Zephyr Wines, MK III Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2021

Producer Profile

Ben Glover, of Wither Hills fame, is now focusing on matters closer to home and has taken charge of his family winery, Zephyr.

Referring to himself humbly as the janitor, Ben creates wines from their own vineyards in the renowned Marlborough sub-region of Dillon's Point. The whites especially deserve to be compared with other world class whites rather than merely the best of Marlborough. No more so than with the MKIII Sauvignon Blanc, that is a star in any line up. Taken from the Rabbit Island block that, thanks to its East/West planting, captures both wonderful aromatics and lush tropical notes in its grapes. Once pressed, the juice ferments in barrels to produce a complex, waxy Graves lookalike, albeit at a rather more accessible price point.

Viticulture

Sited on the banks of the Opawa river where the soils are composed of silt and loam which is free draining. The vines average 20 years old and are worked organically although not certified, and trained VSP on trellis wires yielding around 4kg per vine.

Winemaking

Hand picked and whole bunch pressed straight to very old French Oak Barriques and left to wild ferment untouched for 9 months with no additions to the fermentation process.

Oak Ageing

Time: 10 Months
Type: Very old French Barriques
% wine oaked: 100
% new oak: None

Tasting Note

Fleshy and crisp, with superb weight and depth, this morish Dillons Point Sauvignon Blanc has vibrant melon, gooseberry and lime flavours, and slightly salty and leesy notes adding complexity to the finish.

Food Matching

Best with fish, seafood and shellfish.