Description

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
The Dillon’s Point subregion of Marlborough in New Zealand is home to the Glover family and their wines. After four generations of dairy farmers lived and worked on this bit of land, Owen and Wendy Glover decided to give grapes a go and pioneered vine plantings in the subregion in the 1980’s. 19 years on the estate is run by winemaker, and something of a local legend, Ben Glover. Ben is a winemaker well worth following. Since launching his career in 1995, Ben has worked at several top New Zealand estates, including Wither Hills, and was an inaugural 2001 Len Evans scholar. He has spent years honing his considerable skills, all the while working as a highly respected judge at national and international competitions. Today Ben continues to be innovative and questioning, as illustrated by his collaboration with Liam Steevenson MW as part of the ethically and environmentally excellent SPOKE project. The wines of the estate reflect Ben’s trademark expressively elegant yet characterful style in aromatic wines of, as he describes it, ‘power and place that tread lightly on your palate’. As part of that the estate achieved organic certification in time for the 2020 vintage.

THE VINTAGE:
A hot dry Summer with minimal rain and low crop resulting in an early, bright harvest.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
The family’s land runs along the Opawa River, where 14 hectares of Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are planted in the fertile loam soil on north-facing slopes at 120 metres altitude in the Awatere valley. The vineyard is just under 2 miles from the sea, and that proximity bring what the family call an intriguing umami, saline note to the wines from the moderate breezes that prevail here resulting in a cooler climate than the rest of Marlborough . Vineyards are conventionally farmed on a VSP 3 cane system.

THE WINEMAKING PROCESS:
Grapes are machine harvested, then fermented cool in tank for 3 weeks and left to relax for 3 weeks on gross lees, given a light racking and then prepared for bottling in August.

OUR TASTING NOTES:
White peach, gooseberry, citrus, mineral and sherbet. A superb example of Awatere Sauvignon Blanc. The Awatere Valley is a bit cooler than the rest of Marlborough, so the wine exhibits less overt tropical fruit and instead, a more European note that is tight, elegant and fresh.

GRAPE VARIETY:
Sauvignon Blanc 100%.