Reviews
Michael Cooper: 3★
Maturing gracefully, with good body and depth, this is a typical regional style with restrained tropical fruit flavours, ripe and rounded, and some bottle-aged complexity. ‘Mouton’ is French for ‘sheep.
Bob Campbell: 4★ 85/100
Fresh, tangy Sauvignon Blanc with green nectarine and citrus flavours plus a nutty lees influence. Moderately concentrated. A good example of Hawke's Bay Sauvignon Blanc with classic tree fruit flavours.
FM SB 09
Bronze – New Zealand International Wine Show 2010Bronze – Royal Easter Show 2010
FS SB 10
Bronze - Hawkes Bay A&P Mercedes Benz Wine Awards 2011Recommended by Winestate
FS SB 11
None to date
Characteristics
Typically, Hawkes Bay produces a more lime/citrus aromatic, with some passionfruit. Hawkes Bay tends to be less overt in the grassy and green capsicum spectrum. Hawkes Bay can be more flinty and complex, while never hitting the powerful and exotic intensity of Marlborough. Arguably, Hawkes Bay might be considered more Sancerre like....
Winemaker's Intention
Making Sauvignon Blanc in Hawkes Bay is all about choosing the right time to pick. Of course, there’s a lot of work done before then, but it’s capturing the grapes when they are at their most intense that really defines what Sauvignon Blanc will taste like.
Depending on the heat of the season, we can see melon, passionfruit and hints of gooseberry and lime flavours in grapes that will be there in the wine. To create a palate that is mouth-filling and juicy with vibrant fruit and fantastic mid palate richness, concentration and weight we need to make sure there’s enough natural fruit ripeness to work within the winery. That combines with slow ferment and cool temperatures all help create the kind of wine we’re after. A real expression of Hawke’s Bay.
