2025 Te Whare Ra Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough

Fruit is from 65/35% Awatere/Wairau; 18% of the wine is barrel fermented. Another vivid expression of carefully picked, beautifully ripe fruit. From yuzu and blackberry leaf to Alphonso mango and guava. There is fragrant wattle and dewy rainforest leaf. Acidity hums with its electric energy and dances across the palate into kefir cream and coconut flesh. Tailored barrel ferment allows the mid-palate generosity to express some mild nutty notes and rounds out the pungent explosion of fruit. Balanced and, once again, superb. Drink to 2030.

95 points Shanteh Wale for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2026

About this wine

This Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of their home block in Renwick and a parcel from the upper Awatere, both farmed organically.

About this producer

Te Whare Ra (TWR) is a small vineyard and winery located in the Marlborough sub-region of Renwick, owned by winemakers Anna and Jason Flowerday. The small 11ha vineyard which has predominantly loam over clay soils and is one of the oldest in Marlborough (originally planted in 1979). The vineyard is managed with a combination of organic and biodynamic practices, and all the fruit is handpicked and hand sorted.

The wines are made with minimal intervention in a small winery which has been specifically set up for small batch winemaking.  Anna and Jason believe that all the manipulation and intervention should be done in the vineyard, and like winemaking, should be as natural as possible. They for example do not use any fining agents, add no tannins or use chemical yeast nutrients.

2024 marked the 35th anniversary of the first plantings at Te Whare Ra and the release of updated labels. The 5182 on the labels is the Te Whare Ra vineyard designation number from BIOGRO New Zealand. For Anna and Jason, it represents all of their hard work and effort to achieve an organic certification.