Single Vineyard: Holdaway Vineyard
Subregion: Dillons Point
Region: Marlborough 
Vintage: 2021
Soil Type: Young alluvial silts over sand
Clone: Mass selection
Viticulture: Regenerative viticulture and NZWG Sustainable Certified
Growers: the Holdaway family

Appellation Marlborough Wine Certified

Winemaker's Notes: 

This single vineyard rendition of Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from the Holdaway Family vineyard at Dillons Point – our favourite sub region for the variety. It is a classic expression of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, being 100% tank fermented, but it offers complexity of texture and a mineral drive that summons river stones and sea spray. Blackcurrant, guava and passionfruit are captured alongside the subtlest hint of oyster-shell. This wine is focused and explosive on both nose and palate yet remains elegantly balanced and distinctly salty.

Reviews: 

5 Stars ***** "The vigorous, very youthful 2022 vintage (5*) is a single-vineyard wine, grown at Dillons Point, in the lower Wairau Valley, and handled entirely in stainless steel tanks. More subtle than many of the district's wines, it is bright, light lemon/green, with intense, ripe, passionfruit-evoking flavours, a slightly salty streak, and a crisp, dry (2.5 grams/litre of residual sugar), lasting finish. Best drinking mid-2023+." Michael Cooper

94 Points - Excellent "Intense and new with a pungency and purity, aromas of fresh sage and tropical fruits, a wet stone mineral quality with a fresh apple and wild white flowers suggestions. Lush, fresh, salivation and delicious on the palate. Flavours of citrus and fresh herbs, tropical fruits and white fleshed orchard fruits are contrasted by a saline led acidity, a light satin texture and lengthy finish. Great drinking from 2023 through 2029." Cameron Douglas MS 

94 Points "Appealing sauvignon with a weighty, textural palate and intense passionfruit, guava, box hedge, root ginger and saline/oyster shell flavours. Complex wine from the Dillons Point subregion. 15/9/2022" Bob Campbell MW 

2021 Vintage:

95 Points - "Concentrated, flavoursome sauvignon blanc with passionfruit, guava, feijoa and grapefruit characters supported by fruity acidity that helps drive a lengthy finish. A classy wine from a top vintage and low-yielding vines." Bob Campbell MW 01/09/2021 

95 Points 'Top New Release Wines' - "Captivating combination of red grapefruit, cucumber, fresh basil and fennel on the nose leads to an impressive citrus-infused palate, the chalky, saline acidity running right through to a crunchy, bone dry finish. Very impressive indeed." Gourmet Traveller WINE - Jane Skilton MW Oct/Nov 2021

94 Points - #1= New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc "The 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Holdaway Vineyard is a richly aromatic wine that bursts with pure fruit flavors. You can expect a veritable fruit salad of nectarine, lemon meringue, apple and a light note of tropical fruit with a whiff of gooseberry. This is a Sauvignon that delivers power, balance and a tangy, salty finish, making for an appetizing style." Vinous | Rebecca Gibb "Desperately Seeking Sauvignon" March 2022

5 Stars - "Grown at Dillons Point, in the lower Wairau Valley, this finely poised, youthful wine is more subtle than many of the district's sauvignon blancs. Full-bodied, it has vibrant, ripe tropical-fruit flavours to the fore, a herbaceous undercurrent, a slightly salty streak, lively acidity and excellent vigour and depth." Michael Cooper, 'The new season's savvys', The Listener Nov 6 2021

94 Points 'Best Wines of 2021' - "Vibrant and expressive bouquet with aromas of white spices, fresh herbs, citrus, white fleshed stone fruit, some tropical fruit platter suggestions and a saline minerality. Salivating, satin texture gives way to a crunchy acid line texture a core of fruit led by citrus and fresh herbs then a stony mineral salty mouthfeel. An excellent example, balanced, well made and lengthy. Best drinking from 2021 through 2026." Cameron Douglas MS, 05/09/2021

17 Points (#1 NZ Sauvignon Blanc 2021) - "Intense, vibrant aromas of peapod/capsicum and guava, with the complementary sides of Sauvignon nicely matched – both green and zesty as well as more tropical. It is very hard to believe this is tank-fermented because there is just so much texture undergirding the lovely fruit, made more complex by the salty aftertaste that marks wines from this part of Marlborough and by the gentle stony/mineral quality. Bone dry but somehow rich, concentrated but not at all heavy. Mouth-watering in that long finish." Julia Harding MW | JancisRobinson.com 27/01/22

Blank Canvas Sauvignon Blanc 2020

95 Points - #1 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc "A full-bodied Sauvignon that fills the mouth with an array of fresh fruit flavors, from Braeburn apples and lemon to pineapple and green capsicum. There's good substance here, giving you something to get your teeth into while the acidity creates an energy almost like a headlight's full beam turned on in your mouth. Bloody good." Rebecca Gibb MW October 2020, Vinous Media

95 Points “From the well-drained fertile soils of Dillons Point. Rich, concentrated sauvignon blanc with green capsicum, passionfruit, subtle box hedge flavours and a pleasing saline-mineral character. Good purity and mouth-watering, fruity acidity." Bob Campbell MW 1/10/2020

92 Points + Top-Scoring 2020 Sauvignon Blanc "From a single vineyard in the Dillons Point subregion, the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc boasts striking scents of passion fruit married to hints of stone fruit and Ruby Red grapefruit. It's medium to full-bodied with plenty of concentration and presence on the palate followed by a round, easydrinking, and slightly silky-textured."  Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 23 April 2021. 

View Tasting Notes - 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016

View the 'Holdaway' Vineyard