An insanely well-made Kiwi sauvignon
2018 Te Whare Ra This staggeringly delicious New Zealand white is insanely well-made with bitingly fresh fruit and laser-driven accuracy on the palate.
2018 Te Whare Ra, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand£15.15, lescaves.co.uk
Te Whare Ra (TWR) is located in the Marlborough sub-region of Renwick and is owned by Anna and Jason Flowerday. The estate was founded by Allen and Joyce Hogan in 1979 when they first planted vines on a small block of land in the heart of Marlborough they were ahead of the trend, and long before Cloudy Bay and the like made it to our shores in the mid-80s, and so this is Marlborough's first ever boutique winery. Anna and Jason appeared on the scene in 2003, fresh from working as winemakers in Australia.
Truly great wines have a sense of place combined with texture, balance, fruit concentration and great length. These are qualities that cannot be added; they have to come from the vineyard, and TWR has first-class vineyards with old vines that are farmed organically and biodynamically and with minimal intervention in the winery, which has been specifically set up for small-batch winemaking. They are leaders in their field and their wines are staggeringly delicious.
My featured sauvignon is insanely well-made with bitingly fresh fruit and laser-driven accuracy on the palate. In addition, the 2016 pinot noir (£27.90) is one of the most beautiful on the palate in the region. Last week I wrote about Paringa's cool-climate shiraz from Australia Anna and Jason make a Kiwi version: the 2016 syrah (£35) is one of the most lip-smackingly lovely syrahs on earth.
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)