A big picture view of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

With so many winegrowing countries and regions, it can be tempting to place one type of wine from one region into a box. It makes our mental classification system easier (Willamette Chardonnay goes in this box, Seneca Lake Riesling in this box), but this can also limit our full appreciation of a place’s diversity.

I’m guilty of this overly broad classification with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. One of the first types of wine I really experienced many years ago, I thought I had them pretty quickly figured out. Zippy, crunchy whites with bell and jalapeno peppers. Done.

There’s clearly a whole lot more going on here. Today, the large production, inexpensive, and less inspiring Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs of 20 years ago may still be around, but there are a whole lot more options lately that tell a much more complex story.

If you’d like to dig deeper into this heralded region, there’s now a great tool at your fingertips. Appellation Marlborough Wine has created a Wine Map of Marlborough, an interactive map designed to showcase the diversity and stylistic nuances of Marlborough. Fifty years after the first commercial vines were planted here, it really is amazing to think of how much Marlborough Sauv Blanc has impacted the global wine world. And there’s still a lot to learn.

A team of five AMW members worked for two years robustly debating the hierarchy of the subregions of Marlborough, and enlisted the help of a local cartographer and designer for the final product. It divides the larger area into three regions: Wairau, Awatere & Blind River, and the Southern Coast. (Wairau itself is then split into four smaller sectors, and even further into almost like a village classification system. And I think this is a great route to take.) Check it out!

And, like reading or learning about any wine region in detail, it’s best to have some wines to taste through, to help drive things home. In addition to the map and resources, I recently received some Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs that offer a good snapshot of some of what’s out there.

These wines were received as samples and tasted single blind.

2022 Mud House Wines Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
SRP: $14
Pale lemon color. A spritely, tropical burst of lemons, limes, and guava, with honeysuckle, floral perfume, some fresh mint, and a pleasant tone of sliced bell pepper. The palate is brisk, clear, and zesty with yellow apples, kiwi, bruised white peach. Pleasant notes of sea salt, flinty minerals, and nuances of celery seed, white pepper, and basil. Super fun, crisp, crowd-pleasing wine for warm days and salads. (87 points)

2022 Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
SRP: $12
Light yellow color. The nose really pops with gooseberry, ruby red grapefruit, orange peels, along with a generous but nuanced mix of honeysuckle, white pepper, sliced jalapeno, and breezy, floral meadow. Pleasant creaminess but brisk acidity makes for a balanced and lively wine, with flavors of kiwi, ruby red grapefruit, white peach, guava. Nuanced notes of sliced cucumber, jalapeno, with basil and white pepper. Fun, vibrant, balanced, refreshing. (88 points)

2020 Astrolabe Wines Sauvignon Blanc Taihoa - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

SRP: $40

Medium yellow color. Spritely and inviting on the nose with crunchy green apples, limes, ruby red grapefruit, along with lovely tones of honeysuckle, mint, wild leeks, white pepper. Crunchy and zesty with a focused appeal but a generous mouthfeel and creamy texture. The ruby red grapefruit, lime, and white peach fruit is mixed with complexities of wild green herbs, orange blossom, minerals, ocean spray. A really clear and focused Sauv Blanc but some honeyed depth, with a lot of nuance and complexities to parse through. (92 points)

2022 Auntsfield Sauvignon Blanc Single Vineyard - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
SRP: $25
Pale lemon color. A bright and flashy display on the nose, with daisies and lilies, chalk dust, oyster shell, over tangy limes, kiwi, with a note of fresh cucumber. The palate sports a juicy and tangy mix of limes, papaya, and gooseberry, and the fruit blends together nicely with nuances of honey, white pepper, green apple peel. There are these flinty, salty, mineral, and basil tones that linger onto the finish. Has a precise but rounded feel, and complexity and balance worth seeking out. (91 points)

2022 Rapaura Springs Sauvignon Blanc Rohe - Dillons Point - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
SRP: $25
Light lemon color. The nose shows vibrant and oceanic goodness, with green apples, cantaloupe and honeydew melons, with a delightful mix of ramp leaves, dandelion, nettle, with crushed seashells and chalk dust. The palate has a precise, racy, complex feel with crunchy limes and green apples, watermelon rind and honeydew. It also has this nice creamy depth and texture, all sorts of floral and herbal complexity that is a lot of fun to dig into. The level of mineral, seashells, and mountain stream clarity in this wine is delightful. (92 points)