NZ SAUVIGNON BLANC: 20 TOP BUYS FROM 2020
As with so many wine regions, New Zealand had its share of new and unexpected challenges for the 2020 harvest, as the country entered its Covid-19 Alert Level 4 (lockdown) on 26 March, a few weeks after picking had begun. But a high-quality fruit harvest across most wine regions, in addition to the New Zealand government listing the wine sector as an ‘essential service’, came as real blessings.
The 2020 vintage has been excellent for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, with an increase in plantings, crush, fruit quality, ripeness and flavour. Nearly all of the early-release wines I’ve tasted have punched above their weight (some well above) in terms of concentration, purity, balance and complexity.
Regional signatures are strong, and techniques in the winery such as extended lees contact, gentle handling and less use of new oak have captured more of this variety’s subtleties, minerality and vine maturity.
‘It’s a goldilocks vintage,’ says Anna Flowerday, winemaker at Te Whare Ra in Marlborough. ‘Not too cold, not too hot – just right. Favourable conditions during flowering led to
