rohe Blind River Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Offering top value, this wine was grown in Marlborough’s “driest, coolest, most wind-swept” district in the Awatere Valley. Mouthfilling, with vibrant tropical fruit flavours, it has excellent delicacy and depth. A slightly salty streak and an unobtrusive splash of sweetness are balanced by appetising acidity. Intensely varietal with a long finish, it’s now in full stride. (From Rapaura Springs.) $24
Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★
Priced right, this vividly varietal wine was estate-grown at Rabbit Island and tank-fermented. Bright, light lemon/green, it is medium-bodied, crisp and punchy with fresh, strong passionfruit and pineapple flavours, a herbal undercurrent and an aromatic bouquet. $20
Smith & Sheth Cru Wairau Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Benchmark stuff, this delicious wine was harvested from “old” vines at Renwick in the Waihopai Valley and at Dillons Point, cool-fermented and lees-aged in tanks. Ripely scented, it is weighty and sweet-fruited, with lovely mouthfeel, vibrant, concentrated tropical fruit flavours, lees-ageing complexity and a long, dry, rounded finish. $30
Starborough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
This label consistently delivers top value. Grown at sites in the Awatere Valley, it was tank-fermented and briefly lees-aged. Intensely varietal, it is full-bodied with vibrant, penetrating, tropical fruit and herbaceous flavours. It is finely balanced, crisp and lingering. $22
Two Rivers Marlborough Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★★
Aromatic & punchy: Two Rivers Marlborough Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2025. Image / Supplied
Full of youthful drive, this top value wine was grown principally in the Awatere Valley (85%), and handled in a mix of stainless steel tanks, a concrete egg tank, clay amphorae and a French oak cuve. Aromatic and punchy, it is mouthfilling, vibrant and intensely varietal, with penetrating passionfruit/lime flavours, a hint of salt and an appetisingly crisp, dry, highly persistent finish. $22
Vidal Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★
This good-value wine was grown in the Wairau and Awatere valleys and aged on its yeast lees before bottling. Fresh, vibrant and punchy, it is medium-bodied, with incisive melon and green capsicum-evoking flavours, crisp, dry and lingering. $17
Villa Maria Woven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
One of Villa Maria’s quartet of “icon” labels, this estate-grown, single-vineyard wine was grown at Fairhall in the Wairau Valley and fermented and matured in French oak barrels. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling and fleshy, with concentrated, vigorous tropical fruit flavours, gentle biscuity notes and a savoury, dry, tightly structured finish. Full of youthful drive and potential, it is well worth cellaring to 2027+. $60
Villa Maria Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★
This huge-volume label grown in the Awatere and Wairau valleys consistently offers very good quality and great value. Freshly aromatic, it is medium- to full-bodied and has a dry, crisp, lingering finish. Its strong, vibrant passionfruit and green capsicum flavours are woven with appetising acidity. (12% alc/vol) $15
Yealands Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★½
Approaching its peak, this is a good buy. Full-bodied, it is crisp, vigorous and dry, with fresh tropical fruit and herbaceous flavours. It is showing excellent depth and poise. $18
Note: all wines are 12.5 to 13.5% alc/vol, unless stated otherwise.
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