Shelter Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023

On the nose various loads of ripe white stone fruits and zesty citrus abound. This follows through to taste with the same zesty citrus and succulent stone fruit, combined with an underlying lees driven textural backbone and mineral concentration. A perfectly balanced and crunchy acidity gives the wine lift, presence and poise.

Shelter Bay's vineyards lie in Marlborough at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island. Situated in an alluvial valley, the vine are protected from fierce, prevailing ocean weather - the Tasman Sea to the west, and South Pacific Ocean to the east. Our well weather and free-draining ricer gravel soils ensure our vines produce intensely aromatic, vibrantly fruited and refreshingly crisp wines.

The fruit was sourced from 7 blocks on our estate vineyards in the Wairau Valley. Intensive hands-on viticulture including shoot and fruit thinning are incorporated to optimize fruit and wine quality.

All blocks were harvested in the early hours of the morning to reduce field heat and enhance flavour. Individually pressed to tank the batches were settled for 72 hours before racking the clear juice off for ferment. Juice was warmed and then inoculated using only the best cultured yeast strains to enhance and complement the pure fruit character of our vineyard sites. Average fermentation lasted 3 weeks at mid to low temperatures to maximise aroma and flavour. Post fermentation the young wines were aged on light lees for up to 3 months prior to being blended and prepared for bottling.