Catalina Sounds Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Catalina Sounds Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023"A classic bouquet and palate, bright, fresh, crisp and crunchy with flavours of fresh herbs with a grassy quality, green apple and gooseberry, peach and a light wet stone quality. Taut, salivating fruity and dry on the finish. Overall a balanced and well made wine with a classic varietal signature with a fresh crunchy fruit expression. Best drinking from 2024 through 2028" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Sep 2023 "Tangy, vibrant wine with

"A classic bouquet and palate, bright, fresh, crisp and crunchy with flavours of fresh herbs with a grassy quality, green apple and gooseberry, peach and a light wet stone quality. Taut, salivating fruity and dry on the finish. Overall a balanced and well made wine with a classic varietal signature with a fresh crunchy fruit expression. Best drinking from 2024 through 2028" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Sep 2023

"Tangy, vibrant wine with passionfruit, guava, capsicum and gooseberry flavours. Punchy, textural sauvignon blanc with appealing purity. Good food wine in a mouth-watering, bone dry style" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Aug 2023

The 2023 Catalina Sounds Sauvignon Blanc has vibrancy and purity that’s displayed in lemon grass, citrus peel and passionfruit aromatics. Balance on the palate is achieved with ripe fruit, creating weight and texture that matches perfectly with the minerality and crisp, bone-dry finish. Enjoy over the next three years or more when cellared correctly.

There is a quiet air of confidence around the quality of the 2023 wines. Yields were 5% down on average, which is always a trigger for increased quality - if you had the nerve to hang fruit for ripeness rather than just ‘getting it in…’. Up until a certain point in the season, Mother Nature did her best to keep us guessing how harvest might play out. We had more Growing Degree Days than ’20, ’21 and ’22, but also more rainfall in the earlier part of the season from September – December than the past three years. Vine growth and ripening was delayed by almost two weeks, and it was the latest start date in almost a decade as we started harvest on the 23rd of March. The majority of Sauvignon was harvested in April which hasn’t happened in many moons. With the extra time on the vine and clear skies through harvest, fruit was clean, brilliantly ripe with excellent fruit depth and minerality to match.

Vintage 2023 seemed like a dream; fruit matured at its own pace, meaning nothing was rushed. As always, all vineyards and sub-blocks are kept as separate as possible. The juice is lightly clarified and then fermented with mostly selected yeasts in stainless steel at low temperatures. A small portion of juice from our estate is fermented in large, seasoned oak cuves to add texture and weight. The wines are left to rest on their lees after fermentation before blending and bottling in July each year. No animal products are used, creating a vegan friendly wine.

Food Pairing: A range of seafood dishes, hard cheeses, and crisp green salads with fresh herbs and olive oil.