2022 Rippon Sauvignon Blanc, Central Otago

The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc leads with tatami mat and straw, torched lemongrass and brine. In the mouth, the wine is textural and concentrated—it has a cloth-y aspect, which is evident on the nose, but it sits very well in the mouth. This is savory, throaty and full and kept fresh through the finish by a splay of soft green leaf. There’s beeswax, lemon sherbet and a hint of juniper. 13% alcohol, sealed under Diam. The vines were planted from 1987 to 1993 on their own roots, unirrigated and biodynamically farmed. The fruit is handpicked, foot-stomped and soaked on skins for up to two days, then pressed to fifty/fifty neutral oak and tank. It goes through wild, ambient ferments, no adjustments, then it sits on lees, unsulfured, for three months prior to bottling.

94 points Erin Larkin robertparker.com

40% of this wine was fermented in old French barrels, not for the oak, but for the form of the vessel itself. Mouthfeel is gained here by high lees to wine contact and a more efficient natural lees stirring across unhurried wild ferments.