2023 Saint Clair Pioneer Block 1 Foundation Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough

The fruit for this wine comes from Dillons Point which always delivers the salty saline sea air that the soils and location capture. Harnessed by the wine team this wine complex and crunchy, full of fresh fruit flavours of the orchard with mandarin and grapefruit, lime and gooseberry, golden kiwi and minerality. Fresh and delicious with best drinking from day of purchase through 2029. Ageing well.

94 points Cameron Douglas MS camdouglasms.com

Saint Clair Pioneer Block 1 Foundation Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough is an intensely aromatic and powerful single-site expression from one of the region’s most awarded families. The Foundation Block sits in the lower Wairau Valley where free draining river stones, bright reflected sunlight and cool sea breezes create ideal conditions for Sauvignon Blanc with explosive perfume and crisp natural acidity. Hand selected fruit is harvested in the cool morning to lock in freshness, then cool fermented in stainless steel to preserve purity, with a short rest on fine lees adding polish and texture. This is Saint Clair at full volume, showcasing the very best of their estate blocks.

The aromas leap from the glass with passionfruit, lime zest and gooseberry backed by feijoa, kiwifruit and freshly cut herbs. Notes of elderflower, jalapeño, blackcurrant leaf and a faint saline edge channel the energy of the coast and the gravelly soils beneath the vines. As it breathes, tropical layers of guava and pineapple join citrus blossom and a whisper of mineral dust, giving the bouquet both lift and complexity.

The palate is vivid, juicy and driven by shimmering acidity. A rush of citrus and tropical fruit flows across a sleek frame, before tightening into the hallmark Marlborough line of crushed herbs and flinty minerality. Flavours of lime juice, passionfruit pulp, grapefruit pith and green apple carry intensity without heaviness. The finish is long, dry and mouthwatering, lingering with bright fruit, fresh herbs and a refreshing coastal twist. It drinks beautifully young but it can develop a more savoury, smoky depth over two to three years in bottle.

Brilliant with oysters, Thai salads, garlic prawns, ceviche, goat cheese, summer greens, tempura seafood or simply chilled on a sunny afternoon when you want maximum freshness and flair.